Disclaimer

Disclaimer: I am not a Biblical scholar. All my posts and comments are opinions and thoughts formulated through my current understanding of the Bible. I strive to speak of things that can be validated through Biblical Scriptures, and when I'm merely speculating, I make sure to note it. My views can be flawed, and I thus welcome any constructive perspectives and criticisms!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

081217: Romans 4 & 5 & 6

Romans 4 "Abraham Justified by Faith"
- a good summarization of Romans 1-3 and a brief mentioning of the history of God's people
- "If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteuousness.'"
- "He is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised... and he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."
- "It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless."

Romans 5:1-11 "Peace and Joy"
- "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith ino this grace in which we now stand."
- "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man... while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:12-21 "Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ"
- "Sin is not taken into account when there is no law."
- "For if the many died by the trepass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!"

notes from NIV:
- Adam introduced sin and death into the world; Christ brought righteousness and life.
- Adam stands for humanity's condemnation; Christ stands for the believer's justification.
- Adam by his sin brought universal ruin on the human race; Christ brought universal blessing through one righteous act.
- Death: physical death is the penalty for sin; it is also the symbol of spiritual death--ultimate separation from God

Romans 6:1-14 "Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ" --> the concept of "born again Christian"
- "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
- "Our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."
- "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

081214: God's Radical Intervention

Sermon by Pastor Don Willeman

1 John 4 & 5

theme: what it means to know God

Faith does NOT equal to will power but the power of God within us.

Romans 3:11
"There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God."

Ephesians 2
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that on one can boast."

Love God for God's sake!

Confession of Faith (adapted from Romans 1:1-4)
"The Gospel is what God promised beforehand, through His holy prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures, concerning His Son, He was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness: Jesus, the Anointed King, our Lord."

081130: Knowing What to Pray For

Sermon by Pastor Don Willeman

Colossians 1:3-14
"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

- what urged Paul to pray:
a. faith of Christ
b. love of saints

- Paul prays for the people living the Christian way, for life-style changes

-the knowledge of "His Will"
misconceptions:
a. moralistic: to know the 10 commandments
b. pre-conceived notion of Christian sub-culture
* "2-step Christianity": how to live as a Christian after becoming a Christian (aka Disciple)
* "what does God want me to do," i.e. God would whisper into my ear about what I should do"
truth:
a. His plan/purposes in Christ, thus, is to really understand God/Christ, to understand the Mission
b. Christians should continually seek more knowledge, to continually wonder WHO Jesus is--"to know it in a way that could never be filled"
and thus, to be continually filled with the knowledge of His will


- thus, knowing what to pray for:
Adolation
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplecation (asking/petitioning)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

081123: The Discipline of Thanksgiving

Sermon by Markes Wilson

Hebrew 12:28-29
"Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire."

- Our gratitude is not for something that we can achieve because we worked hard; our gratitude is received for something that no matter how hard we try, we can never achieve.

- It is our natural tendency to be thankless.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

081119: Romans 2 & 3

Romans 2:17-29 "The Jews and the Law"
- The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
- A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

Romans 3:1-8 "God's Faithfulness"
- "What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew...? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God."
- "Someone might argue, 'If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increase his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?'... Their condemnation is deserved."

--> God is righteous and faithful REGARDLESS of human actions.

Romans 3:9-20 "No One Is Righteous"
- "Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.
- "There is no one righteous, not even one;... There is no fear of God before their eyes."
- "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."

Romans 3:21-31 "Righteousness Through Faith"
- "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are jusified freely by his GRACE through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God present him as a sacrifice of atonement, through FAITH IN HIS BLOOD."

--> Righteousness is NOT earned by following the Law. Righteousness is a GIFT by the Grace of God, by Jesus Christ dying for us on the cross, shedding His blood to wash away our sins; the Law is there to SHOW how we all sin. There is NOTHING we can do to ever make us righteous. We are righteous THROUGH Jesus Christ.

- "A man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."
- "There is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith."

081116: Justification by Grace

Sermon by Pastor Don Willeman

Romans 3:9-25
I. meaning of justification
a. to demonstrate or to prove to be just, right, valid
b. to declare something/someone free of blame; to absolve of guilt
c. a court room term whereby a judge declares a person to be righteous and to save the person from the punishment that the person would otherwise deserve

II. justification by grace
Romans 3: 24 "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus..."
thus, to be declared righteous by grace alone, through Faith alone, on account of Christ alone

III. implication of justification by grace
a. opens up a whole new world for us to be good, i.e. to change focus from self-centeredness to centeredness on other things
b. opens up a way to a more genuine fellowship

repentance: "I cannot make myself righteous and need the Grace of God"

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

081109: The Discipline of Speaking the Truth to Our Neighbors

by Pastor Don Willeman

- we are all spiritually bankrupt

I. the need to speak the Truth
- Jesus sends disciples out to speak the Truth, thus as Christians, we all have the calling to speak the Truth --> so that people know about the Truth!!
- Matthew 28:18-20 "The Great Commission"
- Luke 24:45-50

II. the truth we need to speak
- about what God has done to make us possible
- 1 Corinthsians 15:3-12 "The Resurrection of Christ"
"I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God, that was with me."
- The gospel is not about you; it's about what the Messiah has done for you

III. the way/manner we need to speak the Truth
- i.e. WHO we are when we say it

a. via the Church (John 17:20 "Jesus prays for all believers")
- God speaks to us about the Truth via Jesus Christ, thus the Church is our means to speak the Truth about God

b. via ourselves
2 Timothy 2:23-27 "A Workman Approved by God"
to "gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance, lending them to a knowledge of the Truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

- repentance is NOT religious, is NOT pious, is NOT sincere in spirit

Confession of Faith (from the Theological Declaration of Barmen)
We confess that as Jesus Christ is God's assurance of the forgiveness of all our sins, so in the same way and with the same seriousness is he also God's mighty claim upon our whole life. Through him befalls us a joyful deliverance from the godless fetters of this world for a free, grateful service to his creatures. We reject the false doctrine, as though there were areas of our life in which we would not belong to Jesus Christ, but to other lords--areas in which we would not need justification and sanctification through him.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

081105: Romans 1 & 2

Romans 1
- “you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith”
- “The righteous will live by faith”
- “what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them”
- “men are without excuse”

Leviticus 18:19-23 “Unlawful Sexual Relations

Romans 2
- “God’s kindness leads you toward repentance”
- “God will give to each person according to what he has done”
- “God does not show favoritism”
- “It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”

081102: A Place for Truth

Sermon by Jason Achmoody

Ephesians 4:25-5:2
- "Do not give the devil an opportunity"

The church MUST be a place of Truth
- by admonishing each other
- by encouraging each other meaningfully (require good listening with graciousness)
- by singing to each other

To keep silence is to give Satan the opportunity

Message: we as Christians are called to God to speak the truth; there exists an ABSOLUTE TRUTH, revealed to us through God the Father and Jesus Christ

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

081029: Unconditional Faith & Miracles

Daniel 3: “The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace”

Daniel 6: “Daniel in the Den of Lions”

Joshua 5:13-6 “The Fall of Jericho”


Bottom line: Believe in your God. Period.

081026: The Discipline of Daily Communion with God

Sermon by Pastor Don Willeman

Luke 24:44-49 "Jesus Appears to the Disciples"
- experience vs. genuine education
- Spiritual Discipline does not bring about moral righteousness
- Spiritual Discipline contains details of the rules Christians abide by

2 Timothy 3 "Godlesness in the Last Day"

How Christians should carry out personal communion with God:
1. Read the Bible for ourselves
2. Read it under historical and cultural context; mine it for its trans-cultural truth
3. Read it amongst a community
4. Read it in its redemptive context--ask "Where's Jesus?"

There is no such thing as a lone-ranger Christian. All Christians need to be remain in check by other Christians, in the community of Christians.

The Bible is not "just" about morality. It is about Jesus and His sacrifice for His Kingdom.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

081019: The Discipline of Hearing the Gospel

by Pastor Don Willeman

Mark 4:1-20 "The Parable of the Sower"
- Jesus: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
- Jesus: "The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

In this story, there are 4 types of "listeners"--which one are you?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

081015: The Cost of Being a Disciple

Luke 14:25-34 “The Cost of Being a Disciple”
- Jesus: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate (Matthew 10:34-40) his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

John 1:35-50 “Jesus’ First Disciples”
Mark 1:14-20 “The Calling of the First Disciples”
- Men leave everything behind to follow Jesus (leave family and job behind to follow Jesus)

Matthew 8:18-22 “The Cost of Following Jesus”
- Jesus: “Let the dead bury their own dead.”

Acts 7:54-8:1 “The Stoning of Stephen”
- Christians may be punished for their beliefs

John 3:1-22 “Jesus Teaches Nicodemus”
- Jesus: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
- Born again: born first of flesh, born again of spirit (1 Peter 1:22-25)

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no gods before me.”

Matthew 22:34-40 “The Greatest Commandment”
- Jesus: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…”

Matthew 10:34-40
- Jesus: “For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household…”

Summary:
The Cost is death of old self and possibly the loss of family ties, past friends, work…

081012: Christ Our Servant

Christ Redeemer Church (CRC) Sermon by Pastor Don Willeman

Mark 10:32-45

Jesus: "Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Don: Think about it. Just think about it.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

081008: The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:1-7 "Parable of the Lost Sheep"
- there is great rejoice in receiving what has been lost

Luke 15:11-32 "Parable of the Lost Son"
- Father : God
- Older Son : Christians
- Younger Son : non-Christians
- Servants : Angels

Luke 19:1-9 "Zacchaeus the Collector"
- "The Son of Man came to SEEK and to save what was lost."
1. referring back to the "Parable of the Lost Son," Jesus's role would come into play around the time when the younger son was wasting away his wealth and essentially not living "the way"; Jesus would be REACHING OUT (i.e. SEEKING) his lost soul and attempt to save it
2. this story also eludes to how Jesus saves anyone and everyone, regardless of his/her past deeds, which is more clearly stated in James 2:1-13

James 2:1-13 "Favoritism Forbidden"
- God does NOT how favoritism and neither shall man kind
- in the eyes of God, all sins are sins. period. be it murder or petty theft, once a sin has been committed, the person has sinned. and so, in the eyes of God, Christians are Christians. there are no Bad vs. Good vs. Better Christians. those who put their faith in God are Christians. period.

091001: Perry Stone on Demonic Possesions

- places where idology runs amok are often where the most demonic possessions are found

- bondages open doors to spirits (e.g. Act 13)

to be healed by faith:
- Matthew 5 "The Faith of Centurion"
- Mark 5:1-20 "The Healing of a Demon-Possessed Man"
- Luke 9:42 "The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit"
- Mark 16:18 "The Resurrection"
- Matthew 9:18 "A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman"
- Mark 9:29 "The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit"

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

080910: Marriage

Matthew 5:27 "Adultery"
Matthew 5:31 "Divorce"
Matthew 19:9 "Divorce"
Mark 10:10 "Divorce"

Video: Perry Stone's "Jewish Wedding and Its Relation to the Rapture"
- Jewish wedding = pre-Tribulation of the Rapture (Revelation 19:7-8)
- God married Israel; Israel is God's bride : Christ married His Church; the Church is Christ's bride
- Stages of the Jewish Wedding
1. Man asks for Woman's hand; Woman accepts : God proposes to protect Israel; Israel accepts God's proposal (the mutual understanding is then sanctified)
2. Man takes Woman to Father's house, and they draw up a "marrital contract" (i.e. engagement) : the marrital contract between God and Israel can be found in Exodus 19:5; Israel accepts the engagement, thus entering a convenant relationship with God (Exodus 19:7-8, 19:10-11, 19:18; Deuteronomy 33:2)
3. Man and Woman separates; they will not see each again until Man and his father finish preparing a place where the Man and the Woman will live as husband and wife --> only the Father would know specifically when this will be accomplished : Only God, the Father, knows the exact date of the Rapture
4. The preparations are done, and the Man goes to receive his Bride : When God finishes preparing a place for Christians in the Heaven, Christ will come and gather all Christians (i.e. the Rapture)
5. The marriage ceremony is one big party : 7 years of Tribulation is a time of great joy for all Christians who have been received up to Heaven

more on marriage:
1 Corinthians 7
Ephesians 5:22

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

080903: Meaning of the Death of Jesus Christ

bMatthew 26:17
Mark 14:13
The Lord's Supper
- bread is broken = broken body of Jesus
- wine = blood of the new convenant

Exodus 24
The Convenant Confirmed
- God seals agreement with His people with blood

Leviticus 4
Sin Offering
- Blood is used as a Sin Offering to wash away sins

Malachi 1:6-14
Blemished Sacrifices
- only the best (perfect) can be used as sacrifices

Hebrew 9 sums up today's discussion:
1. Since the times of the Old Testament, people have tried to wash away sins with blood in order to make things right with God
2. Blood is important b/c it marks the acceptance of an inheritance, the inheritance of forgiveness (as with a will, its inheritance is legitimized by death, which is symbolized by blood)
3. when Jesus shed His blood for us, His blood washed away our sins once and for all (hence no need for any more animal sacrifices); and with His death, it signifies the start of a new convenant, one whose sins have been completely sanctified with the purest sacrifice of all (Jesus Christ's blood)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

080805: Rapture (II)

order of events:
Rapture --> Tribulation --> Millenium Reign --> Final Judgment (Judgment of Good vs. Bad)

Matthew 25:14-46
The Parable of the Talents
- each person is given a set of abilites
- all will be judged when the master returns
--> this eludes to the reckoning after the tribulation, about the Rewards judgment (occurs some time after the Rapture; specific time frame is unknown)

central message (NIV):
"Being ready for Christ's coming involves more than playing it safe and doing little or nothing."

When does the Rapture occur?
According to the Bible, a series of events will happen in the course of a generation. These events are all prophesied in the Bible (e.g. Israel becoming one Nation, as predicted in Ezekiel 37; the Message of Christianity being heard across all nations). These events are signs for the Christians to know the return of Christ is near, and that they will soon be Raptured.

Revelation 11:3-14
The Two Witnesses
- this section disproves the theory that the Rapture occurs before the end of the Tribulation

Monday, August 4, 2008

080728: Rapture (I)

Rapture (Raptus): the "catching away" of God's people

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The coming of the Lord receives those who died in Christ first, then those who have lived and continue to live in Christ second.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58
- reiterated that the dead gets pulled away to the Lord, followed by those still alive
- those who are still alive, when they are received by Christ, go from being a mortal to an immortal, b/c Jesus Christ conquers Death and washes away sins of believers of Christ, thus able to release Christians from the punishment of the original Sin and give them back immortality.

Matthew 24:37-44
- describes events leading up to the Rapture "as in the days of Noah," i.e. back in Noah's days, corruption was so horrible that God told Noah to gather enough beings to start over (very crudely summarized here; details, please refer to the Bible)
- also confirms that only God knows the date ofthe Rapture, not even Jesus knows

Matthew 25: The Parable of the Ten Virgins
- the wedding banquet is a strong theme throughout the description of the Rapture and what Christians do during Tribulation; it is the concept of the formation of a convenant and the idea of the relationship between a husband and a wife
- the 10 virgins symbolize 10 Christians; 5 were ready for the wedding and 5 were not. this implies that not all Christians will be caught away by the coming of Christ, i.e. only the Christians who remain vigilant and prepared will be received.

Luke 21:29: The Parable of the Fig Tree
- the events that lead up to the Rapture all occur in one generation
- these events are predicted by prophecies throughout the Bible and thus act as signs to let the Christian people know the coming of the Lord is near

Thursday, July 17, 2008

080715: Salvation and Sin

**we started off with what it means to be "saved," to receive salvation, and what is required of us for us to be saved

John 3 (especially 3:16)
- focuses on what it means to have "faith"
- the "Light" = Jesus
- believe in Jesus Christ to be born of water and spirit, to receive eternal life, to not perish in Hell

Romans 8
- re-emphasizes the meaning of "faith," and brings in the concept of the Spirit
- ASK for the Spirit to come into your body; i.e. it is a personal CHOICE to have the Spirit come within oneself; the Spirit will not enter uninvited

Matthew 13:31-33
- The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast illustrate how faith can start off small and seemingly insignificant, but with continued effort to nurture it, faith can grow to something that is monumentally amazing


**we clarified what Sin means

there are 2 major and separate concepts of Sin

1. the "original" sin is the sin that has been passed down from Adam & Eve
- God gave them the one and only rule--"do not eat from this tree"--and yet, they still ate from the tree
- the failure to follow God's rule is a sin
- the punishment for this sin is the loss of immortality and the shelter provided by the Garden of Eve
- hence, humans are now born with a limited amount of time on Earth and have to fight for everything (as opposed to having everything provided for); i.e. humans are born under the burden of this original sin
- to return to God's side, to regain immortality and God's shelter, humans have to shoulder the responsibility of CHOICE (i.e. Adam & Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, and with knowledge, comes the responsibility of choosing between right and wrong); humans thus have to choose to receive Salvation; it shall not be given freely after what Adam & Eve have done--and this is the punishment that humans have to withstand when they come into this world, aka suffering of the Original Sin

every sin committed by humans hereafter is defined as that described in 2.

2. all sins committed by humans (other than Adam & Eve) are basically acts that do not adhere to the Ten Commandments (e.g. Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, etc.)

once sinned, humans cannot return to God's kingdom (because God is flawless, and all that belong to him can only be flawless)

God is very strict about His rules. Any deviation from it is considered having sinned. However, He is lenient in the sense that He understands that it is not possible for humans not to make mistakes, not to be tempted by Lucifer (as Adam & Eve were), and hence, not to sin. And it is this understanding that led Him to send His one and only son, Jesus Christ, to die and bleed for us. Because Jesus Christ was perfect (i.e. having never sinned), his blood was pure and was thus able to wash away all sins belonging to those who CHOOSE to side with Him (i.e. to believe in Him, to believe in God, to shun Lucifer).


**we then talked about the Trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit)

Genesis 1:1
- God is the One and Only. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, one who created all.
- His words are special in the sense that when he speaks, things happen; e.g. He said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

John 1:1
- the Word = Jesus; i.e. Jesus literally embodies God's Word; Jesus is the human shape and form of God's Word

the Holy Spirit is not as well-defined by the Bible, but the idea is that once one receives God as the Father and Jesus as the Messiah, the Holy Spirit will enter one's body in order to protect and to guide the individual


**to sum up, Salvation: if one KNOWS that God is the Father, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that God sent Jesus, His only son, to die and bleed for us in order to wash away our Sin, and if one sincerely invites Jesus in and asks Him for guidance, then one becomes a Christian and receives Salvation.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

080708: Perry Stone on Hell

by Dolphinitefantasy

I'm in charge of last week's notes...there was a lot to write down...but I'll simplify and just do a quick summary!

We watched a "movie" about Hell starring Perry Stone.

The Gist:

1. God did not create Hell for people. God created Hell for Lucifer (= Satan in Hollywood) and other fallen angels.


2. Hebrew and Greek words for "chambers"

a. Sheol - Old Testament Hebrew Word
= hell, grey, pit
= underneath the Earth

b. Hades - Old Testament Hebrew Word
= hell
= unseen world of departed
= King spirit over the underworld (Spirit of destruction & death, Spirit over hell)

c. Gehennah - New Testament Greek Word
= hell
= trash dump of Jerusalem
= Basically used to be a trash dump where people threw all their trashes; there was a continue fire (perpetual fire) burning to burn the trash. The trash dump was very steep--once in it, you couldn't physically climb out.
= A place of trash, smelled, fire, smoke--basically a place where no one wants to go
= Judas, one of the 12 apostles and the one who betrayed Jesus, hung himself near the edge of Gehennah when he realized the sin he had committed could not be undone. (The place was known as Potters Field, where bad potteries were taken and trampled / stamped under horses feet. It was an area of ancient potteries - of potteries that could not be repaired. Judas knew what he has done is "unrepairable", cannot be undone.)

d. Tartarus - New Testament Greek Word
= hell
= pits of darkness
= lowest chamber of Hades for worst spirits and rebels (thus there are different levels in Hades)

e. Abyss - New Testament Greek Word
= bottomless pit, eternal darkness
= deep, where the worst fallen angles are taken and bound
Important: pit, deep, chambers all linked to the sea!!!

We ended with discussion of Adam & Eve and the apple.

Adam & Eve sinned when they did not listen to God and ate the apple. Though they had no knowledge of right and wrong, they still had a freedom of choice. And by choosing to listen to the snake (Lucifer in disguise) instead of trusting God, they had sinned. And now all the descendants of Adam & Eve carry the sin as well. Believing and trusting God will allow you to be forgiven...

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

080701: Hell

by iRobot

We covered (these are the direct verses, read the verses before and after the quoted ones to understand the context):

The Narrow Door: Luke 13:23
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet: Matthew 22

Hell is a translated word for 3 different names in the New Testament:
Gehenna: Matthew 23, 10:28, 5:22-29
Tartarus: 2 Peter 2; related is Jude 4-6
Hades: Luke 16:23 (whole story)

Abraham’s Bosom: Luke 16:23 (whole story)

Welcome!

"Aletheia" is the Greek word for the absolute Truth and/or all Truth pertaining to God.

Speaking for myself, religion has never been the focus of my interest in Christianity. I have always had the intense desire to find the Truth--still do--whatever that may be. In science, in life, in anything and everything, there is always an absolute Truth to be found. And it is this passion that has led me to Christianity.

With this in mind, I thus chose to name the blog "Aletheia Seekers," dedicated to those who are in search of the Truth. It is not a religious whim. It is the stubborn determination to think logically and to critique analytically the evidence we have accumulated today in order to unearth the Truth.

And with that, let our search begin!