Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: elijah

DOCTRINE – WHO SAYS?
GOD IS One and FIRST

Is God’s TRUTH not found in SCRIPTURE?

“How long will you waver between two opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him.
1 Kings 18:21b CSB – the question of the Prophet Elijah to the sons of Israel and false prophets at Mount Carmel

It’s a great QUESTION Elijah asks of men ‘limping between two opinions’ [LSB].

Wouldn’t it logically follow to ASK the same QUESTION of TRUTH?

IF Yᵊhōvâ IS ĕlōhîm come to HIM — the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

GOD is first in my life. Do YOU have a problem with that?
Roger @ Talk of JESUS .com

God’s TRUTH

As a matter of fact,
- MOST people do have a problem with putting GOD and Jesus Christ FIRST and before all else.
- Many refuse to study TRUTH of what GOD has revealed for human creatures to consider.
Why Study GOD ?
- I have already provided an initial reason AND DEFINITIONS related to doctrine in a brief introductory apologetic.
a Brief Apologetic for Doctrine

“Have centuries of history defined by the word of Almighty GOD fallen into a bottomless black hole of godless futility?” – RH
- In my previous look at The LORD God I intentionally offered only QUESTIONS for YOUR consideration without reference quoting the Bible.
Theology always Begins with GOD

“Acceptable Doctrines of the Common Era include a PAN-THEON poised in aTheist theory, pagan myth and stone-cold idols of every egregious god and any false prophet. – RH
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SO NOW WHAT? (Do YOU have answers?)
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the QUESTIONS of doctrine-based Theology

What is God? – Q4 Westminster Shorter Catechism
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In case you haven't done your homework, I'll provide an introductory ANSWER HERE, although You'll have to READ the (9) Scriptural answers on your own [referenced in the link above] from which this DOCTRINE is rooted.
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Quest. 4. What is God?
Ans. 4. God is a Spirit,(1) infinite,(2) eternal,(3) and unchangeable,(4) in his being,(5) wisdom,(6) power,(7) holiness,(8) justice, goodness, and truth(9)
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WHY STUDY GOD?

IF God is all of this (and more), why would we NOT study more about the Almighty, Eternal and Good LORD, WHO IS the Creator of all things and initiator and sustainer of our own life?

Certainly YOU have more QUESTIONS about GOD
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Perhaps you have questions similar to those I suggested last time from DOCTRINE taught through the Baltimore Catechism, which was formerly and formally endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church *before this Common Era).
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* officially replaced by the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults in 2004 C.E.
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Who is God?

Why did God make you?
1. Q. Is there but one God?
  A. Yes; there is but one God.
2. Q. Why can there be but one God?
  A. There can be but one God, because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.
3. Q. How many Persons are there in God?
  A. In God there are three Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Source: https://sacred-texts.com/chr/balt/balt1.htm *

DISCLAIMER About Sacred-Texts – This site is .. about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics.

[*note this aTheist approach]
‘This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship.’
the Baseless questions of philosophers and scholars

Scholarship, teaching and atheistic claims as an ‘unbiased‘ or ‘scientific approach” to theological and anthropological QUESTIONS frequently lack the logic and truth they claim.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

There is ONE GOD and one TRUTH.

“How long will you be limping between two opinions?
1 Kings 18:21b LSB

All of us have become like something unclean…

“Now I know this: that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.”
1 Kings 17:24 LSB – witness of a widow in Zarephath of Elijah after the Prophet raised her son from the dead

Answers of TRUTH through Scripture

All Scripture
is God-breathed
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness
2 Timothy 3:15 LSB – θεόπνευστος [inspired by God]

This is NOT to say that the BIBLE contains ALL TRUTH, but that those things revealed by the Lord God through Scripture are TRUE and reliable.

IF any man should claim some additional ‘truth,’ NOT found in the Bible, THEN this humankind creature made in God’s image imagines the unprovable (even IF its human claim is ‘science‘).

Are ALL truths EQUAL?

OF COURSE NOT!

What claim of man can stand against GOD?

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.

The instruction of the LORD is perfect..

the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy..

The precepts of the LORD are right..

the command of the LORD is radiant..

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are reliable

and altogether righteous.
Psalm 19:1,7a,c,8a,c,9 CSB

The LORD Speaks!

בָרִים (Deuteronomy) 4:1 וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמַע אֶל־הַחֻקִּים וְאֶל־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְלַמֵּד אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּ וּבָאתֶם וִירִשְׁתֶּם אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם נֹתֵן לָכֶם׃

“Then the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice. – Deuteronomy 4:12

“The LORD spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. Deuteronomy 5:4

“The LORD spoke these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the fire, cloud, and total darkness on the mountain; he added nothing more.

He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Deuteronomy 5:22

Inerrancy of the Bible

inerrant /ĭn-ĕr′ənt/

adjective
1. Incapable of erring; infallible.
2. Containing no errors. Of or pertaining to inerrancy.
3. Without error, particularly used in reference to the Bible.
  - The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition •
“.. the Bible says that God’s words are the ultimate standard of truth.

If the entire Scripture contains the communication of God to humanity,

then it can be logically inferred that its contents will reflect the perfect nature of God.

The logical result of these truths is that God’s Word is without error in everything that it says.

Therefore, it is proper to call the Bible inerrant, infallible or a number of other terms that Christians use to describe its nature.
Source: Don Stewart :: Does the Bible Testify to Its Own Inerrancy?

True Witnesses of God’s Word

This was the appearance of the likeness of the LORD’s glory. When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. He said to me,

“Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak with you.”

As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I listened to the one who was speaking to me.
Ezekiel 1:28b-2:2 CSB

Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will the events of this vision last — .. While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man. I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai:

“Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown.

“Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
Daniel 8:13a, 15-17 CSB

a Voice from the cloud

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. Suddenly,

Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.

He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light…

While he [Peter] was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said,

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him! ”
Gospel of Matthew 17:5b [vs.1-3,5]

Why study God through the Word of Scripture?

God-willing, we will study this question further NEXT in our look at Doctrines of the Common Era.

Our point today is that Truth comes from God and not from mankind (humankind, scientists and philosophers).

The Source of Truth is exclusive to God and what the Lord chooses to reveal to some or all of his mortal human creatures.

Believe in God and Know the Truth

You believe in God; believe also in me.
Gospel of John 14:1b NET

Jesus replied,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
Gospel of John 14:6 NET

Talk of JESUS .com

Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
May 25, 2024
King of the Jews Savior of Sinners
Behold, Elijah is here.

“How long will you be limping between two opinions?

If Yahweh is God, follow Him..”

But the people did not answer him a word.
1 Kings 18:21 excerpt – Legacy Standard Bible

‘What does this QUESTION of Elijah have to do with HOLY WEEK?’ you ask.

READ our QUESTION from yesterday.

King for a Common Era Holy Week 5

Are YOU of the multitudes? OR one of His disciples?

Good Friday has a context we rarely consider: the Passover and Paschal Sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

QUESTIONS are important to the celebration of the Passover.
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Later we will return to Elijah's QUESTION in this context.
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The Passover Lamb – (Exodus) 12: שְׁמֹות

“And it will be when your children say to you, ‘What is the meaning of this new slavery to you?’ [Lit What is this service to you?]{some translations use ‘rite‘ or ‘ceremony’} that you shall say,

‘It is a Passover sacrifice to Yahweh who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but delivered our homes.’”

And the people bowed low and worshiped.
Exodus 12:26-27 LSB
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NOW consider this as one of the MULTITUDES and hypocrites living the life in this world or in the time of Jesus' sacrificial days in Jerusalem. 

Do you WORSHIP the Pascal Lamb? 
(Can you make up your mind about JESUS?)
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Borrowing briefly from a PRIVATE moment of Christ Jesus with the Twelve - a sorrowful scene before the night unfolded toward the Cross.
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“With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Gospel of Luke 22:15b – New King James Version

And this day will be a memorial for you..

12:14 וְהָיָה הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לָכֶם לְזִכָּרוֹן וְחַגֹּתֶם אֹתוֹ חַג לַיהוָה לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם חֻקַּת עוֹלָם תְּחָגֻּהוּ׃

On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you..
Exodus 12:16a – NKJV regarding the required Passover Feast
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מִקְרָא from H7121; something called out, i.e. a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehearsal:—assembly, calling, convocation, reading. 
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Exodus 12:21 – slaughter the Passover lamb.

וְשַׁחֲטוּ הַפָּסַח׃

Every rendering of the LORD’s command sheds additional pathos of God’s only Son sacrificed on the CROSS and commemoration of HOLY COMMUNION for Christ followers.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com
- slaughter the Passover animal.
- kill the Passover lamb.
- kill the passover. [KJV]
- slay the Passover lamb.
- slay the passover.
- kill it for Passover.
- kill the Passover animal.
- celebrate Passover.
- slaughter the Passover-sacrifice
Indeed, that is exactly what they did to JESUS by hanging a savior from SIN on the cross-beams of a tree!
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(and 'lambs,' by the way, in Hebrew is pronounced, "ṣō'n."
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pesaḥ :פֶּסַח
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Lexicon :: Strong's H6453 - pesaḥ
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- sacrifice of passover
- animal victim of the passover
- festival of the passover
a sparing immunity from penalty.. From פָּסַח (H6452)
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Lexicon :: Strong's H6452 - pāsaḥ 
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פָּסַח pâçach, paw-sakh’; a primitive root; to hop, i.e. (figuratively) skip over (or spare); by implication, to hesitate; also (literally) to limp, to dance:—halt, become lame, leap, pass over.

Communion – a ‘difficult’ memorial

“For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed..

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”
Gospel of John 6:55,60 NKJV

Limping toward the CROSS! – a ‘difficult’ Judgment
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Returning to ELIJAH'S QUESTION to worshipers of a FALSE god of FALSE prophets:
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“How long will you be limping between two opinions?

.. “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they limped about the altar which they had made.
1 Kings 18:21b,26b LSB
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'by implication, to hesitate; also (literally) to limp..
- - - - - - - - - -
HOW CAN GOD PASSOVER OUR SIN?

HOW CAN THE FLESH AND BLOOD OF THE SON OF GOD BECOME OUR PASSOVER OFFERING?
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Progress toward confession of Christ
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An excerpt from THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 
by John Bunyan ~A.D. 1675
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I am in myself undone by reason of a Burden that lieth hard upon me: moreover, I am certain informed that this our City will be burned with fire from Heaven..  

He was reading in his Book.. he burst out, as he had done before, crying, "What shall I do to be saved?"

I looked then and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, asked him, Wherefore dost thou cry?"

[The 'man,' later named 'Christian' answers as anyone confronted by the CROSS and JUDGMENT. - RH]

"Sir, I perceived by the Book in my hand [a BIBLE] that 
I AM CONDEMNED TO DIE 
AND AFTER THAT TO COME TO THE JUDGMENT.."

[And here is where WE limp between the CROSS and our own worldly City of Destruction - RH]

".. AND I FIND THAT I AM NOT WILLING TO DO THE FIRST,
NOR ABLE TO DO THE SECOND."
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Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews,

“Behold, your King!”

– Gospel of John 19:14 LSB

“How long will you be limping between two opinions?

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NKJV

Amen
March 29, 2024
Paul a Prophet Sent out by Jesus
Great Prophets and Signs from God
- HOW DO WE KNOW A TRUE PROPHET OF GOD?
- WHAT is the SIGN of a true Prophet?
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”
Gospel of Luke 7:16 ESV

A great prophet among us

Before we look at an extraordinary sign in Troas suggesting that Paul is also a Prophet of Almighty God, let’s look at other true Prophets of the past.

Talking for hours with the prophet Paul

~A.D. 56 – Previously in an upper room at midnight in the port of Troas..

The gospel points to JESUS and not to the Apostle Paul or some other Old Testament prophet.
- WHO does a prophet speak for and what does he say?
- Is it the message and work of ALMIGHTY GOD or that of rebellion against the LORD?
The Lord Jesus Christ
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~ A.D. 28 - the year being less important than the short time of two decades before this present miracle by Paul

Luke 7:
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.. behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother..

And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”

And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

.. for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
Gospel of Mark 6:14b-15 ESV

Elijah
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About 860 Before Christ - the sign from GOD being more important than the year.
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Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
1 Kings 17: ESV

God speaks to him and also commands the response of one (or more) to whom he is sent. Paul has already experienced this as have Peter and other Apostles sent out with the Gospel by the resurrected Jesus Christ.

14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.
1 Kings 17:14-15 ESV

All are obedient to God for an extended time. They continue to witness a miracle but a greater sign will soon prove the power of God and truth of his prophecy through Elijah.

After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him..

19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.

.. Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord,

“O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”

.. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.”

24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
More on Elijah AND other prophets What did they see?
The Apostle Simon Peter
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About A.D. 40
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“Tabitha, arise.”

Another Resurrection in Joppa

Resurrection of a body which has fallen from life into the valley of death is nothing new to the Apostles. To Peter another resurrection would be completely possible IF it is the will of the Lord.

And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.

WHAT FURTHER SIGN DO YOU NEED THAT THE HAND OF THE LORD IS ON A MAN THAN A RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD?

The Apostle Paul

Troas – important 1st C. A.D. Roman port
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Returning now to the mid- A.D. 50's about a dozen years after the resurrection of Tabitha or Dorcas in Joppa by Peter, a couple of dozen years after many witnessed the signs of multiple resurrections by the Lord Jesus AND more than nine centuries since the sign of the Prophet Ezekiel for a widow in Zarephath.
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Acts of the Apostles 20:
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after the 3-story fall of Eutychus from an upper room window to his death
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But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”

11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.

12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.
Acts of the Apostles 20:12 ESV

WHAT THEN?

Paul’s preaching, worship and discussion with the believers in Troas had gone until midnight. (WHAT A LONG EVENING SERVICE!)

But then AFTER the SIGN of the Lord through PAUL raising the dead youth, the faithful returned to WORSHIP (and no doubt thankfulness) until the break of the very day. The Apostle would then continue to sail into the rest of the world with the Gospel of JESUS Christ.

JOY of the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues not only in Troas and back into Macedonia and Greece, but in other ports along the Apostle Paul’s third missionary journey.

12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land.

Prophets and Signs

A false prophet shows NO SIGNS other than deception and ambition against Almighty God.

Saul of Tarsus had been a great aggressor of Zion without regard for the mercy of God and ears to hear the warning of Israel’s Prophets predicting a servant Messiah who would not ‘break a bruised reed’.

YET the LORD had bruised Paul’s zeal near Damascus and confronted his heart with the Gospel of His Own RESURRECTION!

NO SIGN of a Prophet proves his message true more than a resurrection of a body and restoration of a soul.

THE LORD had provided proof of His Word through Moses and through Elijah who have now appeared to Jesus’ Apostles Peter, James and John. The Word provides a sign to Saul by once more appearing to the apostle then prophesying the most difficult journey ahead as JESUS would send Paul out to the Gentiles as His chosen instrument.

Who is this Saul, Apostle to the Gentiles?

Previously, at the conversion of Saul

“Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
Acts of the Apostles 9:15b-16 ESV – The Lord sends Ananias to open Saul’s eyes.

Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel

To Be Continued.. Lord willing, when we will meet Paul in Assos and sail back to Ephesus…
December 9, 2023