Podcasts about ezk

Ezk 36:26-27; John 1:17; John 6:53; 6:63; Rom 8:5-6; Gal 5:19-21; 5:22-23: 5:24-25

Jer 31:34; Wph 2:8-9; Heb 8:12; 1 Cor 1:31; Heb 12:2; Rev 5:12; Jer 31:33; Heb 13:9; Eph 1:7; Ezk 36:26; Pro 4:23; 2 Pet 3:18; Gal 3:2-3; Rom 6:14; Heb 7:18-19; John 1:16; Heb 10:20

Revelation, Session Five Christ the Savior, Anderson SC Fr. Anthony Perkins Sources: The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible. Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011), Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018). Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011). Jack Norman Sparks, The Orthodox Study Bible: Notes (Thomas Nelson, 2008), 1712. Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878). William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005). Review – from the Orthodox Study Bible Introduction and Blessing 1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. 2. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. [speaking of the Gospel of St. John]  3.  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. Greeting to the Seven Churches 4.  John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,  5.  and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.  To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,  6.  and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever.  Amen. (OSB) 7.  Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.  And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.  Even so, Amen. 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord (God), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 10.  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,  11.  saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.” And, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. 12-13.  Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.  And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment  down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.   New Material – from the Orthodox Study Bible 14-20.  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.  Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.  The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.   1:14. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire OSB.  Further, Christ is here described as God, His hair (v. 14) being that of Daniel's vision of God as the “Ancient of Days” (7:9; see also 1En 46:1). His eyes signify knowledge; His feet (v. 15), permanence and stability; His voice, authority or teaching; His right hand (v. 16), power; His two-edged sword, complete discernment. This imagery continues throughout Revelation to affirm the preexistence and eternal divinity of the Son of Man (see also Jn 1:1–18). Thus, in Christ man (v. 14) and God (vv. 15, 16) are united. St. Bede.  14. white. The antiquity and eternity of majesty are represented by whiteness on the head, to which all the chief ones adhere, as hairs, who, because of the sheep which are to be on the right hand are white, like wool, and because of the innumerable multitude of the white-robed and the elect, who come forth from heaven, are glistering like snow. eyes. The eyes of the Lord are preachers, who, with spiritual fire, bring light to the faithful, and to the unbelieving a consuming flame. Andrew of Caesarea. 1:14. His head and his hair were white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire. For even though he is recent amidst us, nonetheless he is ancient; rather, he is before time. His white hair is a symbol of this. And his eyes are as a flame of fire, on the one hand, illuminating those who are holy and, on the other hand, burning the sacrilegious. 1:15.  His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; OSB. 1:15 Dan 2:31–44 indicates this mysterious metal foundation not only provides stability but has the ability to forcibly crush all opposition as well. These images are contrasted with the feet of clay found in Dan 2:33, 43: the kingdoms of this world are not permanent, nor ultimately triumphant. St. Andrew of Caesarea.  1:15a. And his feet were like glowing brass, red-hot as in a furnace. [21] The divine Gregory also understood that the feet meant the divine condescension through the flesh. For his feet by treading on the divinity achieved our salvation. The feet are also the foundations of the Church, like glowing brass, which physicians say is a sweet-smelling incense, which they call masculine incense. Or otherwise: On the one hand, meaning the human nature by the glowing brass, and on the other hand the divine nature by the incense, through both of which is also shown the sweetness of the faith and the unconfused union . Or the fine brass signifies the beautiful melody of the gospel proclamation, and the incense is the return of the nations by which the bride is summoned. And the feet of Christ are also the apostles, who have been tested by fire in the furnace of trials in imitation of their Teacher. 1:15b. And his voice like the sound of many waters. Naturally. His voice is in common with that of the Spirit, from which “rivers of living water flowed from the belly” of the faithful, and it made a penetrating sound over all the earth.   St. Bede.   15. feet. By the “fiery feet” he means the Church of the last time, which is to be searched and proved by severe afflictions. For orichalcum is brass, which, by much fire and various ingredients, is brought to the colour of gold. Another translation, which renders it, “like orichalcum of Lebanon,” signifies that in Judæa, of which Lebanon is a mountain, the Church will be persecuted, and especially at the last. The temple also frequently received the name of Lebanon, as there is said to ito, “Open, O Lebanon, thy gates, and let the fire devour thy cedars.” voice. The voice of confession, and preaching, and praise does not resound in Judæa alone, but among many peoples. 1:16.  He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. OSB: 1:16 The Lord holds the stars that represent the seven churches (1:20), and hence, the Church. For Christ is Lord of the Church. In His just judgment, the sword He wields is the Word of God, which cuts effortlessly to the very marrow and heart of humanity (see 2:16; 18:15; Is 11:4; 49:2; WSol 18:15; Eph 6:17; 2Th 2:9; Heb 4:12). The brilliance of His face recalls the Uncreated Light John saw radiating from the Savior at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Andrew of Caesarea. 1:16. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and coming out from his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword, and his appearance as the sun shines in its power. [22] Further down he says that the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches. The sharp, double-edged sword means his decision against the wicked, “sharper than any two-edged sword,” or the sword of the Spirit circumcising our inner man.38 Like the sun his face shines, not in a splendor to the senses, but to the intellect. For he is the “sun of righteousness,” shining with his own power and authority, not like the sensory sun, which as a created object by God-given power and divine command.   St. Bede. 16. right hand. In the right hand of Christ is the spiritual Church. “On Thy right hand,” he says, “stood the queen in a vesture of gold.” And as it stands on His right hand, He saithq, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom.” mouth. He, the Judge of all things visible and invisible, “after He has killed, has power to cast into hell fire.” countenance. Such as the Lord appeared on the Mount, will He appear after the judgment to all the saints, for at the judgment the ungodly will behold Him Whom they pierced. But all this appearance of the Son of Man belongs also to the Church, for He Himself was made the Christ in the same nature with it, and He gives to it a sacerdotal dignity and a judicial power, and to “shine as the sun in the kingdom of His Father.” 1:17-18. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.   OSB. 1:17, 18 Mortal humanity cannot bear the revelation of divine glory, a frequent biblical theme (see Ex 19:21; 33:20; Is 6:5). Just as he fell prostrate at Mount Tabor (Mt 17:6), so also does John here, in the presence of the glorified Savior (see Ezk 1:27; Dan 10:7–9; see also 1En 14:24). Do not be afraid is a revelatory formula from the OT. As a signal for the theophany, it was carried over into the NT (see the Annunciation, Lk 1:30; Jesus walking upon the water, Mt 14:27—“Fear not, I AM”; the Transfiguration, Mt 17:7). In the OT God was called “the first and the last” (Is 44:6; 48:12), and so, too, is the Messiah. Some early heresies (e.g. Docetism) held that Jesus only seemed to die. But the Lord Himself testified, I … was dead, affirming the authenticity of His death; alive forevermore, His Resurrection—the power of which effects His lordship over death and its realm. The Orthodox icon of the resurrected Christ depicts Him with these keys (v. 18) in hand, standing triumphantly on the open gates of Hades. Fr. John Farley.  Like those receiving such theophanic appearances in Old Testament days (e.g. Ezek. 1:28; Dan. 8:17), John fell at His feet as if dead. Even though he had leaned in familiarity upon His breast at the Last Supper (John 13:23), yet such is the power of the Lord in His heavenly exaltation that even the beloved disciple is overwhelmed. The Lord restores him in preparation to write the things he has seen and will see. He tells John, “Do not be afraid,” and in this He tells all of John's churches not to fear. They need not fear death, martyrdom, or anything in all the world. Why? Because Christ has overcome the world, trampling down death by death. He became dead, but now He is alive to ages of ages. As such, He is the first and the last, sovereign over all (compare God as the Alpha and Omega in 1:8) and the Living One, the source of all life. He had authority over death and Hades by His Resurrection. Death cannot now separate us from Him, for He is Lord of both the living and the dead. St. Andrew of Caesarea.  Christ revived the Apostle himself who had suffered through the weakness of human nature like Joshua son of Nun and Daniel, by saying to him, “Do not fear, for I have not come near to kill you, since I am beginningless and endless, having become dead for your sakes.” 1:18b. And I have the keys of Hades and of death. [23] Instead , he has authority over bodily and spiritual death. St. Bede.  17.  I fell. As a man, he trembles at the spiritual vision, but his human fear is banished by the clemency of the Lord. the first. He is the first, because “by Him were all things made;” the last, because in Him are all things restoredu. 18. keys. Not only, He saith, have I conquered death by resurrection, but I have dominion also over death itself. And this He also bestowed upon the Church by breathing upon it the Holy Spirit, saying, “Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them,” and the rest. 1:19.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.  Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.   OSB.  John's visions have to do with both the present (things which are) and the future. Fr. John Finlay.  Then Christ gives John a command: he is to write the things which he has seen, and the things which are, and the things which are about to happen after these things and send them to the main churches under his care in Asia. (From these seven main locations, they could be sent out to other smaller church communities as well.) This gives a basic outline of the Book of Revelation as a whole: it relates what John has seen (the vision of Christ in ch. 1), the things which are (the present state of the churches, described in chs. 2–3), and the things which are about to happen in the future (the prophecies of chs. 4–22). St. Andrew of Caesarea.  [nothing] St. Bede.  Reveal to all the things which thou alone hast seen, that is, the various labours of the Church, and that the evil are to be mingled in it with the good unto the end of the world. 1:20.  The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. OSB. The angels of the seven churches have been variously interpreted as being (1) the guardian angels of the church communities; (2) the pastoral leadership of these local churches; (3) a personification of the prevailing spirit of the given congregations; or (4) simply the messengers responsible for delivering the letters. The term “angel” (heavenly or earthly messenger) is used over 60 times in Revelation. Fr. John Farley.  The introduction concludes with an explanation of the meaning of the seven stars in His hand and the seven lampstands among which He stands. The seven lampstands are the seven churches of Asia, and the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. This is a reference to what may be termed the individual corporate personality of each church community. Each local church is thus portrayed as having an angel, even as each person has his guardian angel. Just as a person's guardian angel resembles that person (see those who reacted to the announcement that Peter was standing unexpectedly at the door by suggesting that it was not Peter but his angel; Acts 12:15), so the church's angel sums up and embodies the local church. The angel of the church is an image of the strengths and weaknesses of each church. In writing to the angel of the church of Ephesus, the Lord actually speaks to the church of Ephesus in its corporate aspect. We see this today as well, in that church communities have corporate characteristics—some are loving, some judgmental, some zealous, some lax. The reference to each church's “angel” is a way of addressing each community as a community, using the language of the apocalyptic. St. Andrew of Caesarea.  Since Christ is the “true light,” because of this, those abundant in his light are lamps as they shine in the night of this present life. Naturally, the churches are called lampstands, because, as the luminaries, they “have the word of life” according to the Apostle. The lamps and lampstands are gold because of the honor and purity of the faith in them. An angel has stood guard for each of these, just as the Lord says,44 and Gregory the Theologian had understood the present chapter: he figuratively called them “stars” because of the brightness and clarity of their nature. St. Bede.   stars. That is, the rulers of the Church. For the priest, as Malachi says, is “the angel of the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 2:7.  “for the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth, for he is the messenger (malakh/angel) of the Lord Almighty.”  

Revelation, Session Four Christ the Savior, Anderson SC Fr. Anthony Perkins Sources: The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible. Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011), Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018). Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011). Jack Norman Sparks, The Orthodox Study Bible: Notes (Thomas Nelson, 2008), 1712. Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878). William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005). Review Introduction and Blessing 1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. 2. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. [speaking of the Gospel of St. John]  3.  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.   Greeting to the Seven Churches 4.  John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,  5.  and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.  To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,  6.  and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever.  Amen. (OSB) 7.  Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.  And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.  Even so, Amen. New Material 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord (God), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Andrew of Caesarea.  Christ is shown here both as God and as the Ruler of all things, both beginningless and at the same time endless, existing now and existing before and having no end, since he is coeternal with the Father, and on account of this he will render to each one the wages of deeds done. Ps 62(61):12; Prv 24:12; Wis 16:14; Rom 2:6; 1 Cor 5:10 St. Bede.  Who is. He had said this same thing of the Father, for God the Father came, as He also is to come, in the Son. St. Augustine.  The Lord himself said plainly in the Apocalypse, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first”—before whom is nobody—“the last”—after whom is nobody; he precedes all things and sets a term to all things. Do you want to gaze upon him as the first? “All things were made through him.”49 Do you seek him as the last? “For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.” In order for you to live at some time or other, you had him as your creator. In order for you to live always, you have him as your redeemer. 9.  I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. OSB.  Patmos: A small rocky island 40 miles off the western coast of modern Turkey, fifty miles south of Ephesus, to which the Romans exiled criminals.  John's preaching must have been considered a seditious threat to the public interest if he was indeed a prisoner there. Logos.  According to a tradition preserved by Irenaeus, Eusebius, Jerome and others, John, the author of Revelation, was exiled there in the 14th year of the reign of Domitian and subsequently released to Ephesus under Nerva (96 ad). St. Andrew of Caesarea.  “Inasmuch as your brother,” he says, “being also a co-participant in the tribulations on account of Christ, I naturally have acquired trustworthiness among you. Being condemned to live on the island of Patmos on account of the witness of Jesus, I will announce to you the mysteries seen by me on it.” 10.  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,  OSB.  In the Spirit may mean John received the revelation in a visionary ecstasy (see Ezk 3:12 - Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.), but more probably that he was in the worship (“in Spirit and in truth”) of the Lord. The Lord's Day is the earliest reference to the Christian name for Sunday. The Didache and St. Ignatius of Antioch show this name was used very early for the day when Christians gathered to celebrate the Resurrection in the Holy Eucharist. As a fulfillment of the first day of the week of the old creation, Sunday becomes the “eighth day,” the “first day of the new creation.” The term “eighth day” is seen in 2En 33:1 (“On the eighth day I likewise appointed, so that the 8th day might be the 1st, the first-created of my week, and that it should revolve in the revolution of 7000; ⟨|so that the 8000|⟩ might be in the beginning of a time not reckoned and unending, neither years, nor months, nor weeks, nor days, nor hours ⟨like the first day of the week, so also that the eighth day of the week might return continually”⟩. and inaugurates the first day of the timeless age to come. The loud voice, as of a trumpet is a traditional, eschatological, apocalyptic introduction describing an appearance of the Lord (see Ex 19:16, 19; Mt 24:31; 1Co 15:52; 1Th 4:16). Andrew of Caesarea.  Having been possessed by the Holy Spirit and having a spiritual ear on the Lord's day, also would have been honored by him on account of the resurrection, he heard a voice that seemed like a trumpet because of the loud sound—“the sound of their voice went out to all the earth”—declaring the beginninglessness and endlessness of God signified by the Alpha and Omega. By it he was commanded to send out his visions to the seven churches, because of the aforementioned number seven applying to the Sabbath period of the future age. For this reason also the great Irenaeus had written that the seven heavens and seven angels leading the rest of them had been created by God first. 11.  saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.” And, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. OSB.  The glorified Christ introduces himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, thus identifying Himself with God the Father (v. 8; 22:13). His position amidst the seven lampstands signifies His presence in the Church (see Mt 5:14) St. Bede.  Seven Churches.  The Church of Christ was not at the time in these places alone, but all fulness is comprised in the number seven. Asia, which is interpreted elevation, denotes the proud exaltation of the world in which the Church is sojourning, and, as is the method of the divine mystery, the genus is contained in the species. For the Apostle Paul also writes to seven churches, but not to the same as St. John. And although these seven churches are a sevenfold figure of the whole Church, still the things which he blames, or praises, came to pass in them one by one. Apringius of Beja (Latin Father of the 6th Century). Ephesus means “my will” or “my plan.” He wills that we know that the whole reality of our faith and the dignity of the catholic church is not to be ascribed to human merit, but they are the will of God and the disposition of the divine purpose. Smyrna means “their song.” And what else is the song of the perfect if not the celestial doctrine and the preaching of the gospel and the advance of the Christian religion, or the melodious confession of the catholic church? Pergamum means “to him who divides their horns.” This refers either to the insolence of the powers of the air, or to the arrogance of the heretics. And he teaches that the pride of the powers is always to be separated and divided from the congregation of the church, for the horns are either power or arrogance. He writes to Thyatira, that is “enlightened.” This signifies that, after the expulsion of heretical pride and after the defeat of temptations from the powers of the air, the holy church is deserving of the light of righteousness. Sardis means the “beginning of beauty.” The church is seized by the sun of righteousness and is illumined by the light of truth, so that she might have the beginning of beauty, the Lord Jesus Christ, and might always shine in perpetual light. Philadelphia means “preserving devotion to the Lord.” After possessing the sun of righteousness, after the illumination of holiness, after the comeliness of holy beauty, the church rightly is devoted to the Lord and preserves herself by an inviolable observation of devotion. Laodicea means either “a tribe beloved of the Lord,” or, as some would have it, “a birth is expected.” Both are meaningful, for she who has merited the beauty of faith and the sun of righteousness and knows that through faith the Lord cleaves to her, might also be a tribe whom the Lord loves, who is both loved by the Lord and preserved by the Lord. Furthermore, the church might well await her own birth, either the regeneration of baptism or the glory of the resurrection, whenever she preserves herself by humility and patience.  Pulpit Commentary (BibleHub).  [This] is just the order in which St. John would visit the Churches in making an apostolic circuit as metropolitan. With the exception of what is told us in these chapters, the history of the Churches of Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis in the apostolic or sub-apostolic age is quite unknown. 12-13.  Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.  And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment  down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. St. Bede.  Here the figure of the Church is beautifully represented, as holding forth the light of divine love in the brightness of a chaste breast, according to that which the Lord saith, “Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning.” And he denotes its perfection within and without by the two parts of the number seven; and the individual members of it, consisting of the four qualities of the body, “love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength.” 13. Son of Man. He means that he is like the Son of man when He had overcome death, and had ascended into heaven. For “Although we knew Christ after the flesh, yet henceforth know we Him no more.” And it is well said, “in the midst,” for “All,” he saysl, “who are round about Him shall offer gifts.” garment. “Poderis,” which is called in Latin, “tunica talaris,” and is a sacerdotal vestment, shews the priesthood of Christ, by which He offered Himself for us, as a victim to the Father, upon the altar of the cross. girdle. By the “paps” he here means the two Testaments, with which He feeds the body of the saints in communion with Himself. For the golden girdle is the choir of saints, which cleaves to the Lord in harmonious love, and embraces the Testaments, “keeping,” as the Apostle says, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Andrew of Caesarea.  That the voice was not sensory he signifies saying, I turned, not to hear it, but to see the voice, for spiritual hearing and seeing are the same. I turned, he says, and I saw seven lampstands—which he understood as representing the churches—and in their midst Christ, resembling a man—because he is also God and not a mere man—clothed in a long garment as a high priest of the things above, “according to the order of Melchizedek.” A golden belt was wrapped around him, not on the hip as other men in the era of hedonisms—the divine flesh is inaccessible to these —but on the chest by the breasts also how the boundless and righteous divine anger is restrained by love for humankind. The truth is shown in the girding of the Master's breasts, that is, the two Testaments, through which the faithful are nourished. The belt is gold on account of honor, purity, and genuineness. St. Jerome.  In the law, John had a leather girdle because the Jews thought that to sin in act was the only sin.… In the Apocalypse of John, our Lord Jesus, who is seen in the middle of the seven lampstands, also wore a girdle, a golden girdle, not about his loins but about the breasts. The law is girdled about the loins, but Christ, that is, the gospel and the fortitude of the monks, binds not only wanton passion but also mind and heart. In the gospel, one is not even supposed to think anything evil; in the law, the fornicator is accused for judgment.… “It is written,” he says, “in the law, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' ” This is the leather girdle clinging about the loins. “I say to you, anyone who even looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” This is the golden girdle that is wrapped around the mind and heart. OSB. One like the Son of Man recalls Daniel's messianic figure (Dan 7:13—repeated by Stephen at his martyrdom, Acts 7:56). Christ called Himself Son of Man (see especially Mt 24:30ff.), for He is the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy. Additional parallels may be seen in both the Old and New Testaments (Dan 10:6; Mt 17:2; Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12). We also see Him vested in high-priestly garments (see Ex 28:4; 29:5; Lv 16:4; WSol 18:24; Zec 3:4, 5). The gold with which He is girded is both royal (1Mc 10:89) and priestly. 14-16.  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. [17a.  And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.] OSB.  Further, Christ is here described as God, His hair (v. 14) being that of Daniel's vision of God as the “Ancient of Days” (7:9; see also 1En 46:1). His eyes signify knowledge; His feet (v. 15), permanence and stability; His voice, authority or teaching; His right hand (v. 16), power; His two-edged sword, complete discernment. This imagery continues throughout Revelation to affirm the preexistence and eternal divinity of the Son of Man (see also Jn 1:1–18). Thus, in Christ man (v. 14) and God (vv. 15, 16) are united. 1:15 Dan 2:31–44 indicates this mysterious metal foundation not only provides stability but has the ability to forcibly crush all opposition as well. These images are contrasted with the feet of clay found in Dan 2:33, 43: the kingdoms of this world are not permanent, nor ultimately triumphant. 1:16 The Lord holds the stars that represent the seven churches (1:20), and hence, the Church. For Christ is Lord of the Church. In His just judgment, the sword He wields is the Word of God, which cuts effortlessly to the very marrow and heart of humanity (see 2:16; 18:15; Is 11:4; 49:2; WSol 18:15; Eph 6:17; 2Th 2:9; Heb 4:12). The brilliance of His face recalls the Uncreated Light John saw radiating from the Savior at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. St. Bede.  14. white. The antiquity and eternity of majesty are represented by whiteness on the head, to which all the chief ones adhere, as hairs, who, because of the sheep which are to be on the right hand are white, like wool, and because of the innumerable multitude of the white-robed and the elect, who come forth from heaven, are glistering like snow. eyes. The eyes of the Lord are preachers, who, with spiritual fire, bring light to the faithful, and to the unbelieving a consuming flame. 15. feet. By the “fiery feet” he means the Church of the last time, which is to be searched and proved by severe afflictions. For orichalcum is brass, which, by much fire and various ingredients, is brought to the colour of gold. Another translation, which renders it, “like orichalcum of Lebanon,” signifies that in Judæa, of which Lebanon is a mountain, the Church will be persecuted, and especially at the last. The temple also frequently received the name of Lebanon, as there is said to ito, “Open, O Lebanon, thy gates, and let the fire devour thy cedars.” voice. The voice of confession, and preaching, and praise does not resound in Judæa alone, but among many peoples. 16. right hand. In the right hand of Christ is the spiritual Church. “On Thy right hand,” he says, “stood the queen in a vesture of gold.” And as it stands on His right hand, He saithq, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom.” mouth. He, the Judge of all things visible and invisible, “after He has killed, has power to cast into hell fire.” countenance. Such as the Lord appeared on the Mount, will He appear after the judgment to all the saints, for at the judgment the ungodly will behold Him Whom they pierced. But all this appearance of the Son of Man belongs also to the Church, for He Himself was made the Christ in the same nature with it, and He gives to it a sacerdotal dignity and a judicial power, and to “shine as the sun in the kingdom of His Father.”   Andrew of Caesarea. 1:14. His head and his hair were white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire. For even though he is recent amidst us, nonetheless he is ancient; rather, he is before time. His white hair is a symbol of this. And his eyes are as a flame of fire, on the one hand, illuminating those who are holy and, on the other hand, burning the sacrilegious.   1:15a. And his feet were like glowing brass, red-hot as in a furnace. [21] The divine Gregory also understood that the feet meant the divine condescension through the flesh. For his feet by treading on the divinity achieved our salvation. The feet are also the foundations of the Church, like glowing brass, which physicians say is a sweet-smelling incense, which they call masculine incense. Or otherwise: On the one hand, meaning the human nature by the glowing brass, and on the other hand the divine nature by the incense, through both of which is also shown the sweetness of the faith and the unconfused union . Or the fine brass signifies the beautiful melody of the gospel proclamation, and the incense is the return of the nations by which the bride is summoned.33 And the feet of Christ are also the apostles, who have been tested by fire in the furnace of trials in imitation of their Teacher.35 1:15b. And his voice like the sound of many waters. Naturally. His voice is in common with that of the Spirit, from which “rivers of living water flowed from the belly” of the faithful, and it made a penetrating sound over all the earth. 1:16. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and coming out from his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword, and his appearance as the sun shines in its power. [22] Further down he says that the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches. The sharp, double-edged sword means his decision against the wicked, “sharper than any two-edged sword,” or the sword of the Spirit circumcising our inner man.38 Like the sun his face shines, not in a splendor to the senses, but to the intellect. For he is the “sun of righteousness,” shining with his own power and authority, not like the sensory sun, which as a created object by God-given power and divine command.

Cenâb-ı Hâkk'ın seçtiği kullar Allâh (c.c.)'un rızâsını kazanmaya gayret eder, âhiret yurduna hazırlanmaya çalışırlar. Kâinâtın Rabbi'nin gazâbını çekecek davranışlardan uzak durur, cehennem azâbından korkarlar. Allâh (c.c.)'un buyruklarını yerine getirme arzusuyla akşam-sabah, gece-gündüz, hâller ve durumlar değiştikçe O (c.c.)'u zikreder ve fazîletli ameller yaparlar. Böylece kalpleri ilâhî nurların parıltısıyla aydınlanır. Amellerin fazîletlerine dâir bir rivâyet duyan kimse, hayatında bir defa bile olsa, o rivâyete göre amel etmeli ve böylece o fazîletli işi yapanlardan sayılmalıdır. Söz konusu fazîletli ameli hiç yapmamak uygun bir davranış değildir. Bu sebeple onu elinden geldiğince îfâ etmelidir. Çünkü Resûl-i Ekrem (s.a.v.)'in hem Sahîh-i Buhârî hem de Sahîh-i Müslim'de bulunan şöyle bir hadîs-i şerîfi vardır: Ebû Hüreyre (r.a.)'den rivâyet edildiğine göre, Nebiyy-i Ekrem (s.a.v.) şöyle buyurdu: “Size bir şeyi emrettiğim zaman, onu elinizden geldiği kadar yapın.” Hadis, fıkıh ve diğer ilimlerin âlimleri şöyle demişlerdir: “Amellerin fazîletleri ile tergîb ve terhîb (iyi bir işi yapmaya özendirme, kötü bir işi yapmaktan sakındırma) konularında, uydurma olmadığı sürece zayıf hadisle amel etmek câiz ve makbûldür. Ama helâl-haram, alım-satım, nikâhboşanma gibi konularda âlimler zayıf hadisle değil, sadece sahîh veya hasen hadisle amel etmişlerdir. (Biz müslümanlara düşen de bu âlimlerin yazdığı fıkıh ve ilmihal kitaplarına göre amel etmektir; hadis-i şeriflerden hüküm çıkarmak değil) (İmâm Nevevî, el-Ezkâr, c.1, s.25-26)

Pro 3:34; Jam 4:6; 1 Pe 5:5; Psa 138:6; Pro 16:18-19; Ezk 28:14-15; Isa 14:12-14; Mat 18: 1-4; Psa 145:3; Isa 14:14; Luk 9:45; 22:24;

Besede so pomemben del našega življenja. Uporabljamo jih za to, da drugim posredujemo svoje misli. Rojevajo se v naših mislih. Lahko so spodbudne, razumevajoče, opogumljajo, povezujejo, delajo človeka in človeštvo dobro. Po drugi strani pa lahko postanejo žaljive, uničujoče, ponižujejo drugega, vnašajo med ljudi sovraštvo, zavajajo ljudi. Vse se začne v naših mislih. Že star latinski pregovor pravi: »Quidquid agis, prudenter agas et respice finem!« (Karkoli delaš, delaj modro in glej na konec.) Dobro je, tako dela zrel in odrasel človek, biti pozoren na to, kam ga vodijo določene misli in dejanja, ki sledijo našemu razmišljanju. Tudi v preteklosti so opozarjali na stranpoti na katere pogosto zaide človek in človeštvo. Modrosti generacij pred nami je včasih težko razumeti. Ena takšnih misli je bila zapisana pred tisočletji. Takole je zapisano: »26Če se pravični odvrne od svoje pravičnosti, ravna krivično in zato umre, umre zaradi krivice, ki jo je počenjal. 27Če pa se krivični odvrne od krivičnosti, ki jo je počenjal, in ravna po pravu in pravičnosti, si reši življenje. 28Ker uvidi in se odvrne od vseh pregreh, ki jih je počenjal, bo zagotovo živel, ne bo umrl.« (Ezk 18,26-28). Mar ni to krivično? Na prvi poglede morda res. TODA! Bolj, ko se človek poglobi v to misel, bolj vidi, kako pomembno je kam je usmerjeno naše življenje, kaj kali, kaj klije in raste v našem življenju. Lahko bi rekli, da je življenje umetnost izbiranja pravih misli in odločitev za dejanja, ki vodijo nas in druge ljudi k zrelosti in odraslosti. Vsak dan znova se je treba odločati in izbrati pravo smer življenja. In kako lahko to preverim? Ko postajam krivičen, sem nepozoren do drugih ljudi, ko ponižujem druge ljudi, je to lahko opozorilo, da nisem na pravi poti. V življenju naj bi me vodila pravičnost. Prijaznost, sočutje, pozornost do drugega človeka je jamstvo, da gre življenje v pravo smer. Danes potrebujemo ljudi, ki so vsak dan pozorni na to, da ne bi iz pravičnosti zdrsnili v krivičnost, da ne bi namesto prijaznosti in dobrote širili okoli sebe sovraštvo in nerazumevanje. To je zagotovilo, da bodo ljudje kljub včasih drugačnemu vtisu, vztrajali na poti pravičnosti. Vsak se sam v sebi, v svojih mislih, odloči ali bo šel po poti krivičnosti ali pravičnosti. Pomembna je smer življenja, po kateri si upajo stopati ljudje s pogumom in vztrajnostjo.

Abdullah ibni Amr ibni'l-Âs (r.a.)'den rivâyet edildiğine göre, Resûl-i Ekrem (s.a.v.) şöyle buyurdu: “İki zikir vardır ki bunları devamlı yapan Müslüman, mutlaka cennete girer. Esasen bunları yapmak kolaydır fakat yapanlar pek azdır. Birinci zikir şudur: Biriniz her farz namazdan sonra on defa sübhânallâh, on defa elhâmdülillâh, on defa Allâhü ekber derse; bunların beş vakitte dildeki sayısı 150, fakat Mîzan'daki sayısı 1500'dür. İkinci zikir şudur: Bir kimse yatağına girdiği zaman otuz dört defa Allâhü ekber, otuz üç defa elhamdülillâh, otuz üç defa sübhânallâh derse, bunların dildeki sayısı 100, fakat Mîzan'daki sayısı 1.000'dir.” Abdullah ibni Amr ibni'l-Âs şöyle dedi: “Resûlullah (s.a.v.)'in bu zikirleri parmaklarıyla saydığını gördüm.” Ashâb-ı Kirâm (r.a.e.): “Yâ Resûlallâh! “Bunları yapmak kolaydır, fakat yapan pek azdır.” buyurdunuz. Neden azdır?” diye sordular. Allâh'ın Resûlü (s.a.v.) şöyle buyurdu: “Biriniz uyuyacağı zaman şeytân yanına gelir ve o bu zikirleri söylemeden onu uyutur. Yine biriniz namaz kılarken şeytân yanına gelir ve ona yapacağı işleri hatırlatır. O da bu zikirleri yapmaz.” Ebû Saîd el-Hudrî (r.a.)'den rivâyet edildiğine göre, Nebiyy-i Ekrem (s.a.v.) namazını bitirince, selâm vermeden önce mi yoksa sonra mı bilemiyorum, şöyle derdi: “Sübhâne Râbbike Râbbil izzeti ammâ yesıfûn ve selâmün alel mürselîn velhâmdülillâhi Râbbil âlemin (İzzet sahibi Râbbin, onların yakıştırdıklarından münezzehtir. Selâm olsun peygamber olarak gönderilenlere. Ve hâmd olsun âlemlerin Râbbi olan Allâh'a.) (İmâm Nevevî, el-Ezkâr, c.1, s.207-210)

Psa 62:8; 32:7; Ezk 13:11; Psa 18:4-5; 46:1; 55:6-7

2 Cor 1:19-20; Psa 138:8; 2 Tim 3:12; Ezk 12:25;28; Rev 1:5; Heb 3:19

John 8:24; 8:36; Mat 11:28; 4:19; Ezk 18:20; Rom 6:23; 3:23; John 8:58; Ex 3:14; Mat 13:49-50; Heb 9:27; Rev 2:11-15; Rev 20:10; 2 Th 1:9; John 10:28

Ebû Ümâme (r.a.) şöyle dedi: “Farz ve nâfile namazlardan sonra Resûlullâh (s.a.v.)'e her yaklaştığımda onun şöyle duâ ettiğini işitirdim: “Allâhümmağfir lî zünûbî ve hatâyâye küllehâ, Allâhümme en‘ışnî vecburnî vehdinî lisâlihil a‘mâli velahlâkı, innehû lâ yehdî lisâlihihâ, velâ yasrifü seyyiehâ illâ ente (Allâhım! Bütün günâhlarımı ve hatâlarımı affeyle. Allâhım! Dünya ve âhirette derecemi yükselt. Kayıplarımı gider. Bana sâlih ameller ve güzel huylar nasip eyle. Şüphesiz sâlih ameller kazanmayı ve kötü huylardan korunmayı ancak sen lütfedersin.)” Enes ibni Mâlik (r.a.) şöyle dedi: “Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) namazı kılıp bitirince şöyle duâ ederdi: “Allâhümmec‘al hayra ömrî âhırahû, ve hayra amelî havâtimehû, vec‘al hayra eyyâmî yevme elkâke (Allâhım! Ömrümün sonunu hayatımın en hayırlı zamanı yap. Son amellerimi en hayırlı amellerim eyle. Sana kavuşacağım günü, yaşadığım günlerimin en hayırlısı eyle.)” Ebû Bekre (r.a.)'den rivâyet edildiğine göre, Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) namaz kıldıktan sonra şöyle duâ ederdi: “Allâhümme innî eûzü bike minel küfri velfakri ve azâbil kabri (Allâhım! Senin varlığını, birliğini inkâr etmekten, fakirliğe düşmekten ve kabir azâbından sana sığınırım.” Fedâle bin Ubeyd (r.a.)'den rivâyet edildiğine göre, Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) şöyle buyurdu: “Biriniz namaz kılıp bitirince önce Allâhü Teâlâ'ya hâmdü senâda bulunsun, sonra Nebiyy-i Ekrem (s.a.v.)e salâtü selâm getirsin, ardından da dilediği şekilde duâ etsin.” Ukbe bin Âmir (r.a.) şöyle dedi: “Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) bana her namazdan sonra Muavvizeteyn'i (Felak ve Nâs sûreleri) okumamı emretti.” (İmâm Nevevî, el-Ezkâr, c.1, s.209-211)

Muâz ibni Cebel (r.a.)'den rivâyet edildiğine göre, bir gün Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) onun elini tuttu ve: “Ey Muâz! Vallâhi seni gerçekten seviyorum” buyurdu, sonra da ona şunu söyledi: “Ey Muâz! Sana her namazdan sonra şöyle duâ etmeyi ihmâl etmemeni tavsiye ediyorum: “Allàhümme eınnî alâ zikrike ve şükrike ve husni ibâdetik (Allâhım! Seni zikretmeme, sana şükretmeme ve sana güzelce ibâdet etmeme yardım eyle.)” Enes ibni Mâlik (r.a.) şöyle dedi: “Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) namazı kılıp bitirince sağ elini yüzüne sürer, sonra da şöyle derdi: “Eşhedü en lâilâhe illallâhür rahmânür rahîm, Allàhümme ezhib annil hemme velhazen (Rahmân ve Rahîm olan Allah'tan başka ilâh olmadığını kesin bir dille söylerim. Allahım! Keder ve üzüntümü gider.)” Sa‘d ibni Ebî Vakkàs (r.a.)'den rivâyet edildiğine göre, Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) namazlardan sonra şu duâyı okuyarak Allâh (c.c.)'a sığınırdı: “Allâhümme innî eûzü bike minel cübni, ve eûzü bike en uradde ilâ erzelil ömri, ve eûzü bike min fitnetid dünyâ, ve eûzü bike min azâbil kabr (Allâhım! Korkaklıktan sana sığınırım. İleri derecede yaşlanıp ele avuca düşmekten sana sığınırım. Dünya fitnesinden sana sığınırım. Kabir azabından sana sığınırım.)” İleri derecede yaşlanıp başkalarının eline düşmeye, Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'in ifâdesiyle “erzel-i ömür” denir. O yaşta insan kendine bakamayacak hâle gelir, bildiğini unutur, bilmesi gerekenleri hatırlamaz. Erzel-i ömür, hayatın en kötü devresi, en verimsiz çağıdır. Biz de Sultân-ı Enbiyâ (s.a.v.) Efendimiz gibi erzel-i ömürden Allâh (c.c.)'a sığınmalıyız. (İmâm Nevevî, el-Ezkâr, c.1, s.206-208)

On this episode of The King's Healing Room Podcast, Bishop. Hill dives into the word of GOD on why we should Prophesying to the wind Sermon Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-10 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/EZK.37.1-10 To give today: Givelify: Search: The King's Healing Room Pay Pal TKHROFFICE@gmail.com TKHR now offers Text to Give...  Here's how it works: 5 Steps... 1.   Text - "give " to 1 (844) 981-2759 which is unique to TKHR 2.  You will receive a text with instructions  3.  Follow the instructions to set up a giving account 4. Text the amount you want to give and the designation (eg. tithe, offering, general fund) 5. You will receive a receipt via email confirming your gift I did it and it works! If you want to listen to the sermon on audio podcast here are the links below Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kings-healing-room-podcast/id1494591065?uo=4 Breaker https://www.breaker.audio/the-kings-healing-room-podcast Google Podcast  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xMjJjOWQ4OC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== Overcast  https://overcast.fm/itunes1494591065/the-kings-healing-room-podcast Pocket Cast https://pca.st/bv1ufvf7 Radio Public https://radiopublic.com/the-kings-healing-room-podcast-WJ2LL1 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4LDhQ58s0Ysk6PYJ9vKMbo

Ezân okuyanı ve kâmet getireni duyan kimse onun söylediklerini aynen tekrarlar, ancak “hayye ales salâh ve hayye alel felâh. (Haydin namaza, haydin felâha)” sözlerini duyunca, herbirinden sonra: “Lâ havle velâ kuvvete illâ billâh. (Günâhtan kaçacak güç, ibâdet edecek kuvvet ancak Allâh'ın yardımıyla kazanılabilir)” der. “Es-salâtü hayrun minen nevm. (Namaz uykudan hayırlıdır)” sözünü duyunca şöyle der: “Sadakte ve berirte. (Doğru söyledin, gerçeği dile getirdin.)” Bazı âlimler bu sözü duyan kimsenin şöyle demesini uygun görmüşlerdir: “Sadaka Resûlullah (s.a.v.), essalâtü hayrun minen nevm. (Resûlullah (s.a.v.) doğru söyledi; namaz uykudan hayırlıdır.)” Müezzin veya kâmet getiren kimse: “Eşhedü en lâilâhe illallâh” deyince, bunu duyan şöyle der: “Ve ene eşhedü en lâilâhe illallâh. (Ben de kesin bir dille belirtirim ki Allâh'tan başka ilâh yoktur.)” Müezzin veya kâmet getiren kimse: “Eşhedü enne Muhammeden Resûlullâh” deyince, bunu duyan kimse şöyle der: “Ben de kesin bir dille belirtirim ki Muhammed (s.a.v.), Allâh'ın Resûlüdür.” Ve ardından şöyle der: “Radîtü billâhi Râbben, ve bi Muhammedin resûlen, ve bil islâmi dînen. (Râb olarak Allâh'ı, Peygamber olarak Muhammed (s.a.v.)'i ve din olarak İslâm'ı kabul edip râzı oldum.)” Kâmet getiren kimse: “Kad kâmetis salâh. (Namaz başladı)” deyince, bunu duyan kimse şöyle der: “Ekâmehallâhu ve edâmehâ. (Allâh namazı kalıcı ve devamlı eylesin.)” Ezânı sonuna kadar böyle takip eder, ezân bitince Resûl-i Ekrem (s.a.v.)'e salâtü selâm getirir, ardından da şu duâyı yapar: “Ey şu eksiksiz dâvetin ve kılınacak namazın Râbbi olan Allâhım! Muhammed'e Vesîle'yi ve Fazîlet'i ver. O (s.a.v.)'i, kendisine vadettiğin Makâm-ı Mahmûd'a ulaştır.” Ardından da âhiret ve dünya ile ilgili dileklerini Râbbinden ister. (İmâm Nevevî, el-Ezkâr, c.1, s.110-112)

Heb 8:6; Lev 18:5; Deu 28:1; 28:15; Ezk 20:21; Jer 31:31-34; Exo 19:7-8; Lev 18:5; Jer 31-33; Deu 9:24; Ezk 36:26-27; Num 23:19 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bespirituallyminded/message

Php 2:12-13; Psa 81:13; 119:127; 40:8; James 1:22; Matt 26:41; Psa 110:35-36; Heb 13:20-21; Col 1:21; Eph 2:2-3; 13-16; Jer 32:40; Ezk 37-26; 2 Cor 3:5-6 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bespirituallyminded/message

Ezk 36:26-27; 2 Cor 5:17; Col 3:5-6; Rom 8:13-14; Gal 5:16; Act 7:51 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bespirituallyminded/message

Ex 24:7; Deu 26:16-17; Ex 32:8; Jdg 3:12; Jdg 4:1; Jdg 10:6; Jdg 6:1; Act 7:51; Ezk 36:26; Ezk 20:19; Ex 24:7; Ez 20:21; Jer 31:31-32; Heb 10:19-20; John 3:3-6; Eph 4:17-18; 2 Cor 5:17; --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bespirituallyminded/message

Thomas Bollen werkt aan een boek over ons geldstelsel. Hoe is de inrichting daarvan tot stand gekomen, en zijn er alternatieven? In dit gesprek licht hij een tipje van de sluier op. Hij vertelt daarnaast over De Nederlandsche Bank, die voor het eerst sinds de instorting van de beurskoers in 1929 verlies maakt. Daar is weinig ophef over, maar het kost de overheid en dus de burger miljarden.

Thomas Bollen werkt aan een boek over ons geldstelsel. Hoe is de inrichting daarvan tot stand gekomen, en zijn er alternatieven? In dit gesprek licht hij een tipje van de sluier op. Hij vertelt daarnaast over De Nederlandsche Bank, die voor het eerst sinds de instorting van de beurskoers in 1929 verlies maakt. Daar is weinig ophef over, maar het kost de overheid en dus de burger miljarden.

A new MP3 sermon from Cornerstone Church Trafalgar is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Nukes? Ezk. 39 Subtitle: End times updates Speaker: Pastor Brian Butler Broadcaster: Cornerstone Church Trafalgar Event: Midweek Service Date: 5/1/2024 Bible: Ezekiel 38; Ezekiel 39 Length: 55 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Cornerstone Church Trafalgar is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Nukes? Ezk. 39 Subtitle: End times updates Speaker: Pastor Brian Butler Broadcaster: Cornerstone Church Trafalgar Event: Midweek Service Date: 5/1/2024 Bible: Ezekiel 38; Ezekiel 39 Length: 55 min.

Ezk 37:1-14; 1 John 5:4-10; John 20:19-31

Question: I know that false faiths abound, but I don't find edification in focusing on error. Show me in the Word where false doctrine is explained. It seems to me that the Bible addresses Satan's lies without going into detail of the actual practices.Response: We at TBC take no pleasure in exposing and documenting false dogmas and practices. We do so only to expose error out of deep concern for souls. Yes, there are many kind, compassionate, and self-sacrificing Muslims who oppose terrorism. Yes, the Roman Catholic Church was the major charitable institution during the Middle Ages, often promoting morality and education. Most Catholics today do not know most of Rome's official dogmas, but they still rely upon that Church and its clergy to get them out of “purgatory” and into heaven. Yes, many Mormons and Moonies espouse “traditional morals.” We do not oppose individuals but the largely false gospels they preach.You ask for biblical support concerning the exposure of evil and false doctrines. The Bible gives much insight concerning Satan's fall (Isa 14:12-15; Ezk 28:12-18), the details of his temptation of Eve (Gen 3:1-7), and of his attempt to destroy Job's trust in and relationship with God (Job 1:1-2:7). There are too many accounts of idolatry and pagan practices and warnings against them to list all the verses (Lev 19:31; 20:1-6; Deut 18:9-14; Isa 47:8-13, etc.). The Bible goes into great detail concerning the apostasy of Israel, telling the sins of its kings and people, from the golden calf (Ex 32:1-28) to the Queen of Heaven (Jer 44:15-23); and again, there are too many references to list.

Resûlullâh (s.a.v.) şöyle buyurdu: “Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'i üç günden daha kısa sürede hatmeden, okuduğundan bir şey anlamaz.” Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'i olması gerekenden daha hızlı okuyanlar onu tecvîd üzere okuyamazlar ve okudukları üzerinde düşünemezler. Kur'ân-ı Kerîm hatmine başlama ve bitirme zamanı, okuyanın tercihine bağlıdır. Şâyet haftada bir hatmediyorsa Hz. Osmân (r.a.)'i örnek alabilir. Osmân (r.a.) hatme cuma gecesi başlar, perşembe gecesi bitirirdi. İmâm Gazzâlî (r.âleyh), İhyâu ulûmi'd-dîn adlı eserinde şöyle demiştir: “En fazîletli olan, okunan hatmi bir defa geceleyin, bir defa da gündüzün bitirmektir. Gündüz hatmini Pazartesi günü sabah namazının iki rekât sünnetinde veya daha sonra bitirmelidir. Gece hatmini de Cuma gecesi akşam namazının iki rekât sünnetinde veya daha sonra bitirmelidir. Böylece günün başlangıcını ve sonunu bitirdiği hatimle karşılamış olur.” Tâbiîn neslinin ünlü hadis hâfızı Amr ibni Mürre (r.a.) şöyle demiştir: “Ashâb-ı Kirâm (r.a.e.), Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'i ya gecenin ilk saatlerinde veya akşamın ilk saatlerinde hatmetmeyi severdi.” Tâbiînin kırâat âlimlerinden Talha bin Musarrif (r.a.) şöyle demiştir: “Bir kimse günün herhangi bir saatinde Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'i hatmederse, melekler akşama kadar onun günâhlarının affedilmesi için duâ ederler. Aynı şekilde gecenin herhangi bir saatinde hatmederse, melekler sabaha kadar onun günâhlarının affedilmesi için duâ ederler.” Sa‘d İbni Ebî Vakkàs (r.a.) şöyle dedi: “Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'in okunup bitirilmesi gecenin başladığı saate rastlarsa, melekler o hatmi yapanın günâhlarının affedilmesi için sabaha kadar duâ ederler. Şâyet Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'in okunup bitirilmesi gecenin sonuna rastlarsa, melekler o hatmi yapanın günâhlarının affedilmesi için akşama kadar duâ ederler.” Sa‘d ibni Ebî Vakkàs (r.a.), bu rivâyetin devamında Ashâb-ı Kirâm (r.a.e.)'in pek değerli bir uygulamasını haber vermiştir. Onlar, meleklerin duâsını kazanmak arzusuyla, hatimlerini akşam veya sabah saatinde bitirmeye çalışırlarmış; bunun için de Kur'ân-ı Kerîm'in sonundaki bazı sûreleri o iki vakitten birinde okurlarmış. (İmâm Nevevî, el-Ezkâr, c.1, s.304-306

The Old Testament prophets looked forward to a day when God's Spirit would dwell within His people (Jer 31:31-34; Ezk 36:22-27), and they would become prophets (Joel 2:28-32). When the Messiah arrived, God would enter into a “new covenant” with His people (Jer 31:31). On the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus lifted the cup and said, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Lk 22:20). By this statement He was revealing that His death on the cross would bring this great promise to His followers. After His resurrection He commanded His disciples to wait for this promise to arrive. He said they would be “baptized in the Holy Spirit…” (Ac 1:4, 5), and by that baptism He said they would receive the power they would need to be His witnesses (Ac 1:8). This promise arrived on the Day of Pentecost (Ac 2:1-4; 14-21), and continues to be given by God to every person who repents and believes in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Ac 2:38, 39).  Though it is clearly stated in Scripture that God gives this promise to everyone who believes in His Son, as the Book of Acts progresses, and the history of the church proves, it is possible for this gift to go unreceived (Ac 8:12, 14-17; 19:1-7), what is given in potential is not received in practice. With the desire to receive all that God has given us, let's seek to understand the baptism with the Holy Spirit as accurately as possible.

Na jaren vertraging is de weg nu eindelijk vrij voor de frequentieveiling van de 3,5GHz-band onder Nederlandse telecomproviders. Die netwerkfrequentie zal gebruikt gaan worden voor het 5G-netwerk met de beloofde snelheden. De huidige 5G-snelheid is namelijk slechts een kleine verbetering ten opzicht van 4G.  Bezwaarmakers zorgden ervoor dat de geplande frequentieveiling van eind 2023 niet door kon gaan. Eind november bepaalde de rechtbank van Rotterdam deze bezwaren ongegrond. Volgens demissionair minister Micky Adriaansens van EZK is de weg nu vrij voor de veiling, zo schrijft ze in een beslisnota aan de Tweede Kamer.  De veilingsregels zulen in februari bekend worden gemaakt, daarna kan de aanmelding voor de frequentieveiling beginnen. De veiling zelf zal in twee stappen plaatsvinden: eerst wordt bepaald welke hoeveelheid van het spectrum bij welke provider terecht komt, daarna wordt geveild welke locatie op de frequentieband dat moet worden. Op 1 augustus 2024 mogen de frequenties in gebruik genomen worden door de providers.  Verder in deze Tech Update: Amsterdam wil enkel nog nieuwe datacenters bij direct belang voor de gemeente Beroemd schilderij van Rafaël is niet helemaal van zijn hand, concludeert een AI-systeem  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we take a look at your heart on Special Episode #2 of the Christmas Break series on A Cup of Gratitude. This is a busy season, but we must keep our eyes on Jesus - More than any other time we can be distracted by busyness during the Holidays, we must choose to keep our focus on the KING - Jesus gives everything for us to be reborn and we must set aside all of the worldly things at this time of the year to remain in Him - Isn't it ironic that the time we celebrate Christ's birth is the time we set Him aside to “do all the things” that come with the Holiday - When we choose Jesus, He continues to transform us, and with great Hope for us all Philippians 1:6 promises that God will keep working on us until Christ returns - We begin in a fallen state with hearts of stone - God promises a new heart - “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (EZK 36) Jesus calls this process being “born again from above” (John 3:3). When we are born again, God performs a heart transplant, as it were, He gives us a new heart - On special episode 2 of A Cup of Gratitude we will look at the constant process of turning the soil of our hearts - If we don't let God work on them by abiding in him they will begin to harden, Collect rocks, and grow weeds - God is transforming us, breaking up the ground, removing the rocks, and pulling the thorns as we learn to abide and remain in Jesus - And I am excited to be featuring a song by Singer/songwriter Amanda Nolan has had a passion and drive for music since she could remember. She has been creating music since she was 11 and hasn't stopped. Her music and life changed when she found herself in the lowest moment of her life, struggling with severe anxiety and OCD. Through that moment, a light came shining through and she met Jesus. Since then, the Pennsylvania native has dedicated her life and music to bringing people to Jesus. Amanda wants to show the world how Jesus can take your worst moment and make it something beautiful https://www.instagram.com/amandanolanmusic/https://www.tiktok.com/@amandanolanmusic?lang=enhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPlnrpNOB08xKiZycerJ4Dghttps://www.facebook.com/amandanolanmusichttps://open.spotify.com/artist/1M62wAGkipCrvniBF6ZCa8https://music.apple.com/us/artist/amanda-nolan/1493439119

Nederland is wereldspeler als het gaat om onderzoek en innovatie. Hoe blijven we vooroplopen en worden we nog beter? En wat zijn de politieke partijen van plan? De Kenniscoalitie van alle grote onderwijs- en onderzoekorganisaties en het bedrijfsleven organiseerde een verkiezingsdebat samen met Betrouwbare Bronnen. Topkandidaten van VVD, D66, GroenLinks-PvdA en BBB kruisten de degens. Een vurige discussie op het scherpst van de snede.Kenniscoalitievoorzitter Marcel Levi schetste waarom dit debat juist nu zo nodig is. “Van koeien en varkens moeten we het steeds minder hebben, we hebben niet veel grote industrie, we zijn geen lagelonenland, maar we hebben wel een sterke kennisinfrastructuur en een groot potentieel aan jonge, slimme mensen. Kennis is geen kostenpost – dat is een misverstand. Er zijn veel onderzoeken gedaan waaruit blijkt dat het veel meer oplevert dan het kost.”De vier partijen discussieerden over hot topics in de campagne - van het stikstof en klimaatbeleid tot de doorrekening van drie van hun vier programma's en de weigering van BBB - maar de kern van het debat ging over twee grote vraagstukken:-Hoe behoudt en versterkt ons land zijn rol en kansen als toonaangevende kennisnatie bij onderzoek, ontwikkeling en innovatie?-Hoe zorgen de partijen voor een perspectief op langetermijninvesteringen die dit mogelijk blijven maken?***Dit debat is ook te zien op Youtube!Deze aflevering is mede mogelijk gemaakt door de Kenniscoalitie en met donaties van luisteraars die we hiervoor hartelijk danken. Word ook vriend van de show!Heeft u belangstelling om in onze podcast te adverteren of ons te sponsoren? Zend een mailtje naar adverteren@dagennacht.nl en wij nemen contact met u opOp sommige podcast-apps kun je niet alles lezen. De complete tekst en een overzicht van al onze eerdere afleveringen vind je hier***Jan Paternotte (D66) benadrukte dat hij keuzes wil maken met de wetenschap samen en daarin dan ook investeren. Het wetenschapsfonds van Rutte IV moet daarom voortgezet worden en een groter deel daarvan dient een plaats te krijgen in de basisfinanciering van HBO en WO. Bovendien moet er een Nederlandse variant van Bidens 'Inflation Reduction Act' komen voor innovatieve activiteiten.Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks-PvdA) viel hem hierin bij en had zelfs lof voor het kabinetsbeleid op dit terrein. Des te meer schrok zij van de heel andere koers die andere partijen nu inslaan, zoals het liquideren van het Nationaal Groeifonds.Christianne van der Wal (VVD) stelde dat de komende jaren 'schaarste' het dominante thema zal zijn. Op de arbeidsmarkt, bij energie en ook bij financiering. De kennissector moet daarom strategische keuzes maken en meer focus geven aan de maatschappelijke transities waar kennis aan moet bijdragen. En dit met heel veel ruimte voor het bedrijfsleven dat immers verantwoordelijk is voor twee-derde van de R&D in Nederland. "Niet met hagel schieten op alles."Mona Keijzer van BBB wil minder oplossingen uit de wetenschap op projectbasis financieren. "Kiezen moet." Haar zwaartepunten zijn duurzaamheidsonderzoek, juist ook voor de landbouw, en voedselzekerheid, ‘ook voor verre buitenlanden'. De 'Lissabondoelstelling' – 3 procent van het nationaal inkomen voor onderzoek en ontwikkeling – is wat haar betreft vooral een zaak voor het bedrijfsleven.Paternotte en Westerveld maakten daaruit op dat hun opponenten nu op de kennisinvesteringen willen bezuinigen. De VVD had dit in de CPB-doorrekeningen al laten zien met het schrappen van de grote fondsen. "Dat is de grote snoeischaar" schimpte de D66'er. Van der Wal zat hier moeilijk mee. "Ik had het Groeifonds graag gehouden" en ze noemde Robbert Dijkgraaf zelfs "een fantastische minister, dat vind ik écht! Maar deze keuze maakt de VVD, want wij willen de R&D in het bedrijfsleven helpen en daarom de kosten voor hen verlagen."Daarmee ligt een boeiende en opmerkelijke strategiekeuze voor de kennissector op tafel. De VVD en BBB benadrukten dat 'Lissabon' primair via meer R&D bij bedrijven moest komen, waarbij het MKB makkelijker aan onderzoek moest kunnen meedoen. Met name universiteiten moeten "slimmer samenwerken in consortia, want we moeten keuzes maken."Dat kon ook door minder internationalisering en "stoppen met steenkolenengels tijdens opleidingen," zei Mona Keijzer. Ze stelde dat Engelstalige wetenschap alleen bij technische universiteiten echt aan de orde zijn. Lisa Westerveld ontplofte: "Dit is een karikatuur. Hiermee doe je het hoger onderwijs tekort."Paternotte somde een lange reeks sectoren op in HBO en WO die in een wereldwijd kennismilieu opereren, van toerisme in Breda tot kunst en cultuur. Keijzer zei dat BBB niet tegen Engels in de wetenschap is. Maar geschiedenis hoefde toch niet zo internationaal, of psychologie? "Dit is niet eens penny wise, maar alleen pound foolish," zei de D66'er. Van der Wal wees erop dat in de mastersopleidingen de Engelstalige wetenschapswereld natuurlijk wel een feit was.Belangrijk accent kreeg het praktijkgericht onderzoek vanuit het HBO. Alle deelnemers wezen erop dat dit vaak nauw aan weet te sluiten bij de maatschappelijke transities waarop de focus gelegd moet worden. De consortia en campusvorming die de VVD graag zag komen, kunnen juist dat aspect van het HBO versterken. Mona Keijzer wil hierbij de vrije studiekeuze inperken en sturen. Ook moet de financiering worden aangepast: "Dan maar bij Alfa weghalen naar Bèta. Je zult moeten kiezen bij meer focus. Talen en filosofie daar kun je niet zonder, maar het moet meer de andere kant op, meer techniek en medisch."Zo ontstond een fundamenteel debat over de overheidstaak bij kennis. De VVD eiste meer focus op onderzoek met aandacht "voor het verdienvermogen van Nederland." Keijzer wilde daarom dat EZK meer dan OCW ging sturen op ‘de maatschappelijke meerwaarde' van R&D. Westerveld wees erop dat de overheid zoiets helemaal niet kón zonder onafhankelijke analyses vanuit de wetenschap zelf. Zij wil het groeifonds daar meer op inrichten.Marcel Levi noteerde als afsluiter twee cruciale thema's. Ten eerste dat 'kennis' en 'bedrijfsleven' allerminst tegenover elkaar staan. Juist de bedrijven zijn als lid van de Kenniscoalitie fel tegen schrappen van het Groeifonds. En wereldwijd is een ‘war on talent' gaande. Het talent uit Nederland is overal gewild. "Provinciaal doen met onze opleidingen moeten we niet willen. De Denen trekken zich nu de haren uit het hoofd dat zij dat een tijdlang hebben gedaan.”***Wil je nog meer debat? Ga naar Het Nationaal Hoger Onderwijsdebat: de student kiest op 14 november, Haagse Hogeschool*** Verder luisteren181 - Voor nieuwe Kamerleden en bewindslieden: lessen uit de politieke praktijk van Jet Bussemaker183 - Samen slimmer worden: het Leidse kennisecosysteem als aanjager van duurzame groei 201 - Het geheim van het HBO-succes324 - Nederland loopt vast door tekort aan jongeren met technische opleiding, hoe lossen we dit op? https://art19.com/shows/betrouwbare-bronnen/episodes/d10d8707-bf0b-49d8-9125-959d7786544c…227 - Structureel extra investeren in onderzoek en ontwikkeling helpt de Nederlandse economie enorm vooruit 137 – Joeri van den Steenhoven: maak het Groeifonds slimmer, beter en doeltreffender47 - Harvard-topman Richard McCullough bezorgd over wetenschap in VS en Nederland***Tijdlijn00:00:00 – Deel 100:41:45 – Deel 201:12:00 – Einde Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Let's face it the New Testament probably calls Jesus God (or god) a couple of times and so do early Christian authors in the second century. However, no one offers much of an explanation for what they mean by the title. Did early Christians think Jesus was God because he represented Yahweh? Did they think he was God because he shared the same eternal being as the Father? Did they think he was a god because that's just what they would call any immortalized human who lived in heaven? In this presentation I focus on the question from the perspective of Greco-Roman theology. Drawing on the work of David Litwa, Andrew Perriman, Barry Blackburn, and tons of ancient sources I seek to show how Mediterranean converts to Christianity would have perceived Jesus based on their cultural and religious assumptions. This presentation is from the 3rd Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference on October 20, 2023 in Springfield, OH. Here is the original pdf of this paper. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Z3QbQ7dHc —— Links —— See more scholarly articles by Sean Finnegan Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here Introduction When early Christian authors called Jesus “god” (or “God”) what did they mean?[1] Modern apologists routinely point to pre-Nicene quotations in order to prove that early Christians always believed in the deity of Christ, by which they mean that he is of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father. However, most historians agree that Christians before the fourth century simply didn't have the cognitive categories available yet to think of Christ in Nicene or Chalcedonian ways. If this consensus is correct, it behooves us to consider other options for defining what early Christian authors meant. The obvious place to go to get an answer to our initial question is the New Testament. However, as is well known, the handful of instances in which authors unambiguously applied god (θεός) to Christ are fraught with textual uncertainty, grammatical ambiguity, and hermeneutical elasticity.[2]  What's more, granting that these contested texts[3] all call Jesus “god” provides little insight into what they might mean by that phrase. Turning to the second century, the earliest handful of texts that say Jesus is god are likewise textually uncertain or terse.[4] We must wait until the second half of the second century and beyond to have more helpful material to examine. We know that in the meanwhile some Christians were saying Jesus was god. What did they mean? One promising approach is to analyze biblical texts that call others gods. We find helpful parallels with the word god (אֱלֹהִים) applied to Moses (Exod 7.1; 4.16), judges (Exod 21.6; 22.8-9), kings (Is 9.6; Ps 45.6), the divine council (Ps 82.1, 6), and angels (Ps 8.6). These are texts in which God imbues his agents with his authority to represent him in some way. This rare though significant way of calling a representative “god,” continues in the NT with Jesus' clever defense to his accusers in John 10.34-36. Lexicons[5] have long recognized this “Hebraistic” usage and recent study tools such as the New English Translation (NET)[6] and the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary[7] also note this phenomenon. But, even if this agency perspective is the most natural reading of texts like Heb 1.8, later Christians, apart from one or two exceptions appear to be ignorant of this usage.[8] This interpretation was likely a casualty of the so-called parting of the ways whereby Christianity transitioned from a second-temple-Jewish movement to a Gentile-majority religion. As such, to grasp what early postapostolic Christians believed, we must turn our attention elsewhere. Michael Bird is right when he says, “Christian discourses about deity belong incontrovertibly in the Greco-Roman context because it provided the cultural encyclopedia that, in diverse ways, shaped the early church's Christological conceptuality and vocabulary.”[9] Learning Greco-Roman theology is not only important because that was the context in which early Christians wrote, but also because from the late first century onward, most of our Christian authors converted from that worldview. Rather than talking about the Hellenization of Christianity, we should begin by asking how Hellenists experienced Christianization. In other words, Greco-Roman beliefs about the gods were the default lens through which converts first saw Christ. In order to explore how Greco-Roman theology shaped what people believed about Jesus as god, we do well to begin by asking how they defined a god. Andrew Perriman offers a helpful starting point. “The gods,” he writes, “are mostly understood as corporeal beings, blessed with immortality, larger, more beautiful, and more powerful than their mortal analogues.”[10] Furthermore, there were lots of them! The sublunar realm was, in the words of Paula Fredriksen, “a god-congested place.”[11] What's more, “[S]harp lines and clearly demarcated boundaries between divinity and humanity were lacking."[12] Gods could appear as people and people could ascend to become gods. Comprehending what Greco-Roman people believed about gods coming down and humans going up will occupy the first part of this paper. Only once we've adjusted our thinking to their culture, will we walk through key moments in the life of Jesus of Nazareth to hear the story with ancient Mediterranean ears. Lastly, we'll consider the evidence from sources that think of Jesus in Greco-Roman categories. Bringing this all together we'll enumerate the primary ways to interpret the phrase “Jesus is god” available to Christians in the pre-Nicene period. Gods Coming Down and Humans Going Up The idea that a god would visit someone is not as unusual as it first sounds. We find plenty of examples of Yahweh himself or non-human representatives visiting people in the Hebrew Bible.[13] One psalmist even referred to angels or “heavenly beings” (ESV) as אֱלֹהִים (gods).[14] The Greco-Roman world too told stories about divine entities coming down to interact with people. Euripides tells about the time Zeus forced the god Apollo to become a human servant in the house of Admetus, performing menial labor as punishment for killing the Cyclopes (Alcestis 1). Baucis and Philemon offered hospitality to Jupiter and Mercury when they appeared in human form (Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.26-34). In Homer's Odyssey onlookers warn Antinous for flinging a stool against a stranger since “the gods do take on the look of strangers dropping in from abroad”[15] (17.534-9). Because they believed the boundary between the divine realm and the Earth was so permeable, Mediterranean people were always on guard for an encounter with a god in disguise. In addition to gods coming down, in special circumstances, humans could ascend and become gods too. Diodorus of Sicily demarcated two types of gods: those who are “eternal and imperishable, such as the sun and the moon” and “the other gods…terrestrial beings who attained to immortal honour”[16] (The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian 6.1). By some accounts, even the Olympian gods, including Kronos and Uranus were once mortal men.[17] Among humans who could become divine, we find several distinguishable categories, including heroes, miracle workers, and rulers. We'll look at each briefly before considering how the story of Jesus would resonate with those holding a Greco-Roman worldview. Deified Heroes Cornutus the Stoic said, “[T]he ancients called heroes those who were so strong in body and soul that they seemed to be part of a divine race.” (Greek Theology 31)[18] At first this statement appears to be a mere simile, but he goes on to say of Heracles (Hercules), the Greek hero par excellence, “his services had earned him apotheosis” (ibid.). Apotheosis (or deification) is the process by which a human ascends into the divine realm. Beyond Heracles and his feats of strength, other exceptional individuals became deified for various reasons. Amphiarus was a seer who died in the battle at Thebes. After opening a chasm in the earth to swallow him in battle, “Zeus made him immortal”[19] (Apollodorus, Library of Greek Mythology 3.6). Pausanias says the custom of the inhabitants of Oropos was to drop coins into Amphiarus' spring “because this is where they say Amphiarus rose up as a god”[20] (Guide to Greece 1.34). Likewise, Strabo speaks about a shrine for Calchas, a deceased diviner from the Trojan war (Homer, Illiad 1.79-84), “where those consulting the oracle sacrifice a black ram to the dead and sleep in its hide”[21] (Strabo, Geography 6.3.9). Though the great majority of the dead were locked away in the lower world of Hades, leading a shadowy pitiful existence, the exceptional few could visit or speak from beyond the grave. Lastly, there was Zoroaster the Persian prophet who, according to Dio Chrysostom, was enveloped by fire while he meditated upon a mountain. He was unharmed and gave advice on how to properly make offerings to the gods (Dio Chrysostom, Discourses 36.40). The Psuedo-Clementine Homilies include a story about a lightning bolt striking and killing Zoroaster. After his devotees buried his body, they built a temple on the site, thinking that “his soul had been sent for by lightning” and they “worshipped him as a god”[22] (Homily 9.5.2). Thus, a hero could have extraordinary strength, foresight, or closeness to the gods resulting in apotheosis and ongoing worship and communication. Deified Miracle Workers Beyond heroes, Greco-Roman people loved to tell stories about deified miracle workers. Twice Orpheus rescued a ship from a storm by praying to the gods (Diodorus of Sicily 4.43.1f; 48.5f). After his death, surviving inscriptions indicate that he both received worship and was regarded as a god in several cities.[23] Epimenides “fell asleep in a cave for fifty-seven years”[24] (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 1.109). He also predicted a ten-year period of reprieve from Persian attack in Athens (Plato Laws 1.642D-E). Plato called him a divine man (θεῖος ἀνήρ) (ibid.) and Diogenes talked of Cretans sacrificing to him as a god (Diogenes, Lives 1.114). Iamblichus said Pythagoras was the son of Apollo and a mortal woman (Life of Pythagoras 2). Nonetheless, the soul of Pythagoras enjoyed multiple lives, having originally been “sent to mankind from the empire of Apollo”[25] (Life 2). Diogenes and Lucian enumerate the lives the pre-existent Pythagoras led, including Aethalides, Euphorbus, Hermotimus, and Pyrrhus (Diogenes, Life of Pythagoras 4; Lucian, The Cock 16-20). Hermes had granted Pythagoras the gift of “perpetual transmigration of his soul”[26] so he could remember his lives while living or dead (Diogenes, Life 4). Ancient sources are replete with Pythagorean miracle stories.[27] Porphyry mentions several, including taming a bear, persuading an ox to stop eating beans, and accurately predicting a catch of fish (Life of Pythagoras 23-25). Porphyry said Pythagoras accurately predicted earthquakes and “chased away a pestilence, suppressed violent winds and hail, [and] calmed storms on rivers and on seas” (Life 29).[28] Such miracles, argued the Pythagoreans made Pythagoras “a being superior to man, and not to a mere man” (Iamblichus, Life 28).[29] Iamblichus lays out the views of Pythagoras' followers, including that he was a god, a philanthropic daemon, the Pythian, the Hyperborean Apollo, a Paeon, a daemon inhabiting the moon, or an Olympian god (Life 6). Another pre-Socratic philosopher was Empedocles who studied under Pythagoras. To him sources attribute several miracles, including stopping a damaging wind, restoring the wind, bringing dry weather, causing it to rain, and even bringing someone back from Hades (Diogenes, Lives 8.59).[30] Diogenes records an incident in which Empedocles put a woman into a trance for thirty days before sending her away alive (8.61). He also includes a poem in which Empedocles says, “I am a deathless god, no longer mortal, I go among you honored by all, as is right”[31] (8.62). Asclepius was a son of the god Apollo and a human woman (Cornutus, Greek Theology 33). He was known for healing people from diseases and injuries (Pindar, Pythian 3.47-50). “[H]e invented any medicine he wished for the sick, and raised up the dead”[32] (Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.26.4). However, as Diodorus relates, Hades complained to Zeus on account of Asclepius' diminishing his realm, which resulted in Zeus zapping Asclepius with a thunderbolt, killing him (4.71.2-3). Nevertheless, Asclepius later ascended into heaven to become a god (Hyginus, Fables 224; Cicero, Nature of the Gods 2.62).[33] Apollonius of Tyana was a famous first century miracle worker. According to Philostratus' account, the locals of Tyana regard Apollonius to be the son of Zeus (Life 1.6). Apollonius predicted many events, interpreted dreams, and knew private facts about people. He rebuked and ridiculed a demon, causing it to flee, shrieking as it went (Life 2.4).[34] He even once stopped a funeral procession and raised the deceased to life (Life 4.45). What's more he knew every human language (Life 1.19) and could understand what sparrows chirped to each other (Life 4.3). Once he instantaneously transported himself from Smyrna to Ephesus (Life 4.10). He claimed knowledge of his previous incarnation as the captain of an Egyptian ship (Life 3.23) and, in the end, Apollonius entered the temple of Athena and vanished, ascending from earth into heaven to the sound of a choir singing (Life 8.30). We have plenty of literary evidence that contemporaries and those who lived later regarded him as a divine man (Letters 48.3)[35] or godlike (ἰσόθεος) (Letters 44.1) or even just a god (θεός) (Life 5.24). Deified Rulers Our last category of deified humans to consider before seeing how this all relates to Jesus is rulers. Egyptians, as indicated from the hieroglyphs left in the pyramids, believed their deceased kings to enjoy afterlives as gods. They could become star gods or even hunt and consume other gods to absorb their powers.[36] The famous Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great, carried himself as a god towards the Persians though Plutarch opines, “[he] was not at all vain or deluded but rather used belief in his divinity to enslave others”[37] (Life of Alexander 28). This worship continued after his death, especially in Alexandria where Ptolemy built a tomb and established a priesthood to conduct religious honors to the deified ruler. Even the emperor Trajan offered a sacrifice to the spirit of Alexander (Cassius Dio, Roman History 68.30). Another interesting example is Antiochus I of Comagene who called himself “Antiochus the just [and] manifest god, friend of the Romans [and] friend of the Greeks.”[38] His tomb boasted four colossal figures seated on thrones: Zeus, Heracles, Apollo, and himself. The message was clear: Antiochus I wanted his subjects to recognize his place among the gods after death. Of course, the most relevant rulers for the Christian era were the Roman emperors. The first official Roman emperor Augustus deified his predecessor, Julius Caesar, celebrating his apotheosis with games (Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar 88). Only five years after Augustus died, eastern inhabitants of the Roman Empire at Priene happily declared “the birthday of the god Augustus” (ἡ γενέθλιος ἡμέρα τοῦ θεοῦ)[39] to be the start of their provincial year. By the time of Tacitus, a century after Augustus died, the wealthy in Rome had statues of the first emperor in their gardens for worship (Annals 1.73). The Roman historian Appian explained that the Romans regularly deify emperors at death “provided he has not been a despot or a disgrace”[40] (The Civil Wars 2.148).  In other words, deification was the default setting for deceased emperors. Pliny the Younger lays it on pretty thick when he describes the process. He says Nero deified Claudius to expose him; Titus deified Vespasian and Domitian so he could be the son and brother of gods. However, Trajan deified Nerva because he genuinely believed him to be more than a human (Panegyric 11). In our little survey, we've seen three main categories of deified humans: heroes, miracle workers, and good rulers. These “conceptions of deity,” writes David Litwa, “were part of the “preunderstanding” of Hellenistic culture.”[41] He continues: If actual cases of deification were rare, traditions of deification were not. They were the stuff of heroic epic, lyric song, ancient mythology, cultic hymns, Hellenistic novels, and popular plays all over the first-century Mediterranean world. Such discourses were part of mainstream, urban culture to which most early Christians belonged. If Christians were socialized in predominantly Greco-Roman environments, it is no surprise that they employed and adapted common traits of deities and deified men to exalt their lord to divine status.[42] Now that we've attuned our thinking to Mediterranean sensibilities about gods coming down in the shape of humans and humans experiencing apotheosis to permanently dwell as gods in the divine realm, our ears are attuned to hear the story of Jesus with Greco-Roman ears. Hearing the Story of Jesus with Greco-Roman Ears How would second or third century inhabitants of the Roman empire have categorized Jesus? Taking my cue from Litwa's treatment in Iesus Deus, I'll briefly work through Jesus' conception, transfiguration, miracles, resurrection, and ascension. Miraculous Conception Although set within the context of Jewish messianism, Christ's miraculous birth would have resonated differently with Greco-Roman people. Stories of gods coming down and having intercourse with women are common in classical literature. That these stories made sense of why certain individuals were so exceptional is obvious. For example, Origen related a story about Apollo impregnating Amphictione who then gave birth to Plato (Against Celsus 1.37). Though Mary's conception did not come about through intercourse with a divine visitor, the fact that Jesus had no human father would call to mind divine sonship like Pythagoras or Asclepius. Celsus pointed out that the ancients “attributed a divine origin to Perseus, and Amphion, and Aeacus, and Minos” (Origen, Against Celsus 1.67). Philostratus records a story of the Egyptian god Proteus saying to Apollonius' mother that she would give birth to himself (Life of Apollonius of Tyana 1.4). Since people were primed to connect miraculous origins with divinity, typical hearers of the birth narratives of Matthew or Luke would likely think that this baby might be either be a descended god or a man destined to ascend to become a god. Miracles and Healing As we've seen, Jesus' miracles would not have sounded unbelievable or even unprecedent to Mediterranean people. Like Jesus, Orpheus and Empedocles calmed storms, rescuing ships. Though Jesus provided miraculous guidance on how to catch fish, Pythagoras foretold the number of fish in a great catch. After the fishermen painstakingly counted them all, they were astounded that when they threw them back in, they were still alive (Porphyry, Life 23-25). Jesus' ability to foretell the future, know people's thoughts, and cast out demons all find parallels in Apollonius of Tyana. As for resurrecting the dead, we have the stories of Empedocles, Asclepius, and Apollonius. The last of which even stopped a funeral procession to raise the dead, calling to mind Jesus' deeds in Luke 7.11-17. When Lycaonians witnessed Paul's healing of a man crippled from birth, they cried out, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men” (Acts 14.11). Another time when no harm befell Paul after a poisonous snake bit him on Malta, Gentile onlookers concluded “he was a god” (Acts 28.6). Barry Blackburn makes the following observation: [I]n view of the tendency, most clearly seen in the Epimenidean, Pythagorean, and Apollonian traditions, to correlate impressive miracle-working with divine status, one may justifiably conclude that the evangelical miracle traditions would have helped numerous gentile Christians to arrive at and maintain belief in Jesus' divine status.[43] Transfiguration Ancient Mediterranean inhabitants believed that the gods occasionally came down disguised as people. Only when gods revealed their inner brilliant natures could people know that they weren't mere humans. After his ship grounded on the sands of Krisa, Apollo leaped from the ship emitting flashes of fire “like a star in the middle of day…his radiance shot to heaven”[44] (Homeric Hymns, Hymn to Apollo 440). Likewise, Aphrodite appeared in shining garments, brighter than a fire and shimmering like the moon (Hymn to Aphrodite 85-89). When Demeter appeared to Metaneira, she initially looked like an old woman, but she transformed herself before her. “Casting old age away…a delightful perfume spread…a radiance shone out far from the goddess' immortal flesh…and the solid-made house was filled with a light like the lightning-flash”[45] (Hymn to Demeter 275-280). Homer wrote about Odysseus' transformation at the golden wand of Athena in which his clothes became clean, he became taller, and his skin looked younger. His son, Telemachus cried out, “Surely you are some god who rules the vaulting skies”[46] (Odyssey 16.206). Each time the observers conclude the transfigured person is a god. Resurrection & Ascension In defending the resurrection of Jesus, Theophilus of Antioch said, “[Y]ou believe that Hercules, who burned himself, lives; and that Aesculapius [Asclepius], who was struck with lightning, was raised”[47] (Autolycus 1.13). Although Hercules' physical body burnt, his transformed pneumatic body continued on as the poet Callimachus said, “under a Phrygian oak his limbs had been deified”[48] (Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis 159). Others thought Hercules ascended to heaven in his burnt body, which Asclepius subsequently healed (Lucian, Dialogue of the Gods 13). After his ascent, Diodorus relates how the people first sacrificed to him “as to a hero” then in Athens they began to honor him “with sacrifices like as to a god”[49] (The Historical Library 4.39). As for Asclepius, his ascension resulted in his deification as Cyprian said, “Aesculapius is struck by lightning, that he may rise into a god”[50] (On the Vanity of Idols 2). Romulus too “was torn to pieces by the hands of a hundred senators”[51] and after death ascended into heaven and received worship (Arnobius, Against the Heathen 1.41). Livy tells of how Romulus was “carried up on high by a whirlwind” and that immediately afterward “every man present hailed him as a god and son of a god”[52] (The Early History of Rome 1.16). As we can see from these three cases—Hercules, Asclepius, and Romulus—ascent into heaven was a common way of talking about deification. For Cicero, this was an obvious fact. People “who conferred outstanding benefits were translated to heaven through their fame and our gratitude”[53] (Nature 2.62). Consequently, Jesus' own resurrection and ascension would have triggered Gentiles to intuit his divinity. Commenting on the appearance of the immortalized Christ to the eleven in Galilee, Wendy Cotter said, “It is fair to say that the scene found in [Mat] 28:16-20 would be understood by a Greco-Roman audience, Jew or Gentile, as an apotheosis of Jesus.”[54] Although I beg to differ with Cotter's whole cloth inclusion of Jews here, it's hard to see how else non-Jews would have regarded the risen Christ. Litwa adds Rev 1.13-16 “[W]here he [Jesus] appears with all the accoutrements of the divine: a shining face, an overwhelming voice, luminescent clothing, and so on.”[55] In this brief survey we've seen that several key events in the story of Jesus told in the Gospels would have caused Greco-Roman hearers to intuit deity, including his divine conception, miracles, healing ministry, transfiguration, resurrection, and ascension. In their original context of second temple Judaism, these very same incidents would have resonated quite differently. His divine conception authenticated Jesus as the second Adam (Luke 3.38; Rom 5.14; 1 Cor 15.45) and God's Davidic son (2 Sam 7.14; Ps 2.7; Lk 1.32, 35). If Matthew or Luke wanted readers to understand that Jesus was divine based on his conception and birth, they failed to make such intentions explicit in the text. Rather, the birth narratives appear to have a much more modest aim—to persuade readers that Jesus had a credible claim to be Israel's messiah. His miracles show that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power…for God was with him” (Acts 10.38; cf. Jn 3.2; 10.32, 38). Rather than concluding Jesus to be a god, Jewish witnesses to his healing of a paralyzed man “glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (Mat 9.8). Over and over, especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus directs people's attention to his Father who was doing the works in and through him (Jn 5.19, 30; 8.28; 12.49; 14.10). Seeing Jesus raise someone from the dead suggested to his original Jewish audience that “a great prophet has arisen among us” (Lk 7.16). The transfiguration, in its original setting, is an eschatological vision not a divine epiphany. Placement in the synoptic Gospels just after Jesus' promise that some there would not die before seeing the kingdom come sets the hermeneutical frame. “The transfiguration,” says William Lane, “was a momentary, but real (and witnessed) manifestation of Jesus' sovereign power which pointed beyond itself to the Parousia, when he will come ‘with power and glory.'”[56] If eschatology is the foreground, the background for the transfiguration was Moses' ascent of Sinai when he also encountered God and became radiant.[57] Viewed from the lenses of Moses' ascent and the eschaton, the transfiguration of Jesus is about his identity as God's definitive chosen ruler, not about any kind of innate divinity. Lastly, the resurrection and ascension validated Jesus' messianic claims to be the ruler of the age to come (Acts 17.31; Rom 1.4). Rather than concluding Jesus was deity, early Jewish Christians concluded these events showed that “God has made him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2.36). The interpretative backgrounds for Jesus' ascension were not stories about Heracles, Asclepius, or Romulus. No, the key oracle that framed the Israelite understanding was the messianic psalm in which Yahweh told David's Lord to “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalm 110.1). The idea is of a temporary sojourn in heaven until exercising the authority of his scepter to rule over earth from Zion. Once again, the biblical texts remain completely silent about deification. But even if the original meanings of Jesus' birth, ministry, transfiguration, resurrection, and ascension have messianic overtones when interpreted within the Jewish milieu, these same stories began to communicate various ideas of deity to Gentile converts in the generations that followed. We find little snippets from historical sources beginning in the second century and growing with time. Evidence of Belief in Jesus' as a Greco-Roman Deity To begin with, we have two non-Christian instances where Romans regarded Jesus as a deity within typical Greco-Roman categories. The first comes to us from Tertullian and Eusebius who mention an intriguing story about Tiberius' request to the Roman senate to deify Christ. Convinced by “intelligence from Palestine of events which had clearly shown the truth of Christ's divinity”[58] Tiberius proposed the matter to the senate (Apology 5). Eusebius adds that Tiberius learned that “many believed him to be a god in rising from the dead”[59] (Church History 2.2). As expected, the senate rejected the proposal. I mention this story, not because I can establish its historicity, but because it portrays how Tiberius would have thought about Jesus if he had heard about his miracles and resurrection. Another important incident is from one of the governor Pliny the Younger's letters to the emperor Trajan. Having investigated some people accused of Christianity, he found “they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately amongst themselves in honour of Christ as if to a god”[60] (Letter 96). To an outside imperial observer like Pliny, the Christians believed in a man who had performed miracles, defeated death, and now lived in heaven. Calling him a god was just the natural way of talking about such a person. Pliny would not have thought Jesus was superior to the deified Roman emperors much less Zeus or the Olympic gods. If he believed in Jesus at all, he would have regarded him as another Mediterranean prophet who escaped Hades to enjoy apotheosis. Another interesting text to consider is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. This apocryphal text tells the story of Jesus' childhood between the ages of five and twelve. Jesus is impetuous, powerful, and brilliant. Unsure to conclude that Jesus was “either god or angel,”[61] his teacher remands him to Joseph's custody (7). Later, a crowd of onlookers ponders whether the child is a god or a heavenly messenger after he raises an infant from the dead (17). A year later Jesus raised a construction man who had fallen to his death back to life (18). Once again, the crowd asked if the child was from heaven. Although some historians are quick to assume the lofty conceptions of Justin and his successors about the logos were commonplace in the early Christianity, Litwa points out, “The spell of the Logos could only bewitch a very small circle of Christian elites… In IGT, we find a Jesus who is divine according to different canons, the canons of popular Mediterranean theology.”[62] Another important though often overlooked scholarly group of Christians in the second century was led by a certain Theodotus of Byzantium.[63] Typically referred to by their heresiological label “Theodotians,” these dynamic monarchians lived in Rome and claimed that they held to the original Christology before it had been corrupted under Bishop Zephyrinus (Eusebius, Church History 5.28). Theodotus believed in the virgin birth, but not in his pre-existence or that he was god/God (Pseudo-Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 7.35.1-2; 10.23.1-2). He thought that Jesus was not able to perform any miracles until his baptism when he received the Christ/Spirit. Pseudo-Hippolytus goes on to say, “But they do not want him to have become a god when the Spirit descended. Others say that he became a god after he rose from the dead.”[64] This last tantalizing remark implies that the Theodotians could affirm Jesus as a god after his resurrection though they denied his pre-existence. Although strict unitarians, they could regard Jesus as a god in that he was an ascended immortalized being who lived in heaven—not equal to the Father, but far superior to all humans on earth. Justin Martyr presents another interesting case to consider. Thoroughly acquainted with Greco-Roman literature and especially the philosophy of Plato, Justin sees Christ as a god whom the Father begot before all other creatures. He calls him “son, or wisdom, or angel, or god, or lord, or word”[65] (Dialogue with Trypho 61).  For Justin Christ is “at the same time angel and god and lord and man”[66] (59). Jesus was “of old the Word, appearing at one time in the form of fire, at another under the guise of incorporeal beings, but now, at the will of God, after becoming man for mankind”[67] (First Apology 63). In fact, Justin is quite comfortable to compare Christ to deified heroes and emperors. He says, “[W]e propose nothing new or different from that which you say about the so-called sons of Jupiter [Zeus] by your respected writers… And what about the emperors who die among you, whom you think worthy to be deified?”[68] (21). He readily accepts the parallels with Mercury, Perseus, Asclepius, Bacchus, and Hercules, but argues that Jesus is superior to them (22).[69] Nevertheless, he considered Jesus to be in “a place second to the unchanging and eternal God”[70] (13). The Father is “the Most True God” whereas the Son is he “who came forth from Him”[71] (6). Even as lates as Origen, Greco-Roman concepts of deity persist. In responding to Celsus' claim that no god or son of God has ever come down, Origen responds by stating such a statement would overthrow the stories of Pythian Apollo, Asclepius, and the other gods who descended (Against Celsus 5.2). My point here is not to say Origen believed in all the old myths, but to show how Origen reached for these stories as analogies to explain the incarnation of the logos. When Celsus argued that he would rather believe in the deity of Asclepius, Dionysus, and Hercules than Christ, Origen responded with a moral rather than ontological argument (3.42). He asks how these gods have improved the characters of anyone. Origen admits Celsus' argument “which places the forenamed individuals upon an equality with Jesus” might have force, however in light of the disreputable behavior of these gods, “how could you any longer say, with any show of reason, that these men, on putting aside their mortal body, became gods rather than Jesus?”[72] (3.42). Origen's Christology is far too broad and complicated to cover here. Undoubtedly, his work on eternal generation laid the foundation on which fourth century Christians could build homoousion Christology. Nevertheless, he retained some of the earlier subordinationist impulses of his forebearers. In his book On Prayer, he rebukes praying to Jesus as a crude error, instead advocating prayer to God alone (10). In his Commentary on John he repeatedly asserts that the Father is greater than his logos (1.40; 2.6; 6.23). Thus, Origen is a theologian on the seam of the times. He's both a subordinationist and a believer in the Son's eternal and divine ontology. Now, I want to be careful here. I'm not saying that all early Christians believed Jesus was a deified man like Asclepius or a descended god like Apollo or a reincarnated soul like Pythagoras. More often than not, thinking Christians whose works survive until today tended to eschew the parallels, simultaneously elevating Christ as high as possible while demoting the gods to mere demons. Still, Litwa is inciteful when he writes: It seems likely that early Christians shared the widespread cultural assumption that a resurrected, immortalized being was worthy of worship and thus divine. …Nonetheless there is a difference…Jesus, it appears, was never honored as an independent deity. Rather, he was always worshiped as Yahweh's subordinate. Naturally Heracles and Asclepius were Zeus' subordinates, but they were also members of a larger divine family. Jesus does not enter a pantheon but assumes a distinctive status as God's chief agent and plenipotentiary. It is this status that, to Christian insiders, placed Jesus in a category far above the likes of Heracles, Romulus, and Asclepius who were in turn demoted to the rank of δαίμονες [daimons].[73] Conclusion I began by asking the question, "What did early Christians mean by saying Jesus is god?" We noted that the ancient idea of agency (Jesus is God/god because he represents Yahweh), though present in Hebrew and Christian scripture, didn't play much of a role in how Gentile Christians thought about Jesus. Or if it did, those texts did not survive. By the time we enter the postapostolic era, a majority of Christianity was Gentile and little communication occurred with the Jewish Christians that survived in the East. As such, we turned our attention to Greco-Roman theology to tune our ears to hear the story of Jesus the way they would have. We learned about their multifaceted array of divinities. We saw that gods can come down and take the form of humans and humans can go up and take the form of gods. We found evidence for this kind of thinking in both non-Christian and Christian sources in the second and third centuries. Now it is time to return to the question I began with: “When early Christian authors called Jesus “god” what did they mean?” We saw that the idea of a deified man was present in the non-Christian witnesses of Tiberius and Pliny but made scant appearance in our Christian literature except for the Theodotians. As for the idea that a god came down to become a man, we found evidence in The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Justin, and Origen.[74] Of course, we find a spectrum within this view, from Justin's designation of Jesus as a second god to Origen's more philosophically nuanced understanding. Still, it's worth noting as R. P. C. Hanson observed that, “With the exception of Athanasius virtually every theologian, East and West, accepted some form of subordinationism at least up to the year 355.”[75] Whether any Christians before Alexander and Athanasius of Alexandria held to the sophisticated idea of consubstantiality depends on showing evidence of the belief that the Son was coequal, coeternal, and coessential with the Father prior to Nicea. (Readers interested in the case for this view should consult Michael Bird's Jesus among the Gods in which he attempted the extraordinary feat of finding proto-Nicene Christology in the first two centuries, a task typically associated with maverick apologists not peer-reviewed historians.) In conclusion, the answer to our driving question about the meaning of “Jesus as god” is that the answer depends on whom we ask. If we ask the Theodotians, Jesus is a god because that's just what one calls an immortalized man who lives in heaven.[76] If we ask those holding a docetic Christology, the answer is that a god came down in appearance as a man. If we ask a logos subordinationist, they'll tell us that Jesus existed as the god through whom the supreme God created the universe before he became a human being. If we ask Tertullian, Jesus is god because he derives his substance from the Father, though he has a lesser portion of divinity.[77] If we ask Athanasius, he'll wax eloquent about how Jesus is of the same substance as the Father equal in status and eternality. The bottom line is that there was not one answer to this question prior to the fourth century. Answers depend on whom we ask and when they lived. Still, we can't help but wonder about the more tantalizing question of development. Which Christology was first and which ones evolved under social, intellectual, and political pressures? In the quest to specify the various stages of development in the Christologies of the ante-Nicene period, this Greco-Roman perspective may just provide the missing link between the reserved and limited way that the NT applies theos to Jesus in the first century and the homoousian view that eventually garnered imperial support in the fourth century. How easy would it have been for fresh converts from the Greco-Roman world to unintentionally mishear the story of Jesus? How easy would it have been for them to fit Jesus into their own categories of descended gods and ascended humans? With the unmooring of Gentile Christianity from its Jewish heritage, is it any wonder that Christologies began to drift out to sea? Now I'm not suggesting that all Christians went through a steady development from a human Jesus to a pre-existent Christ, to an eternal God the Son, to the Chalcedonian hypostatic union. As I mentioned above, plenty of other options were around and every church had its conservatives in addition to its innovators. The story is messy and uneven with competing views spread across huge geographic distances. Furthermore, many Christians probably were content to leave such theological nuances fuzzy, rather than seeking doctrinal precision on Christ's relation to his God and Father. Whatever the case may be, we dare not ignore the influence of Greco-Roman theology in our accounts of Christological development in the Mediterranean world of the first three centuries.    Bibliography The Homeric Hymns. Translated by Michael Crudden. New York, NY: Oxford, 2008. Antioch, Theophilus of. To Autolycus. Translated by Marcus Dods. Vol. 2. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001. Aphrahat. The Demonstrations. Translated by Ellen Muehlberger. Vol. 3. The Cambridge Edition of Early Christian Writings. Edited by Mark DelCogliano. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge, 2022. Apollodorus. The Library of Greek Mythology. Translated by Robin Hard. Oxford, UK: Oxford, 1998. Appian. The Civil Wars. Translated by John Carter. London, UK: Penguin, 1996. Arnobius. Against the Heathen. Translated by Hamilton Bryce and Hugh Campbell. Vol. 6. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995. Arrian. The Campaigns of Alexander. Translated by Aubrey De Sélincourt. London, UK: Penguin, 1971. Bird, Michael F. Jesus among the Gods. Waco, TX: Baylor, 2022. Blackburn, Barry. Theios Aner and the Markan Miracle Traditions. Tübingen, Germany: J. C. B. Mohr, 1991. Callimachus. Hymn to Artemis. Translated by Susan A. Stephens. Callimachus: The Hymns. New York, NY: Oxford, 2015. Cicero. The Nature of the Gods. Translated by Patrick Gerard Walsh. Oxford, UK: Oxford, 2008. Cornutus, Lucius Annaeus. Greek Theology. Translated by George Boys-Stones. Greek Theology, Fragments, and Testimonia. Atlanta, GA: SBL, 2018. Cotter, Wendy. "Greco-Roman Apotheosis Traditions and the Resurrection Appearances in Matthew." In The Gospel of Matthew in Current Study. Edited by David E. Aune. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001. Cyprian. Treatise 6: On the Vanity of Idols. Translated by Ernest Wallis. Vol. 5. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995. Dittenberger, W. Orientis Graecae Inscriptiones Selectae. Vol. 2. Hildesheim: Olms, 1960. Eusebius. The Church History. Translated by Paul L. Maier. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007. Fredriksen, Paula. "How High Can Early High Christology Be?" In Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity. Edited by Matthew V. Novenson. Vol. 180.vol. Supplements to Novum Testamentum. Leiden: Brill, 2020. Hanson, R. P. C. Search for a Christian Doctrine of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007. Hart, George. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Routledge, 2005. Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles. New York, NY: Penguin, 1997. Iamblichus. Life of Pythagoras. Translated by Thomas Taylor. Iamblichus' Life of Pythagoras. Delhi, IN: Zinc Read, 2023. Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho. Translated by Thomas B. Falls. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003. Laertius, Diogenes. Life of Pythagoras. Translated by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library. Edited by David R. Fideler. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1988. Laertius, Diogenes. Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Translated by Pamela Mensch. Edited by James Miller. New York, NY: Oxford, 2020. Lane, William L. The Gospel of Mark. Nicnt, edited by F. F. Bruce Ned B. Stonehouse, and Gordon D. Fee. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974. Litwa, M. David. Iesus Deus. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Livy. The Early History of Rome. Translated by Aubrey De Sélincourt. London, UK: Penguin, 2002. Origen. Against Celsus. Translated by Frederick Crombie. Vol. 4. The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003. Pausanias. Guide to Greece. Translated by Peter Levi. London, UK: Penguin, 1979. Perriman, Andrew. In the Form of a God. Studies in Early Christology, edited by David Capes Michael Bird, and Scott Harrower. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022. Philostratus. Letters of Apollonius. Vol. 458. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 2006. Plutarch. Life of Alexander. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert and Timothy E. Duff. The Age of Alexander. London, UK: Penguin, 2011. Porphyry. Life of Pythagoras. Translated by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library. Edited by David Fideler. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1988. Pseudo-Clement. Recognitions. Translated by Thomas Smith. Vol. 8. Ante Nicene Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003. Pseudo-Hippolytus. Refutation of All Heresies. Translated by David Litwa. Atlanta, GA: SBL, 2016. Pseudo-Thomas. Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Translated by James Orr. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1903. Psuedo-Clement. Homilies. Translated by Peter Peterson. Vol. 8. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1897. Siculus, Diodorus. The Historical Library. Translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Vol. 1. Edited by Giles Laurén: Sophron Editor, 2017. Strabo. The Geography. Translated by Duane W. Roller. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge, 2020. Tertullian. Against Praxeas. Translated by Holmes. Vol. 3. Ante Nice Fathers. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003. Tertullian. Apology. Translated by S. Thelwall. Vol. 3. Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003. Younger, Pliny the. The Letters of the Younger Pliny. Translated by Betty Radice. London: Penguin, 1969. End Notes [1] For the remainder of this paper, I will use the lower case “god” for all references to deity outside of Yahweh, the Father of Christ. I do this because all our ancient texts lack capitalization and our modern capitalization rules imply a theology that is anachronistic and unhelpful for the present inquiry. [2] Christopher Kaiser wrote, “Explicit references to Jesus as ‘God' in the New Testament are very few, and even those few are generally plagued with uncertainties of either text or interpretation.” Christopher B. Kaiser, The Doctrine of God: A Historical Survey (London: Marshall Morgan & Scott, 1982), 29. Other scholars such as Raymond Brown (Jesus: God and Man), Jason David BeDuhn (Truth in Translation), and Brian Wright (“Jesus as θεός: A Textual Examination” in Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament) have expressed similar sentiments. [3] John 20.28; Hebrews 1.8; Titus 2.13; 2 Peter 1.1; Romans 9.5; and 1 John 5.20. [4] See Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians 12.2 where a manuscript difference determines whether or not Polycarp called Jesus god or lord. Textual corruption is most acute in Igantius' corpus. Although it's been common to dismiss the long recension as an “Arian” corruption, claiming the middle recension to be as pure and uncontaminated as freshly fallen snow upon which a foot has never trodden, such an uncritical view is beginning to give way to more honest analysis. See Paul Gilliam III's Ignatius of Antioch and the Arian Controversy (Leiden: Brill, 2017) for a recent treatment of Christological corruption in the middle recension. [5] See the entries for  אֱלֹהִיםand θεός in the Hebrew Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT), the Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon (BDB), Eerdmans Dictionary, Kohlenberger/Mounce Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament, the Bauer Danker Arndt Gingrich Lexicon (BDAG), Friberg Greek Lexicon, and Thayer's Greek Lexicon. [6] See notes on Is 9.6 and Ps 45.6. [7] ZIBBC: “In what sense can the king be called “god”? By virtue of his divine appointment, the king in the ancient Near East stood before his subjects as a representative of the divine realm. …In fact, the term “gods“ (ʾelōhı̂m) is used of priests who functioned as judges in the Israelite temple judicial system (Ex. 21:6; 22:8-9; see comments on 58:1; 82:6-7).” John W. Hilber, “Psalms,” in The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, vol. 5 of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament. ed. John H. Walton (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 358. [8] Around a.d. 340, Aphrahat of Persia advised his fellow Christians to reply to Jewish critics who questioned why “You call a human being ‘God'” (Demonstrations 17.1). He said, “For the honored name of the divinity is granted event ot rightoues human beings, when they are worthy of being called by it…[W]hen he chose Moses, his friend and his beloved…he called him “god.” …We call him God, just as he named Moses with his own name…The name of the divinity was granted for great honor in the world. To whom he wishes, God appoints it” (17.3, 4, 5). Aphrahat, The Demonstrations, trans., Ellen Muehlberger, vol. 3, The Cambridge Edition of Early Christian Writings (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge, 2022), 213-15. In the Clementine Recognitions we find a brief mention of the concept:  “Therefore the name God is applied in three ways: either because he to whom it is given is truly God, or because he is the servant of him who is truly; and for the honour of the sender, that his authority may be full, he that is sent is called by the name of him who sends, as is often done in respect of angels: for when they appear to a man, if he is a wise and intelligent man, he asks the name of him who appears to him, that he may acknowledge at once the honour of the sent, and the authority of the sender” (2.42). Pseudo-Clement, Recognitions, trans., Thomas Smith, vol. 8, Ante Nicene Fathers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003). [9] Michael F. Bird, Jesus among the Gods (Waco, TX: Baylor, 2022), 13. [10] Andrew Perriman, In the Form of a God, Studies in Early Christology, ed. David Capes Michael Bird, and Scott Harrower (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022), 130. [11] Paula Fredriksen, "How High Can Early High Christology Be?," in Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, ed. Matthew V. Novenson, vol. 180 (Leiden: Brill, 2020), 296, 99. [12] ibid. [13] See Gen 18.1; Ex 3.2; 24.11; Is 6.1; Ezk 1.28. [14] Compare the Masoretic Text of Psalm 8.6 to the Septuagint and Hebrews 2.7. [15] Homer, The Odyssey, trans., Robert Fagles (New York, NY: Penguin, 1997), 370. [16] Diodorus Siculus, The Historical Library, trans., Charles Henry Oldfather, vol. 1 (Sophron Editor, 2017), 340. [17] Uranus met death at the brutal hands of his own son, Kronos who emasculated him and let bleed out, resulting in his deification (Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel 1.10). Later on, after suffering a fatal disease, Kronos himself experienced deification, becoming the planet Saturn (ibid.). Zeus married Hera and they produced Osiris (Dionysus), Isis (Demeter), Typhon, Apollo, and Aphrodite (ibid. 2.1). [18] Lucius Annaeus Cornutus, Greek Theology, trans., George Boys-Stones, Greek Theology, Fragments, and Testimonia (Atlanta, GA: SBL, 2018), 123. [19] Apollodorus, The Library of Greek Mythology, trans., Robin Hard (Oxford, UK: Oxford, 1998), 111. [20] Pausanias, Guide to Greece, trans., Peter Levi (London, UK: Penguin, 1979), 98. [21] Strabo, The Geography, trans., Duane W. Roller (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge, 2020), 281. [22] Psuedo-Clement, Homilies, trans., Peter Peterson, vol. 8, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1897). Greek: “αὐτὸν δὲ ὡς θεὸν ἐθρήσκευσαν” from Jacques Paul Migne, Patrologia Graeca, taken from Accordance (PSCLEMH-T), OakTree Software, Inc., 2018, Version 1.1. [23] See Barry Blackburn, Theios Aner and the Markan Miracle Traditions (Tübingen, Germany: J. C. B. Mohr, 1991), 32. [24] Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, trans., Pamela Mensch (New York, NY: Oxford, 2020), 39. [25] Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras, trans., Thomas Taylor, Iamblichus' Life of Pythagoras (Delhi, IN: Zinc Read, 2023), 2. [26] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Pythagoras, trans., Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1988), 142. [27] See the list in Blackburn, 39. He corroborates miracle stories from Diogenus Laertius, Iamblichus, Apollonius, Nicomachus, and Philostratus. [28] Porphyry, Life of Pythagoras, trans., Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1988), 128-9. [29] Iamblichus,  68. [30] What I call “resurrection” refers to the phrase, “Thou shalt bring back from Hades a dead man's strength.” Diogenes Laertius 8.2.59, trans. R. D. Hicks. [31] Laertius, "Lives of the Eminent Philosophers," 306. Two stories of his deification survive: in one Empedocles disappears in the middle of the night after hearing an extremely loud voice calling his name. After this the people concluded that they should sacrifice to him since he had become a god (8.68). In the other account, Empedocles climbs Etna and leaps into the fiery volcanic crater “to strengthen the rumor that he had become a god” (8.69). [32] Pausanias,  192. Sextus Empiricus says Asclepius raised up people who had died at Thebes as well as raising up the dead body of Tyndaros (Against the Professors 1.261). [33] Cicero adds that the Arcadians worship Asclepius (Nature 3.57). [34] In another instance, he confronted and cast out a demon from a licentious young man (Life 4.20). [35] The phrase is “περὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ θεοῖς εἴρηται ὡς περὶ θείου ἀνδρὸς.” Philostratus, Letters of Apollonius, vol. 458, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 2006). [36] See George Hart, The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, 2nd ed. (Oxford, UK: Routledge, 2005), 3. [37] Plutarch, Life of Alexander, trans., Ian Scott-Kilvert and Timothy E. Duff, The Age of Alexander (London, UK: Penguin, 2011), 311. Arrian includes a story about Anaxarchus advocating paying divine honors to Alexander through prostration. The Macedonians refused but the Persian members of his entourage “rose from their seats and one by one grovelled on the floor before the King.” Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander, trans., Aubrey De Sélincourt (London, UK: Penguin, 1971), 222. [38] Translation my own from “Ἀντίοχος ὁ Θεὸς Δίκαιος Ἐπιφανὴς Φιλορωμαῖος Φιλέλλην.” Inscription at Nemrut Dağ, accessible at https://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/mithras/display.php?page=cimrm32. See also https://zeugma.packhum.org/pdfs/v1ch09.pdf. [39] Greek taken from W. Dittenberger, Orientis Graecae Inscriptiones Selectae, vol. 2 (Hildesheim: Olms, 1960), 48-60. Of particular note is the definite article before θεός. They didn't celebrate the birthday of a god, but the birthday of the god. [40] Appian, The Civil Wars, trans., John Carter (London, UK: Penguin, 1996), 149. [41] M. David Litwa, Iesus Deus (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014), 20. [42] ibid. [43] Blackburn, 92-3. [44] The Homeric Hymns, trans., Michael Crudden (New York, NY: Oxford, 2008), 38. [45] "The Homeric Hymns," 14. [46] Homer,  344. [47] Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus, trans., Marcus Dods, vol. 2, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001). [48] Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis, trans., Susan A. Stephens, Callimachus: The Hymns (New York, NY: Oxford, 2015), 119. [49] Siculus,  234. [50] Cyprian, Treatise 6: On the Vanity of Idols, trans., Ernest Wallis, vol. 5, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995). [51] Arnobius, Against the Heathen, trans., Hamilton Bryce and Hugh Campbell, vol. 6, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995). [52] Livy, The Early History of Rome, trans., Aubrey De Sélincourt (London, UK: Penguin, 2002), 49. [53] Cicero, The Nature of the Gods, trans., Patrick Gerard Walsh (Oxford, UK: Oxford, 2008), 69. [54] Wendy Cotter, "Greco-Roman Apotheosis Traditions and the Resurrection Appearances in Matthew," in The Gospel of Matthew in Current Study, ed. David E. Aune (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 149. [55] Litwa, 170. [56] William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, Nicnt, ed. F. F. Bruce Ned B. Stonehouse, and Gordon D. Fee (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974). [57] “Recent commentators have stressed that the best background for understanding the Markan transfiguration is the story of Moses' ascent up Mount Sinai (Exod. 24 and 34).” Litwa, 123. [58] Tertullian, Apology, trans. S. Thelwall, vol. 3, Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003). [59] Eusebius, The Church History, trans. Paul L. Maier (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007), 54. [60] Pliny the Younger, The Letters of the Younger Pliny, trans., Betty Radice (London: Penguin, 1969), 294. [61] Pseudo-Thomas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, trans., James Orr (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1903), 25. [62] Litwa, 83. [63] For sources on Theodotus, see Pseduo-Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 7.35.1-2; 10.23.1-2; Pseudo-Tertullian, Against All Heresies 8.2; Eusebius, Church History 5.28. [64] Pseudo-Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, trans., David Litwa (Atlanta, GA: SBL, 2016), 571. [65] I took the liberty to decapitalize these appellatives. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, trans. Thomas B. Falls (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003), 244. [66] Justin Martyr, 241. (Altered, see previous footnote.) [67] Justin Martyr, 102. [68] Justin Martyr, 56-7. [69] Arnobius makes a similar argument in Against the Heathen 1.38-39 “Is he not worthy to be called a god by us and felt to be a god on account of the favor or such great benefits? For if you have enrolled Liber among the gods because he discovered the use of wine, and Ceres the use of bread, Aesculapius the use of medicines, Minerva the use of oil, Triptolemus plowing, and Hercules because he conquered and restrained beasts, thieves, and the many-headed hydra…So then, ought we not to consider Christ a god, and to bestow upon him all the worship due to his divinity?” Translation from Litwa, 105. [70] Justin Martyr, 46. [71] Justin Martyr, 39. [72] Origen, Against Celsus, trans. Frederick Crombie, vol. 4, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003). [73] Litwa, 173. [74] I could easily multiply examples of this by looking at Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and many others. [75] The obvious exception to Hanson's statement were thinkers like Sabellius and Praxeas who believed that the Father himself came down as a human being. R. P. C. Hanson, Search for a Christian Doctrine of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), xix. [76] Interestingly, even some of the biblical unitarians of the period were comfortable with calling Jesus god, though they limited his divinity to his post-resurrection life. [77] Tertullian writes, “[T]he Father is not the same as the Son, since they differ one from the other in the mode of their being. For the Father is the entire substance, but the Son is a derivation and portion of the whole, as He Himself acknowledges: “My Father is greater than I.” In the Psalm His inferiority is described as being “a little lower than the angels.” Thus the Father is distinct from the Son, being greater than the Son” (Against Praxeas 9). Tertullian, Against Praxeas, trans., Holmes, vol. 3, Ante Nice Fathers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003).

Subscribe for more Videos: http://www.youtube.com/c/PlantationSDAChurchTV Theme: It is God's desire to give us a new heart, one that is responsive and susceptible to His way and will. Speaker: Pastor N. Abraham Rose Title: A Heart of Flesh Key text: https://www.bible.com/bible/59/EZK.36.26.esv Bulletin/Notes: http://bible.com/events/49124495 Date: August 19, 2023 Tags: #psdatv #heart #spirit #transform #transformation #life #way #will #change #way #will #responsive #response For more life lessons and inspirational content, please visit us at http://www.plantationsda.tv. Church Copyright License (CCLI): 1659090 CCLI Streaming Plus License: 21338439Support the show: https://adventistgiving.org/#/org/ANTBMV/envelope/startSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our culture tells us that homosexuality should be celebrated or at least affirmed, but what does the Bible say?Homosexual behavior contributed to God's judgement on Sodom.Genesis 19:5-7. The most famous occurrence of homosexual behavior in the Bible comes in the first book of the Bible. It's the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, and it gives us our first insight into the topic. (See also Ezekiel 16:49-50.)Men of city expected to have sex with Lot's male guests. Why homosexual behavior is called “sodomy.”Lot's response: identifies this as “a wicked thing”. His alternative also wicked (8): giving up his daughters. Lot's guests were actually angels in human form. They have come to tell Lot about God's judgment on Sodom. They intervened to stop the crowd.Ezekiel 16:49-50. Other sins of Sodom. (God is speaking…)“Sodom's sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.”Summarized in verse 50: She was proud and committed detestable sins. This mirrors the language of Gen 19 (“wicked”) and as we'll see, Lev 18 (“detestable”). To some, this passage explains the “real” sin → not homosexuality but injustice, lack of hospitality. But Sodom had many sins; it's not either / or. Readers of Ezk 16 would be familiar with Lot's evaluation of that night.Sodom was destroyed not purely because of homosexuality, but their overall sinfulness, of which the episode with Lot is one example.Sexual sin is an abomination - people are not.Leviticus 18:22. The book of Leviticus delineates the laws and punishments of the Israelite nation under God. Chapter 18 lists forbidden sexual practices – most of which clearly apply in our American culture today.A list of a variety of perverse sexual practices: incest (6-14); adultery (15-16, 20), bestiality (23). Included (22): having sex with another man.Evaluation: “this is a detestable sin.”Detestable means: arousing intense dislike.Toeva = abomination / a very undesirable thingProv 6:16-19 = seven things that are toeva (“that God detests”)Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness, one who sows discord in a familyPeople are not detestable → story of woman in church.God loves them; desires them to turn from sin.Lots of OT laws we don't obey anymore! So why homosexuality? Explain three kinds of OT laws and how they apply todayCivil law = laws that marked Israel as a unique nation, how their citizenship was lived out → we're not part of the nation of Israel Ceremonial law = laws that dictated the sacrifice of animals and temple worship → all that was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross, so they no longer applyMoral law = laws that expressed moral principles reflecting God's holiness are human benefit → still applicable today; restated in the New Testament.Old Testament penalties for sin don't apply, but God's evaluation still does.Leviticus 20:13. Chapter 20 of the same book follows up on Lev 18 by adding more information on sin and consequences for the fledgling nation of Israel. The text calls it a...

This episode presents a quick review of this important issue, focusing on one reason why some professed Christians will receive the mark of the beast. It was originally presented during the General Conference worship service on June 13, 2023. (Based on Finley, Mark, “The Three Angels'Messages”, lessons 11 and 12 (Sabbath School Quarterly, 2nd quarter 2023). Content summary (not all content bellow could be presented): The Seal of God: What is it that seal?  Is 8:16 - (Not only the Ten Commandments but all God's injunctions are implied here. The Sabbath commandment is the distinctive part of God's law that will differentiate those who submit entirely to Him and those who counterfeit Christianity. Most of the other commandments will also be obeyed by the counterfeit Christians). Ps 112:1 The Agent of sealing:  Ezk 36:26-27 Eph 4:30 Who are the Sealed? Rev. 14:12 (All God's commandments are implied, not only the 10 Commandments) The Mark of the Beast Who is the Beast? Little Horn (Dan 7) The Beast (Rev 13 and 14) The Lawless One (2 Thess. 2) Duration of its Domination time Rev.    13:5 - 42 months Rev. 12:6, 14 - 1,260 days Dan 7:25 - time, times, half a time It would be mortally wounded, but healed: Rev 13:3 Where is the mark placed? Rev 14:9  Who will receive its Mark? Rev 14:9 ... anyone worships the beast and his image... Rev 13:8 …whose names have not been written in the Book of the Life of the Lamb… 2 Thess 2: 9 ... among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.  How to receive the love of the truth and avoid the Mark of the Beast? Ps 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts… Honesty and sincerity are not replacements for truth I must read what I don't like (Spirit of Prophecy books, for instance):  “That which you will be least inclined to receive is the very part most needed.” 2TT, 288. “Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble.” 2 TT, 289. Risk of rejecting truth: “... gospel truth hardens when it does not save… The soul that refuses to listen to the invitations of mercy from day to day can soon listen to the most urgent appeals without an emotion stirring his soul.” 2 TT, 291 Why Some do not Read the Testimonies (of the Spirit of Prophecy)? Because “In the testimonies are specified the very sins of which they are guilty; hence they have no desire to read them… [they] would not be corrected.” 1 SM, 46. “In some cases the very faults of character which God would have His servants see and correct, but which they refuse to see, have cost these men their life.” 1 SM, 47. Reasons for the Sifting 1. Lukewarmness - Rev. 3:14-17. 2. Differences / false teachings – 1 Cor. 11:19; Eph. 4:14. 3. Persecution - Matt. 13:20-22; 24:9, 10. 4. Rebellion against straight witnessing - Isa. 30:8-17. What happens when the pointed truth is rejected? (Prov 1:24-26, 28-33) Be careful and suspicious (not proud) about your own objections to the pointed testimony (of the Spirit of Prophecy) “Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble.” 2 TT, 289. Examine yourself (2 Cor 13:5) In the light of the prophetic word I must be determined to know the worst aspect of my case Not invent excuses for my sin I should not be proud of being easily offended Conclusion: Ps 119:165; Isa 48:18; Jer 6:16

Nederland is al eeuwen in strijd met het vele water maar de laatste jaren is het waterpeil historisch laag. In de zomers moet er zelfs al zuinig aangedaan worden met het drinkwater. Dreigt na de stikstofcrisis de watercrisis de kop op te steken? Jelle Hannema van drinkwaterbedrijf Vitens is te gast in BNR Zakendoen.  Macro met Boot  Elke dag een intrigerende gedachtewisseling over de stand van de macro-economie. Op maandag en vrijdag gaat presentator Thomas van Zijl in gesprek met econoom Arnoud Boot, de rest van de week praat Van Zijl met econoom Edin Mujagić.  Ondernemerspanel  Na een klein anderhalf jaar zit de samenwerking tussen Jumbo en Gorillas (nu Getir) er alweer op. Is dit een volgende tegenslag voor de flitsbezorger? En: Hoe moet het nu verder met Techleap, nadat het budget is gehalveerd door het ministerie van EZK? Dat en meer bespreken we om 13.00 in het ondernemerspanel met: Johan van Mil (Peak Capital) Geert-Jan van der Snoek (Merx Enterprises)  Luister l Ondernemerspanel Pitches  Deze week staan er twee duurzame pitches klaar. Vandaag zijn dat Mart Mensink van DuSpot en Ilse Kremer van Fabulous Fungi!  De beoordelaar is Beau-Anne Chilla, Climate Tech Investment Manager bij Forward-One  Zakenpartner  Ze studeerde Psychologie aan de Universiteit Leiden met een verdieping in de Arbeidsgezondheidspsychologie. Tijdens haar studie loopt ze stage in de HR bij Great Place To Work. Ze vindt dat ze haar ei hier kwijt kan en besluit om na haar stage te blijven hangen. Waarna ze werkt als consultant en nu uiteindelijk klant succes manager is. De zakenpartner deze week is Eva Brandel Klant Succes manager bij Great Place To Work.  Contact & Abonneren  BNR Zakendoen zendt elke werkdag live uit van 12:00 tot 14:30 uur. Je kunt de redactie bereiken via e-mail  en Twitter. Abonneren op de podcast van BNR Zakendoen kan via bnr.nl/zakendoen, of via Apple Podcast  en Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Salvation Story - Titus 3-3-7---1- What we were - v3---- --2- What God did - vv4-6-- ---- --3- What we become - v7-- -- -- -- What was not the grounds for our salvation-- On what basis does God save us---- How do you see glimpses of v3 in you through your remaining sin-- What might you be like now if God had not saved you---- What did you used to believe about Jesus-- How has your view changed----How does this text describe all three members of Godhead active in our salvation------- Other passages to consider- Isa 9-2- 53-6- Ezk 36-25-27- Lk 19-10- Jn 3-1-8- 8-34-36- Rom 6-17-19- 2 Cor 4-4-6- Eph 2-1-10- Col 3-7- Titus 2-11-14- 1 Jn 4-10.

Our Salvation Story - Titus 3-3-7---1- What we were - v3---- --2- What God did - vv4-6-- ---- --3- What we become - v7-- -- -- -- What was not the grounds for our salvation-- On what basis does God save us---- How do you see glimpses of v3 in you through your remaining sin-- What might you be like now if God had not saved you---- What did you used to believe about Jesus-- How has your view changed----How does this text describe all three members of Godhead active in our salvation------- Other passages to consider- Isa 9-2- 53-6- Ezk 36-25-27- Lk 19-10- Jn 3-1-8- 8-34-36- Rom 6-17-19- 2 Cor 4-4-6- Eph 2-1-10- Col 3-7- Titus 2-11-14- 1 Jn 4-10.

Our Salvation Story - Titus 3:3-71) What we were - v3 2) What God did - vv4-6 3) What we become – v7 What was not the grounds for our salvation? On what basis does God save us? How do you see glimpses of v3 in you through your remaining sin? What might you be like now if God had not saved you? What did you used to believe about Jesus? How has your view changed?How does this text describe all three members of Godhead active in our salvation?• Other passages to consider: Isa 9:2; 53:6; Ezk 36:25-27; Lk 19:10; Jn 3:1-8; 8:34-36; Rom 6:17-19; 2 Cor 4:4-6; Eph 2:1-10; Col 3:7; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 4:10.

In this week's episode we are back in Habakkuk and once again joined by Gary Ellis. There is so much to dig into in this little book and thus we only make our way through chapter 2 in this episode. Tons of great lessons in this one, and you do not want to miss it. A Warriors Perspective Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/awarriorsperspective/Ezekiel 33:11https://www.bible.com/bible/1/EZK.33.11.KJVEzekiel 18:23https://www.bible.com/bible/111/EZK.18.23.NIVThe views and opinions expressed on A Warriors Perspective Podcast are strictly those of the hosts. They do not reflect the views or opinions of any organization, group, or entity that we may work for or be members of.

It's Christmas! Today, Pastor Michael is all about Christmas and he's piggybacking off the story of the Grinch's heart.   In our culture, today, we use the heart for a lot of emotive responses. In the Hebrew culture of Ezekiel, they didn't express emotions via the heart, they used the bowels (whoa!). The Bible uses the heart as the center of the intellect; not emotional responses.  When the Lord tells us we are going to get a new heart, He's giving us a new way of thinking, understanding and how to respond.   So true change of heart is more than an emotional switch. Michael also brings up a fantastic point about hardness of our own hearts, towards others.  “Hardness in your heart will never create softness in another person's heart.  It'll just hurt you more”.   (CSB Study Bible Notes) 36:26 The statement I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you reflects the teaching of Dt 30:6-8—that the Lord will circumcise the hearts of his people so they may live in obedience. This radical new creation (Ezk 11:19; 18:31; Jr 31:31-34) was necessary to break the people's bondage to the cycle of sin and retribution emphasized in Ezk 20. Regeneration is a secret act of God by which he imparts new spiritual life to dead hearts. Verses can be found today in Ezekiel 36: 26-27. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. 

Mark 13:22-23, 2 Pet 2:1-2, Ezk 22:28, Jer 5:31, Jer 14:14, Deut 18:18-22, 1 John 4:1, Is 28:5-8

Mark 13:22-23, 2 Pet 2:1-2, Ezk 22:28, Jer 5:31, Jer 14:14, Deut 18:18-22, 1 John 4:1, Is 28:5-8

Mark 13:22-23, 2 Pet 2:1-2, Ezk 22:28, Jer 5:31, Jer 14:14, Deut 18:18-22, 1 John 4:1, Is 28:5-8

Mark 13:22-23, 2 Pet 2:1-2, Ezk 22:28, Jer 5:31, Jer 14:14, Deut 18:18-22, 1 John 4:1, Is 28:5-8

Mark 13:22-23, 2 Pet 2:1-2, Ezk 22:28, Jer 5:31, Jer 14:14, Deut 18:18-22, 1 John 4:1, Is 28:5-8

Subscribe for more Videos: http://www.youtube.com/c/PlantationSDAChurchTV Theme: A Living Hope  Title: A Living Hope  Speaker: Pastor Mihai Bijacu Key text: https://www.bible.com/bible/59/EZK.43.7.esv Bulletin/Notes: http://bible.com/events/48969367 Date: October 16, 2022 Tags: #psdatv #jatc #jesus #center #JesusAtTheCenter #living #life For more life lessons and inspirational content, please visit us at http://www.plantationsda.tv. Church Copyright License (CCLI)License Number: 1659090 CCLI Stream LicenseLicense Number: CSPL079645Support the show: https://adventistgiving.org/#/org/ANTBMV/envelope/startSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new MP3 sermon from Eastford Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: October 15, 2022 Bible Reading - 1 Kgs. 18, 1 Thess. 1, Ezk. 48, Ps. 104 Subtitle: Daily Bible Reading 2022 (KJV) Speaker: Timothy Howard Broadcaster: Eastford Baptist Church Event: Audio Book Date: 10/15/2022 Length: 17 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Eastford Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: October 14, 2022 Bible Reading - 1 Kgs. 17, Col. 4, Ezk. 47, Ps. 103 Subtitle: Daily Bible Reading 2022 (KJV) Speaker: Timothy Howard Broadcaster: Eastford Baptist Church Event: Audio Book Date: 10/14/2022 Length: 15 min.

Listen along as we work our way through the minor prophets. Notes/Quotes: Hosea 14:1-9 - Denise Hosea 14:1-9 “The task of the prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.” Walter Brueggeman  Hosea 1:2 Hosea 1:10-2:1 Hosea 2:14-21 “For all its brevity, this little prophecy entwines together strands which only separately delight us in other more familiar passages. In a few lines we have the picture of nature at peace with man (cf. Is. 11:6-9; 65:25), of weapons discarded (cf. Ps. 46:9; Is. 9:5; Mi. 4:3) and of God's people at one with Him (cf. Je. 31:33f.; Ezk. 36:26f.). It is the last of these that God lingers over, for it is the heart of the matter.” - Derek Kidner  “Perhaps this is why Hosea captures, as no other writer does, the tension within God's love for His elect – for He refuses to ease the pain of the relationship either by compromise or by quitting. He loves these people despite their blatant unfaithfulness (‘they turn to other gods'), which He cannot for a moment condone, and despite their fatuous and brutish scale of values.” - Derek Kidner 3:5 In every direction His people have played Him false: in religion, with other gods, another cult; in politics, with shabby intrigues and dubious patrons; in morals, with unbridled sex and violence. His reaction might well have been to write them off and waste no more affection on them. But He is not so easily dismissed. - Derek Kidner “Amos cries, “Turn, for in front of you is destruction;” but Hosea, “Turn, for behind you is God.” George Adam Smith It is rather easy to grow up with a naïve idea of God – something like a child's impression of the adult world – and with a worrying conundrum about His way of doing things. The conundrum is this old one: If God is all- powerful and all-good, why does He not rid the world of evil? (The church too, for that matter?) One of the things that Hosea does for us is to give us, with extraordinary frankness, the other side of that anomaly. God's side. The child's idea of his elders is a puzzled one. They make the rules (he says to himself) – there's power for you! And they have money, whatever they may say – there's freedom! What couldn't we do, we children, with all that freedom, all that power? In this book we see things not in these simplistic terms, where situations and people are uncomplicated and power is like a magic wand. Hosea introduces us to a family which is a miniature of our world, but it is a problem family, and God compares His situation not to that of an autocrat whose orders nobody dares question, nor of a father who rejoices in an adoring wife and children, but to that of a husband whose wife has left him, and a father whose children are like strangers in his own house and are fast destroying themselves. - Derek Kidner The ‘whoever' of this verse suddenly exposes us to the same searching encounter, for the word of God goes on speaking; it never slips safely into the past. The rightness of God's ways as revealed in this book is so far above us in both holiness and love, as to leave self-sufficient man without excuse, self-condemned, while those who turn into the way of righteousness find themselves met more than half-way. - Derek Kidner

Today's episode continues to look at the subject of the Presence of God by considering the manner in which God's presence appears in the middle of the bible "bookends": Genesis 1-2 & Rev. 21-22. With the fall of man in Genesis 3, man is separated and exiled from the primary place that God dwelt with man, namely Eden. This banishment is truly the apex of the curse that resulted from Adam's rebellion. Yet, even in God's judgment, there is mercy. God proves to be greater than Adam's sin and through covenants, and particularly the theme of "altars," God take steps to ensure that man could once again return to the presence of God. Scriptures: Gen. 1-2; Rev. 21-22; Gen. 3:22-24; Gen. 17:7; Ex. 6:7; Ezk. 36:28; Rev. 21:3; Gen. 3:21; Gen. 4:1-4; Gen. 8:20; Rom. 6:23. Music: "On My Way," by Justin Jollie. Produced: Samuel Romano For more information on Vision Christian Bible College & Seminary, visit vcbcs.org