Hi Seeker,
A comparison to the above, where it speaks of the judgment, at the end of the age, is in Matthew 25:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
This judgment of the unrighteous, compares in the following verses to Matthew 13:
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
Notice: --- The same Son of Man, Jesus, and the same angels, --- Then Jesus takes His place “On the Throne of His Glory.
--- (It was Jesus who came to earth, --- and God has given it into His hands to judge the very type of people that He lived with, and who taught how to love one another.)
34 Then the King (the Son of Man) will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
So, what was the main ‘gauge’ of their holiness, or demonstration of their righteousness, which made them worthy of entering God’s Heaven?
--- It was on compassionate grounds, was it not?
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.”
These involve all the things that Jesus taught us through the ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ --- are they not? --- The renewed Commandment of ‘loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself,’
So, the test has come, --- what has each life reflected in the world?
--- So Jesus, the Compassionate One, who was rejected by the world, --- but loved by His followers is now the “Judge” of all individuals before they enter the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus said to the disciples in John 14:
2 “I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
--- The world has had some ‘good times’ when life was valuable and people lived to serve one another, because they were served in the same manner in return.
The world has enough resources and could grow enough food to feed every hungry person and to care for every soul that needs the Compassion of Jesus who was, and is, expressed through people like Mother Theresa, the winner of the Nobel peace prize for her compassion for people on the streets of Calcutta.
--- Instead, the wealth of the world is hoarded by the selfish of the world, --- and squandered by the foolish of the world, --- and wasted by the wars of the world, that are generated by hatred.
--- So what is the judgment of the wicked? --- What did Jesus say in this verse?
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
--- (Note: --- The everlasting fire of hell was not prepared for human souls, but for Satan and his demonic spirits. --- Nevertheless, the unrighteous have sided with Satan in their rejection of God, --- have they not?)
Placid
-
-
5
1 votes
Who Is James Of The Gospel Of Thomas?
Started by
shah_gee
, Oct 01 2012 01:24 PM
228 replies to this topic
#227
peace seeker
-
- Advanced Members
-
- 864 posts
عبد الله
Posted 18 May 2013 - 09:15 PM
Hi Placid,
Yes this is a very important lesson, and important lessons to be learned. The whole idea that when Jesus said "you didn't feed me because you didn't feed the poor" is a great lesson. It is true that good humans feel compassion for the poor, and unfortunate and oppressed people. When they know that people are unhappy, they can never be happy themselves, as we are all somehow connected. I can even personally relate to this, as i also get offended myself when i hear about injustices done to other people throughout history and today. Ignorance hurts me as well somehow. So again, this is a beautiful end-time passage, and am really glad we are covering my favorite topic, which is end-times. End-times, justice, and so on. And also to remind us that to be among the winners at that time, we simply need to be doing the simple things, like helping others, feeding others, visiting others, and so on. Anyway, may God forgive us all for any neglect of those duties towards our religious leaders and God.
And of course also your words about the potential of this world to feed and house the whole world population if people follow the great teachings of charity and sharing, are vital as well. The thought of a better world is what makes me motivated in life.
thanks again dear Placid
your peace seeker
Yes this is a very important lesson, and important lessons to be learned. The whole idea that when Jesus said "you didn't feed me because you didn't feed the poor" is a great lesson. It is true that good humans feel compassion for the poor, and unfortunate and oppressed people. When they know that people are unhappy, they can never be happy themselves, as we are all somehow connected. I can even personally relate to this, as i also get offended myself when i hear about injustices done to other people throughout history and today. Ignorance hurts me as well somehow. So again, this is a beautiful end-time passage, and am really glad we are covering my favorite topic, which is end-times. End-times, justice, and so on. And also to remind us that to be among the winners at that time, we simply need to be doing the simple things, like helping others, feeding others, visiting others, and so on. Anyway, may God forgive us all for any neglect of those duties towards our religious leaders and God.
And of course also your words about the potential of this world to feed and house the whole world population if people follow the great teachings of charity and sharing, are vital as well. The thought of a better world is what makes me motivated in life.
thanks again dear Placid
your peace seeker
Edited by peace seeker, 18 May 2013 - 09:16 PM.
#228
placid
-
- Advanced Members
-
- 3,807 posts
Member
Posted Today, 06:54 AM
Hi Seeker,
So this is a favorite subject, the end times? --- There are different Parables that deal with the subject and some relate to certain groups of people, so they may be understood only by these they are written for. --- However, it is a timely subject because, --- each Parable adds some information and a warning to be prepared for the time when God does intervene. --- The world is in a state of “Tribulation,” --- is it not?
Here is another prominent Parable from Matthew 25:
1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Remember that ‘a Parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning,’ --- or a simple story that has a spiritual application.
Because this was spoken to the disciples and believers, it was a Parable that should be understood by Christians, --- but perhaps not by everyone.
Years before, God had said to the Jewish nation In Jeremiah 31:
31“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord
--- (Here is the symbolism of God having been a husband to Israel and Judah, and they were unfaithful to Him, and broke their covenant. --- So the symbolism is repeated with the Son of Man being the “Bridegroom” to the Church in the NT.)
It speaks of the time when He would come to take His “Bride” --- It identifies the 'Faithful' Church as being the “Bride” of Christ. --- (It has nothing to do with ‘literal marriage.’)
Now the ten ‘virgins’ can represent ten Churches, or ‘denominations’ that worship God and are true to the teaching of Jesus. ---
--- The ‘oil’ in their lamps represents the Holy Spirit in their Churches.
The thought is that while they waited a looooonnnnng time for the Bridegroom to come, --- They fell asleep, so they were not watching very attentively.
The lamps would represent the Spiritual life of the Church, and the ones with extra oil would still be able to shine brightly, --- but the ones with no extra oil, their flame would go out.
--- The call came, --- “THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING.”
So the ones with no oil said “share with us,” --- but the ‘wise’ said, “No, go and buy more oil.” --- Meaning, ‘return to the source of the oil, and be refilled.’
(The mixing of denominations to help the weaker ones rarely works because usually the weaker ones drag down the stronger ones, and in some cases the ‘light,’ or ‘lamp’ runs out of the ‘oil ‘ of the Holy Spirit, and their 'light' goes out. And the compromised Church continues on man’s power, rather than God’s power.)
In the case of a Church, it must return to God in repentance and be ‘revived.’
The ‘viv’ of the word means life. --- So the Church that had ‘life,’ must reach back and find that ‘life’ again. --- It is not ‘new life’ --- but the original ‘life’ rekindled.
--- This is why Churches that have been lulled to sleep need a full scale “Revival,” and it has to come from God. --- Church programs and Church Unions are man’s attempt to reach up to God, --- but Salvation came by God reaching down to man.
The Lord sent this message to the Church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:
(He first commended them for their labor and patience, and then said):
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
And He sent this message to the Church in Sardis in Revelation 3:
1 These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
--- (There is more, and I will add it later)
Placid
So this is a favorite subject, the end times? --- There are different Parables that deal with the subject and some relate to certain groups of people, so they may be understood only by these they are written for. --- However, it is a timely subject because, --- each Parable adds some information and a warning to be prepared for the time when God does intervene. --- The world is in a state of “Tribulation,” --- is it not?
Here is another prominent Parable from Matthew 25:
1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Remember that ‘a Parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning,’ --- or a simple story that has a spiritual application.
Because this was spoken to the disciples and believers, it was a Parable that should be understood by Christians, --- but perhaps not by everyone.
Years before, God had said to the Jewish nation In Jeremiah 31:
31“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord
--- (Here is the symbolism of God having been a husband to Israel and Judah, and they were unfaithful to Him, and broke their covenant. --- So the symbolism is repeated with the Son of Man being the “Bridegroom” to the Church in the NT.)
It speaks of the time when He would come to take His “Bride” --- It identifies the 'Faithful' Church as being the “Bride” of Christ. --- (It has nothing to do with ‘literal marriage.’)
Now the ten ‘virgins’ can represent ten Churches, or ‘denominations’ that worship God and are true to the teaching of Jesus. ---
--- The ‘oil’ in their lamps represents the Holy Spirit in their Churches.
The thought is that while they waited a looooonnnnng time for the Bridegroom to come, --- They fell asleep, so they were not watching very attentively.
The lamps would represent the Spiritual life of the Church, and the ones with extra oil would still be able to shine brightly, --- but the ones with no extra oil, their flame would go out.
--- The call came, --- “THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING.”
So the ones with no oil said “share with us,” --- but the ‘wise’ said, “No, go and buy more oil.” --- Meaning, ‘return to the source of the oil, and be refilled.’
(The mixing of denominations to help the weaker ones rarely works because usually the weaker ones drag down the stronger ones, and in some cases the ‘light,’ or ‘lamp’ runs out of the ‘oil ‘ of the Holy Spirit, and their 'light' goes out. And the compromised Church continues on man’s power, rather than God’s power.)
In the case of a Church, it must return to God in repentance and be ‘revived.’
The ‘viv’ of the word means life. --- So the Church that had ‘life,’ must reach back and find that ‘life’ again. --- It is not ‘new life’ --- but the original ‘life’ rekindled.
--- This is why Churches that have been lulled to sleep need a full scale “Revival,” and it has to come from God. --- Church programs and Church Unions are man’s attempt to reach up to God, --- but Salvation came by God reaching down to man.
The Lord sent this message to the Church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:
(He first commended them for their labor and patience, and then said):
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
And He sent this message to the Church in Sardis in Revelation 3:
1 These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
--- (There is more, and I will add it later)
Placid
#229
peace seeker
-
- Advanced Members
-
- 864 posts
عبد الله
Posted Today, 05:33 PM
Dear Placid,
Beautiful ! Thank you .. that's really deep! reminds me of:
interesting with the "come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour"
also, the way i would personally interpret the part of the unwise brides running out and the wise ones refusing to share, based on your given interpretation:
they can not share it, as the oil is divine oil that can only be granted by the Lord directly. The 5 foolish brides went to wait for their groom without provisions, which can be seen as good deeds, Spirit, love etc. (and perhaps once they realized they need oil and decided to repent, it was too late )
it is a very very deep parable and i will have to sleep over that one to comprehend more God willing.
i wonder what that covenant is. Was it a prophesy of Jesus arrival?
looking forwards really much
thanks
peace seeker
Beautiful ! Thank you .. that's really deep! reminds me of:
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things. 24:35
interesting with the "come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour"
also, the way i would personally interpret the part of the unwise brides running out and the wise ones refusing to share, based on your given interpretation:
they can not share it, as the oil is divine oil that can only be granted by the Lord directly. The 5 foolish brides went to wait for their groom without provisions, which can be seen as good deeds, Spirit, love etc. (and perhaps once they realized they need oil and decided to repent, it was too late )
it is a very very deep parable and i will have to sleep over that one to comprehend more God willing.
Quote
31“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
i wonder what that covenant is. Was it a prophesy of Jesus arrival?
Quote
--- (There is more, and I will add it later)
looking forwards really much
thanks
peace seeker
Reply to this topic
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
