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144k & Who They Are

The 144000 are the elect Christian saints. The church is GODS Israel, the Israel of GOD. The church is the olive tree in Romans 11 from the root to the branches. Remember the Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree, the church. The people in Hebrews 11 are the root of the olive tree in Romans 11.

Discussion is 144k

144k are mentioned twice in scripture. Rev 7 & 14

Rev 7:4-8 clearly says tribes of the children of Israel/Jacob & then names Jacob/Israel's sons/

Tribal identity was tracked by genealogy. The OT repeatedly shows that tribal membership is determined by physical bloodline. Rev 7 cites the literal tribal descendants of Israel/Jacob.

Num 1:18: they registered by genealogy, by families, by fathers' houses, by Tribes!

Ez 2 & Neh 7: people who could not prove their genealogy were excluded from priestly & tribal identity.

Jos divides the land by tribal inheritance, the 12 Tribes are literal bloodline families. Traced through the sons of Jacob.


Rev 7:4-8 In the context John identifies the 144k as physical descendants of Israel/Jacob.

In Rev 1:4-11 John repeatedly uses the word Church/ekklesia. He never uses church for the 144k in Rev 7 or 14.


Rev 14:4 calls the 144,000: "the firstfruits" unto God & to the Lamb.”

This language is directly lifted from the Lev 23:9-11 wave offering. They are the first portion of a larger harvest. They are set apart & presented to God.

The category itself is Israelite, because the firstfruits offering (practiced this resurrection foreshadowing every Passover week for over 1400 yrs) was tied to Israel's land covenant (each son of Israel/Jacob received a portion).

Calling the 144k "firstfruits" supports their identity as literal Israelites & not the Church.

The Matt 27:52-53 verses shared, has these OT elect firstfruits that rise from the grave (after Jesus) & are seen by many.

Come out of the grave BEFORE there is a church. Jesus rises then 50 days later comes the Acts 2 Pentecost, where the Church via the Holy Spirit outpouring in born.
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Trump Pardons, Releases Alleged Pedo w Open Warrant

Putting child molesters and gun thugs back on the street to reoffend seems an odd choice for republicans.

Houston man pardoned for Jan. 6 crimes arrested on 2016 charge of online solicitation of a minor

Late last month, the DA's office said it had asked federal authorities to hold Taake in Colorado due to his pending warrant in Texas, but that Taake was still released despite the DA’s office faxing a copy of the warrant to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 15, five days before he was pardoned.
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Today I learned...

Interesting! I think the most interesting food I've ever eaten was a century egg. My Developmental Psychology professor, a woman from Taiwan, offered century eggs to the whole class, but only a couple of us were willing to try them. I felt very proud of my bravery lol. But in defense of those who opted not to try, the stench was absolutely terrible.

IMG_4814-2.jpg
Yes, you are courageous, few people would dare to try it unless they are Chinese, especially the Cantonese speaking Chinese.

They say Cantonese speaking Chinese eat everything with four legs except tables. They put enjoyment above health, they are real fussy eaters, perhaps only second to the French.
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Salvation is in your hands, Jesus did his part

I agree Christ did his part, but didn't it say in 2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Paul said in (Gal. 3:11) But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. This didn’t start in the New Testament, Paul was only quoting scripture, and the just has always lived by their faith. (Habakkuk 2:4) Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. The just shall live by his belief (faith), and how do you show the Lord that you believe in him? By your obedience to his word.
Christ part is to give, cause repentance
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Date of authorship of Revelation

These extrabiblical narratives are not actually Scripture; otherwise, they would have been included in the canons. The early church fathers, with the help of the Holy Spirit, determined which of the many early church writings were Scripture and which were not.

If the preterist view is the correct view:

If this man of sin lived in the first century AD., he was most likely John of Gischala.

AI summary: The "man of sin" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is a figure associated with the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, according to preterist interpretations. One prominent candidate is John of Gischala, a Jewish Zealot leader who rose to power during the Great Revolt against Rome. He is believed to have fulfilled the prophecy by throwing off the Mosaic Law, inciting civil war, famine, and crime in Jerusalem, and positioning himself as a despotic ruler who symbolically and literally "took his seat in the Temple of God," exalting himself over the Temple’s objects of worship. His actions are seen as aligning with the description of the man of sin who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God.

It seems to me that these Thessalonians and the other first-century Christians could have been the intended audience for the actual fulfillment of the following:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, 12 so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


Is the breath of his mouth actually the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does his appearing and his coming mean the appearance and the power of the Roman armies? Luke 21:20

It seems to me that it is St. Michael, the archangel, who will bind the final antichrist and false prophet and cast them into the lake of fire. St. Michael is of the same angelic hierarchy as Satan, and so he will defeat Satan at the sound of the last trumpet.

So much fun to speculate!

What is important, though, is to ask ourselves, "Am I ready to meet the Lord right now?" If our answer is "no," then we need to repent and confess our sins so that Jesus will forgive us and we will become God's friend once again.
Yes History of Joseph, and Gospel of Nic are inspired scripture written when they said they were. They are only for the wise same with 1Enoch, and others. God never intended them to be in the main canon otherwise swine might stumble across them accidentally. The main canon is for everyone unworthy (swine) or worthy where as some extra books which are inspired are hidden (apocrypha) from swine, and revealed to the humble. God thought there was too much valuable information in them to have them public, and people would mock it so he hid them ie excluded them from the main canon.

That is interesting breath of his mouth could be the Roman armies, I never thought of that. otherwise Jesus must of killed that zealot around 70 AD when he came back. Rev 1-12 happened 70 ad rev 13-22 is future.


Anti Christ in John was 70 AD too it says it was the final hour (of the temple still standing, and the Mosaic covenant). There had been anti christs when that was written pre 70 AD there was going to be some major one at that time, and there will be more in the future.
I have posts on the 2 canons, rev 1-12, and judes quotation of enoch about 70 ad/second coming.
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We need Holy Spirit revival!

Beauty of thought towards His wonders, thank you! Especially knowing it be in the Apostle's tradition! IMO, when a Christian life comes face-to-face with His ''times of refreshing'', is it not characterized by the ongoing influence of the Holy Spirit by the flock of God's choosing (1Cor 15:19)? This is different I think than your use of 'Revival' of the Spirit. For us, the race for the spiritual continues for all engaged in this conflict, ever ever onward till God willing, raises up that one who has reaped His reward to ''impart some spiritual gift'' corporately. If that happens, praise God!
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Supreme Court confronts gun rights pileup


An unusually large pileup of Second Amendment challenges has landed at the Supreme Court, which will consider taking up the cases behind closed doors Friday.

It would add to what is already a major term for gun rights. The justices previously agreed to hear two cases early next year that involve whether unlawful drug users can carry firearms and Hawaii’s gun permitting regime.





I have mixed feeling about these. I'll explain why.

Preface: Scotus can only evaluate what's presented to them and elevated to their court, not perfect world scenarios to make new legal stipulations.

Hawaii and similar states having a "may issue" permitting system.

The two sides of that coin, a person pays the application fees, spends money to dot all of the I's and cross all the T's, and then an issuing agency says "Nah, sorry, we're not going to give you a carry permit".

The flip side, an issuing agency has guys like this show up:
1765588929869.png
1765589025015.png


"Hi, I passed the background check did the paperwork, the gremlins who live in my closet said I should carry a gun, rabbit skins feel nice don't they...anyway...can I have my permit please?"

...perhaps some discretion is a good thing in some instances.


On the "felon" stuff...I've long maintained that people with non-violent felonies (like cooking the books) are less of a public threat than a person with violent misdemeanors on their record, and shouldn't be denied the right of self defense. The problem is, SCOTUS has a narrow scope to work with to establish precedent and isn't involving that sort of nuance to make the distinction between violent and non-violent felonies, and I certainly don't want former armed robbers being legally licensed to carry.

As far as the drug users thing, that's also too broad. Despite marijuana being closer to alcohol on the "risk spectrum", its lumped in with PCP and heroin (federally), so SCOTUS striking down laws on behalf of some casual pot users could have the negative effect of allowing some hardcore drug users to get their hands on guns.
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Do Your Actions Speaks Louder then your knowledge?

Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Revelation 13:16,15

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.


Revelation 20:4

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them, and the souls of those having been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who did not worship the beast, nor his image, and did not take the mark upon the forehead, and upon their hand. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Revelation 3:21

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
peace in Jesus name
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A Bit of Truth In Each Carol

Grace and resurrection for those who are humble enough to receive Him, trusting in Him to remodel us, the oppressed who understand love and peace. In flesh He gives us a law to remedy the fact this world is not built upon love or peace and promises the wrong shall fail and the right prevail. Bless as you would be blessed and forgive if you want God's forgiveness. God's Will be done, not the will and doctrines of man.


"born to give us second birth" ... Hark! the Herald Angels Sing



"With the dawn of redeeming grace" ... Silent Night



"So God imparts to human hearts

the blessings of His heav'n.

No ear may hear His coming,

but in this world of sin,

where meek souls will receive Him still" ... Little Town of Bethlehem



"and fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.: ... Away In a Manger



"to free all those who trust in Him

from Satan's pow'r and might" ... God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen



"He rules the world with truth and grace" ... Joy to the World



"And ye, beneath life's crushing load,

whose forms are bending low,

who toil along the climbing way

with painful steps and slow
,

look now! for glad and golden hours

come swiftly on the wing.

O rest beside the weary road,

and hear the angels sing!" ... It Came Upon a Midnight Clear



"Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,

and in His name all oppression shall cease." ... O Holy Night



"Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!" ... O Come, All Ye Faithful



"Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,

In ancient times didst give the law

In cloud and majesty and awe." ... O Come, O Come, Emmanuel




" And in despair I bowed my head:

"There is no peace on earth," I said,

"For hate is strong, and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.
"


"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men." ... Christmas Bells



"Therefore, Christian men, be sure, while God’s gifts possessing,

You who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing." ... Good King Wenceslas



"Sages, leave your contemplations,

brighter visions beam afar" ... Angels From the Realms of Glory

Kirk Cameron Takes Heat for His Annihilationist View on Hell

Matthew 25:46 ‘Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:46 is Jesus quoting Daniel 12:2...

Daniel 12:2
“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book will be delivered. 2 And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.…'

Olam in Daniel 12:2 has everlasting referring to contempt - the word in Hebrew is Deraon: Contempt, reproach, abhorrence.
Deraon
is only used one other place in the Hebrew, Isaiah 66:24 an abhorrence, or horror as in Isaiah 66:24

Isaiah 66:24
"... their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”

Everlasting Contempt, reproach, abhorrence, horror - these words do not mean torture or consciousness.
Yes, the punishment is for eternity, it is final. The wages of sin is death. Death is eternal, it is final, and it is a punishment.
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Biden Creating Commission to Study Expanding the Supreme Court

I hope I'm alive long enough to experience Roberts' "legacy" be trashed by historians worldwide. Occasionally (mostly when it doesn't change the decision) he will vote with the minority, but he is someone who tries to talk the talk but "walks the walk all the way to unscrupulous dictatorship."

The Federalist Society sure got their money's worth out of indoctrinating 6 conservative judges. I thought Coney-Barrett might be a little bit better, but there's no angel whispering in her ear when she agrees with the majority.
You should be thanking him for saving Obamacare
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WHO. REALLY SET ISRAEL ASIDE ??

#1. BUT. /// DE is. a CONJUNCTION

#2 TO /// PROS. is. a. PREPOSTION

#3 ISRAEL //. ISRAEL

#4 HE SAITH /// LEGO. in. the PRESENT TENSE in. the PRESENT TENSE. in. the ACTIVE VOICE in. the. in. the INDICATIVE MOOD.

in. the SINGULAR

#5 ALL /// HOLOS. is a ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

#6. DAY LONG ///. HEMERA. in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE. , in. the SINGULAR

#7 I HAVE STREHED FORTH /// EKPETANNYMI. is in. the AORIST TENSE in the ACTIVE VOICE in. the SINGULAR

#8 MY ///. MOU. is a PERSONAL POSSESSETIVE PRONOUNin. the GENITIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

#9 HANDS. ///. CHEIR. in v the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the PLURL

#10 UNTO ///. PROS. is a PREPOSITION

#11 A DISOBEDENT. // APEITHEO. in. the PRESENT TENSE invite ACTIVE VOICE is. a PARTICIPLE , in the ACCUSATIVE CASE

in. the SIGULAR

#12 AND ///. KAI is. a CONJUNCATION

#13 GAINSAYING. //. ANTLEGO. in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

#14 PEOPLE /// LASO. in the ACCUSATIVE CASE in the SIGNULAR


# A. AND Heb 9:18 is another KILLER verse

# B. And does . AWAY with WATER BAPTISM

#C. DOES AWAY. with the law

#D. DOES AWAY. with the 10 COMMNDMENTS

#E. Does away with the other forms of BAPTIZING. ,where there are 6. more forms of them

# F And the BODY of CHRIST is INTERDUCED in. Gal 6:15
dan p

DeSantis admin diverted $36.2 million in child welfare and medical funds for consultants, ads to defeat voter ballot initiatives

This just seems like more of the same from Florida Republicans.

Former Gov. Rick Scott mandated drug tests for people on SNAP and cash assistance. They didn't save much money, but since all the tests were purchased from a medical company "owned?" by Scott's wife, I'm sure they laughed all the way to the bank.
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For those who are gamers, how do you handle Christian Ethics vs gaming?

I don't think there's anything wrong with the idea of fiction in general, but it can go south quickly when you start making up deities and stuff. I think a great idea would be to look at some Christian Fiction writers like CS Lewis. I don't think Tolkien's works is all that ethically stable, but I think Lewis does a greater job at how you can merge fiction while staying in the boundaries of scripture.
I guess this is why this an interesting topic for me and should fictional video games with magic in it be avoided when there is no deity worship or deity-sourced powers? At the beginning of my first post in this topic, my answer would be it is acceptable. From what you and @CoreyD have been sharing, it causes me to think a bit about it.
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