How are we to reckon ourselves as being dead to sin?
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By reading this it is very clear Allah is NOT the God of Scriptures @Jim B
Brother, just because they-Perushim and Tzedukim, Sanhedrin and "religious leaders" rejected the Messiah-does not mean the remnant believe in YHVH and Yeshua
WHAT IF THE ACTUAL REASON WHY THE RABBIS REJECTED JESUS IS BEING HIDDEN FROM YOU?
What if Jesus is the best kept secret in Judaism, hidden on purpose from all of us?
We all are witnesses of the exclusiveness that the Rabbis created for themselves in their tradition. But this is not something new. It was like that already 2000 years ago.
Jesus was the only one who dared to stand up against the religious oppression by breaking down the walls that rabbinical tradition had put up. Jesus opened the door to God for everyone: for the simple ones and even for the Gentiles. And so today, thanks to Jesus, millions of Gentiles from all over the world, from different cultures and countries, believe in the God of Israel and find a future, hope, comfort, joy and everlasting life in the very same Jew who lived here, in Israel, 2000 years ago. (We dedicated another video to the fact that the Rabbis depict Jesus as a sorcerer who led Israel into idolatry that you can watch here.)
NOW WE WOULD LIKE TO REVEAL THE ACTUAL REASON WHY JESUS WAS REJECTED BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF HIS TIME.
Contrary to the rabbinical explanation and according to the descriptions in the New Testament gospels, the actual reason why the Pharisees rejected Jesus as Messiah lies in the fact that the religious leaders of his time were corrupt.
All they cared about was control, power and to make money at the expense of the people. Jesus threatened the exclusiveness of the sect which they had created. They knew that if the people of Israel accepted and followed Jesus, they’d lose their power, their influence, their control, their honored position and of course, their source of income.
But how can we know who was right?
It’s actually not that hard at all. First, let’s go 2000 years back in time. While the religious leaders at Jesus’ time, the Rabbis, were busy coming up with legalistic traditions and rules, isolating their people from the world and defying the Gentiles, Jesus on the other hand, talked about grace, modesty, compassion and love. While the Rabbis were busy with oppressing and intimidating the people making them view God as some kind of moral monster who only wants to punish, Jesus talked openly about the fact that all need the love and forgiveness of God.
Forgiveness that is based on God’s grace and compassion, not on our own human attempts to impress him with all kinds of ceremonies and habits.
Where others threw stones, Jesus forgave.
While others blamed the poor for their own suffering, Jesus had fellowship with the outcasts, willingly listened to their troubles, healed the lepers and ate with the families of the rejected ones.
Where others only saw prostitutes, tax collectors and worthless fishermen, Jesus saw a group of people with the potential to change the world.
Like every religion, the religion of the rabbinical tradition tries to develop the idea that God cares only about the members of their sect and hates the rest of the world.
They wanted to make all of Israel believe that God cares only about Jews. In fact, the Rabbis have been claiming for 2000 years that only the Jews are important and that God doesn’t care about Gentiles, that they are not important and that their purpose lies in serving us, the Jews.
Jesus stood up against the claim that there is a group of people who are better or more important in God’s eyes than other people. No matter if they’re Rabbis or Popes, Jesus and the NT calls them to love, grace and compassion, mercy and peace among people. This threatened the intimidation and the oppression imposed by the rabbinical tradition.
AND WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you offended by Jesus’ sayings?
Like this one:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God… Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew Chap. 5, NT)
Or how about this request of the NT:
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…” (Epistle to the Ephesians, Chap. 4, NT)
Does that really sound bad?
The untold reason why Jewish people do not believe Jesus is the Messiah! - ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry
What if the actual reason why the Rabbis rejected Jesus is being hidden from you? What if Jesus is the best kept secret in Judaism, hidden on purpose from all of us? We all are witnesses of the exclusiveness that the Rabbis created for themselves in their tradition. But this is not something...
www.oneforisrael.org
Is Blood Necessary for Atonement of Sins?
Our ministry, ONE FOR ISRAEL, is a movement of Jewish and Arab Israeli followers of Jesus with a commission to reach their country and the nations with the Gospel. We see our call to equip believers in Israel and around the world with the tools of ministry through our media outreach, and to...
www.oneforisrael.org
BLOOD ATONEMENT IN THE BIBLE
On the eve of the Exodus from Egypt, it was the blood of an innocent Passover lamb, that was smeared on the doorposts and lintels that served as a sign for the angel of death. As it is written in Exodus 12:13: “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”
In Exodus 24, when God made the covenant on Mt. Sinai with the People of Israel, the People of Israel went through purification by blood, and God’s covenant with the People was made with blood: “And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.’” (Ex. 24:6-8)
Onkelos translation, the most important translation of the Pentateuch to Aramaic, which was used in the synagogues during the first centuries after Jesus, included the word “atonement” to Exodus 24:8: “And Moses took the blood and threw it on the altar for atonement for the People.”
In Exodus 30, the Day of Atonement is mentioned for the very first time in the Pentateuch: “Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.” (Ex. 30:10)
Did you notice? This verse, which mentions the Day of Atonement for the first time, doesn’t mention anything in regards to prayer, to good deeds, to fasting or to charity. There is no doubt that these things are important and essential, but the Pentateuch only speaks about blood. Why? Because the atonement ceremonies, are strongly linked to blood. If we take away the blood, there is no sacrifice, no atonement, no forgiveness of sins.
JEWISH SAGES ACKNOWLEDGED THE IMPORTANCE OF BLOOD FOR ATONEMENT
In Leviticus 16, God explains to Moses how the sins of the People of Israel will be forgiven, by taking the blood which was offered at the altar, and sprinkling it on the Mercy Seat as atonement for the iniquities and sins of the People of Israel. Even the Sages recognized this.
Yalkut Shimoni says on Exodus 29: “There is no atonement but in the blood.”
In tractate Yoma 5a it says: “And he shall lay his hand… and it shall be accepted for him. Does the laying on of the hand make atonement for one? Does not atonement come through the blood?”
Rashi himself said: “There is no atonement without blood.”
The Sages also recognized this principle and repeated it in Zevachim 6; Minchot 93; Sifra 4, and more. And yet, Rabbi Asor calls what God defined in the Pentateuch as the only way to receive atonement and forgiveness over sins as paganism and idolatry.
WHY IS BLOOD SACRIFICE ESSENTIAL?
The Book of Leviticus, the book which is dedicated in detail to the sacrifices and atonement for sins, talks about atonement 49 times! Each time, the context is always the blood sacrifices. Why blood is so important to God?
In Leviticus 17:10, God commands not to eat blood, and in the next verse, He explains why the blood is so important: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” (Lev. 17:11)
According to Leviticus 5, even the poor, who had no money to buy an animal and sacrifice it, needed to bring fine flour to the high priest, and what did the high priest absorb the flour in? In the blood on the altar, and then sacrificed it. So what will happen if a rabbi comes and claims that the blood sacrifice is only one of the ways for forgiveness of sins, but not the only way?
Let’s quote again the words of Rabbi Asor: “There are various methods to obtain forgiveness of sins, like repentance, prayer and charity… Sacrifice offerings is the less preferred way.” Rabbi Asor contradicts himself, as he claimed at first that this is a pagan idolatry custom, but now, he is compromising by saying that it is possible to obtain forgiveness of sins through the offering of a sacrifice but that God is not really interested in that. The answer to this is simple, this is a modern excuse in order to hide the need for Jesus from us, the Messiah who’s blood was shed as a sacrifice for our sins.
The Jewish researcher, Professor Geza Vermes wrote: “According to Jewish theology, there can be no expiation without the shedding of blood.”
Also Professor Bruch Levin, in his commentary on Leviticus wrote: “Expiation by means of sacrificial blood-rites is a prerequisite for securing God’s forgiveness. As the rabbis expressed it, there is no ritual expiation except by means of blood.”
To conclude, Rabbi Asor and those like him, will prefer to contradict the Sages and even the Law of Moses, only so they won’t have to deal with God’s demand of blood for forgiveness of sins, and with the fact that Jesus the Messiah, He is the One who provided for this need. Jesus is not only the Priest who offers a sacrifice for us, but He in Himself, is the High Priest, who shed His blood as a sacrifice for our sins, once and for all.
Isa_30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Big difference between hating and reproving and correcting-some have departed from the Derech--
Set thee up tziyyunim (roadmarks, road signs), make thee tamurim (guideposts); set thine lev upon the highway, even the derech thou art now walking; turn back, O Betulat Yisroel, turn back to these thy towns.
For if, having escaped the tumot (defilements) of Olam Hazeh by da'as of Adoneinu and Moshieinu Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua, they are again entangled in these, then their last state is worse for them than their first.
. There is an extended list of characteristics of the false teachers
1. secretly introducing destructive heresies (2 Pet. 2:1)
2. denying the Master (2 Pet. 2:1)
3. following sensuality (2 Pet. 2:2)
4. being greedy (2 Pet. 2:3)
5. despising authority (2 Pet. 2:10)
6. acting like animals (2 Pet. 2:12)
7. seeking pleasure (2 Pet. 2:13)
8. subverting the Christian love feasts (2 Pet. 2:13)
9. causing weak believers to sin (2 Pet. 2:14)
10. promising freedom, but they are slaves (2 Pet. 2:19).
This section parallels the book of Jude. There has been literary borrowing, but it is not obvious who borrowed from whom. It is possible Jude is alluding to Peter's prophecy because after his death, it has come true (NET Bible).
B. These false teachers seem to be antinomian, incipient Gnostics with a highly developed angelology (which may reflect a Persian influence; cf. 1 Tim. 6:3-5). All of the OT accounts mentioned involve angels in some way.
C. Peter pulls from the common knowledge of his day (OT accounts; I Enoch; pagan sources).
D. The Bible is very ambiguous as to the origin, the fall and the activities of the angelic world. Don't let your curiosity go beyond God-given information (i.e., modern novels).
The false teachers blasphemed the glory of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, by disparaging the Creator and Redeemer, and by ascribing the work of the Divine Sanctifier to their own magical arts, and by calumniating the prophecies of Holy Scripture, given by His inspiration.
4. They denied the resurrection of the flesh, and thus they derogated from the future glories of Christ, when He “will come in His glory (Mat_25:31) and in the glory of His Father” (Mat_16:27), and when “He will be glorified in His saints” (2Th_1:10); and in “their glorious bodies, fashioned to be like unto His glorious body,” Php_3:21. See 1Pe_1:11, the only other passage in N. T., beside Judges 8, where δὸξα is found in the Plural, as here.
5. They spake evil of the glory of the holy angels. The Simonians represented them as the offspring of Simon Magus, who “was glorified by many as God.” See Catena here, p. 93, where it is truly said, “Peter here refers to the Simonians, who blended licentiousness with ungodliness,” and they traduced the holy angels as rebels against God; See Iren., I., 23, 1. And the successor of Simon Magus, Menander, called himself the Saviour, and affirmed that he could impart knowledge greater than that of the angels, Iren., I., 23, 5.
6. They spake evil of earthly dignities, which are images and glories of God’s majesty (Rom_13:1-3), and are even called gods (Psa_82:6), as man himself is, in his headship over woman, 1Co_11:7.
7. They spake evil of the glories of the natural world (1Co_15:40), ascribing their creation to the operation of the Demiurge, hostile to the Supreme God.—M.]
Dietlein applies it both to the Divine dignity of Christ and to the angels, and afterwards adds that even Satan is included among the glories that are evil spoken of. Stier, with most modern commentators, explains: “The angels, although greater in strength and might, do not pass before the Lord a railing sentence on the majesties; they know and perhaps announce the judgment, but leave it in humility to the one Lord, aware that they, as well as the evil powers, are before His face; any other word of self-willed abuse appears to them as a railing of those who are as yet spared the executive judgment, and really as a railing of the power and long-suffering of God, and therefore they abstain therefrom.” He agrees with Gerlach, who says: “Even if the Lord in His own presence charges them with the execution of the (preliminary) sentence on such high (evil) spirits, they do not utter it in the form of self-willed railing.” But this interpretation is not without grave objections. 1 Δόξαι are made to denote angelic and demoniac powers; since, according to this view, κατ’ αὐτῶν is referred to evil spirits, logical consistency requires that δόξας also be referred to them. But is it probable that these are called δόξαι, glories? This reminds one of lucus a non lucendo. The railing is to consist in saying that they are only phantoms and superstitious ideas. This would be denial, not railing. 2. The reference in 2Pe_2:4, with which our passage is connected, being to evil angels, it would be very surprising to have in 2Pe_2:11 an abrupt reference to good angels. The qualifying μείζονες applies much better to evil angels than to good ones, to whom it belongs as a matter of course, and its application to them would be rather weak. Moreover, ἄγγελοι here answer to the τολμηταί of the preceding verse, and we have, therefore, to assume a similar disposition in these. 3. φέρειν κρίσιν, 2Pe_2:11, is said to mean “to pass a sentence”; but it will be difficult to verify this rendering, although ἐπιφέρειν is used in the Epistle of Judges , 4. But would that be a railing judgment, a railing decision in the same sense, in which the false teachers pass it, if the good angels were to give a true, although a harsh judgment of the evil angels? For βλασφημεῖν means to defame one, to speak evil of one, contrary to the truth. 5. Οὐ φέρουσι is evidently related to οὐ τρέμουσι, and this relation would be entirely effaced if φέρειν were rendered to pass (judgment). These reasons could be overlooked only because it was thought necessary to expound this passage by the parallel passage in Jude. But this changes the true point of view. We must endeavour to explain our passage independently of that in Jude, and this leads to the result that the angels are evil angels, that φέρειν means to bear (Luther), and βλάσφημου κρίσιν=βλασφημίας κρίσιν, cf. Judges 9, the judgment on their railing at God. The sense is as follows: “The wrath of God and the judgment which God passes on them in judgment of their railing, are unbearable to the evil angels, who have stronger shoulders than those false teachers, how much more then ought these to tremble at blaspheming the angelic majesties, cf. 2Pe_2:4.” It is not known to us what those blasphemings were.
Who are "they?"
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world,.... The sins of it, the governing vices of it, which the men of the world are addicted to, and immersed in; for the whole world lies in wickedness, and which are of a defiling nature: the phrase is Rabbinical; it is said (q),
"he that studies not in the law in this world, but is defiled בטנופי עלמא, "with the pollutions of the world", what is written of him? and they took him, and cast him without:''
these, men may escape, abstain from, and outwardly reform, with respect unto, and yet be destitute of the grace of God; so that this can be no instance of the final and total apostasy of real saints; for the house may be swept and garnished with an external reformation; persons may be outwardly righteous before men, have a form of godliness and a name to live, and yet be dead in trespasses and sins; all which they may have
through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, our Lord, and the latter leave out, "and Saviour"; by which "knowledge" is meant, not a spiritual experimental knowledge of Christ, for that is eternal life, the beginning, pledge, and earnest of it; but a notional knowledge of Christ, or a profession of knowledge of him, for it may be rendered "acknowledgment"; or rather the Gospel of Christ, which, being only notionally received, may have such an effect on men, as outwardly to reform their lives, at least in some instances, and for a while, in whose hearts it has no place. Now if, after all this knowledge and reformation,
they are again entangled therein; in the pollutions of the world, in worldly lusts, which are as gins, pits and snares:
and overcome; by them, so as to be laden with them, and led away, and entirely governed and influenced by them:
the latter end, or state,
is worse with them than the beginning; see Mat_12:45. Their beginning, or first estate, was that in which they were born, a state of darkness, ignorance, and sin, and in which they were brought up, and was either the state of Judaism, or of Gentilism; their next estate was an outward deliverance and escape from the error of the one, or of the other, and an embracing and professing the truth of the Christian religion, joined with a becoming external conversation; and this their last estate was an apostasy from the truth of the Gospel they had professed, a reception of error and heresy, and a relapse into sin and immorality, which made their case worse than it was at first; for, generally, such persons are more extravagant in sinning; are like raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; and are seldom, or ever, recovered; and by their light, knowledge, and profession, their punishment will be more aggravated, and become intolerable.
(q) Zohar in Gen. fol. 104. 3. Vid. Bechinot Olam, p. 178.
Gill.
Who are "they?"
"he that studies not in the law in this world, but is defiled בטנופי עלמא, "with the pollutions of the world", what is written of him? and they took him, and cast him without:''
these, men may escape, abstain from, and outwardly reform, with respect unto, and yet be destitute of the grace of God; so that this can be no instance of the final and total apostasy of real saints; for the house may be swept and garnished with an external reformation; persons may be outwardly righteous before men, have a form of godliness and a name to live, and yet be dead in trespasses and sins; all which they may have
through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, our Lord, and the latter leave out, "and Saviour"; by which "knowledge" is meant, not a spiritual experimental knowledge of Christ, for that is eternal life, the beginning, pledge, and earnest of it; but a notional knowledge of Christ, or a profession of knowledge of him, for it may be rendered "acknowledgment"; or rather the Gospel of Christ, which, being only notionally received, may have such an effect on men, as outwardly to reform their lives, at least in some instances, and for a while, in whose hearts it has no place. Now if, after all this knowledge and reformation,
they are again entangled therein; in the pollutions of the world, in worldly lusts, which are as gins, pits and snares:
and overcome; by them, so as to be laden with them, and led away, and entirely governed and influenced by them:
the latter end, or state,
is worse with them than the beginning; see Mat_12:45. Their beginning, or first estate, was that in which they were born, a state of darkness, ignorance, and sin, and in which they were brought up, and was either the state of Judaism, or of Gentilism; their next estate was an outward deliverance and escape from the error of the one, or of the other, and an embracing and professing the truth of the Christian religion, joined with a becoming external conversation; and this their last estate was an apostasy from the truth of the Gospel they had professed, a reception of error and heresy, and a relapse into sin and immorality, which made their case worse than it was at first; for, generally, such persons are more extravagant in sinning; are like raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; and are seldom, or ever, recovered; and by their light, knowledge, and profession, their punishment will be more aggravated, and become intolerable.
(q) Zohar in Gen. fol. 104. 3. Vid. Bechinot Olam, p. 178.
Gill.
Who are "they?"
Waiting on him
Well-Known Member
That there should arise false prophets within the Church was something only to be expected, for in every generation false prophets had been responsible for leading God’s people astray and for bringing disaster on the nation. It is worth while looking at the false prophets in the Old Testament story for their characteristics were recurring in the time of Peter and are still recurring today.
(i) The false prophets were more interested in gaining popularity than in telling the truth. Their policy was to tell people what they wanted to hear. The false prophets said, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace" (Jer_6:14).
They saw visions of peace, when the Lord God was saying that there was no peace (Eze_13:16).
In the days of Jehosaphat, Zedekiah, the false prophet, donned his horns of iron and said that Israel would push the Syrians out of the way as he pushed with these horns; Micaiah the true prophet foretold disaster if Jehosaphat went to war. Of course, Zedekiah was popular and his message was accepted; but Jehosaphat went forth to war with the Syrians and perished tragically (1Ki_22:1-53 ).
In the days of Jeremiah, Hananiah prophesied the swift end of the power of Babylon, while Jeremiah prophesied the servitude of the nation to her; and again the prophet who told people what they wished to hear was the popular one (Jer_28:1-17 ).
Diogenes, the great cynic philosopher, spoke of the false teachers of his day whose method was to follow wherever the applause of the crowd led. One of the first characteristics of the false prophet is that he tells men what they want to hear and not the truth they need to hear.
(ii) The false prophets were interested in personal gain. As Micah said, "Its priests teach for hire, and its prophets divine for money" (Mic_3:11). They teach for filthy lucre’s sake (Tit_1:11), and they identify godliness and gain, making their religion a money-making thing (1Ti_6:5).
We can see these exploiters at work in the early church. In The Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, which is what might be called the first service-order book, it is laid down that a prophet who asks for money or for a table to be spread in front of him, is a false prophet.
"Traffickers in Christ," the Didache (compare G1322) calls such men (The Didache 11). The false prophet is a covetous creature who regards men as dupes to be exploited for his own ends.
(iii) The false prophets were dissolute in their personal life. Isaiah writes: "The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink; they are confused with wine" (Isa_28:7).
Jeremiah says, "In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing; they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evil-doers.... They lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness" (Jer_23:14; Jer_23:32).
The false prophet in himself is a seduction to evil rather than an attraction to good.
(iv) The false prophet was above all a man who led other men further away from God instead of closer to him. The prophet who invites the people: "Let us go after other gods," must be mercilessly destroyed (Deu_13:1-5; Deu_18:20). The false prophet takes men in the wrong direction.
These were the characteristics of the false prophets in the ancient days and in Peter’s time; and they are their characteristics still.
In this verse Peter has certain things to say about these false prophets and their actions.
(i) They insidiously introduce destructive heresies.
The Greek for heresy is hairesis (G139). It comes from the verb haireisthai (compare G140), which means to choose; and originally it was a perfectly honourable word. It simply meant a line of belief and action which a man had chosen for himself. In the New Testament we read of the hairesis (G139) of the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Nazarenes (Act_5:17; Act_15:5; Act_24:5).
It was perfectly possible to speak of the hairesis (G139) of Plato and to mean nothing more than those who were Platonist in their thought. It was perfectly possible to speak of a group of doctors who practised a certain method of treatment as a hairesis (G139). But very soon in the Christian Church hairesis (G139) changed its complexion. In Paul’s thought heresies and schisms go together as things to be condemned (1Co_11:18-19); haireseis (G139) (the plural form of the word) are part of the works of the flesh; a man that is a heretic is to be warned and even given a second chance, and then rejected (Tit_3:10).
Why the change? The point is that before the coming of Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life, there was no such thing as definite, God-given truth. A man was presented with a number of alternatives any one of which he was perfectly free to choose to believe.
But with the coming of Jesus, God’s truth came to men and they had either to accept or to reject it. A heretic then became a man who believed what he wished to believe instead of accepting the truth of God which he ought to believe.
What was happening in the case of Peter’s people was that certain self-styled prophets were insidiously persuading men to believe the things they wished to be true rather than the things which God had revealed to be true. They did not set themselves up as opponents of Christianity. Far from it. They set themselves up as the finest fruits of Christian thinking; and so it was gradually and subtly that people were being lured away from God’s truth to other men’s private opinions, which is what heresy is.
(ii) These men denied the Lord who had bought them. This idea of Christ buying men for himself is one which runs through the whole New Testament. It comes from his own word that he had come to give his life a ransom for many (Mar_10:45). The idea was that men were slaves to sin and Jesus purchased them at the cost of his life for himself, and, therefore, for freedom. "You were bought with a price," says Paul (1Co_7:23). "Christ redeemed us (bought us out) from the curse of the law" (Gal_3:13). In the new song in the Revelation the hosts of heaven tell how Jesus Christ bought them with his blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation (Rev_5:9). This clearly means two things. It means that the Christian by right of purchase belongs absolutely to Christ; and it means that a life which cost so much cannot be squandered on sin or on cheap things.
Who are "they?"
(i) The false prophets were more interested in gaining popularity than in telling the truth. Their policy was to tell people what they wanted to hear. The false prophets said, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace" (Jer_6:14).
They saw visions of peace, when the Lord God was saying that there was no peace (Eze_13:16).
In the days of Jehosaphat, Zedekiah, the false prophet, donned his horns of iron and said that Israel would push the Syrians out of the way as he pushed with these horns; Micaiah the true prophet foretold disaster if Jehosaphat went to war. Of course, Zedekiah was popular and his message was accepted; but Jehosaphat went forth to war with the Syrians and perished tragically (1Ki_22:1-53 ).
In the days of Jeremiah, Hananiah prophesied the swift end of the power of Babylon, while Jeremiah prophesied the servitude of the nation to her; and again the prophet who told people what they wished to hear was the popular one (Jer_28:1-17 ).
Diogenes, the great cynic philosopher, spoke of the false teachers of his day whose method was to follow wherever the applause of the crowd led. One of the first characteristics of the false prophet is that he tells men what they want to hear and not the truth they need to hear.
(ii) The false prophets were interested in personal gain. As Micah said, "Its priests teach for hire, and its prophets divine for money" (Mic_3:11). They teach for filthy lucre’s sake (Tit_1:11), and they identify godliness and gain, making their religion a money-making thing (1Ti_6:5).
We can see these exploiters at work in the early church. In The Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, which is what might be called the first service-order book, it is laid down that a prophet who asks for money or for a table to be spread in front of him, is a false prophet.
"Traffickers in Christ," the Didache (compare G1322) calls such men (The Didache 11). The false prophet is a covetous creature who regards men as dupes to be exploited for his own ends.
(iii) The false prophets were dissolute in their personal life. Isaiah writes: "The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink; they are confused with wine" (Isa_28:7).
Jeremiah says, "In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing; they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evil-doers.... They lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness" (Jer_23:14; Jer_23:32).
The false prophet in himself is a seduction to evil rather than an attraction to good.
(iv) The false prophet was above all a man who led other men further away from God instead of closer to him. The prophet who invites the people: "Let us go after other gods," must be mercilessly destroyed (Deu_13:1-5; Deu_18:20). The false prophet takes men in the wrong direction.
These were the characteristics of the false prophets in the ancient days and in Peter’s time; and they are their characteristics still.
In this verse Peter has certain things to say about these false prophets and their actions.
(i) They insidiously introduce destructive heresies.
The Greek for heresy is hairesis (G139). It comes from the verb haireisthai (compare G140), which means to choose; and originally it was a perfectly honourable word. It simply meant a line of belief and action which a man had chosen for himself. In the New Testament we read of the hairesis (G139) of the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Nazarenes (Act_5:17; Act_15:5; Act_24:5).
It was perfectly possible to speak of the hairesis (G139) of Plato and to mean nothing more than those who were Platonist in their thought. It was perfectly possible to speak of a group of doctors who practised a certain method of treatment as a hairesis (G139). But very soon in the Christian Church hairesis (G139) changed its complexion. In Paul’s thought heresies and schisms go together as things to be condemned (1Co_11:18-19); haireseis (G139) (the plural form of the word) are part of the works of the flesh; a man that is a heretic is to be warned and even given a second chance, and then rejected (Tit_3:10).
Why the change? The point is that before the coming of Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life, there was no such thing as definite, God-given truth. A man was presented with a number of alternatives any one of which he was perfectly free to choose to believe.
But with the coming of Jesus, God’s truth came to men and they had either to accept or to reject it. A heretic then became a man who believed what he wished to believe instead of accepting the truth of God which he ought to believe.
What was happening in the case of Peter’s people was that certain self-styled prophets were insidiously persuading men to believe the things they wished to be true rather than the things which God had revealed to be true. They did not set themselves up as opponents of Christianity. Far from it. They set themselves up as the finest fruits of Christian thinking; and so it was gradually and subtly that people were being lured away from God’s truth to other men’s private opinions, which is what heresy is.
(ii) These men denied the Lord who had bought them. This idea of Christ buying men for himself is one which runs through the whole New Testament. It comes from his own word that he had come to give his life a ransom for many (Mar_10:45). The idea was that men were slaves to sin and Jesus purchased them at the cost of his life for himself, and, therefore, for freedom. "You were bought with a price," says Paul (1Co_7:23). "Christ redeemed us (bought us out) from the curse of the law" (Gal_3:13). In the new song in the Revelation the hosts of heaven tell how Jesus Christ bought them with his blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation (Rev_5:9). This clearly means two things. It means that the Christian by right of purchase belongs absolutely to Christ; and it means that a life which cost so much cannot be squandered on sin or on cheap things.
Who are "they?"
CadyandZoe
Well-Known Member
Yes, I understand the theory you describe. I recall a time when Zoe and I were in the car at the McDonalds drive thru. It was a busy morning that morning and the cars were coming to the line from opposite directions. Zoe decided to allow another car to go ahead of us, inviting the other car to enter the line. (Zoe is kind that way.) Eventually, we arrived at the menu board and ordered our food. But when we arrived at the payment window, we discovered that the woman Zoe let into the line paid for our breakfast. Wow, we thought. What an amazing gift.
This story is like the substitutionary atonement model. Just as someone else in line paid for our breakfast; Jesus paid for our sins. Just as our payment obligation was covered by the woman ahead of us; our moral obligation to justice was covered by Jesus Christ. But in what sense did McDonald's forgive our debt? McDonalds still got paid. Compensation for our breakfast changed hands at the window, even if not by us. Even so, in what sense was our obligation forgiven? Did McDonalds cancel our debt? No.
What does it mean that our sins are forgiven? It's important to slow down and consider that sins are not literally forgiven. People are forgiven. That is, people are released from punishment and condemnation in light of the sins that they have committed. To forgive a man is to release him from punishment. The man is pardoned; He is freed from condemnation.
Consider Romans 8:1-2
Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
The correct theory of the atonement must take that statement into account. In what sense does the "Substitutionary Atonement Theory" account for the fact that we have been released from the law of sin and death? Doesn't the "Substitutionary Atonement Theory" presume that the law of sin and death is still in effect? Why pay for my sins if I have been released from the law of sin and death? Isn't Paul suggesting another way of looking at the atonement? Isn't Paul describing a change of law instead? It was a new law, a law of the Spirit of life that freed me from the law of sin and death. Payment for sins is no longer necessary because we are no longer under that system.
Right?
Good question. Why did Jesus have to die? Apparently, Jesus was moving us from one system to another. He took us from the system of "sin and death" to a new system of "the Spirit of life." And in order to demonstrate this, he volunteered to suffer the injustice of the former system in order to inaugurate the new system of resurrection and eternal life. Because Jesus obeyed the Father, even unto death, the Father declared that Jesus was, indeed, his beloved son by raising him from the dead. Does that make sense?
You leave OUT the blood in atonement-with no scripture references, is there a reason why, or am I misunderstanding you--
There are several passages in the Bible that indicate that God forgives and forgets our sin. Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
Hebrews 10 explains how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for sin was a once-and-for-all sacrifice. Unlike the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, in which sacrifices were continually made for sin, Jesus paid for sin once. His payment was complete. Hebrews 10:14–18 says, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”
These passages make it evident that God does not remember our sins. However, God’s “not remembering” is not what we usually think of as forgetfulness. God is omniscient. He knows everything, and He forgets nothing. However, He can choose not to remember something. In human relationships, we can choose to remember the offenses someone has committed against us, or we can choose to forget. To forgive someone, we must often put painful memories out of our minds. We don’t actually forget the sin, and it’s not that we are unable to recall the offense, but we choose to overlook it. Forgiveness prevents us from dwelling on past troubles.
Rather than treating us as our sins deserve, God removes our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west”—an immeasurable distance (Psalm 103:12). Think of travelling around the globe. When does one stop going east and start going west? It is impossible to say.
When we are saved, our sins are completely forgiven. This is what the writer of Hebrews is talking about—Jesus made a one-time sacrifice that completely removes our sin. In Christ, we are justified (declared righteous) before God. Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Romans 8:31–39 is a beautiful discourse on our security in Christ. Sin has no say in our standing with God. We are fully accepted and declared righteous in Him. God does not remember our sins in the way He treats us. Instead, He treats us as righteous. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin [Jesus] to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” In this way, God “forgets” our sins.
Even as Christians, we sin, but we know that God is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9).
God cleanses, and then He moves on. He does not hold our sins over us. Instead, He frees us from the slavery of sin and sets us free to experience a new life. Knowing the complete forgiveness of God in Christ, we can join King Hezekiah in praising our Redeemer: “You have put all my sins behind your back” (Isaiah 38:17). Like Paul, we can forget what is behind and “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13).
Does God really forget our sins? | GotQuestions.org
Does God really forget our sins? How could an omniscient God forget anything? doesn’t God know and remember everything?
www.gotquestions.org
--of which I am fully in agreement-
I notice a lot of "redefinitions" on core doctrines, such as atonement/kapporet, may God help us to stay true to what stands written, rightly cutting straight the D'var of YHVH-and not resort to over philosophizing WITHOUT Scriptures.
Not saying you are doing it, it is a general observation.
You seem to be totally confused. You could only be released from the law of sin and death BECAUSE Christ paid the penalty for your sins. Otherwise you would be heading for Hell.
You talk about "theories" because you really do not understand the finished work of Christ. Anyone who talks about "theories" is not clear about what was accomplished in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
That is a very foolish statement. If Muslims were woshiping God, they would also be worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ. The very fact that they denigrate Christ means that they worship the false God "Allah" (originally the moon god of Arabia). Additionally, the Koran says that Christians and Jews are infidels bound for Hell.
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Eternally Grateful
Well-Known Member
You do as the people in the time of Moses did. They were dead. Because they were bitten by snakes. God told Moses to lift a serpent and to tell the people to look up at that serpent and they would live. The would only look if they believed or trusted God,
if instead in unbelief, they refused to look up thinking they could do it themselves or they were really not going to die. They suffered their fate and died.
We are dead because the wage of sin is death. Jesus, the lamb of God, came to take away that sin, so we could be saved like those who looked at the serpent were (thats why Jesus used it as a symbol of what he came to do)
If we look to the cross in FAITH That God will save us, We will as Jesus promised, Never die, and have eternal life. Because you have been born again.
Many people believe in the cross. But they do not believe what it represents. Jesus did not say if you look at him, you will be able to live sin free lives. He said if you look, you will never die and live forever.
You have to as peter said repent. All mankind is Gods enemy, We do not want him We do not want to do good. We do not think we are bad, we think we are ok
God said there is non righteous, no not one, for all have sinned and missed the mark of a perfect God
When one repents. They become like the tax collector. They admit their hopeless state, they admit their sin and their guilt. They admit they are not worthy. And they cry out For Gods mercy..
They are the ones who go home justified. Not because they said some sinners prayer, that saves no one. But because they repented. And asked For Gods mercy and salvation based on the cross.. They looked to the cross for what it truly represented, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
His blood was spilt for your justification. If you recieve that work of God, if you receive Christ. He says you will be saved. You will be born again, You will be rescued. At that point, He assures you you will never die.Thats the promise he is offering everyone right here and right now. John sais but as many as have received him to THEM he gave the right to become children of God through faith.
the question is, will they take it. Or will they continue to think they do not need it, and try to save themselves..
If we have not recieved Christ, we are still dead in sin, still walking along in life looking for that magic thing, yet we will end up lost forever, because we have rejected the cross and what it means
Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Peter 1:18-19
Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Corinthians 6:20
For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 Corinthians 7:23
You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
Titus 2:14 ESV
Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Matthew 20:28
Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Hebrews 9:12
He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
Acts 20:28
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
1 Timothy 2:6
Who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
I concur-a "bloodless" atonement and "theories" is a red flag.
Shalom
J.
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