2 Timothy 2: 1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
It is undeniable that most even professing Christians do not take the time or the prayers to let the Holy Spirit teach them fully, personally the truths from the Bible. so they are all mostly in errors cause they believe the lies of the devil, the lies of mere men, and believe their own false human reasons, conclusions. If a man is to understand the word, he cannot rely on human wisdom, human wisdom is insufficient for understanding God. Thus it is still critical, essential important that each believer studies even the Bible with the aid of the Holy Spirit as when the flesh interprets all of scriptures. the result tends to be still mostly dead wrong,
Where is Zion?How should Christians deal with this situation?
“The believer is admonished by scripture to beware false prophets, perhaps appearing as born again ‘angels of light,’ teaching demonic theories intended to hinder the work of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ [2 Cor 11.13]. Peter also warns that unspiritual people can falsely interpret the word of God. [2 Pet 1.20] Therefore, it is important that the believer, with the aid of the Spirit, examine the basis for various apocalyptic theories and timetables that are popular these days, rightly and diligently dividing scripture [2 Tim 2.15] Because there now are too many false professing Christians many of those who adhere to UnBiblical still theories are known as Christian Zionists, it is appropriate for us to always to examine the concept of Zionism from the point of view of gospel-centered, born-again Christianity, in accord with the Christian precepts that anything can be tested and must against the Bible, specifically the New testament teachings,
As Paul wrote: ‘All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.’ [2 Tim 3.16,17].
However, when the flesh interprets scripture, the result is dead wrong, as we know from Satan’s temptation of Jesus.
Also Peter, in his struggle against false prophets, said that ‘no prophecy of scripture is a matter of personal opinion,’ not being an act of human will but rather of the Holy Spirit motivating the speaker [2 Pet 1.20,21].
THE ORIGIN OF THE EARLY IDEAS OF ‘ZION’
“The first biblical mention of ‘Zion’ is Deut. 4.48 and is another name for Mount Hermon in Lebanon. This ‘Zion’ derives from ‘Sirion,’ a name given to the mountain by the Sidonians. This Zion is referred to again in Psalm 133.3 when the poet compares brotherly love to ‘the dew of Hermon coming down on the mountains of Zion.’
‘Zion’ is next cited in 2 Sam 5.7, where it is reported that ‘David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).’ This was a fortified enclave held by the Jebusites on a site later known as Jerusalem. David built his palaces in this fort and laid the groundwork for the first temple, which was built by his son Solomon, on a nearby hill. The term ‘Zion’ then came to refer to the entire palace and temple compound. It was often used specifically for the temple or the temple and its hill. Scholars think ‘zion’ was originally a word for ‘hill.’
‘Zion’ was often extended in the Bible to mean the entire city of Jerusalem, where the general populace lived adjacent to the palace-temple compound. In fact, sometimes the Old Testament Bible extends the definition of ‘Zion’ to include the people of Israel or a remnant of that people.
Of a prophecy given to Habbakkuk, God said, ‘For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay’[Hab 2.3]. “
We all also may say that the launch of Jesus’ salvation mission was CLEARLY NOW the end times PROPHECY FULFILLMENT now too..
“Jesus, obeying the Spirit, told his hearers that a scripture from Isaiah that he had just read had been ‘fulfilled in your hearing.’ [Luke 4.21] Jesus halted his reading at ‘to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord,’ leaving unread the other part of the couplet ‘and the day of vengeance of our God.’ [Is 61.1-2] Note that the appointed time may seem, to human observers, to be close at hand or even overdue.”
Such as “the Return of Jesus Christ” or as per others the coming false “Rapture:.the supposed escape from the future great tribulation on earth even while most Christians are already undergoing great tribulation.
“So we can see that if the prophecy isn’t fulfilled at the expected time, then it must be fulfilled in an unexpected way.
So then, if the Bible itself demonstrates the impossibility of drawing up a superficially logically consistent timeline of events of old, what makes us think we can use biblical references to map a ‘logically consistent’ history of the future? “
And this is why so many people are wrong when they try to predict future, present events, supposedly ongoing prophecy fulfillments..They are still not being led by God to understand the realities, truths..
“Even the atheists who seek the truth in modern physics have found that time is supple and relative, and not at all like the typical person’s view of it. At extremely short intervals, time can be said not to exist. On larger scales, as Einstein proved, time is relative to the observer. Here’s an idea of what that means: If you left earth on a starship traveling near the speed of light and traveled deep into space and then back, you would find that your twin brother was substantially older than you upon your return. In fact, you could conceivably return to an earth where centuries had elapsed, though for you only months had elapsed.
When Martha was grieving for Lazarus, dead for four days, she told Jesus she believed Jesus could get any favor from God. Jesus then told her that her brother would rise again. ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the Last Day,’ she answered. ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never perish. Do you believe this?’ You see, Martha had the traditional Jewish understanding of the Old Testament prophecies, but she was hoping Jesus would find a way to revive her brother anyway! Her faith was honored when Jesus said, in effect: Don’t stand on tradition! Just BELIEVE! This is GOD talking! [John 11.22-26] The great and awesome day of the Lord had arrived for Lazarus and was witnessed by Martha. It wasn’t the sidereal day that counted, but rather belief when the word came. The awesome day of the Lord is on a spiritual (which does not mean ‘unreal’) plane: ‘SEE IT NOW! ETERNAL LIFE!’ Also the commonplace idea of linear time may not suffice for all prophecy.
Most Earthbound people can be misled by a spirit of deception that puts falsehoods into the mouths of wicked prophets [1 Kings 22.22] and thus blinded by a ‘strong delusion’ [2 Thes 2.11].
While it is true that the born-again believer is fit to understand scripture, as illuminated by God’s Spirit, it is still possible for the believer to be influenced by the delusive nature of this world.
As Christians, we are strongly advised to study scripture [2 Tim 2.15]. We cannot however understand what we read without the help of the Holy Spirit. Though scripture is written in Hebrew and Greek, its origin is divine, and divine language is beyond human ken [Rom 8.26]. Scripture means what God says it means.
Who has plumbed the mind of God? Who has exhausted the deep well of the wisdom of God? [Rom 11.33,34]
God’s thoughts are far above our thoughts [Is 55.9]. We must beware assuming that we can know on our own, or with the help of mere others, by education, studying, understand the full meaning of a scriptural passage or group of scriptural passages. Many people have already read the Bible and still know noting, professing Christians included. They did it without the holy Spirit;s involvement
Dead literalism is effectively refuted by Jesus in a number of places, such as when he healed on the Sabbath day and when he upbraided the scribes and Pharisees for focusing on specific technicalities rather than on the point of God’s teachings: love of God and one another. “
The Bible shows that, without inspired interpretation, we have the dead letter of the law. Ironically that is what most false Christians preach still,
“The word of God is ‘alive and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart,’ says the writer of Hebrews [Heb 4.12], after quoting several Old Testament passages.
So if a man is to understand the word, he cannot rely on human wisdom [1 Cor 1-9]. Just as the spirit within a man knows his thoughts, the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts [1 Cor 2.11]. In fact, the Spirit reveals scriptural meaning to believers ‘for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.’ [1 Cor 2.10]
Or, as Paul wrote elsewhere, the new arrangement for Christians is ‘not of the letter but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.’ [2 Cor 3.6]. So the assertion that ‘the Bible is literally true’ should perhaps be changed to read that ‘the Bible contains no error.’ Since God ‘makes all things work together for the good’ for his chosen [Rom 8.28], he is able to make human missteps into truth. We know this from Caiaphas, who, as high priest, spoke a truth, though he had no idea of the divine profoundness of his words [Jn 18.14].
An example of literalness is the Mosaic command for Jews to put symbols of God’s word on their foreheads and hands [Deut 6.8]. Some Jews to this day observe this custom. But, isn’t it plain that the real point of this thought is that the Jews were to think about God’s word and practice it? Why would God want people to honor this custom but not honor God’s will in the more important area of behaving in love, honesty with one’s neighbors? He would not.
Many modern Bible texts identify words attributed to Jesus with red type or quotation marks. However, the Greek texts have no such graphical devices. This means that there are some passages sometimes attributed directly to Jesus that might actually be divinely inspired editorial comments. Also, there are variant literal versions of some of the words attributed to Jesus, though they are close in substance. With the aid of the Spirit, it is possible for the contemporary mind to understand the meaning of these words.
And the sayings of Jesus clearly were compiled early on and later woven into the synoptic gospel accounts. Does this make the gospel accounts wrong? Only if one insists on literally precise chronological narratives. Otherwise, they are rather like the modern newspaper report that lays out the relevant details in a way that ‘tells a story.’
If a newspaper reporter extracts a couple of relevant sentences from some document and includes a one-sentence paraphrase in his story, he could not fairly be accused of improperly quoting the document. We should give Bible writers the same leeway. To wit, Paul, whose eyesight was poor and who probably relied on memory, in several places conflates scriptural passages in order to make a point. For example, Rom 9.33 apparently splices Is 28.16 and Is 8.14. This splice is easily defended as summarizing later prophetic fulfillments. So Paul is not in error, but we would be foolish to be excessively literal: there is no single such passage in the Septuagint (the Greek-language Bible in use at the time). :
“In Rom 11.26, Paul quotes scripture thus: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’
The quotation is more a paraphrase than an exact quote. In fact, some might argue that the paraphrase misquotes Is 59.20,21 to give it a meaning it does not have. However, the import of the paraphrase is justified elsewhere, such as Psalm 14.7 and Psalm 15.
Jesus had is assuring believers of his steadfastness, asked rhetorically whether a mother could forsake her child. It turns out that the relevant verse is Is 49.14, where I hear the voice of the Messiah.
Consider Mt. 21.5, which tells of Jesus’ triumphal donkey ride into Jerusalem. Two old testament scriptures, Is 62.11 and Zech 9.9, are spliced together here, illustrating that different prophetic utterances can be fulfilled in one action.
Or consider John 12.15 which quotes Zech 9.9 but omits ‘shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.’ Yet, the omission is inconsequential. The meaning of Zech 9.9 is faithfully preserved. Writers of the period did not follow rules of quotation used today. So we cannot easily ascribe error here. “
As Paul said, human wisdom is insufficient for understanding God. So we can appreciate that when God speaks to man through prophetic scripture, he is infusing man’s tribal viewpoint and his local legends with the Spirit in order to lift the hearer into an expanded consciousness. He is using man’s language and man’s way of thinking to reflect God’s thoughts.
Because of this, the word of God may seem to some to be ambiguous or inconsistent. Also, linear history seems to matter to modern humans far more than it does to God, who is focused on spiritual growth.
Our ability, even with the Spirit, to comprehend prophecy ‘through a glass darkly’ [1 Cor 13.12] (as a dim reflection) has a counterpart in modern astronomy. Before powerful telescopes made most of the physical cosmos observable, one could only make educated guesses as to most of what was out there, even though scientists had Einstein’s highly accurate general theory of relativity as their ‘bible.’
It takes the Holy Spirit to interpret the whole Bible now, both the old and new Testament and posting one line verses, even about Zion is not telling the whole truth now still too, Nor is it falsely acceptable to refer solely to the Old Testament and neglect the no New Testament people. But yet that is what unacceptably happens in most pasting about I love Israel, Jews, Zion and Zionism now too
The Bible itself has already has confirmed that a new order replaces the old order, as Heb. 8.8-13 says, quoting prophecy [Jer 31.31]:
‘”Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah; not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the House of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God. And they shall be my people…” When he said, “a new covenant,” he has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.’
And when does the new covenant appear? It is made evident at the Feast of Pentecost, when, as Peter said, quoting from Zechariah, Jerusalem became ‘the city of truth.’ That passage [Zech 8.2-17] also says that the Lord is ‘exceedingly jealous for Zion.’ The covenant dawned at Pentecost and is still in process of fulfillment.
Or, as Heb 12.22-24 points out, the terrifying experience of Mount Sinai is no more, but rather, ‘you have come to Mount Zion and the City of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant…’ Plainly, Zion here is a spiritual place, the realm of salvation. The old world of the old covenant will be shaken and only what is unshakeable will remain, but ‘we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken’ [Heb 12.27,28].
‘For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks [Gentiles], whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one spirit.’ [1 Cor 12.13].
So then the new Zion is filled with the new Israel, the redeemed Jews and Gentiles. Under the new covenant, ‘the virgin daughter of Zion’ [2 Kings 19.21] has become the bride of Christ [2 Cor 11.2, Rev 21.9,24]. ‘For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion, survivors’ [2 Kings 19.31]. This prophecy was fulfilled by the fact that the Jewish identity survived Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem, but that prophecy is fulfilled in an expanded sense by the fact that born-gain Jewish Christians, the ultimate survivors, fanned out from Jerusalem… “
Clearly we all need to again seriously review actually what the New Testament and the Holy Spirit says about the Jews, Israel, the Promised land, Zion, Jerusalem, new Jerusalem, etc.,. and see how right we really were in our own past conclusions, summations now too.
Do see also http://postedat.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/falsely-torah-observant-jewish-and-gentile-messianic-judaism/
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