[Elmer G. White]

Re: Hello

Ooh codes! That's fun! What's the cipher? I want to play along!

Sister Mary,

Please be careful. This could mean Torah Codes. They are used by sometimes well-meaning but ultimately demon-possessed scholars who try to read all kinds of numerical and prophetical data into the Hebrew lettering of the OT text and sometimes also into the Greek NT. This leads to a travesty of worship where the actual pure and readily approachable message of the Bible becomes a twisted array of ciphers that only "the select" can understand after years of study.

They are also based on confirmation bias, as all books of adequate length possess so many letters that numerical coincidences arise by random chance! For instance, by twisting the numbers someone found a prophecy about the death of the harlot Diana in Moby Dick!

We do not need codes! We need the original and pure Word of the Bible!

Psalms 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

"Pure words" - not codes! Beware!


Yours in Christ,

Elmer

[Mary Etheldreda]

Re: Hello

Ooh codes! That's fun! What's the cipher? I want to play along!

[Calvinist]

Re: Hello

Calvinist,


One thing that I feel that Christians lack these days is discernment. I think we need to be more discerning....I hope that you understand the message I'm trying to convey to you. I'm speaking in somewhat of a code, but I do hope that you understand.

I'd contact you privately to explain what I mean, but it seems that I am unable to do so So think and pray.

May God bless you.

I'll leave you with this -- be encouraged:
Ephesians 6:10-24

Hello BabyCottontail,

You seemingly really really want to speak to me in private? I'm not much of a cryptologist, but I do have the fundamentals down and can create cyphers and cypher sticks to pass from one King to another General upon the battle field.

Now to wrap the message around the cypher stick:

Having said that, I'm trying to view this from your perspective, take into account the forum in general, the audience around us, and you yourself. I'm not attempting to wrestle with others, as I acknowledge that whatever opposition I am faced with, it is not against flesh and blood. Although equipped for battle, the warfare is not fought with a resistance towards human strength, sword opposed to sword, man's contention with man, force by force, and skill by skill. There is no bodily struggle here around me.

But I suspect there are those that may attempt to provoke me to revenge an unrighteous treatment of another? Would that be you my friend? I contend, this foolish desire will be restrained by consideration that the men who annoy us are nothing more than darts thrown by the hand of Satan. The devil reigns in the world, because the world is nothing else than darkness. The corruption of the world gives way to the kingdom of the devil.

Ya know, I am interrupted as I attempt to articulate my thoughts, perhaps, some people actually think Paul passed code, and in custody of his Jailers wrote in such a way as to rebel against the Government to his followers. You wouldn't be asking me to rebel, would you, BabyCottonTail? Or, break you out of Bondage?

Enjoy your evening my bushytailed friend, His favor on all who love Jesus Christ with a pure conscience is present! - Or as Paul so masterfully says, "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

Having fun, and thank you for sharing meaningful Scripture with me, enjoy! Now I pray!

[BabyCottontail]

Re: Hello

Calvinist,


One thing that I feel that Christians lack these days is discernment. I think we need to be more discerning....I hope that you understand the message I'm trying to convey to you. I'm speaking in somewhat of a code, but I do hope that you understand.

I'd contact you privately to explain what I mean, but it seems that I am unable to do so So think and pray.

May God bless you.

I'll leave you with this -- be encouraged:
Ephesians 6:10-24

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.


21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: 22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.


23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

[Mary Etheldreda]

Re: Hello

Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. I appreciate that

It is my pleasure.

[BabyCottontail]

Re: Hello

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Outspoken hater of Jesus and advocate of sin, Dan Barker, once said, “The very concept of sin comes from the Bible. Christianity offers to solve a problem of its own making! Would you be thankful to a person who cut you with a knife in order to sell you a bandage?” People like this are the swine. Casting pearls, or tossing them gems of wisdom, God's Truth™, will not only go unheard by he who hates the Sweet Redeemer, they will turn on you and possibly eat you, like pigs are wont to do when angry.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

There are those who would confuse the True Seeker by offering theological arguments that support Catholic dogma, Pentecostal dogma, Quaker dogma, or any of the 33,000 variations of Christianity that have been invented by false prophets seeking to glorify their own intellectualism (and wallets) since Christ walked the earth. These days, atheists will try and offer competing theologies in hopes of "shocking" the Believer. They may say, for example, that the faith of Christ is naught more than a Roman spin on the ancient Jewish belief of finding a scapegoat to take on the faults of a people. They'll suggest that the Christian faith is in actuality a story of an omnipotent god who chooses not to use his omnipotent power to forgive humanity, but instead implements a solution which requires that he impregnate a teen girl in order to give birth to himself so he can have himself slaughtered to save human beings from the hell he created as the default consequence for having been conceived. He then decides to communicate this little scheme through conflicting accounts penned decades later by anonymous authors and subjectively handed down by flawed translators who can't even agree on the interpretation of "virgin." These people are the false prophets. Their fruits are unbelief. You should ignore them.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

I teach my kids not to be retarded when it comes to Salvation. Either you believe the LORD means what He says in His Holy Bible, or you don't. As Calvinistic has been explaining, sometimes there exists what appears to the flesh to be confusion, and you must ask yourself, is this the Spirit of the LORD talking to you, or is it just your own mind trying to think for itself? That can become the undoing of faith, for one may begin to wrestle with the idea that you cannot truly know if a thought in your head has been inspired by the Holy Ghost, or if it is of your own formulation. After all, how can you know if what you think is in line with the LORD's Will if you've held thoughts and beliefs in the past that you were sure were inspired by the Holy Ghost, only to realize later that you had been mistaken in some detail? I mean, if you were mistaken two years ago, how will you know if you're not now mistaken, and will change your mind in two years? By that logic, how would you know if you were correct, but then allowed your fallible human thoughts to confuse your mind and then adopt the wrong belief when you had been correct? If you believe at any given time that you are honoring the LORD, but at any given time you may be mistaken, how on earth could you know for sure if you are indeed honoring Him, or making Him feel sorrow on your behalf, or heaven forbid, offending Him? How could you know what is truly honoring if our human minds have been corrupted with sin and we cannot identify holiness reliably, by virtue of the fact that we had once thought erroneous beliefs were in fact holy?

So build your house on The Rock, dear, and don't believe everything you think.

Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. I appreciate that

[Mary Etheldreda]

Re: Hello

Matthew 7:6

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Outspoken hater of Jesus and advocate of sin, Dan Barker, once said, “The very concept of sin comes from the Bible. Christianity offers to solve a problem of its own making! Would you be thankful to a person who cut you with a knife in order to sell you a bandage?” People like this are the swine. Casting pearls, or tossing them gems of wisdom, God's Truth™, will not only go unheard by he who hates the Sweet Redeemer, they will turn on you and possibly eat you, like pigs are wont to do when angry.

Matthew 7:15-23 as a whole - not just a couple verses selected

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

There are those who would confuse the True Seeker by offering theological arguments that support Catholic dogma, Pentecostal dogma, Quaker dogma, or any of the 33,000 variations of Christianity that have been invented by false prophets seeking to glorify their own intellectualism (and wallets) since Christ walked the earth. These days, atheists will try and offer competing theologies in hopes of "shocking" the Believer. They may say, for example, that the faith of Christ is naught more than a Roman spin on the ancient Jewish belief of finding a scapegoat to take on the faults of a people. They'll suggest that the Christian faith is in actuality a story of an omnipotent god who chooses not to use his omnipotent power to forgive humanity, but instead implements a solution which requires that he impregnate a teen girl in order to give birth to himself so he can have himself slaughtered to save human beings from the hell he created as the default consequence for having been conceived. He then decides to communicate this little scheme through conflicting accounts penned decades later by anonymous authors and subjectively handed down by flawed translators who can't even agree on the interpretation of "virgin." These people are the false prophets. Their fruits are unbelief. You should ignore them.

Matthew 7:24-27

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

I teach my kids not to be retarded when it comes to Salvation. Either you believe the LORD means what He says in His Holy Bible, or you don't. As Calvinistic has been explaining, sometimes there exists what appears to the flesh to be confusion, and you must ask yourself, is this the Spirit of the LORD talking to you, or is it just your own mind trying to think for itself? That can become the undoing of faith, for one may begin to wrestle with the idea that you cannot truly know if a thought in your head has been inspired by the Holy Ghost, or if it is of your own formulation. After all, how can you know if what you think is in line with the LORD's Will if you've held thoughts and beliefs in the past that you were sure were inspired by the Holy Ghost, only to realize later that you had been mistaken in some detail? I mean, if you were mistaken two years ago, how will you know if you're not now mistaken, and will change your mind in two years? By that logic, how would you know if you were correct, but then allowed your fallible human thoughts to confuse your mind and then adopt the wrong belief when you had been correct? If you believe at any given time that you are honoring the LORD, but at any given time you may be mistaken, how on earth could you know for sure if you are indeed honoring Him, or making Him feel sorrow on your behalf, or heaven forbid, offending Him? How could you know what is truly honoring if our human minds have been corrupted with sin and we cannot identify holiness reliably, by virtue of the fact that we had once thought erroneous beliefs were in fact holy?

So build your house on The Rock, dear, and don't believe everything you think.

[BabyCottontail]

Re: Hello

Which ones, dear?

Matthew 7:6
Matthew 7:15-23 as a whole - not just a couple verses selected
Matthew 7:24-27

[Mary Etheldreda]

Re: Hello

Hmmm....thank you for that. However, some of the specific verses (or even parts of verses) that I'm wondering about were skipped over in the link you provided.

Which ones, dear?

[BabyCottontail]

Re: Hello

Rather straight forwardly. Scripture interprets Scripture, the Lord says what He means, and means what He says. Brother V gets into more detail HERE. After you've read that, if you still have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Hmmm....thank you for that. However, some of the specific verses (or even parts of verses) that I'm wondering about were skipped over in the link you provided.

[BabyCottontail]

Re: Hello

Carefully.

As to how I would exegete - I would first acknowledge an absolute inerrant infallible authority outside of myself. Is it a surprise that many do not begin with that, and have a problem with it? In order to combat perversion or inputting our own meaning into the text (esegesis), we must first acknowledge that God may command of us something we don't want to do. If we do not acknowledge this, we'll more than likely be content with our meaning instead of the author's intended meaning. In short, admit that we need help, and if left to ourselves we will die in our human unaided reason.

Agreed that acknowledging an absolute inerrant infallible authority outside of ourselves is essential to understanding any Scripture. And, yes, people are often pull out a Bible verse and interpret it their own way rather than the author's intended meaning.

I also agree that if left to ourselves, we will die in our human unaided reason.

[Calvinist]

Re: Hello

how would you exegete Matthew 7:1-6 and Matthew 7:15-29?

Carefully.

As to how I would exegete - I would first acknowledge an absolute inerrant infallible authority outside of myself. Is it a surprise that many do not begin with that, and have a problem with it? In order to combat perversion or inputting our own meaning into the text (esegesis), we must first acknowledge that God may command of us something we don't want to do. If we do not acknowledge this, we'll more than likely be content with our meaning instead of the author's intended meaning. In short, admit that we need help, and if left to ourselves we will die in our human unaided reason.

[Mary Etheldreda]

Re: Hello

All right...how would you exegete Matthew 7:1-6 and Matthew 7:15-29?

I'd still like to talk to Calvinist privately, though.

Rather straight forwardly. Scripture interprets Scripture, the Lord says what He means, and means what He says. Brother V gets into more detail HERE. After you've read that, if you still have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[BabyCottontail]

Re: Hello

We have tremendously knowledgeable and Spirit-Led apologists here. What about Matthew chapter 7 found you curious?

All right...how would you exegete Matthew 7:1-6 and Matthew 7:15-29?

I'd still like to talk to Calvinist privately, though.

[Calvinist]

Re: Hello

If you really must know, my question is about something contained in Matthew chapter 7.

I recommend just posting, and not making an issue with anything. If you are acting on my behalf please do not hesitate, and if you wish to bring something up that you believe is contrary to something I said, and doubt it as to its Orthodoxy, than I invite you to share it.

If you yourself are uncertain, I would suggest that you take the time to meditate on the Scripture, and ask yourself, if Scripture is contradicting Scripture in my own personal view, is it the Scripture or how I understand it? Be as willing to be edified as you are to edify.

My advice, and enjoy,

Calvinist.