My studies

Monday, December 12, 2016

SAMUEL 31- [Conclusion- filmed in New Braunfels]
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Luke 24:44
https://youtu.be/6GvyEXTfNRc  Samuel 31 [Conc.]
ON VIDEO
.More on the witch
.GHOST
.Che
.Castro
.Just kill me!
.Cuban ‘Revolution’
.Don’t trust in earthly ‘kings’
.Monarchy was rejecting God
.Phone call from Taiwan- It’s the end of the world as we know it!
.Yes- media did it again
.He did do some good in
NEW- [links below]
The prophecy of Samuel comes true-
Saul fights with the Philistines- they kill his 3 sons and he gets struck by an arrow.
1Samuel 31:2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons.
1Samuel 31:3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
He turns to his body guard and says ‘kill me now- don’t let these uncircumcised abuse me’.
1Samuel 31:4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me.
Saul did not want to get tortured.
His body guard is afraid- so Saul falls on his own sword- and kills himself.
 But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.- Sam. 31:4b
Just like Judas hung himself- because he too went against God’s anointed one.
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. Matt. 27:5
The Philistines chop off Saul’s head- and send it around as a trophy to their comrades.
1Samuel 31:8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
1Samuel 31:9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.
Just like David did to Goliath earlier on.
The Philistines then take his armor and his body and display them at their pagan temple to the god Ashtaroth.
A sad ending indeed.
One ‘good’ note from this last chapter-
The men of Jabesh Gilead come and take the body of Saul down from the pagan wall.
They travel back to their home town and burn the body [it must have been mangled- because cremation was not a rite that they practiced]-
And bury his bones- and mourn for him 7 days.
1Samuel 31:11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul;
1Samuel 31:12 All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
1Samuel 31:13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
Why did the people of Jabesh do this?
Though Saul was a hated man at the end of his life- his own people saw the dementia he was in.
He killed the priests- sought out a ‘witch’ and went after King David with a vengeance.
Yet- Saul did some noble things along the way.
He defended the people of Jabesh against the Ammonites in the past-
Yes- he saved them.
And despite all the bad things we can say about Saul as a leader-
The people of Jabesh remembered the good things- what he did on their behalf.
So they honored the man ‘they knew’- not the man he had become over time.
Okay- as I end this study on Samuel 1- I will not do Samuel 2.
But I did teach it in the past- and for those who want to follow the story- here’s a link to my old study-  https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel/
Brief review-
Samuel was the prophet who anointed Israel’s first 2 kings [Saul- David]
He was used of God to transition Israel to a monarchy- rule by earthly king.
Yet- we read that God never wanted a man to rule over his people.
Samuel rebuked the people for doing this- he said they rejected the rule of God.
Yet- God allowed it- and will still use it to fulfill his promises.
Jesus will come as the son of King David- and Jesus will sit on the throne- forever.
These are Messianic promises given to David later on- that are integral to the promises of God to us- that Jesus will come and redeem man.
Jesus himself said that all that was written about HIM in the law and the prophets had to be fulfilled.
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Luke 24:44
And we just covered one of the books of the prophets- and saw some of the things Jesus was speaking about.
And the bible has 38 more books in the old Testament- that also speak of Jesus.
Like the writer of Hebrews said-
Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Hebrews 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
Hebrews 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Hebrews 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Hebrews 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Amen.
PAST POSTS-
1st- 2nd Samuel- [video links included]
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/1st-2nd-samuel/  [Old commentary I wrote years ago]
VIDEO/POST LINKS-
https://youtu.be/iImxoD3cRfQ  Samuel preview
I mentioned Che on today’s video [Samuel 31] here’s stuff I wrote on him before-
1906 CHE

I watched another documentary this weekend.

It was the story of Che Guevara.

Che is well known today as a sort of symbol of the revolutionary youth movement. 

He embodies the persona of those who defy ‘Imperialism/Colonialism’.

Che was an Argentinean doctor- who at a young age took a motorcycle journey thru Latin America [South- Central America] and he saw the extreme poverty of the people.

He would see one of the main factors of this poverty being the influence that the U.S. held over these nations thru corporate agreements with the ‘puppet’ leaders of these nations.

For instance- many of the poor of these nations were peasant farmers- they worked the land for rich land owners- and they subsisted on a few dollars a day wages.

Yet the owners of the land- they were rich.

Likewise- Che believed that the leaders of the nations were ‘in bed’ with the U.S. - and they allowed U.S. corporations to rake their countries of wealth- at the expense of the people.

Now- I am not saying I totally agree with Che.

He has many critics- as well as supporters [he’s dead of course].

Jean Paul Sartre [remember our philosophy posts?] supported him- others did not.

The point being- Che saw a system- the U.S. govt and American corporations- as an all powerful system that polluted the nations to her south.

He felt the influence of greed and corruption were the main causes of the plight of the Latin American people.


His revolution- Che literally left his duties as a doctor and led an armed rebellion against the U.S. - would eventually lead to his execution by Bolivian forces [Bolivia is just north of Argentina- Che’s homeland] backed by the CIA.

Che was a key factor in the Cuban revolution that deposed Batista- the U.S. backed leader of Cuba- and installed Castro.

Che’s influence lives on today in many of the leaders of south/central America.
[another post]
In the early days of the church- in the 4th century- we had the rise of the Roman emperor/military ruler- Constantine.


Part of the achievements of Constantine was his development of the eastern half of the Roman empire- whose capitol was named after him- Constantinople.


Over a period of years the early Roman church fought over whose bishop would have more influence- the bishop of Rome [Pope] or the bishop in the east.

Many bishops in the Catholic Church have disagreed over the influence of one bishop being greater than the others [the idea that all the bishops should have an equal voice at the church councils is called Collegiality].

This has caused splits within the Catholic Church thru the centuries [the last big one in the 19th century].

Eventually the early church split- and the Eastern Church separated from Rome.

The eastern empire [called Byzantium- the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church] officially split in the year 1054.

Now- in church history we call this the Great Schism- even though the Protestant split which took place in the 16th century was greater in effect.


Okay- the Protestant reformers split over various issues- I have an entire study on the blog about this.


But the main issue became what we call justification by faith.

Over the centuries many good men- and average church goers- lost the main message of the New Testament- which was a message of being saved by the grace of God.


Many well meaning Christians were struggling to do penance in a way that sort of earned them their salvation thru works.

The Protestant reformer Martin Luther was teaching the book of Romans [he was a scholar and a Catholic leader in intellectual circles at the time].


During his teaching on the epistle of Paul [Romans- in our bible] he came across a verse that said THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

As he mediated on the passage- and the other themes in Romans that speak about being saved by faith and not by works- he started a sort of mini revolution amongst the students and he became a sort of favorite teacher in the area of Germany where he was teaching.


Over a period of time- thru all sorts of religious and political machinations- he launched what we now call the Protestant Reformation.
[parts]
I also talked about Liberation Theology- here are parts of past posts I did-
PARABLE OF THE TREES
https://youtu.be/UoxX9_2VlcE Parable of the trees
ON VIDEO-
.Cruz had a bad day
.JFK conspiracy- solved!
.CCCF- Pastor Don
.Navy stuff
.Politics
.Trump- Hillary- Sanders
.VA doctor
.Notre Dame n Mexico
.Popes
.Catholic stuff
.Vatican 1-2
.Liberation theology
.Ex- cathedra
.French Revolution
.Syllabus of errors
[parts]
[parts]
As an avid news watcher- the last few years one of the critiques I gave was the mistake of men like Glenn beck and others- who associated Liberation Theology with heresy.

Now- Beck and others meant well- they just made the mistake of demonizing people they don’t understand [remember the rampage against Van Jones?]

But that’s why we need to get our info from better informed folk.


Anyway- Liberation Theology is a form of Christian teaching that associates the ministry of Jesus to the poor- and seeks to impellent that- sometimes too far- with government programs.

So- in Latin America- you have had Catholic champions of the poor and down trodden- who advocated for the poor- and at the same time believed in the historic positions of the doctrines of the church.


For instance- some ‘liberal’ scholars reject the resurrection of Jesus- and other key teachings of the church.


These men [both Catholic and Protestant] are referred to as Liberal scholars.


Francis is not one of them- he’s ‘conservative’ when it comes to the historic faith.


Yet- in his actions [Orthopraxy] he is ‘liberal’ [that is if you think identifying with the poor is liberal].


So- Francis is a lot like me in my belief [I too am conservative in doctrine] and practice- I have lived with the poor and down and out for years.


So- he just might be my favorite.


Let’s wait and see.





Note- 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. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.




ROMANS 8-10

VIDEO- [I cover stuff on the videos that are not in the post- here are a few]
.Council of Trent- what did the Church say?
.Do we get the final say- at the Judgment?
.What are the Catholic virtues- did Paul teach them?
.Augustine, Calvin, Whitfield and Wesley.
.Infusion or Imputation? How bout both!
At the bottom I added some quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic church- to show that the official teaching of the church DOES NOT TEACH SALVATION BY THE LAW- BUT BY CHRIST.

. REMINDER- This is a commentary I wrote years ago- the videos are new.
.CHAPTER 8- FEW POINTS;
1-      Did God choose us to believe- or did we choose him?
2-      When Paul says ‘he makes our bodies alive’ is he only speaking about resurrection?
3-      Does God use difficulty- or is it to be rebuked?
4-      Was Paul a ‘hyper- Calvinist’?
(839)ROMAN 8:1-4 ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh [sinful nature] but after the Spirit [new nature]’. Now, having proved the reality of sin and guilt [chapter 7] Paul teaches that those who ‘are in Christ’ are free from condemnation. Why? Because they ‘walk according to the Spirit’ the ‘righteousness of the law is being fulfilled in them’. Having no condemnation isn’t simply a ‘legal function’ of declared righteousness, and Paul didn’t teach it that way! Paul is saying ‘all those who have believed in Jesus and have been legally justified [earlier arguments in chapters 3-4] are now walking [actually acting out] this new nature. Therefore [because you no longer walk according to the flesh] there is no condemnation’! This argument helps bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant theology, part of the reason for the ongoing schism is over this understanding. After the Reformation the
[parts]


VERSES-
1Samuel 31:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
1Samuel 31:2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons.
1Samuel 31:3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
1Samuel 31:4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
1Samuel 31:5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.
1Samuel 31:6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
1Samuel 31:7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
1Samuel 31:8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
1Samuel 31:9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.
1Samuel 31:10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.
1Samuel 31:11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul;
1Samuel 31:12 All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
1Samuel 31:13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.



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.#



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