timf said:

The sermon on the mount might be seen as Jesus telling Jews what they could expect when the earthly kingdom for Israel was established.

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This is a traditional interpretation, but Jesus taught his disciples to listen and act.

keras said:

Matthew 15:24 is the clincher. Jesus came to save the House of Israel.....
He is from the House of Judah and He did preach to the Jews, But only a few accepted Him. It was them, the Apostles, who made Jesus' mission successful and we Christians are now the Israelites of God.

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No, we Christians are not the Israelite's of God. We are corporately the body of Christ.

The nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms following the death of Solomon. The northern kingdom and the southern kingdom.

Google a map of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. Modern day nation of Israel covers the land mass of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. Ezekiel 37:15-28, the reuniting of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom back into one kingdom has been fulfilled.

keras said:

Enough Jews will survive to fulfil Eze 37. Mostly those now living in other countries now, who have become Christians.
Saying there will be no Beulah, is a direct rejection of Isaiah 62:1-5

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Ezekiel 37:15-28 is a prophecy about the reuniting of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom back into being one kingdom.

Beulah in Isaiah 62:1-5 does not mean a replacement nation made of Christians from around the world. Beulah has to do with Israel no longer being a Desolate land. Modern day Israel is again well populated after being desolate for 2000 years.

Isaiah 62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

For what its worth this is what God of the Bible said about the Lords Day and being a holy convocation.

The Lords Day in God's own Words- the only one in the Bible He claimed as His

Isa 58:13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,

Exo20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.

What He claimed as a holy convocation or church

Lev 23:3 ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

What Jesus kept as a holy convocation

Luke4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. What He read from is the Book of Isaiah if you keep reading in this passage

What His church and apostles kept as a holy convocation, just as Jesus quoted from and predicted

Isa 56:6 “Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Why we see both Jews and Gentiles and all people coming together to hear the word of God every Sabbath in the NT

Acts 13:14
But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

Acts 13:27
For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

Acts 13:42
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

Acts 13:44
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

Acts 15:21
For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

Acts 16:13
And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.

Acts 17:2
Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

Acts 18:4
And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

And what continues on forever as a holy convocation but instead of worshipping Him in spirit, it will be in person.

Isa 66:23 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

What Paul was referring to

Heb 10: 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

I don't have much to contribute at this point because I largely agree with the position articulated by Michael Jones (founder and director of Inspiring Philosophy), which you summarized here. It closely aligns with the somewhat unique view that I hold. But that is to be expected, as we were both inspired by the same material, the exegetical work of John Walton. My view is far more narrowly covenantal (Reformed theology), while Jones seems content with a broader mytho-historical scope, as far as I can tell. Definitely unlike William Lane Craig, who puts Adam 750,000 years ago (which would make Adam a different species).

DarylFawcett said:

Should be an interesting four years from 2025-2029.

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Its been quite a interesting start to say the least...

BCP1928 said:

You think being a Congressman is easy?

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It says they worked 119 days in 2023. Yes they do other stuff, but a lot of that is handled by clerks and assistants. The only real hard part is the work put in to getting your face in front of a TV camera as often as possible. Theoretically, one could be illiterate and be a congressman. Of course it would be nice to be able to read a restaurant menu while you're in a place with which we have important relations, that you've taken a taxpayer-paid-for junket to, like Tahiti.

eleos1954 said:

• Romans 6:12-14: "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions... presenting your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace".
• Psalm 119:11: "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you".
• James 1:14-15: "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death".
• 1 John 3:9: "No one who is born of God practices sin, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God".

What is sin? Transgression of the Law .... I'm not claiming sinless perfection (only Jesus is perfect) .... we are called to strive for overcoming sin and that can only be done through the Holy Spirit working in a person.

• Believers are called to strive for holiness and a life free from sin, not by their own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit working in them.
• Jesus' command: Jesus' command to "go and sin no more" is seen as a call to a new life in Him, where one is no longer controlled by sin.

We are called to turn away from the temptation of sin .... not live in it.

The Bible says that turning away from sin, also known as repentance, is a command from God that leads to forgiveness and a renewed relationship with Him. Key themes include an act of turning back to God with one's whole heart to receive forgiveness, the promise that sins will be wiped away, and the concept of living a new life free from the enslavement of sin.

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So you understand and agree with the point I originally made about 1 Corinthians 10:13 (coppied below for convenience)?

In the beginning was the Word

And the Word was with God

And the Word was God

He was in the beginning with God

All things came into being through Him

In Him was life

And the life was the Light of men

The Light shines in the darkness

Jesus, the Christ

Messiah of the Most High

Blessed be the Lord

Blessed be the Lord indeed

When things have reached such a pass, in order to return to health, we may have to pull up the old evil by the roots. The saintly king Josiah did not simply encourage the worship of the true God, while permitting the well-established and well-heeled idolatry to go on in his midst. As soon as he was of age to command, “he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images,” smashing the altars of Baal, reducing the images to dust, and strewing it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. (2 Chronicles 34:3-4)

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Faithful Catholics compare today’s bishops with the saintly bishops of old and they find the former woefully lacking in manly courage. They do not seem to act like men of God should – with zeal, filled with faith and charity.

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The Heavens Are Telling

Quirinius

The reality of free will sounds like there is some realness, fact or truth about it. Even this is a non verifiable claim. Just like those who say there is no free will.

Sometimes I think the very idea of free will is an idea that stems from a a non belief in God into a belief in whatever it is that has no God or gods that would ultimately judge us.

Because then all human made ideas about judgement and morals and all that are relative. So in some ways fundementally, right at the bottom underneath all the rationalisations this comes down to a belief. One with God and one without where everything is naturalistic and social construction.

Is not the idea of no free will is because we are subject to all sorts of forces, biases and influences based on the material processes. Even religious belief is an evolutionary by product and not real. We made up the gods as a coping mechanism lol.

But outside this limited worldview it seems our lived experiences and reality is that Free Will is real. As real as the chair we are sitting on as far as belief in it. Its just you can't put free will in a test tube.

I would say our lived reality is a reality. The proof is in the pudding so to speak and theres no arguement against it. Because we act like there is free will and we are not fools or are deluded lol. Its real and we don't need all the rationalisation. We just get on with it and live as if free will is as real and the phyical world.

SabbathBlessings said:

Since God didn't reveal this, I would be less worried about what God is doing right now, because we are not God, and more concerned what God asks of us. That's me though.

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My bad, I was tired yesterday, God does reveal what He is doing right now...

He's ruling over all Creation
Psa 103:19 “The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”
Dan 4:35 He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.”
Mat 28:1818 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

He's sustaining the Universe
Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 17 All things were created through Him and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Heb1:3 Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

He is transforming people through Christ
2 Cor5:19 That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation

The Holy Spirit Is Dwelling in Believers
1 Cor 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Christ is interceding in Heaven as our High Priest

Heb 8:1Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

Romans 8:34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
Heb 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them

Judgement is being prepared and final ruling

Which is what I believe we are in right now...

Heb 9:11-12 “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Rev 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

What is in the Most Holy Place that we are told we will be Judged by, why it sits under His mercy seat? Exo 25:21 God's Testimony Exo31:18

Exo 26:34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.

Rev 15:5 After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

Why this is revealed at the Last Trumpet before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Rev 11:19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

The earthy temple was always a miniature of God's heavenly Temple Heb8:1-5

Exo 25:21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

Which His Testimony is the Ten Commandments

Exo 31:18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Deut 4:13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone

What Law we are Judged by
John 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying: (Exo20:1-17)

James 2:11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

We are judged by the perfect law of God, as revealed in His Word, demonstrated in our actions, and made real through faith in Jesus Christ- who alone can declare us righteous.

Gamaliel

Richard T said:

Americans vote for the economy now more than ever as inequality has climbed and many are on the outside looking in. So MAGA will be toast. I disagree though that many will turn to socialist type candidates. The fringe will not play well in middle America, but moderate democrats will. Sadly, few will trust moderate Republicans. I predict the midterms will be among the biggest shift to democrats to ever occur. Look at all the people groups Trump is irritating. Student loan borrowers, snap recipients, federal employees, all businesses affected by tariffs. But my assumptions are based on a tanking economy, and busted stock market.

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I will agree with you that both parties are becoming more fringe. And I do think the Democrats best hope is a tanking economy.

Pilate's hall

Luke

​

There is a strong sense of nationalism in Türkiye today, which regards being a Muslim as necessary to being a loyal Turk. This puts considerable social pressure on Turkish Christians.

Although Christianity has an extremely long history in the country, it is still seen as a negative Western influence, even by moderate Muslims and secular Turks who are proud of their national identity. It's not illegal to leave Islam and become a Christian, but most people who convert face strong pressure from their families to change their minds. They may be threatened with divorce, loss of inheritance and being disowned by their family.

Christians in Türkiye face everyday discrimination for their faith. Foreign Christians with Turkish spouses and children have been banned from entering or re-entering the country. Religion is recorded on the Turkish ID card, making it easy to discriminate against Christian job applicants. Even Greek and Armenian Christians who attend traditional churches aren't considered full members of Turkish society. Their churches struggle with legal obstacles and red tape intended to obstruct the practice of their faith.

Who is most vulnerable to persecution?​

Historical Christian groups, such as the Armenian and Assyrian (Syriac) churches, face high pressure and hostility in the southeastern region of Türkiye. For decades, they have been caught between the rivalries of the Turkish army and Kurdish resistance groups. Most Christians from those churches no longer live in their ancestral regions but have moved to western areas of Türkiye.

Most Turkish Protestant communities are located in the western coastal cities, including Istanbul. Those cities tend to be more liberal and secular, while inland areas are more conservative, Islamic and socially hostile toward Christians. However, some urban areas within the bigger cities are conservative as well.

What has changed this year?​

More church buildings were targeted than in previous years, in addition to two reported killings. Overall societal attitudes toward the church and the Christian community have not significantly changed, and average pressure remains at the same very high level. Societal hatred continues to be of serious concern for all Christians, regardless of their church background.

In addition, the Protestant community continues to be targeted with entry bans, with several expatriate Christians again being forced to leave the country. Asylum seekers and Christian refugees in particular (including converts from Islam to Christianity) from such countries as Iran, Afghanistan and Syria faced significant discrimination and abuse.

What does Open Doors do to help Christians in Türkiye?​

Open Doors raises prayer support for persecuted believers in Türkiye. Through local partners, Open Doors supports Persian-speaking refugee believers with training, resources and practical support.

How can you pray for Türkiye?​

• There are some in Türkiye who seek to tie Turkish identity to Islam. Pray that there would be an openness to accepting people of all faiths as true Turks.
• Ask God to draw close to converts from Islam, particularly those who are rejected by their families.
• Praise God that many believers in Türkiye can worship Jesus openly and without fear.

Moonlight Sonata

friendship.

Friends are . . .