Sunday, March 25, 2018

Revelation 1:1


1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” ～ Dear disciple, in the opening verse you are informed that before you, nay, in your very hands is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word translated “revelation” is “apocalypse,” which means: the unveiling. Therefore, my fellow disciples, you are told, in these very first strokes of John’s quill that Jesus Christ of Nazareth (who, according to Paul, is the mystery of God the Father [Col 2:1-2
]) is about to be unveiled before you.

“Which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;” ～ The Son of God (i.e. the humanity of Christ) received this revelation from the Father (i.e. the Spirit, John 4:24) for the benefit of His “servants.” The servants mentioned here are, of course, all believers. Notice that the things concerning Jesus which are about to be revealed are to “shortly come to pass.” It is interesting, and important that both here and in the epilogue of this work the disciples are instructed to expect an imminent fulfillment of the Revelation’s predictions.

“And he sent and signified it by his angel.” ～ The Revelation is to be “signified” to John by the angel of Christ. From this word “esēmana” (from sēma) comes our English “sign;” esēmana means: to give a sign, or to make known. We may expect, then, for the subsequent revelation to be given in signs or symbolic images and language (see Vital Data, Literary Form). The phrase “his angel” may reference any number of possibilities. The word “angel” is the Greek word “angelos” meaning: a messenger, or envoy of God. This word, along with its plural, appears over 70 times in the Revelation. The word may apply to created angelic beings (Gen 28:12, Ps 68:17), or, redeemed saints (see 17:1 cf 19:10; and 21:9 cf 22:9), or more likely, in this case, “his angel” has the “angel of the LORD” in view. This view may be held with confidence because of chapter 22 and vv6 and 16. In v6 John records “...and to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” This verse is clearly a companion to the verse under consideration here (1:1).

It should be pointed out at this point that Jesus identified this angel of the LORD as His angel (22:16): “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. ...”

A study of the Angel of the LORD (LORD=Yahweh) shows Him to be one and the same as Christ. The same statements made about the nature, character, mission, and activities of the angel of the LORD are also stated of Jesus.

Angel of the LORD      Activity or Attribute           Jesus
Genesis 16:7,13          Called “LORD” (YHWH)      John 20:28
Genesis 48:15-16                  Called-God                   Jude v25
Exodus 48:15-16                     “I am”                        John 8:58
Exodus 13:20-23                 Sent from God               John 5:30
Joshua 5:13-18           Capt. of the LORD’s Host      Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah 63:9                    Redeemed His own           Ephesians 5:25





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Thursday, March 1, 2018

Biblical Testimony of Isaiah 9:6

Biblical Testimony of Isaiah 9:6

It is amazing that for all the powerful testimony of Isaiah 9:6 to the Massiah-hood of Jesus of Nazareth, the passage is never referenced by any New Testament writer. Some, including myself, have raise a concern over this fact. 

In the shadow of this question the Spirit lead me to record the biblical-ness of this wonderful christological text. What follows is a breakdown of each phrase of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Isaiah 9:6
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

for unto

unto us a son

the government

his name

counsellor

the mighty God


Eternal Father
Micah 5:2 “... yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from ... .” 
Romans 9:5 “Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is ... .” (NIV). 
 Titus 2:13 “while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great ... ,” (NIV) 
1 John 5:20 “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true ... .” (NIV) 
Jude 25 “To the only wise God our ... .” 
John 20:28 “My Lord and my God.” 
Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." 
John 14:9 “Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long a time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen ...
John 10:30 “I and the Father are ... ." 
Matthew 1:23 Emmanuel, “God with us.” 
Revelation 22:6, 16, 20  “Lord God Almighty of the holy prophets.” 

the Prince of Peace
Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, …

Amen



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☩☩ Jerry L Hayes
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Read other essays from the Bishop on the subject of the Godhead:

"The Dual Nature Of Jesus Of Nazareth"

"The Worlds, Made By The Son"

"Hebrews 13:8 vs 1 Corinthians 15:28"

"Glory With The Father"

"Philippians 2:6-8, Answering Trinitarian Objections"

"How Is God One?"

"Hebrew Monotheism"


"The Apostolic Creed"

"Jesus Is Father God"

"Homoousia And The Creed Of Nicaea"

"The Triquetra And Modalism"

"Modalism, Simultaneous Or Sequential?"

"Micah 5:2-4, An Exegesis"


"Elohim, the Plural form For God"

"Can the Deity of Jesus Be called The Son Of God?"

"Mathematical Equation For The Godhead"

"Hebrew Monotheism, Second Edition"

"Jesus, On God's Right Hand"

"The Name of the Deity" (The Tetragrammaton)

"Christology of the Apostolic Church Fathers"

"Christian Modalism challenged by the Greeks"

"The Apologists and the Logos Christology"

"Logos Christology"

"The Seven Spirits of God"

"Historical Numerical Superiority of the Monarchians"

"How Is God One?" Second Edition

"Creed of Nicæa (Creed of the 318) Affirmed"

"Another Comforter (Answering Objections to Modalism)"

"Echad vs Yachid (Answering Objections to Modalism)"

"The Godhead Teaching of Ignatius of Antioch"

"Hebrews 1:8, (Answering Objections to Modalism)"

"Godhead Theology of the Tabernacle of Moses"

"Proper Biblical Understanding of the Word 'Person'"

"Defense of Isaiah 9:6, Answering Objections to Modalism"


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Monday, February 26, 2018

SIGNING THE CROSS


SIGNING THE CROSS AS A FORM OF PRAYER
The preaching of the Cross of Christ is the very life blood of our salvational message. To this I am sure we all agree. So, in this short article I would like to discuss the Cross as the symbol of our hope. More to the point: shouldn’t we as Oneness Pentecostals have a discussion on signing the Cross as an act of prayer and worship? Why should this most beautiful act of prayer be surrendered to those of the Roman Catholic persuasion? I might respond to my own question by saying: Signing the Cross is not the property of the RCC exclusively; Christians of all strips sign the Cross in their devotions to Christ. Only in the “low” Protestant churches is it absent. So, isn’t it time that someone raises his voice and asks the question, if not assert the affirmative, on signing the Cross?

 I would like to begin by stating that for over 40 years I served as an evangelist and pastor in the Apostolic Pentecostal movement in the western hemisphere. Anointing the head with oil when praying for the sick and for general blessings is common among all Pentecostal groups, whether Oneness or Trinitarian. Common, also, among us is for the minister to make the sign of the Cross with the oil on the forehead of the one being prayer over. I learned this from my elders in the 60's of the last century and have continued the practice to the present time. Why should we not enlarge on this signing to include the upper body and/or in blessing the people of God? In that the enemy hates the preaching of the Cross, here, in the signing of the Cross, we have yet another weapon in our arsenal to battle and ultimately defeat the devil.

I am not speaking of an innovation here. Signing the Cross has been with the Christian church from ancient times. From the earliest days, when believers looked to the Cross as a symbol of their faith, the Cross has been traced on everything pertaining to our religion. Around AD 200 Tertullian stated that the Christians wore their foreheads out with the sign of the cross. To those who complain that it is of Roman Catholic origin, we would recognize that the custom is indeed catholic, but with a small "c": meaning, universal.

The Western churches seem to favor crossing themselves from the left to the right, while the Eastern churches cross themselves from the right to the left. There are various reasons given for the different methods that will not be discussed here. Because we are Apostolic Orthodox we follow the method from Jerusalem and Antioch: i.e. from right to left.





Peter of Damascus (12th century) stated: “Then we should also marvel how demons and various diseases are dispelled by the sign of the precious and life-giving Cross, which all can make without cost or effort.”

The three fingers and single hand with which it is made represent the economy of the One Deity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The two fingers that rest on the palm of the one hand speak of our Lord
Jesus Christ crucified, and He is thereby acknowledged to exist in two natures and one hypostasis or person.

All manner of formulae have been spoken while tracing the Cross. When signing the Cross the believer may utter the following proscribed form of words: In The Name Of Our God And Savior, Christ Jesus. The fingers should touch the forehead on the word “God,“ the solar plexus on the word “Savior,” the right shoulder on the word “Christ,” and the left shoulder on the name “Jesus.” The movement of the hand will conclude by resting over the heart to demonstrate adoration for the Name just signed. 

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The Cross

Many are troubled by the preaching of the Cross of Christ. They say it is a pagan symbol; I dispute that! But even if it were, Christ baptized it with His own blood, redeemed it and made it forever the emblem of victory for every person who has ever lived. I can, and do, speak as one who knows: In the darkest times of life, in the deepest dungeons of despair the vision of the Cross births hope in the midst of the ruins of defeat. This I know for certain, if one has a firm grip on the Cross, it matters not that the whole world sweeps from beneath his feet -- he remains safe in the sureness of Calvary.

The armies of heaven line up behind the Cross and march into battle against the enemies of God’s Kingdom. Demons flee from its power and Satan hides his blood shot eyes from the brightness of its glory. The Light of the World was hung on the Cross thereby casting its shadow of influence around the globe -- world without end.

The Cross is no idol. Christians do not worship it as though the rough lumber has intrinsic power. No. It is not that. It is the Person of the Cross: He who is Deaths Conqueror transfixed on a spear; He who is the Creator wedded to His creation; it is the personification of Love that brought Heaven down to sinful mankind. From Glory to gory,  He came; from the Throne Room of Heaven to bloody straw, He came; from Angelic hails to the murderous nails of sinners, He came. So, then, it is the message the emblem of the Cross declares which is the Christian’s shield in battle and the standard to which he rallies. 

Dear friend, read, carefully, the following texts and answer for yourself why we sign the cross and encourages all Christians to do the same.

John 3:14
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. NIV 

And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! NIV

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." NIV

"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." NIV

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – NIV

Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. NIV

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. NIV

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. NIV

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. NIV


And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. NIV

Those who want to impress others by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. NIV

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. NIV

And in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. NIV

For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.NIV
Apostolically Yours
Mar David Ignatius












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