The Living God of the Living thru Christ.

Top Topic #1: Living God of the Living

This message of chapter 1, covering all of Genesis and Exodus 1-20, takes the gist of these 70 chapters of the Bible and of the Pentateuch {often called by Jesus and the Apostles The LAW as for example where the Apostle John writes in his Gospel “the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17 NJKV)}...that is, the gist of the chapter comes from Exodus 3:6 where out of the burning bush, God identified Himself as the God of Moses’ father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the same God, the God of Creation of Genesis that we desire to know something about, to listen to in His book, and to pray to through the Lord Jesus Christ. {If you have included in your studies the fictitious god of the Mormons and others, so different from the God of the Christian Bible, then you will also want to pray to the God of Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all our forefathers in the faith. Since there are no other real supernatural powers than God and Satan, if you are praying to any other god than God the Father, the bottom line is that you are praying to Satan.} We will distinguish this God from the other “gods” of the Bible like Baal and Astoreth--which while not real were so detrimental to the nation of Israel--as “The Living God”, and base this on what Jesus taught in Matthew 22:32 that “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” after quoting from Exodus 3:6,15. The Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, sought to entrap Jesus on whose wife a woman would be in the resurrection from the dead when during her life she had married seven brothers, of course one at a time. {It sounds like a made up story; and perhaps it is in the nature of parables--that is still true, but general in nature--but we can see today, especially in Hollywood, where we have the ultimate in rebellion against God on Bible marriage, how a star could have at death behind them seven wives or seven husbands. You will recall also that Jesus encountered the woman at Jacob’s Well in Samaria, who attempted to mislead Him about no having a husband, to have hear Him say, “Well spoken; for you have had five husbands and the one that you now have is not your husband.”}{NOTE: It is important to understand this. Jesus is not telling the woman to divorce her present husband. What is important for that woman, Hollywood, and against the current trend in America today is to obey God on marriage, and where it is too late for initial obedience, to stop rebelling against God’s right to tell us what to do and how to do it. Stop rebelling and ask forgiveness: that is all that is required of you according to the Bible.}

Genesis is the book of beginnings: the beginning of the universe as God created the heavens and the earth, the creation of man and woman, the beginning of God’s first commission to man to subdue and replenish the earth {a commission that man tried to overlook after Noah and which God remedied by the confusion of the tongues at Babel} the beginning of marriage and the family, unfortunately also the beginning of sin and the work of Satan on earth {the lie in the Garden by Satan, first to the woman and then to the man was “Thou shalt surely not die” (Genesis 3:4) as God had told them; and when in II Thessalonians Paul talks about “THE LIE” to separate it from many other lies we know of, then surely that is also the big lie of Genesis and the Garden which in effect calls God a liar}. Less obvious in Genesis is the beginning of the warfare between the seed of Christ {and of the “woman” spoken of here and in Revelation 12} and the seed of Satan of Genesis 3:15. Also less obvious is the beginning of the Gospel in Genesis 12, where Abraham, according to Paul had the Gospel preached to Him. {You might easily say that God Himself was also preaching the Gospel in Genesis 3:15 when encompassed in that statement, not understood until the Apostles made it clear, was that Christ in His death on the cross would bruise the head of Satan.} And Genesis also records another famous first, the first destruction of the whole earth by God because of the wickedness of man, this time by water; and it is the New Testament which most fully explains how the second destruction will be by fire, and of the heavens as well as the earth. {You can also find much of this in the Old Testament, generally centered around the subject of the “Day of the LORD”.} To a certain extent Exodus is a book of beginnings in that it is the beginning of the Ten Commandments as well as other laws from God, the beginning of the nation of Israel although still a rag-tag congregation in the wilderness, the real beginning of God making His name known on a larger level as He warred with the Pharaoh of Egypt through Moses and Aaron.

The books of the New Testament that are part of our outline to follow of “The Living God of the Living” are: Matthew, Mark, I Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, James, Luke, John, and II Corinthians in that order. {Not bad to preach a sermon on Genesis and Exodus including 9 of the 27 New Testament books to explain two Old Testament books.} The four main points of the chapter message are: (1) God, Man, and Marriage {this may seem like “the world, the universe, and other things; and so it is, but this is the beginning of man, the beginning of God’s dealings with man and woman, and God’s establishment of the institution of marriage about which Jesus spoke so much as recorded in the Gospels};

1-1: Job

If you look at Table 1 in Appendix A, the table for all of the Old Testament quotes in the New Testament for Genesis, you will find that it leads off with Job 42:2 as quoted in Luke 10:27. The reason for this is that there has been some attempt to sequence the Old Testament quotes according to their historical sequence, the book of Job being generally considered as the oldest in the Bible. {Naturally in our Bibles you will find Job grouped with the other Literature of Wisdom and Psalms which would include Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, even as the find the minor and major prophets grouped together regardless of historical sequence.} Although not straining too much at the exact historical sequence, it is still felt that with a certain closer approximation, we can also get a better sense of the Bible as “a gradual revelation of God coming to a great eternal climax in the Lord Jesus Christ”. The message of Job is clear: it is that the righteous suffer for no wrong which they have done; and as we study the life of the believer in the New Testament, we will find that it is dangerous to have all roses and no thorns. WE are told in Hebrews that persecutions and afflictions allowed by God, even directed under the control of God, are proof of sonship as contrasted to “bastard children”, and that God uses these to makes us more like Christ. However, don’t ever think that you must have the full message of the New Testament in order to gain additional spiritual insight from the Old Testament. You can see in Job the agreement between God and Satan that the reason, according to Satan that Job served God, was because of the material blessings and health in his life; and that if God would withdraw these and his children, Job in the words of his wife would “curse God and die”. Well, it didn’t happen through all the chapters of good and bad advice from friends and other counselors; and you can learn much from the example of Job, even as from all the prophets of the Old Testament. As the Apostle James wrote in James 5:11.

“Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:11 NKJV) Likewise there are depths of conviction about Jesus Christ as the Redeemer in Job which you will find exceeds much of the New Testament on that doctrine.

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19:25-27)

Can you imagine the extent of this faith and knowledge about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and resurrected Christ, as well as the knowledge we learn from the New Testament most generally on the body-resurrection of all believers; and that Job had it even before Moses. No, don’t sell the Old Testament short; and although we will most generally use the clearer teachings of the NT books to explain the OT quotes, some of the other way around will take place. We will just “let the Bible say what the Bible wants to say.” And back to the Job 42:2 quote of the Appendix Table on Genesis, it truly is a good beginning for this message on “the Living God of the Living” as it establishes an underlying principle of the Bible that “nothing is impossible with God”. Also, it is true, not because it is written that way; but is true based on the very nature of God. The God who can “in the beginning create the heaven and the earth”, the God who can make man out of the dust of the ground and create woman from a rib of man, is also the God that can do anything. When Jesus says the same words as Job in 42:2, it may not in your Bible be treated a quote; however the words are almost the same--”...but God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26), the thoughts are exactly the same, so to me that is a quote. You recall the incident after which Jesus made this statement to His twelve who marveled that any man could be saved as Jesus said, “how hard is it for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The bottom line of both incidents, the first in Job and the second in Matthew, is that God as shown in His workings of salvation, creation, and any other manifestation of Himself in the Bible, has no limitations on His power.

1-2: The Prophet Messiah.

The greatest Prophet of the Old Testament or the New Testament is the Prophet Messiah, first foretold by the Prophet Moses; and that Prophet Messiah as made clear by the writings of the Apostles is the Lord Jesus Christ. What this section of the chapter-message is all about under the title of "Prophet Messiah" is to understand the Christ of the Bible. In this day and age when so many false prophets have multiplied far beyond the number of those of New Testament times who proclaim a Christ foreign to Bible exegesis, and lest we become discouraged with the futility of learning the real Christ, we must always continue our search after the Christ of the Bible. And somewhere along the line in the approximately 1990 years since Christ authored and finished the Christian Faith, the crossover was seemingly made where more false prophets came into existence than real prophets; but this seems true only if we fail to note the democratic nature of prophets and prophesy that started with New Testament times, focusing our attention more on the self-proclaimed leaders who wear robes, have positions in the name of Christ, and who demand obedience to themselves and their groups more than to the Christ of the Bible!

Before we can "Faith Contend with God's Dimensions" in LEARN Christ volume 2, and receive a "Touch of the Eternal" in the book of Job that will lead us back to the Redeemer of the New Testament in Book 6, we must have a positive and dynamic presentation of the Christ of the Bible. "Isn't that what everyone is doing?" you might say, "Trying to understand the real Christ from the pages of the Bible." No, that is not true; what they have done is rather than keep Christ in the total context of the Bible, taken a few isolated Scriptures with "private interpretations" out of the total context of the Bible in order to get followers and disciples more to themselves than unto Christ. Some of these false prophets also make no bones about the fact that they are here on earth to supplement the Word of God as found in the Bible, stating either clearly or subtly with confusions between revelations and illuminations that they also are mediums of revelations from God Himself. This is the great lie or deception of Satan from false prophets: The Bible as the Word of God was complete with the writing of the 66 books of the Holy Prophets and Apostles; and the progress of the deception of nations by Satan through the false prophet and prophets is directly proportional to the extent that the Word of God can be replaced with these other so called revelations!

If Satan is allowed of God the Father to deceive all the nations of the earth again as he did in the Roman Empire, and after the thousand years in which he is bound, starting either with the destruction of the Western Roman Empire in 453 A. D., or with the destruction of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453 A. D.; then this deception of the nations will progress on two fronts: (1) The political front where the Dragon, Satan, uses the beasts--a series of political leaders of great power--who gradual deceive the nations into a worship of themselves; and (2) The religious front where the false prophets back the beasts with lies and distortions of truth. When we see the "bottomless pit" of Revelation into which Satan and his angels were cast when bound for a thousand years as the vastness of space, the same giant chasm that God looked over when He decided to create the earth in the middle of it; then we realize that the chain of Revelation that binds Satan to only the spirit world of influence on earth without physical appearances is that very restriction to spirit space--alias Satan is the prince of the power of the air, or space--then we realize also that after the loosing of Satan from bondage at the end of the thousand years, that his appearances and that of his angels will be from outer space to earth; and further that there is some evidence that this has started, even that such creatures have made contact with some world leaders! What chance do we have of finding the real Christ in the midst of so many false prophets, beasts, and false leaders? Only one, by find the real Christ of the Bible, the Christ of the Holy Prophets and Apostles of the Bible; and in order that we might have fellowship with the real God of the real Lord Jesus Christ--

"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." (I John 1:3,4 KJV)

The Apostle John did not give up on real Christian fellowship, a fellowship with the real God and Christ, even though his First Century Christianity was already full of many false prophets and false Christian spirits--

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

But he cautioned First Century Christians at the end of this letter of I John, and a caution that is even more for us in 1990, against idols of an unreal god and Christ--

"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." (I John 5:20,21 KJV)

This section of the chapter-message, on the Prophet Messiah, is still another effort to get back to the real Christ of the Bible, and by finding the real Christ also to gain access to the "true God, and eternal life". It is strongly felt that even as false leaders have superficially, though very aggressively, taken Christ out of the total context of the Bible, that the best way to find the real Christ of the Bible, is in the total context of the flow of the Bible all the way from Genesis to Revelation; and therefore with two volumes in Book Two, "If Two Agree...", A Harmony of John and Ephesians", and "The Old Testament According to the New", we will first in volume 3 find the agreements between the Holy Prophets and Apostles on the Prophet Messiah, the Christ, and then in volume 4, we will study the Old Testament based on the quotations and interpretations of the Apostles as recorded in the New Testament. Further it is maintained that the way to find the real Christ is centered around the two words "The Prophet Messiah"; for this is both the terminology and concept of the Bible that consistently flows through the whole Bible from the beginning to the end. In fact, "Messiah" is the Hebrew word for the Greek word "Christ"; and The Prophet for Jesus Christ only places Him in the perspective of the long line of Old Testament Prophets where the Spirit of Christ also signified unto them with what the Apostles of Jesus Christ told of what the Prophet Messiah did and taught.

After years of working on the Bible research and writing of ONE NEW COMMENTARY on the Bible and in particular of Book four on "Faith Contending with God's Dimensions", I have decided that we must only "contend for the faith" (Jude 3) in the total context of Christian Faith and the Bible even as the Apostle Jude did in the writing of the book of Jude, showing how the setting forth of the message and methods of faith contending were in the context of the "common salvation" about which he was already writing (Jude 3). If we do not do this we tend to make a religion out of the method and message of Faith Contention even as false prophets and leaders make a religion out of their organizations and "orthodoxy", and before long the "contend" itself comes to take the place of the Christ for Whom we are to Contend!

The True Doctrine of Christ

"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." (II John 7 KJV)

The true doctrine of Christ is to confess that "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" so that those of I John who have committed the sin unto death are those deceivers and antichrists of II John who do not verbally confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, the same group of Jude on whom we are not to have compassion but to fear, and the same group of II John that we also can not even bid God speed else we become joint participants in their evil deeds. Thus we have separated false leaders into two categories based on the Bible and the Doctrine of Christ: (1) Leaders that verbally deny Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God; and (2) Leaders who do not verbally deny Jesus as the Christ, but whose excesses in freedoms with the Bible and grace of God by their works deny Jesus as the Christ. And it is this second group that is the most dangerous; for only their inward spirits and conscience separates themselves from the true, the outward appearance is the same in order to deceive other sheep. Of course the motivation of such false leaders is not to deceive, it is just that they want disciples to follow themselves even as they follow, or more than, they follow true leaders!

1-3: The Seared Conscience?

So the Seared Conscience, is it in the first group of verbal deniers of Christ or in the second group of deniers by deeds? Surely as we read I Timothy 4:1-3 we will have to conclude that such leaders of the Seared Conscience are among the second group that denies Jesus only in deeds and for whom we can still have some compassion as they have not committed the sin unto death; for it is the denial by deeds and the deeds of teachings that we see in the passage: (1) They initially had the Christian Faith but departed from it; (2) They initially had the influence of true spirits but were seduced by false spirits; (3) They originally knew the doctrine of Christ but were seduced by the doctrines of devils; (4) They teach and practice the evil deeds of forbidding to marry; (5) They teach and practice the evil deeds of commanding to abstain from meats.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times (remember that the latter times began with the Ascension of Christ) some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." (I Timothy 4:1-3 KJV)

Unwarranted Freedoms with the Bible

These are they of the book of Jude who deny by deeds instead of confession of words, taking unwarranted freedoms with the grace of God and with the Bible!

"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ". (Jude 4 KJV)

At least it is the first group of "ungodly men" who turn "the grace of God into “excessive freedoms", the same group at the conclusion of Jude for whom we can have compassion, not to be confused with the second group that deny verbally Jesus as the Christ whom we must fear and not bid God speed. So that Jude throughout the book of Jude talks about the two groups of ungodly men, the same two groups that the Apostle John distinguishes in terms of false spirits and true spirits, in terms of those for whom you can pray and those for whom you can not pray as they have sinned the sin unto death. We can pray for those of "seared consciences"!

The Unwarranted Freedoms of the Book of Jude:

1. They have experienced initial salvation, but then the destruction of God:

"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not." (Jude 5 KJV)

2. They take excessive freedoms with initial salvation by defiling the flesh, by despising dominions and dignitaries:

"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominions, and speak evil of dignities." (Jude 8 KJV)

3. They are using initial salvation and grace for personal reward:

"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." (Jude 11 KJV)

4. The excesses of their deeds and speeches remain to be punished at the end of time:

"To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 15 KJV)

5. The Excusing’s and Accusations of the American Conscience turns into Murmuring, Complaints, and Popular Orator by the ungodly men of the Seared Conscience:

"These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage." (Jude 16 KJV)

That we can not truly nail down who these ungodly men are in our times in the category of those who have not verbally denied Christ, that is from Jude, is because Jude while simply stating the fact that they will be among us even as they were among the Christians and Christian churches of the First Century does not make a complete identification because the other Apostles of Jesus have done so--

"But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit." (Jude 17,18 KJV)

Mockers

One way that we can find those Scriptures where the Apostles of Jesus have identified these of the Seared Conscience is by finding where the Bible and the Apostles in the bible of the New Testament wrote of "mockers". Unfortunately except for this passage in Jude, "mocker" is only an Old Testament word; however by the synonyms of mocker as given in those Old Testament passages we can find the equivalents of mockers in the New Testament: Job 17:2 where it is deceivers and mockers; Proverbs 20:1 where it is scorners and mockers; Isaiah 28:22 where the mocker shows self as a scorner; Psalms 35:16 where mocking is stammering; and Jeremiah 15:17 where mocking is to laugh, play, and deride.

1. Deceit, Deceive, and Deceivers from the Apostles.

(1). Deceit from the Apostle Paul.

"Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips..." (Romans 3:13 KJV)

(2). Deceive from the Apostle Paul.

"For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them." (Ephesians 5:5-7 KJV) "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." (Romans 16:17,18 KJV)

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, o by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (II Thessalonians 2:1-4 KJV)

(3). Deceive from the Apostle James.

"If any man among you seem to be religious, and brideth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (James 1:26,27 KJV)

(4). Deceive from Jesus and the Apostle Matthew.

"And Jesus answered and said unto the, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." (Matthew 24:4,5 KJV)

"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." (Matthew 24:11 KJV)

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24 KJV)

(5). Deceiving from the Apostle Paul.

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." (II Timothy 3:12,13 KJV)

(6). Deceived from the Apostle Paul.

"Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." (Titus 3:1-3 KJV)

(7). Deceive and Self-Deception from the Apostle John. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (I John 1:8 KJV)

"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that commiteth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning..." (I John 3:7,8 KJV)

NOTE: The difference in the two passes is in sinning and commiteth sin; or in sin which remains in every life even as the knowledge of good and evil remains in the spirit of every life, and the habit of sin as a way of life and a commitment of human spirit which is the "commiteth".

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:9 KJV)

NOTE: There is little doubt as to the Origin and Personification of Deceit in the Deceiver, Satan also called the Devil!

"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beat should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." (Revelation 13:14,15 KJV)

NOTE: The beast that deceives is one of the Roman Emperors, also the son of perdition of whom Paul wrote that must come before the Second Coming of Christ.

"And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." (Revelation 18:23,24 KJV)

NOTE: The city of Rome as the New Babylon.

"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." (Revelation 19:20 KJV)

NOTE: Judgment at the end of time and the Second Coming of Christ takes care of the beasts and the false prophets.

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:1-3 KJV)

NOTE: Satan's activities after so effective through Rome and the Roman Empire for several centuries is isolated in that he can not longer deceive whole nations to the extent that he did Rome, only to be allowed extended influence after an indefinite period called a thousand years when at the end of time with the great tribulation of a destruction of heavens and earth, the Second Coming, and a new heavens and earth, Satan and all unbelievers go from the bottomless pit to the lake of fire and brimstone which is the Second Death!

"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, God and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." (Revelation 20:7-9

KJV)

NOTE: In my opinion that indefinite period of a thousand years has most probably just expired, Satan with the new democratic movements among the nations where people do more what they want than anything will again "deceive the nations".

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10 KJV) NOTE: The end of deception and Satan!

2. Scoffers from the Apostle Peter:

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?" (II Peter 3:3,4 KJV)

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (II Peter 3:7,8 KJV)

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass way with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (II Peter 3:10 KJV)

"Nevertheless we, according to is promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (II Peter 3:13 KJV)

3. Deride from Luke, an associate of the Apostle Paul:

"And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things; and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before me; but God knoweth your heart; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." (Luke 16:14,15 KJV)

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, an cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God." (Luke 23:34,35 KJV)

Summary of the Seared Conscience

While all these Scriptures deserve and demand further discussion which will be done in the following chapters of this book, coming back to them for further foundations and development, we can now summarize the False spirits and False Prophets of the Seared Conscience as: (1) Those political leaders who like the "rulers" of New Testament times that Deride Christ Himself about His ability to save; (2) Religious leaders like the Pharisees who Derided Jesus because they were covetous of His own leadership and following; (3) Scoffers of the Second Coming of Christ that speak out of the lusts of their own hearts, either denying the Second Coming or confusing eschatology with the last days that started with the Ascension of Christ, also denying that one thousand years equals one day and vice versa; (4) The end fate of false leaders and false prophets who deceive is the same as that of the ultimate Deceiver, Satan; (5) Satan while still deceiving many in these days will be loosed and allowed to again deceive the nations as he deceived the Roman Empire after he has been bound for an indefinite period which John and Peter call a thousand years; (6) After the persecutions of the first few centuries Satan was handicap in activities for an indefinite period of time in that he could no longer deceive whole nations awaiting the time of great tribulation when the heavens and the earth will also be destroyed--the One Great Day of the LORD and Lord of the whole Bible which should dominate our eschatology rather than a thousand years; (7) The city of Rome as the instrument of deception had the curse of God placed on it, a judgment on earth even before the Great Day of Judgment; (8) Satan, the Deceiver, was cast out of heaven to earth where he roams about as a "lion seeking whom he may individually devour" although his power is limited in that he can not deceive whole nations until near the time of the great tribulation of the destruction of heavens and earth; (9) Children of God are not to be deceived by Satan and those of the Seared Conscience by a recognition that outward righteous doing is a representation of inward righteousness while a habit of sinning shows such to be "of the devil" who practiced sin from the beginning; (10) Those who say there is no sin in their lives, before or after initial salvation, lie like the Devil and are far from "truth"; (11) Practitioners of the Good Christian Conscience, "willing to live honestly in all things", were once Practitioners of the Seared Conscience--"deceived, foolish, disobedient, of divers lusts and pleasure, hating, and living in malice and envy; but now must be good citizens of government, not speaking evil of dignitaries as the ungodly men of Jude, so that Practitioners of the Seared Conscience: a. Speak evil of any man, b. Are brawlers, c. Are not gentle, and d. Do not show meekness to all men; (12) Practitioners of the Seared Conscience are evil men and seducers that both deceive and get deceived, waving worse and worse during their stay on earth; (13) So effective will be the false prophets and false Christs after the Ascension of Christ that if it were possible they would deceive the very "elect" from among those that are called Christians; (14) Many false prophets of the Seared Conscience shall arise in our times as well as New Testament times, and deceive many more than even the number of present false prophets; (15) Many will come after the life of Jesus in the name of Christ that are false, some even saying, "I am Christ"; (16) Adherents of the Seared Conscience can claim to be religious, deceiving themselves as well as others with words independent of the deeds of pure religion which is: (1) To visit the sick and fatherless; and (2) To keep themselves unspotted from the world; (17) Satan must first be loosed to deceive whole nations before the Second Coming of Christ comes, and Christians are not to be deceived about that time relationship as some with a Seared Conscience are quite willing to do out of lusts and the need for personal disciples; (18) Those who would cause divisions among Christians which are contrary to the teachings of the Apostles of Jesus as given in the Bible are Practitioners of the Seared Conscience, their motivations being their own bellies and lusts; (19) Vain words can be used by those False Leaders of the Seared Conscience to deceive Christians, but those False Leaders as whoremongers and covetous are not inheritors of the kingdom of God; (20) While deceit and lies and all manners of sin are part of the human spirit of all humanity, it is those of the Seared Conscience that can continue in such in the name of truth and Christ although they have been a partaker.

What is "THE Answer"?

If you made it this far: Congratulations for getting through the unpleasantries; for now with this chapter and the next we come to the "pure" and "good" then beyond that to the New and Expanded Dimensions--

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if thee be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8 KJV)

All I can say by consolation of what you have gone through to get up to this point in that those things were also true in that they were from the Bible; and that now we can come to "whatsoever things are pure" and "of good report", and that in these things to follow of pure and good there will be the Christian ethics of "virtue" and the "praise" to the One True God of the Lord Jesus Christ: "think on these things"!

"The Answer"

"What is THE Answer?"

What is the answer on the matter of conscience?

What is the answer on the matter of conscience and God?

"the answer of a good conscience toward God" (I Peter 3:21 KJV)

So that the whole matter of God and good conscience hinges on what the Apostle Peter identifies as the specifics of how a good conscience can give proper accountability to God. And that with the above phrase is in I Peter 3:21--

"The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ". (KJV)

THE ANSWER OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE TOWARD GOD IS THE ONE BAPTISM!

If we come to understand the One Baptism, we understand the "pure", "sprinkled", and "good" conscience; and if we become participants in the One Baptism we have the answer of a good conscience toward God! There is hardly any one single question of the Bible that is any more important for both salvation and the good conscience than that of "What is the One Baptism?" The Apostle Paul has answered that in the first three chapters of Ephesians before he makes a precis of such in Ephesians 4:4-6, the first three chapters being a paraphrase of the first nine letters that he wrote; and here in I Peter, the Apostle Peter begins an answer to the question by identifying that the One Baptism is not water baptism, "(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh". The One Baptism is baptism in unseen water even as the eating of the flesh of Jesus is the eating of unseen bread from heaven.

1-4: Testimony of Jesus, the Spirit of Prophecy" (Rev 19:10)

This section title may come as a surprise; for us to begin this more serious Bible study of the 14 New Testament letters written by the Apostle Paul in the second volume of THE LEARN CHRIST COMMENTARIES with a quotation from Revelation, a book written by the Apostle John: yet there is a reason for this to see the complete flow of the Bible, especially as is necessary in only one book, GOD'S BOOK: The Bible is > Pages, Print, and Ideas. Although the primary flow of the Bible is around the theme of "God the Father"; and we will come to that in the later chapters of this book, and primarily in the next chapters, yet even now it is important foundational, and to pick up this primary flow of truth in the Bible--alias the progress in progressive revelation to see several generalizations about the New Testament: (1) Since to the Apostle Paul was committed by Christ the primary responsibility of the Chief Editorship of the New Testament, and Paul saw that near the time of the writing of his last of the 14 books that there was some work remaining to be done, he passed that ministry on to Dr. Luke, John Mark, and the Apostle John; and (2) The book of Revelation, of the Apostle John and of the last five books of the New Testament and Bible, is the transitional book between the 14 letters of Paul and the Gospel of John with the little epistles, it being the time and the book of the time at which John was forced to come out of hiding, and when he received the heaven's visions through the Ascended Christ to wrap up the First Century Christian responsibility of Apostleship in writing the New Pentateuch of the Bible.

How Revelation is Transitional?

Later other and even more important ways will be mentioned how the book of Revelation is transitional between the 14 letters of the Apostle Paul and the last 4 New Testament books by the Apostle John; but for now the point is that Revelation is transitional between the 14 letters by Paul and the last 4 New Testament books in that while Paul established "the spirit of prophecy" in his 14 letters, and John after the writing of the book of Revelation wrote the Gospel of John to reestablish and clarify "The Testimony of Jesus", the book of Revelation transitions between "the spirit of prophecy" and "The Testimony of Jesus", in one phrase and after one verse of Revelation tying the two together:

"And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10 KJV)

The book of Revelation was designed by the Apostle John, and God and the Ascended Christ through the Apostle John, to keep much truth hidden from the casual reader of the book: (1) Words like the dragon for Satan and "beast" for the Roman Emperors were used to keep Roman leaders from understanding the predictions of their destruction to minimize the increased persecution of First Century and later Christians (remember that Revelation was written near the end of the First Century, approximately 94 A.D., and Rome did not fall as far as the Western half until 453 A.D.; (2) Other words, visions, and phrases were designed to keep the Jew who though possessors of the Old Testament prophecies on which much of Revelation is based, from understanding those same messages of ultimate destruction since the Jews would gladly deliver Christians to Rome as a scapegoat for any persecutions of themselves, even as they earlier had done for Christ Himself; and (3) There is even a deeper hidden meaning against superficial Christians who, getting past the first two hidden levels, and yet bogging down in certain secondary priorities of the book of Revelation like Armageddon, 666, the beast and dragon, and one thousand years, still miss the primary hidden meaning of the book. If one goes into the book of Revelation independent of the primary flow of the Bible, and with forgetting the primary themes of the Bible as (1) The LORDSHIP of God the Father, (2) The Lordship of Jesus Christ, (3) One Day of the LORD and Lord, and (4) The Democratic Nature of prophecy of the New Testament that started with the Ascension of Christ, then they also fail to see in the book of Revelation the contributions of that book to the main themes, amassing more words, sermons, and teachings on the first two levels of hidden meaning.

"The Testimony of Jesus"

Although this "testimony of Jesus" in the Gospel of John, written after the book of Revelation is more the subject of later chapters, it should be stated briefly here to see further how the book of Revelation is a transitional book between the 14 letters of the Apostle Paul and the last four New Testament books. This can be done briefly with just one word, the word "Word" that is given to the Apostle John in the book of Revelation as an introductory word for the Gospel of John-.-

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God." (Revelation 19:11-13)

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)

Here therefore is the way the Bible flows in progressive revelation:

( I.) "the spirit of prophecy" in the 14 letters by the Apostle Paul; (II.) Introduction of "the testimony of Jesus" as the same as the "spirit of prophecy" in the book of Revelation with the two even more important themes of God and the Word; and (III.) The Testimony of Jesus in the Gospel of John and the little epistles.

"The spirit of prophecy"

Having said all this, we are can outline the 14 letters of the Apostle Paul under the subject of "The spirit of prophecy" while noting that both "spirit" and "prophecy" are spelled with little letters, "spirit" with little "s" to denote the human and Christian spirit rather than the Spirit of God that spelled with capital "S", and the little "p" to distinguish democratic prophets of the New Testament, and to distinguish them as I do from the Old Testament Prophets spelled with a capital "P". The Apostle Paul while he is summarizing in the book of Ephesians the first nine letters--Hebrews, Romans, Galatians, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Corinthians, Titus, and I Timothy--also summarizes and firmly establishes this democratic nature of New Testament "prophecy" by identifying the "prophets" of the New Testament as a gift from the Ascended Christ with "pastors, teachers, evangelists, and apostles"-with-

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men . . .And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers . . ." (Ephesians 4:7-11)

While it is not possible to labor the point now that this is a quotation from the Old Testament (Psalms 68:18 and part of ONE NEW BIBLE shown in "Project List"), we must see that in spite of the quotation in the Old Testament, it is the Ascended Christ that gives the gift of "prophets", making the "prophet" as much an office as apostles and pastors, and clearly all starting in New Testament times after the Ascension of Jesus Christ back to God the Father. Where these Democratic Benefits Started? Clearly where these democratic benefits of salvation and prophecy started was when the Ascended Christ sent the Holy Spirit to take His place on earth-"But this is that was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy . . .And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:16-21 and Joel 2:28-32, also part of ONE NEW BIBLE and "Project

List")

THEREFORE TO DENY BY ACTIONS AND WORDS THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF PROPHESY AND "PROPHETS" IS TANTAMOUNT TO A DENIAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF SALVATION; AND finally IS THE MOST HIDEOUS LIE AND SIN OF ALL WHO WOULD BE FALSE LEADERS AND PRIESTS UNTO GOD IN THE PLACE OF THE "PRIESTHOOD OF BELIEVERS", THE SAME AS THE FALSE SPIRITS AND SEDUCING SPIRITS AND FALSE PROPHETS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT!

1-5: The True Christ.

Lastly in the closing out of this chapter whatever we agree or disagree on "THE Answer", we must agree that the answer must center about the "true Christ" even as about His "true God the Father"; and even as the Apostles and Jesus quoted frequently from the Old Testament, showing this eternal agreement, we also have kept this Bible study centered about the Old in the New and the New in the Old in order to keep centered about the Christ of the Bible. As we make this approach to the Bible, even as the Lord God said to Moses and Stephen quoted from Joshua 5:13-15 in his final defense, we stand on holy ground (Acts &;33). We are approaching the LORD God of the universe and the Lord Jesus Christ whom He has appointed as the heir of all things. As the Hebrew fathers and the religious leaders of Jesus' time and the apostles and first democratic prophets, we can easily also become "stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears" to resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51-53 and Judges 2:7-13). We can have our social and religious context fooled that we are indeed the religious and the leaders of the religious as the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and even priests have others fooled--and the rich! Like the Pharisees who contended contentiously with Jesus about little things like plucking corn and eating on the sabbath day (Matthew 12:1-4 and I Samuel 21:6,16), we can miss seeing Jesus while we focus on our own religious customs and practices. We can disagree like those people about whether "this is the Prophet" and "This is the Christ" (John 7:40-43 and II Samuel 7:12), not even understanding the very basic history of the Bible how it was prophesied that Jesus would come of the seed of David and out of Bethlehem, without getting to Him as our Savior and Lord.

The majority is wrong and always will be wrong; but "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew" (Romans 11:2-4 and I Kings 19:10-18), and as in the days of the Prophet Elijah today He no doubt has His "seven thousand" of each generation that "have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal"--to other gods and the god of this world, Satan. God gives power to His witnesses; and if anyone of the majority of the world harms them they are accumulating for themselves judgment by fire at the Great One Day of the LORD and Lord (Revelation 11:5 and II Kings 1:10,11). Jesus was born by the power of the Almighty and through the work of the Holy Spirit; He did begin his ministry on earth of teaching and preaching the Gospel at age 30, and He was the son on the earthly side of Joseph, though not begotten of Joseph He submitted Himself to Him as His father for thirty years, and the lineage of Joseph went all the way back in the Old Testament history to David, Abraham, and Adam, the first man (Luke 3:23-38 and I Chronicles 1:1,4; 1:24-28; and 1:32).

This Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Prophet Messiah, is also in His body the true and final Temple of God. We can build many houses or churches for the worship of God--and should; but in the final analysis the only Temple or house of God that is of any eternal significance is this Temple of God of the body of Jesus (Acts 7:47-53 and II Chronicles 3:1). (1) Solomon built God a house, but "the most High" God "dwelleth not in temples (or houses or churches) made with hands; (2) As said the Old Testament Prophet and Prophets; (3) For the throne of God is in heaven far beyond all houses and temples, therefore can hardly contain Him; (4) This planet earth is His very footstool not the place where He can be contained with little concepts and consciences; and (5) What house of the mind or worship can you possible build that is big enough to contain the God that reaches from heaven to earth?

1-6: Balance (II Timothy)

In this sixth of 12 New Testament books to be added to Appendix, and in preparation for "the spirit of prophecy" from the Apostle Paul of the next chapter IN VOLUME 3, knowing that Paul would tell his own sons in the faith first of this "spirit", we begin this brief balance on II Timothy with II Timothy 1:6,7--

"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Here I think the King James translators have correctly translated with little spirit instead of capital Spirit since it is the influence of the Spirit on God on our own human and Christian spirits that gives the spirit of non-fear, or confidence, and of love and a sound mind.

1. Like the Apostle Paul who was not ashamed of the Gospel, it being the first half of his Gospel Pride (Romans 1:17) with the second half of God is Faithful in that He will not allow us to be ashamed (Romans 10:11), he also urges all young men to exercise the same Gospel Pride--

"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God" (II Timothy 1:8)

We have already said something of "the testimony of our Lord" or "the testimony of Jesus" and will have more to say about it as a central theme of continuity for this book, indeed for the whole flow of the Bible; and herein we will come to see the relationship of that "testimony" as a balance for life and the Bible.

2. The Testimony of Jesus and the spirit of prophecy as a balance for life.

(1). The Testimony which Jesus Himself started is the testimony of the salvation, purpose, and grace in Christ Jesus of certain to be "called" before the foundation of the earth (II Timothy 1:9)

(2). This Testimony of Jesus became clear--"now made manifest"--with the actual appearance on earth of Jesus (1:10).

(3). The Apostle Paul is a "preacher, apostle, and teacher" of this Testimony (1:11).

(4). With this office comes suffering, and Paul reiterates his own Pride ("I am not ashamed", 1:12) in God and the Gospel.

(5). With the Testimony of Jesus comes the Blessings of Believing-"...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (1:12) Again that Testimony and those Blessings are based on the understanding of the Faithfulness of God!

3. What we are to Do with This Testimony of Jesus and this spirit of Prophecy?

"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard (and for us READ in Paul's epistles as well as in the whole Bible) of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy (Spirit) which dwelleth in us." (II Timothy 1:13,14)

KEEP THE "FORM OF SOUND WORDS" BY: (1). Remembering the enemies who have made themselves enemies of the Apostles and the Bible of the Apostles, 1:15-18, and likewise the friends of both; (2). Being strong in the grace of God, 2:1; (3). Pass the testimony of Jesus on to other men that will also be faithful witnesses, 2:2; (4). Keep the testimony by not becoming entangled in the affairs of this world, 2:3-7--this is balance to life and to the proper "love of life".

"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel..." (II Timothy 2:8 and Genesis 12:1-3) And so we must constantly be reminded of how the Gospel is centered around Jesus Himself, who according to the Old Testament and New Testament came on the earthly side--his earthly genealogy--was from David, Abraham, and etc. as both Luke and Matthew record; and that this Gospel was originally preached to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12:1-3. We receive the "Blessings of Believing" which we will expand further in the next chapters as based on the "Testimony of Jesus" and "the spirit of prophecy", just as Abraham received the promise, through faith, and we are among those as the elect of God chosen from before the foundation of the earth, to receive with Abraham the blessings of the Gospel.

Prophet Messiah in the Old Testament.

Old Testament New Testament

1. Genesis12:1-3 Acts 7:2; Galatians 3:8

2. Exodus 9:16 Romans 9:17

3. Leviticus 4:20 Hebrews9:22

4. Numbers21:8,9 John3:14

5. Deuteronomy18:15-19 Acts(Peter)3:22,23

6. Job42:10 James5:10,11

7. Joshua(5:13-15) Acts 7:33

8. Judges(2:7-13) Acts 7:51-53

9. I Samuel (21:6,16) Matthew(Jesus)12:2,3

10. II Samuel 7:12 John 7:42

11. I Kings 19:10-18 Romans11:2-4

12. II Kings (1:10.11) Revelation 11:5

13. I Chronicles (1:1-4;24-28;32) Luke 3:23-38

(2:1-15) Matthew 1:1-17

14. II Chronicles (3:1) Acts(Stephen) 7:48

15. Psalms 2:1,2 Acts4:24-26

45:6,7 Hebrews1:8

(8:6) I Cor. 15:27,28

16. Proverbs 27:4 James4:5

17. Ecclesiastes(12:1-3) Mark 13:24

18. Song Solomon (1:3) II Cor. 11:2

19. Obadiah (15) Revelation 16:14

20. Jonah (3:1-4) Luke 11:29

21. Joel 2:28-30 Acts(Peter)2:16-21

22. Amos 5:25-27 Acts(Stephen) 7:42

23. Hosea 11:1 Matthew2:15

24. Isaiah 11:1-9 Romans 15:12

27:9 Romans 11:27

42:6,7 Matt(Jesus) 4:14-16

25. Ruth (4:18-22) Luke 3:23-28

26. Ezra (2:2) Matthew 1:12,13

27. Nehemiah 9:15 John(Jesus)6:31

28. Esther (2:12) Hebrews 9:13

29. Micah 6:15 John(Jesus)4:37

30. Nahum (3:4) Revelation 18:23

31. Zephaniah (1:14-16) Luke 21:25f

32. Jeremiah 7:11 Matt.(Jesus) 21:13

33. Lamentations (3:57) James 4:8

34. Habakkuk 2:4 Galatians3:11

35. Daniel 11:31 Matt.(Jesus) 24:15

36. Ezekiel 33:31 Matt.(Jesus) 15:7

37. Haggai 2:6 Hebrews 12:26

38. Zechariah 9:8 Matt.(Jesus) 21:4

39. Malachi 3:1 Matt.(Jesus) 11:10

_________________________________________________________ __

1-7: God, Man, and Marriage.

1. Genesis 1:26,27, Matthew 19:4, and Mark 10:6.

(1). Let US make man in OUR image bespeaks of the plurality of God during the time of creation.

(2). In our image and after our likeness tells of some of the glory of man that during Creation was acquired from God.

(3). The dominion of man over all the other works of Creation tells of the First Commission of man to be a pioneer in the exploration and control of the works of Creation.

(4). The Bible refers to man as male and female so that in marriage male and female becomes a complimenting couple of male and female. That is the way God originally created them; and in marriage that is the way He intends for it to keep going according to Jesus, and absolutely no person is to have any part in the separation of those two which God has joined together.

2. Genesis 2:7,24, I Cor 15:45, Matthew 19:5, I Cor 6:16, and Mark 10:7,8.

(1). From Gen 2:7 we learn that: (a) God created man physically from something that already existed, from the elements of the earth; (b) As far as the actual existence or inward spirit of man that came from God breathing into him the breath of life; and (c) With that spirit of life also man became a living soul.

(2). From Gen 2:24 we learn of the one flesh characteristics of marriage that God still intends and has always intended, that oneness emphasized by Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament.

(3). While Paul in I Cor 15:45 is emphasizing the difference between the first Adam and Christ the second Adam, also the difference between the natural and the spiritual body, the first man from earth and the second from heaven, he also contrasts the living soul and the living spirit.

(4). As a man departs from the household of his mother and father, cleaving to a wife in marriage, the two become in Gods sight as one flesh (Matthew 19:5,6 and Mark 10:7,8).

(5). So serious is this matter of joining with God that the Bible considers when a man has a relationship with a harlot that he becomes one body with her (I Cor 6:16).

3. Genesis 5:1,2, Matthew 19:4, and Mark 10:6.

(1). Genesis 5:1,2 reinforces and builds on previous doctrine as God calls their name, male and female, Adam.

1-8: God and the Gospel.

1. Genesis 12:1-3 and Galatians 3:8.9.

(1). With Gods call to Abram to another land, God gave the everlasting covenant of: (a) From Abram’s seed God would make the great nation of Israel; (b) Through his seed Christ the name of Abram would be great; and (c) Through Abram all the families and nations of the earth would be blessed.

(2). Paul writes in Galatians 3:8,9 that:

a. When God said “In thee shall all nations be blessed” God was preaching the Gospel to Abraham;

b. This all nations meant the Gentiles, or heathen which is the favorite word of the Bible for Gentiles;

c. This Gospel is justification through faith; and

d. All Gentiles and Jews who believe in Christ becomes the seed of Abraham through faith.

2. Genesis 15:5,6, Romans 4:18, and James 2:23.

(1). In Genesis 15:5 God identifies that the seed of Abram will be as numerous as the stars of the sky, and in Genesis 15:6 since Abraham believed God will He said this the belief was counted for righteousness.

(2). In quoting “So shall your seed be” from Genesis in Romans 4:18, Paul emphasizes how Abraham believed in hope against hope that he would indeed be the father of many nations although he had at the time no sons.

(3). The Apostle James in James 2:23 reiterates how the faith of Abraham was counted as righteousness, adding that Abraham was called the friend of God.

3. Genesis 17:5 and Romans 4:17.

(1). As God changes the name of Abram to Abraham, He says “A father of many nations have I made thee”.

(2). Paul tells us in Romans 4:17 that this quote from Genesis 17:5 tells us two things about God Himself:

a. God is a life-giving God; and

b. God is a God that can call into existence what did not previously exist.

1-9: God of the Living, our Father in Heaven.

1. Genesis 18:12-14 and Mark 10:27.

(1). God told Abraham and Sarah that though old and stricken in years they would have a son, and when Sarah laughed God said, Is any thing too hard for the LORD?

(2). Jesus in Mark 10:27, not in the same context but with a paraphrase of the same meaning, talks of salvation as all things are possible with God .

2. Genesis 22:18 and Galatians 3:16.

(1). All nations will be blessed with salvation through the seed of Abraham.

(2). That Seed is singular, the Seed is Christ.

3. Genesis 38:8 and Mark 12:19.

(1). Judah told Oman to raise up children to his brother Er whom God had slain.

(2). When the Sadducees brought up the matter of raising children by a died brothers wife and as to whose wife she would be in the resurrection, Jesus told them that what was important was that God was the God of the living, the God of the living Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Exodus

4. Exodus 3:6 and Luke 20:37.

(1). God told Moses in the call at the burning bush that He was the God of Moses father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

(2). About the dead being raised to life, Jesus quotes Moses and Exodus 3:6 how God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and with the emphasis on God as each time God with repeated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 5. Exodus 9:16 and Romans 9:17.

(1). God has Moses tell Pharaoh that he has been put on the throne of Egypt for two reasons: (a) To demonstrate the power of God in securing the freedom of Israel; and (b) That the name of the living God and the God of the living might be declared over all the earth.

(2). In quoting that in Romans 9:17 and in explaining the meaning in Romans 9:16,18, Paul is telling us of how God is in control of world events; and what is important does not depend on the will of man or the competitiveness of man, but rather on the mercy of God, and that ultimately God will have mercy on whom He alone desires.

6. Exodus 12:46 and John 19:36.

(1). The Passover feast in remembrance of Gods rescue of Israel from Egyptian bondage among other things included that the lamb of the feast should not have a bone of the body broken, a direct quote of which we will see later in Psalms.

(2). When the Apostle John in John 19:36 tells of how at the Crucifixion of Jesus, and since Jesus was already dead contrary to custom, not a bone in His body was broken, John is quoting from both Exodus and Psalms 34:20. (Psalms 34:20 is directly quoted, and the reference from Exodus 12:46 is closer to a paraphrase.)

7. Exodus 16:18 and II Corinthians 8:15.

(1). During God’s supply of manna during the 40 years in the wilderness, those who gathered much had nothing left over and those who gathered little were not hungry so that it was completely by the grace of God and according to the individual needs.

(2). Paul quotes this in II Corinthians to illustrate equality among Christians in the churches, or to illustrate the democratic nature of salvation.