Bible Words & Terms

.
Spiritual Body

Jesus' crucified dead body underwent some miraculous changes after his
resurrection. His body today is commonly known as "glorified". (Phil 3:20-21)

Now although his glorified body is technically a spiritual body, it is still capable of
dining upon ordinary foods and beverages.

● Matt 26:29 . . I tell you: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until
that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.

● Luke 22:15-16 . . I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer. For I tell you: I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of
God.

● Luke 22:28-30 . .You are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I
make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a
kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.

The thing is: the Greek word translated spiritual doesn't always pertain to things
consisting of spirit material. For example:

Spiritual gifts (Rom 1:11)
Spiritual law (Rom 7:14)
Spiritual things (Rom 15:27)
Spiritual people (1Cor 2:15)
Spiritual nourishment (1Cor 10:3)
Spiritual water (1Cor 10:4)
Spiritual rock (1Cor 10:4)
Spiritual counselors (Gal 6:1)
Spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3)
Spiritual music (Eph 5:19)
Spiritual understanding (Col 1:9)
Spiritual housing (1Pet 2:5)
Spiritual sacrifices (1Pet 2:5)

So then, a spiritual body's properties aren't necessarily those of a specter's
construction.
_
 
.
Works

The common Greek word translated works in the new testament basically refers to
actions, i.e. activity of any amount, scope, or description-- from the grandiose to
the mundane; even the activity going on inside one's mind.

● Heb 9:14 . . How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works
to serve the living God?

* The supreme being is an active deity.

● Gen 1:1 . . In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.

Although the cosmos is completely finished, God isn't idle. He manages to stay busy
with projects about which mankind is mostly unaware.

● John 5:17 . . My Father is always at His work to this very day.
_
 
.
The Kingdom Of Heaven

According to the many prophecies in the old testament speaking of the kingdom of
Heaven, we're all residing on its premises right now, and have been all our lives.

However, the kingdom is currently in such a disagreeable state because the king
hasn't taken the reins yet, consequently several of Jesus' kingdom parables portray
this world as an amalgam of good and evil; which won't improve till he returns and
gets his administration up and running per Dan 7:13-14 which says:

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,
coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led
into his presence.

. . He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men
of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will
not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." (cf. Ps 2:1-12)
_
 
.
Ransom

● Matt 20:28 . .The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give
his life as a ransom for many.

● 1Tim 2:5-6 . . For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.

It is indeed possible to buy one's way out of their judicial troubles with God, but not
by means of the usual methods by which folks settle their debts public and private.

● 1Pet 1:18-20 . . For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver
or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you
from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish
or defect.

REACTION: I want nothing to do with a slaughter-house religion!

REPLY: It's only one death, and it was only that one time, rather than serial deaths
repeated many times over; and it was already done for you some +/- 2,000 years
ago. All that people have to do now is take advantage of it.

REACTION: How?

REPLY: Find some privacy; anyplace will do. Cover your face with your hands for a
sense of connection and simply say, in your own words either out loud or under
your breath: "Lord I am in trouble with God and likely will continue to be. I would
like to take advantage of your son's offer of himself as a ransom to get myself out
of the prospect of facing retribution."
_
 
.
Rapture

1Thess 4:13-17 predicts the sudden removal of everyone on earth unified with
Christ, both the living and the dead. The Bible gives no date for the event.

I've watched a number of films pertaining to the rapture and every one of them left
out the part where the remains of 2,000 years of deceased believers from all over
the globe will be restored to life.

The films also left out the part where folks unified with Christ rise into the air to
meet him. Instead the films showed them here one second and gone the next, but I
rather suspect the event should be easily observed all 'round the world if it
proceeds as described because 2,000 years of believers added to the world's
current number of believers, will likely construct a flash mob resembling a mini Oort
Cloud when they levitate together all at one time to rendezvous with Christ up in
the sky.

The mob is likely to get pretty noisy too what with all the cheering, laughing, and
shouting that's sure to take place when Jesus' followers receive their new bodies;
which of course will be immune to death and the aging process. (1Cor 15:51-53)

* The blink component of the rapture pertains to the quickness of the miraculous
transformation that Jesus' followers will undergo during the event. (1Cor 15:51-52)

The films also showed tiny children being taken while their parents are left behind.
That's highly doubtful because minors have often been collateral damage in the
Bible when God slammed their parents, e.g. zero children survived the Flood, and
120,00 would've been lost had God found it necessary to follow thru with His threat
to annihilate Nineveh. (Jonah 4:11)

NOTE: People left behind shouldn't let the rapture cause them panic because it isn't
the end of the world. They can still get themselves spared retribution and perdition,
i.e. it's not like all hope is lost. In point of fact, vast numbers of folks from all over
the globe will be spared during the interlude between the rapture and Christ's feet
touching down on the ground to set up the kingdom conditions predicted by the
prophets in the old testament. (Rev 7:9-14)
_
 
.
Mediator

● 1Tim 2:5 . . For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus

The Bible defines a mediator as a go-between, viz: an intercessor

The ideal mediator isn't swayed by prejudice or bias, and can clearly understand
the concerns of both sides of the table, so to speak.

Joseph mediated for his father Jacob and an Egyptian pharaoh; and was very good
at it because he spoke both their languages, was familiar with both their cultures,
and was an Hebrew the same as his dad, and an Egyptian the same as Pharaoh.

Jesus is effective like that too. As the divine spirit being depicted by John 1:1-3, he
fully understands the supreme side of things, and as the human being depicted by
John 1:14 he fully understands the human side of things. So Jesus' job was, and is,
to reconcile the differences between the supreme being and the human being so
they can associate in a way acceptable to both; and, by the way: he's the only God
given person that I know of who is fully qualified to do this.

● John 14:6 . . I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.
_
 
.
The Image & Likeness Of God

To my knowledge, mankind is the cosmos' only form of life created in the image
and likeness of God. So then, mankind is nature's supreme being, so to speak.

● Gen 1:26 . . Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over
the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the
ground.

Plus:

● Gen 1:28 . . Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that
moves on the ground.

And:

● Ps 8:6-8 . .You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything
under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

Ergo: in the grand scheme of things; nature was meant to be expendable, whereas
mankind was meant to be revered.

Mankind's image and likeness of God extends to other areas; for example:

● Gen 9:4-6 . . For your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand
an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an
accounting for the life of his fellow man.

In that passage murder isn't wrong because it's a moral evil. The thing is: human
life is a sacred form of life. It is basically a sacrilege to kill people because the act
demeans the image and likeness of God.

● Gen 9:6 . .Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for
in the image of God has God made man.

The principle extends to cursing:

● Jas 3:9 . .With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we execrate
men, who have been made in God's likeness.
_
 
.
Repentance

Repentance has a variety of meanings in the old testament. In some places it expresses regret and/or remorse, in other it means to reconsider, in others to change one's mind, and in others to stop moving in the current direction and switch to an alternative route.

Repentance doesn't always indicate an error in judgment. For example; though not explicitly expressed in words, God gave the people of Nineveh an ultimatum, to wit; either straighten up or within forty days their city would be conquered. So the people gave God a couple of options. His finger was on the button to effect their ruin but Jonah's preaching saved the day.

FAQ: Whoever teaches this is seriously mistaken and has changed that which God's word, the Bible, clearly states.

REPLY: The prophets wrote only what they were inspired to write (2Pet 1:20-21) while speaking more words than what they wrote. In other words: we don't have all the facts simply because they weren't inspired to write everything down for future generations to read. Well; as you can imagine: that's a bit frustrating for purists because many don't have an ability to read between the lines, so to speak.

Regret and remorse are sometimes assumed necessary components in the forgiveness process. But upon examination of the text of 1John 1:8-10, it's readily seen that transparency is the important factor; whereas repentance isn't even hinted.
_
 
.
Communion

● Matt 26:26-28 . . And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and
brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said: Take, eat; this is my body. And he
took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for
this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins.

● 1Cor 10:15-17 . . The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of
the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body
of Christ?

The word communion is translated from a Greek word that pertains to partnerships,
i.e. active participation.

The thing is: folks unified with Christ are accounted as joint principals with him in
his crucifixion.

● Rom 6:3 . . Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?

● Rom 6:8 . . We died with Christ,

● Gal 2:20 . . I am crucified with Christ

● Col 3:1-3 . . Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on
things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with
Christ in God.

So then.

● 1Cor 11:27-30 . .Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an
unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A
man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and
drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a
number of you have fallen asleep.

The Greek word for "unworthy" basically means: irreverently; which Webster's
defines as: lacking proper respect or seriousness. In other words "sacrilege" which
is gross irreverence toward a hallowed person, place, or thing.

"sinning against the body and blood of the Lord" is very similar language to 1Cor
6:18, which states: The immoral man sins against his own body. There, as here,
we're not talking about suicide and/or homicide; were talking about desecration;
which Webster's defines as: to violate the sanctity of, to profane-- viz: to treat with
disrespect, i.e. irreverently and/or outrageously.

"A man ought to examine himself" is an imperative to make double sure that one's
heart is in the right place when consuming the elements (a.k.a. species). Some
people gulp them down as if they were nothing more than a snack of hot wings and
cold beer during a Super Bowl game instead of a sacred reminder of what God's son
endured to ransom their souls from a second death in the lake of brimstone
depicted at Rev 20:11-15.

NOTE: Frequency is flexible; so if somebody is a bit nervous about going about it in
the wrong way, then I suggest not taking chances, instead: they should hold off as
long as it takes until they know what they're doing.
_
 
.
Cubit

● Gen 6:15b . . the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty
cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

There was a cubit among the Babylonians, and one in Egypt too. But there seems
to have existed double standards in both countries. Because of that, there exists no
undisputed example of the cubit that remains to the present time; so the length of
the cubit has been variously estimated.

One of the ancient cubits was the length of a man's forearm, from the elbow to the
tip of the middle finger, as is implied from the derivation of the word in Hebrew and
from the Latin cubitum. It seems to be referred to also in Deut 3:11 as "after the
cubit of a man." But that's too vague, and unsuitable for a scientific standard
because not all men's arms are exactly alike.

The Babylonians employed two different cubits: the so-called royal cubit and the
common cubit. From the remains of buildings in Assyria and Babylonia, the royal
cubit is made out to be about 20.6 inches. A cubit of similar length was used in
Egypt. This was probably the cubit mentioned by Ezek 40:5 and possibly that of
Solomon's temple as "cubits after the first measure" (2Chr 3:3)

The commercial cubit was shorter, and has been variously estimated at between 16
and 18 inches or more, but the evidence of the Siloam inscription and of the tombs
in Palestine seems to indicate 17.6 inches as the average length. This was the cubit
of six palms, while the longer one was of seven (Ezek 40:5). The cubit mentioned in
Judges 3:16 is from the Hebrew word gomedh and was probably shorter.

The cubit of Noah's day remains a total mystery. We thus far haven't discovered a
way to determine its exact length. Maybe Noah and his boys passed on their
antediluvian knowledge of weights and measures to the post-flood world and it
stayed pretty close to the original standards over the years; but it's impossible to
know for sure.
_
 
.
Covenant

Webster's defines a covenant as 1) a usually formal, solemn, and/or binding
agreement, viz: a compact, and 2) a written agreement or promise usually under
seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action.

Bible covenants may include obligations and/or responsibilities for all parties
involved; and then again may contain obligations and/or responsibilities for only
one side of the table with the other side involved as the beneficiary of a particular
benefit; sort of like an irrevocable trust.

The simplest of covenants are basically promissory and depend very heavily upon
the reliability of the benefactor. For example Abraham's Covenant; whereby the
supreme being, in so many words, guaranteed Abraham permanent possession of a
specific geographic region in the Mideast; and David's Covenant whereby the
supreme being, in so many words, guaranteed David's paternal descendants will
always be the men in line for his throne.

Those two covenants are unconditional, viz: there was nothing that either man
could possibly do to cause God to cancel His guarantees, nor was there anything
that either man could possibly to do make them more secure.
_
 
.
Moses' Law

Moses' Law-- a.k.a. the Ten Commandments --is a covenant entered into by
Yahweh and the people of Israel located in the books of Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Now as a matter of personal opinion, I really think the Israelites really should've
read the fine print before agreeing to God's requirements in this covenant because
it slams folks with some pretty stiff penalties for non compliance; for example Lev
26:14-39, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:15-68.
_
 
.
Melchizedek

Prior to the institution of the Israelite priesthood tribe of Levi, there was a Gentile
man named Melchizedek in Abraham's day who served God as the supreme being's
high priest. Quite a bit is written about him in the new testament's letter to
Hebrews.

The thing is: the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God-- as it's stated
in the old testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy --isn't
retroactive. (Deut 5:2-4 & Gal 3:17) Seeing as how Melchizedek served God
something like +/- 400 years before the covenant, then he wasn't obligated to
comply with it and therefore none of its consequences for non compliance were
ever a danger to him.

So then, seeing as how Christ has been appointed a high priest whose arrangement
with the supreme being is more or less patterned after Melchizedek's (Ps 110:4 &
Heb 5:5-6) then neither is he obligated to comply with the covenant and therefore
none of its consequences for non compliance are a danger to him.

* I think it can be safely assumed, and rightly so, that if Melchizedekian high
priests are immune to the consequences listed in the covenant, then everyone they
represent, in matters pertaining to God, are blessed with that very same immunity.

For example: folks unified with Christ need not fear that non compliance with the
Ten Commandments will some day endanger their afterlife safety.

● John 5:24 . . I assure you; those who listen to my message, and believe in God
who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but
they have already passed from death into life.
_
 
.
Yom Kippur

The Great Day Of Atonement-- a.k.a. Yom Kippur --is huge in the Levitical sacrificial
system because when the ritual is conducted properly by the appropriate holy men,
it addresses an entire year of the nation of Israel's sins.

However, there has been neither a Temple nor a a fully functioning High Priest on
duty in Jerusalem since Titus the Roman destroyed the city in 70AD so it has been
impossible for +/- 1,955 years to follow the instructions for Yom Kippur given by
Lev 16:2-34. Consequently Yom Kippur has been sort of on-hold, and the people of
Israel haven't been able to avail themselves of its benefits for quite some time.

In reality, Yom Kippur is a temporary expedience because the sacrifices involved in
the ritual are of such low value. The reason being that human life was created in
the image and likeness of God whereas the remainder of life on earth wasn't. Thus
the value of human life is infinitely greater than the value of all other natural forms
of life including the sacrificial animals designated for Yom Kippur.

What that boils down to is this: The life of a sacrificial animal cannot satisfy the
degree of justice that's rightfully due the sins committed by human life.
Consequently; Yom Kippur's ritual is an adequate resource for the people of Israel
in their quest to obtain cleansing, but nigh unto useless as a resource in their quest
to obtain innocence.

NOTE: Never, ever, wish your Jewish friends and/or associates a pleasant Yom
Kippur. It's okay to wish them a satisfactory Yom Kippur but never a pleasant one
because it's not a feel-good day like Christmas and birthdays.

Quite the contrary Yom Kippur is specifically a day for them to be depressed; viz: a
day of sadness and self-affliction per Lev 16:29-31, Lev 16:31, Lev 23:27, and Lev
23:32, which is from a Hebrew word meaning to mistreat, humiliate, oppress, break
the spirit, demean, abuse, weaken, injure, abase, etc. On that day; the people of
Israel are required to think of themselves as disgusting, deplorable, and despicable.
Those who think and/or speak well of themselves on that day accrue an instant
curse upon themselves. (Deut 27:26)
_
 
.
The Name

● Gen 2:4 . .These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they
were created, in the day that The Lord God made earth and heaven.

The "Lord" part of Lord God is translated from the four-letter tetragrammaton YHVH
which is sometimes spelled YHWH. The correct pronunciation is currently unknown.
Sometimes it's pronounced Yehovah, sometimes Jehovah, and sometimes Yahweh.
In some Bibles, "Lord" is in full capitalization to alert readers that their English
version has been translated from a Hebrew text containing YHVH.

The appellation is so sacred among pious Jews that they make every effort to avoid
speaking it except under very special circumstances. In some of their writings, in
order to avoid using the four sacred letters comprising the tetragrammaton, they
write instead "The Name" and/or sometimes "Hashem". So Ex 20:3 could be
written: I, The Name, am your god and/or I, Hashem, am your god.

NOTE: According to Phil 2:7-9, Jesus has been authorized to use the name for his
personal title, effectively elevating Christ to the rank of deity; and who can possibly
object considering the extent of his devotion to both God and Man in the plan of
salvation?
_
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top