OUTER COURT
ON VIDEO-
Steve- Jimmy- Austin
Humility n Ant hills
Cops came!
No rigs allowed
Tweeking?
San Antonio- road rage confession
Homeless ministry- rethinking
Tabernacle- temple
Temple, sacrifices- never again
PAST POSTS [verses below]
[1560] BUT THOU BETHLEHEM, THOUGH THOU BE LITTLE AMONG THE
THOUSANDS OF JUDAH- YET OUT OF THEE
SHALL HE COME FORTH UNTO ME THAT IS TO BE RULER IN ISRAEL. Micah 5:2. In the gospel of Luke we read the story of
Jesus being born in a real place- at a real time. Chapter 2 says that Caesar
put out a decree that ‘all the world should be taxed’ that is they did a kind
of census where you had to go to your native town and register. It just so
happened that Mary, Jesus mother, was living in Nazareth [Galilee] at the time
and Joseph- Jesus’ step dad- was from the lineage of Judah [King David’s
tribe]. So at this very inconvenient time- at the hour of child birth- they
make the trek to Bethlehem of Judea- just in time for the census- and for the
baby! Hundreds of years before this event there was this obscure Jewish prophet
named Micah- he blurted out one day ‘out of you Bethlehem- the least of all
places- shall one come forth- a great ruler of all men’ [my paraphrase]. The
Jewish nation was waiting for centuries for this ‘sent one’ this messiah who
would come to them in the midst of their oppression- and he would fulfill the
promise that God made to father Abraham millennia before ‘we will serve him
without fear and in holiness all the days of our lives’. As a matter of fact-
jump back to Luke chapter 1 and you can read this promise being uttered from
the lips of John the Baptist’s father when he praises God over the pregnancy of
his wife Elisabeth- you see John the Baptist was also spoken about centuries
before his birth- he would come on the scene as a forerunner- a precursor to
the messiah. Yes, John’s father had reason to rejoice. And when the angel
Gabriel appeared to Mary- he told how that she was chosen for this great task-
possibly the greatest task that any human was ever given- she would give birth
to this promised messiah. She asks the angel ‘how can this be- I know not a man’
he tells her the Holy Spirit will come upon her and she will conceive a child
from God- none before could claim the title ‘the only begotten of God’. Read
Mary’s prayer in chapter 1- it too is a cry for social justice ‘the high and
mighty will be brought low- the poor will be lifted up’ we call her prayer ‘The
Magnificat’. Both Zacharias and Mary spoke/prophesied of social justice- that
thru these seemingly strange miracles- God put in place a plan that would bring
justice to all those who were being oppressed. So the day came for Mary to bear
the child- but he was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem- so God preordained
that the great Caesar Augustus would make a decree that ‘all the world would be
taxed’. Caesar came from the beginning line of Rome’s great Caesars. Octavian-
Rome’s first- would be a devastating military leader who would strike fear into
the hearts of Rome’s enemies- the kingdom [Roman Empire] would take her initial
form under his rule. Of course most of us our familiar with Julius Caesar- he’s
made it into the Hollywood hall of fame- and Augustus- he would be the third in
a line of 12 Caesars who would rule Rome. He ruled at a time when Rome was the
center of the world- all roads truly did lead to Rome- the great eternal city.
Rome had her religious adherents- Rome practiced a type of pluralism- when they
conquered an enemy- they would allow the people to continue to have some form
of self rule- believe in whatever religion suits you- but you were still under
Roman rule. The Pantheon [a sort of pedestal for the various god’s of the day]
represented this religious openness of Rome. Yet the Jews had a different type
of belief- they held to what we describe as Monotheism- a belief that there was
only one true God. Her prophets spoke the words ‘hear O Israel the Lord our God
is one’ and they held to their peculiar belief while Rome overlooked it. In the
midst of all these developments, Caesar makes the decree ‘everyone go back to
your towns for the census’ and Mary and Joseph hit the road. Sure enough the
time came for her to deliver the child- he was born in a stable- laid in a
manger and the world would receive her king. 2 Thousand years have passed-
where are the great Caesars? Have you ever even heard of the name Octavian
before today? Yet all over the world- in every nation- on the radio- over the internet- being shouted from
the speakers at the mall- yes, all over the world we sing that Jesus Christ is
king- the one born in Bethlehem of Judea- the one for whom the whole world was
a stage- even the mighty Caesars of the day bowed the knee unto this eternal
purpose of God- they would be puppets in the hand of God- used of God to make
decrees that would fulfill the obscure prophecy of some Jewish prophet named
Micah- yes- the Virgin had it right ‘God
brought down the mighty- used them for his purposes- and exalted those who were
struggling’. Rejoice- for in this day- 2 thousand years ago- was born a great
ruler- a ruler of all men- his hometown is now famous because of this birth.
[1559] RATIONALISTS- EMPIRICISTS [Western intellectual
tradition] - Okay- for those of you who are following my sporadic teaching on
modernity [philosophical period between the 17th 20th
centuries] let me overview a little of what we have covered so far. We discussed
the Christian thinker- Rene Descartes’- and how in the 17th century
he challenged the faculty at the university of Paris [the leading university of
the day] to argue for the reasonableness of Christianity thru rational means-
he said we can[parts]
Ok- the ruling empire at the time
of Christ was Rome- just prior to the appearance of Jesus- the Roman Emperor-
Caesar Augustus- consolidated the Roman Empire under his rule-
Rome was ruled by a senate- some
famous names from history were in it- Cicero being one.
Caesar Augustus was the nephew of
Julius Caesar- his real name was Octavian [Octavius].
After the death of Julius Caesar-
there were some power struggles that took place- between some other famous
people.
Marc Antony being one of them
[Cleopatra too- he was in love with the girl for sure].
Now- we read about Augustus in
the New Testament- and we read in the book of Revelation about the Mark of the
Beast- and that those who don't worship- give homage to the Beast- they will be
killed.
So- Many Christians would be
killed because they would refuse to give homage to Caesar Augustus [meaning son
of the Divine].
‘Wow- how did he get a name like
that’ [there was more than one Caesar by the way- as well as more than one
Herod- who did play a part in these power struggles- it can get confusing- even
to me].
When Octavian defeated Marc
Antony at Actium [32 BC].
Herod [The Great] had a problem-
he had previously sided with Antony and found himself on the losing side.
Yet he was smart- did some ‘brown
nosing’ as we say-and patched things up.
Herod had 3 sons- who would
eventually take positions of authority in the Roman government at the time of
Christ.
Herod Antipas was over the region
that we read about in the New Testament where Jesus did most of his ministry- Galilee.
Ok- Octavian claimed deity
because of a heavenly sign associated with his rise to power- and this is how
he became called ‘Caesar Augustus’.
He sort of saw himself as a ‘re-incarnate’- of his great uncle Julius
Caesar.
‘John- what in the heck does this
have to do with the Dead Sea Scrolls’.
Ok- good question.
The Jews had various responses to
the empires that ruled over them during various times.
Alexander the Great instituted
Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.
They could keep their
religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.
Some Jewish people rejected any
compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and
lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.
This was a few centuries before
the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the
20th century.
A Bedouin boy was looking for his
goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found
the scrolls.
The scrolls might have been
hidden there by the Essenes-
Now- when my friends asked me
about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this-
but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact
that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we
had had all along.
I did read up this week- and
basically had it right.
The earliest Hebrew manuscripts
of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.
These manuscripts went back about
1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the
Old testament- and some complete books.
The only book missing was Esther.
So- this was indeed a very
significant find for scholars.
But the Scrolls also contain some
of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so
this too was significant.
There were Jews at the time of
the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in
charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of
Christ].
These are referred to as
Herodian’s in the bible.
Some wanted a revolution to rid
Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this
group].
Some thought if they returned to
a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like
the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees.
And some took more of a political
compromise- these were the Sadducees.
Eventually a war with Rome would
be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on
the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he
went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the
Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are
very valuable to scholars].
NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover
how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].
Frankly- there is a lot of
confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church
had some type of plot to keep certain books out].
Or stories about how the Church
taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.
Actually- we read in the gospels
that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of
life-
And Jesus had a ministry to the
down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-
And if true- it would not demean
her in any way-
That’s how this tradition more
than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.
So a few years back the Church
officially said ‘we don’t know’.
Ok- Plot?
No- just being careful.
So there are other misguided
beliefs like this- that sincere people have- and over time I hope to get to
them.
I’ll do one more in keeping with
this post.
I mentioned above that Caesar
Augustus did indeed take the title of ‘son of God’.
And some critics of the Church
say ‘see- there were all types of religions that had Sons of God’.
I watched one show a few years
back- and it stated that these religions had ’12 disciples- a leader named Lord
and Savior- and he healed and claimed to be God’s Son- and rose from the dead’.
Ok- that show was ‘fibbing’ to
put it lightly- they went too far [historically speaking] in trying to diminish
the Christians claim of Christ by doing this.
Now- is there some truth to this
at all?
Yes- like I just mentioned above-
Octavian did indeed claim deity- a ‘son of god’.
So- how do we explain this?
In the book of Galatians the
bible says ‘in the FULLNESS of times God sent forth his Son’.
Jesus came at a set time in
history- in fulfilment of the Jewish Prophets- to be who he was- and to do what
he did.
Now- this is not special pleading
here- but I find it a masterpiece that God’s Son came at a time when the Roman
Empire had one sitting on the throne- who too claimed deity.
Yet Jesus was in a region of the
lower class- his men were not highly educated- and his followers were people
under oppression.
Augustus lived in the wealthy and
influential capital of ‘the world’- he had all you could ever ask for- he was
worshiped as a god.
Yet in 3 short centuries- one of
the heirs of the empire- Constantine- would have an experience – not with a
former Caesar- but with a vison of a Cross-
He would convert to Christianity-
and declare Christianity to be the religion of the realm.
[parts]
JOHN 19 (radio # 602) The reality of redemption! I want to
stress the fact that Jesus actually dieing on the Cross and really shedding his
Blood for us is what saves us. No spiritualizing here! Over the years I have
seen and read how believers in an attempt to ‘see’ the deep truths of God will
sometimes fudge on the real Blood of Christ redeeming us. Let’s make it clear,
the New Testament teaches that it was the real Blood of Jesus and his death on
the Cross that saves man. Now, were there spiritual aspects to it? Sure. But
don’t ‘spiritualize’ the death and
[parts]
Alexander sought to implement the ideals of his teacher- he
wanted to unify the known world under one people/culture- a belief that
Aristotle held- a sort of ‘unified theory’ [Einstein] that would seek to bring
all learning/knowledge together under one supreme [Divine] principle.
Alexander’s experiment was called Hellenization- which was
the Greek worlds attempt to impose Greek culture/language on all their
conquered enemies- and at the same time allow them to hold on to the their own
culture too. Alexander did amazingly well at this experiment- at the young age
of around 24 he had accomplished most of his mission. The cities were a sort of
composite of Greek culture mixed in with their own culture- this is where we
get the modern term Cosmopolitan.
Alexander died young and his kingdom was divided between 4
generals- one of them- Ptolemy- would himself make it into the history books
because of his keen intellect.
The system of cosmology developed under him would last [and
work!] until some 17-18 hundred years later when it was overthrown by the
Copernican revolution during the time of Copernicus and Galileo.
Alexander’s generals would do their best to carry on the
system of Hellenization- and other nation’s generals would keep the system
going even after Greece fell. One of them- Octavian [Roman general] makes it
into the history books by another famous name- Julius Caesar.
Alexander established a great library in the Egyptian city
of Alexandria [named after him] and many of the great writings were preserved
during this time.
The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during
the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar]
and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought
developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance.
Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted
the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance
under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked
ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this
victory at Hanukah.
Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the
Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were
still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed
during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day
came from this movement.
Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify
language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers-
living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek
language.
Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to
find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek
Lexicon sitting right in front of me].
It would take a few centuries before a Latin version
appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin
Vulgate].
Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek
texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to
the Reformation [16th century] and other movements in church
history.
The
Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various
times.
Alexander the Great instituted
Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.
They could keep their
religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.
Some Jewish people rejected any
compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and
lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.
This was a few centuries before
the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the
20th century.
A Bedouin boy was looking for his
goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found
the scrolls.
The scrolls might have been
hidden there by the Essenes-
Now- when my friends asked me
about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this-
but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact
that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we
had had all along.
VERSES-
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. Ps.16:6
40 But now
ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of
God: this did not Abraham. Jn. 8:40
22 If I
had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no
cloak for their sin. Jn. 15:22
7 And it
came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his
enemies;
2 That
the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar,
but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
3 And
Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with
thee.
4 And it
came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,
5 Go and
tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt
thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
6 Whereas
I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of
Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a
tabernacle.
7 In all
the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word
with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel,
saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
8 Now
therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith theLord of
hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler
over my people, over Israel:
9 And I
was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies
out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the
great men that are in the earth.
10 Moreover
I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may
dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of
wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
11 And as
since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have
caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth
thee that he will make thee an house.
12 And
when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set
up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will
establish his kingdom.
13 He
shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom
for ever.
14 I will
be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten
him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
15 But my
mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away
before thee.
16 And
thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy
throne shall be established for ever.
17 According
to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto
David.
2nd Sam 7
11 And
there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise,
and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the
court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is
given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty
and two months.
3 And I
will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These
are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of
the earth.
5 And if
any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their
enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev. 11
Revelation
5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written
within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.Revelation 5:2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Revelation 5:3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Revelation 5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Revelation 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Revelation 5:7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Revelation 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Revelation 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
facebook.com/john.chiarello.5
Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts-
re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. I deal with
issues at times that it would be beneficial for some of you to download and
save the file from the Word Press link. This creates a permanent record. The
on-line videos are only good if sites are not hacked- which has happened in the
past. Thanks- John.#
No comments:
Post a Comment