Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 28, 2015

David Prophecy

“You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Psalm 139

David seems to be prophecying.  He recognizes that nothing is hidden from God, not in this first life or the life to come.  He knows that God formed him in his mother’s womb.  And that he will be formed a second time in the earth.  This is how David viewed the resurrection.  He sees that God’s thoughts outnumber the grains of sand.  And the number of people in the resurrection will be almost as many as the grains of sand (100 billion+).  Then after the resurrection there will be a judgment again the evil ones.  But David wants instead to be lead in the way of everlasting life.  Life and Death are the only two real choices.

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 28, 2015

Love & Eternal Life

 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.  Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”  1 John 3:11-15

This shows that’s impossible for sinful people to have eternal life.  The eternal life must wait till the next life because everyone has a least a minute trace of hate in them.

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 27, 2015

Palm Saturday

biblestudyseattle's avatarBible Study Seattle

Jesus died about 3pm on Nisan 14. This was ‘between the evenings’, noon being the first evening, 6pm being the second. This rules out Nisan 16 for the resurrection, as that would be a maximum of one and three quarter days from 3pm Nisan 14. This can’t satisfy the prophecy of Jonah: three days and three nights in the tomb. Therefore, he rose on Nisan 17th, before dawn. Scripture tells us that he rose on the first Sabbath in the count of seven to Pentecost. Therefore, Nisan 10 was also a Sabbath. Palm Sunday was actually Palm Saturday!

“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his…

View original post 450 more words

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 24, 2015

Hearing Voices

“O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.  Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher.  Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”  Isaiah 30:19-21

Many people of faith would love to hear a direct word from God.  Few do.  But at the resurrection people will hear the voice of the Teacher Jesus.  Can you imagine?  How many people will deny the existence of God then?

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 19, 2015

I changed my mind

Some people are in the habit of ‘changing their mind’.  That’s ok as long as it doesn’t break a promise.  Some of them will counter that they did not promise anything, they just said something.  But if the other person agrees, they have indeed promised.  If a person says, “We can go tomorrow to pick out your birthday present,” and then tomorrow says, “I’m too tired,” it will certainly hurt the other person’s feelings, unless they agree that they also don’t want to go.

The most galling aspect is people who routinely break promises but expect others to keep theirs.  The golden rule applies: treat others as you would be treated.  Those who do not keep promises are arrogant and selfish.  Jesus himself said, “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.”. Matthew 5:37

He could’ve said, “Let your 5 o’clock be 5 o’clock.”  I’ve heard people say that Jesus’ statement doesn’t apply to being on time!  Such is the attitude of Pharisees: always splitting hairs in arguments.

The key is always seeing if harm is done to a relationship or a person.

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 18, 2015

Unrepentant Spouse

Living with an unrepentant spouse is difficult.  Even if it’s not at the level of adultery.  They could be lying to you about something that’s important and refuse to have an honest discussion.  They refuse to take an honest look at both sides of the issue.  Maybe just to save face.  No humility.  Sometimes this is our cross.

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 17, 2015

Molech in Leviticus 18

“You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”  Leviticus 18:21

All verses of chapter 18 prior to this are immoral heterosexual relations.  All verses after verse 21 are immoral non heterosexual relations.  Today when there is an unwanted child, abortion is often chosen.  Thousands of years ago child sacrifice was often chosen.  God hates both.

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 13, 2015

Jacob, Leah, and Rachel

The story of Jacob finding a wife seems prophetic.  Leah seems to represent Israel, to which Jacob was first tricked into marrying.  Then he gets to marry Rachel (the church).  Then after Joseph is born, he works at leaving Laban his deceitful uncle (Satan?).  Through shrewd mating, he separates the sheep and the goats(?).  He gets three days separation.  (Three thousand years?).  An interesting discussion of this:   http://www.patheos.com/blogs/kermitzarleyblog/2013/06/jacob-a-type-of-jesus-two-advents/

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 12, 2015

Women silent in Church?

Many people think that 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is not original, but was added later by a scribe.  All 5000+ manuscripts we have include it, but none of these are earlier than 325AD.  There are many reasons summed up well in this podcast:   http://www.stfpodcast.com/File/may2010_should_women_be_silent_in_the_church.mp3

Posted by: biblestudyseattle | March 10, 2015

Hardening Pharaoh

“The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.” Exodus 4:21

“Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.” Exodus 14:4

How can Pharaoh be blamed if the Lord hardened his heart? But it also says:

“But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.”. Exodus 8:32

Which is it? Did Pharaoh harden his heart, or did the Lord? Could it be both? It definitely seems that for God the ends justify the means. He is allowing and even causing calamity to bring the people to worship him and exalt his name. This must be what Paul is referring to:

“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As He says also in Hosea,

“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
“And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.” And just as Isaiah foretold,

“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity,
We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.” What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Romans 9:17-33

This hardening is not eternal. This is very important! God may have hardened Pharaoh and the Jews, but they will be resurrected. Everyone will have an honest shot at eternal life. Consider Manassah and Nebuchadnezzar. Both were very evil kings, but both repented and turned around.

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories