Articles in English

Where the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.

 

Author: Vasileios Zafeiroglou

Date: July 30, 2023

 

 

One of the most debated passages of scripture that has been commented on by many in a variety of ways is the following verse.

«Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.» (Matt 24:28 [ESV])

 

In fact, this verse was and is "the Great Expectation" of many Christians both in past centuries and in our days.

So many modern Christians believe that we are living in the last days, where "the rapture of the Church" will happen and the believers of these days believe that they will fly like eagles to find where "the corpse" is or as Luke writes they will be attached where it is "the body".

 

«I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”» (Luke 17:34-37 [ESV])

 

The words "corpse" and "body" when referring to a dead person are identified with the body of the dead person.

When Herod beheaded John the Baptist the disciples came and took his body and buried it.

«And having heard, his disciples came and lifted his corpse, and put it in the tomb.» (Mark 6:29 [ABPen])

 

In the same way Joseph of Arimathea requested the dead body of Jesus from Pontius Pilate.

“When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud” (Matt 27:57-59 [ESV2011])

 

But the word corpse[in Greek πτώμα(ptoma] also has the meaning of fall, obstacle and crash. The "fall" comes as a result of ungodliness, disobedience, disobedience and ultimately pride leading to insult(vituperation) and blasphemy. The greatest disrespect ever shown by a people was when the rulers and the people of Israel denied their Lord and their God who came as the Son of Man and as their King to serve them and give them eternal life.

“[before destruction  takes the lead  Insolence]; and before a calamitous downfall evil thinking.” (Prov 16:18 [ABPen])

 

In fact, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Rock of Salvation in whom those who took refuge in Him found rest, life and sanctification, and on the other hand He became "the stumbling block" and "the stone of stumbling" for those who rejected Him from the house of Israel.

“even  upon  him  yielding  you should be, he will be to you for a sanctuary; and not as a stone of stumbling for you to meet up with, nor as a rock downfall; but the houses of Jacob are in a snare, and in a hollow lying in wait in Jerusalem.” (Isa 8:14 [ABPen])

“On account of this, thus says [the] LORD, the holy one of Israel, Because you resisted persuasion to these words, and hoped upon a lie, and that you grumbled, and relying   became upon this word. Therefore this will be to you -- this sin will be as a wall falling  immediately city of a fortified being captured, of which immediately is at hand the calamitous downfall. And the calamitous downfall of it will be as [the] breaking of a receptacle of earthenware of  clay vessel a thin, so that there should not be found among them even a potsherd in which coals of fire  to lift, and with which to whistle up water  a little.” (Isa 30:12-14 [ABPen])

 

The priest of the Temple old Simeon made a wonderful prophecy when Joseph and Mary took the little newborn Jesus to the temple to be circumcised.

“And blessed them Simeon, and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this one is situated for a downfall and a rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign being disputed; (even  you and your  soul  shall go through  a broadsword,) so that  should be  uncovered of many hearts the thoughts.” (Luke 2:34-35 [ABPen])

 

Jesus would be the cause and the occasion for every Jew first and then for every Israelite and also for every convert to stop the curse and the wrath brought by disobedience to the observance of the Law. Those who looked to Jesus by faith would no longer drink from the cup of God's wrath and the poison of the serpents of carnal desires and transgression of the commandments of the Law would cease to kill them.

“Awake, awake, and stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath: thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. There is none to guide her among all the sons, whom she hath brought forth: there is none that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. These two things are come unto thee: who will lament thee? desolation (πτώμα, ptoma) and destruction(σύντριμμα, sintrimma) and famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, and lye at the head of all the streets as a wild bull in a net, and are full of the wrath of the Lord, and rebuke of thy God.” (Isa 51:17-20 [Geneva])

 

The Lord presented Himself as a huge eagle that would cover His people under His wings.

 

From the days when in a glorious way the God of Israel freed His people from the bonds of the work of Egypt and Pharaoh He showed His great love and protection for those whom He had destined to become "the holy nation" and "the kingdom priesthood». This wondrous love was expressed by God in a parabolic but at the same time majestic way.

“Ye have seen all that I have done to the Egyptians, and I took you up as upon eagles' wings, and I brought you near to myself. And now if ye will indeed hear my voice, and keep my covenant, ye shall be to me a peculiar people above all nations; for the whole earth is mine. And ye shall be to me a royal priesthood and a holy nation: these words shalt thou speak to the children of Israel.” (Exod 19:4-6 [LXXE])

 

«And his people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel was the line of his inheritance. He maintained him in the wilderness, in burning thirst and a dry land: he led him about and instructed him, and kept him as the apple of an eye. As an eagle would watch over his brood, and yearns over his young, receives them having spread his wings, and takes them up on his back: the Lord alone led them, there was no strange god with them. He brought them up on the strength of the land; he fed them with the fruits of the fields; they sucked honey out of the rock, and oil out of the solid rock. Butter of cows, and milk of sheep, with the fat of lambs and rams, of calves and kids, with fat of kidneys of wheat; and he drank wine, the blood of the grape. So Jacob ate and was filled, and the beloved one kicked; he grew fat, he became thick and broad: then he forsook the God that made him, and departed from God his Saviour.» (Deut 32:9-15 [LXXE])

 

But when God's people turned away from His decrees and His judgments they did not have the protection and cover of God's wings. Then the Lord allowed "wild" and "unclean" vultures like eagles and vultures to come to crush him, crush him and destroy him. These wild and "unclean" vultures were enemy nations and peoples used by God as instruments of His education and His wrath against the disobedient and apostate Jewish people.

And these are the things which ye shall abhor of birds, and they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle and the ossifrage, and the sea-eagle. And the vulture, and the kite, and the like to it;” (Lev 11:13-14 [LXXE])

 

So what was an abomination to the Jews, God allowed to come and cause destruction and desolation.

The Lord shall bring upon thee a nation from the extremity of the earth, like the swift flying of an eagle, a nation whose voice thou shalt not understand; a nation bold in countenance, which shall not respect the person of the aged and shall not pity the young. And it shall eat up the young of thy cattle, and the fruits of thy land, so as not to leave to thee corn, wine, oil, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep, until it shall have destroyed thee; and have utterly crushed thee in thy cities, until the high and strong walls be destroyed, in which thou trustest, in all thy land; and it shall afflict thee in thy cities, which he has given to thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, all that he has given thee, in thy straitness and thy affliction, with which thine enemy shall afflict thee. He that is tender and very delicate within thee shall look with an evil eye upon his brother, and the wife in his bosom, and the children that are left, which may have been left to him; so as [not] to give to one of them of the flesh of his children, whom he shall eat, because of his having nothing left him in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with which thine enemies shall afflict thee in all thy cities. And she that is tender and delicate among you, whose foot has not assayed to go upon the earth for delicacy and tenderness, shall look with an evil eye on her husband in her bosom, and her son and her daughter, and her offspring that comes out between her feet, and the child which she shall bear; for she shall eat them because of the want of all things, secretly in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with which thine enemy shall afflict thee in thy cities.”  (Deut. 28:49-57 [LXXE])

 

Faithful David stood with courage and faith in front of the giant Goliath defying his threats and insults because he had given his heart to the Lord.

“And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord God of hosts of the army of Israel, which thou hast defied this day. And the Lord shall deliver thee this day into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from off thee, and will give thy limbs and the limbs of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.” (1Sam 17:45-46 [LXXE])

 

During the years of David and Solomon God secured peace and security for Israel from all the surrounding nations.

No one could do anything to God's children as long as His people were obedient and recognized the goodness and greatness that the Lord had done among them.

No "vulture" and "bird" dared to threaten and harm the little vultures while they faithfully enjoyed the safety of "the great eagle's wings."

 

After the gradual departure from God's will of Solomon and his successors both in Northern Israel and in the kingdom of Judah, the Lord's command and order began to be given to rise up wild-faced nations to march, rise up and rule in the midst of the of every historical period of the people of Israel.

 

Nothing could move and rise without the command of the Lord.

“And does the eagle rise at thy command, and the vulture remain sitting over his nest, on a crag of a rock, and in a secret [place]? Thence he seeks food, his eyes observe from far. And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found.” (Job 39:27-30 [LXXE])

 

We see here that eagles and other vultures gather where there are injured and weak animals or dismembered corpses only when the Lord commanded it.

Therefore there was and still is no positive and encouraging message for the believers of the past centuries and for the generation we live in, when the eagles attach themselves to where the corpse is. On the contrary, the vultures being attached to the people was an event of God's anger and wrath.

 

God, because of the transgression of the ten apostate tribes of Israel, sent the Assyrians against them in 721 BC. After about 100 years, the disrespect of Judah and Benjamin began to be completed and then the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, came against them. In 586 BC Jerusalem was captured and its inhabitants were taken as slaves to Babylon.

“(27:17) Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have driven him out: the king of Assyria firsts devoured him, and afterward this king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.” (Jer 50:17 [LXXE])

 

The king of Babylon is metaphorically called "the great eagle, the great-winged, the long-spanning one," and the king of Egypt another great eagle, great-winged and with many wings is called "another great eagle, great-winged and with many wings" to which they took refuge the Jews to find protection against the king of Babylon, whom the Lord had raised up and sent against Judah and Jerusalem.

 

“Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel: and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; A great eagle with large wings, spreading them out very far, with many claws, which has the design of entering into Libanus - and he took the choice [branches] of the cedar: he cropped off the ends of the tender twigs, and brought them into the land of Chanaan; he laid them up in a walled city. And he took of the seed of the land, and sowed it in a field planted by much water; he set it in a conspicuous place. And it sprang up, and became a weak and little vine, so that the branches thereof appeared [upon] it, and its roots were under it: and it became a vine, and put forth shoots, and sent forth its tendrils. And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many claws: and, behold, this vine bent itself round toward him, and her roots [were turned] towards him, and she sent forth her branches towards him, that [he] might water her together with the growth of her plantation. She thrives in a fair field by much water, to produce shoots and bear fruit, that she might become a great vine.” (Ezek 17:2-8 [LXXE])

 

“Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, say now to the provoking house, Know ye not what these things were? say [to them], Whenever the king of Babylon shall come against Jerusalem, then he shall take her king and her princes, and shall take them home to Babylon. And he shall take of the seed royal, and shall make a covenant with him, and shall bind him with an oath: and he shall take the princes of the land: that it may become a weak kingdom, so as never to lift itself up, that he may keep his covenant, and establish it. And [if] he shall revolt from him, to send his messengers into Egypt, that [they] may give him horses and much people; shall he prosper? shall he that acts as an adversary be preserved? and shall he that transgresses the covenant be preserved? [As] I live, saith the Lord, verily in [the] place where the king is that made him king, who dishonoured my oath, and who broke my covenant, shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon. And Pharaoh shall make war upon him not with a large force or great multitude, in throwing up a mound, and in building of forts, to cut off souls. Whereas he has profaned the oath so as to break the covenant, when, behold, I engage his hand, and he has done all these things to him, he shall not escape. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; [As] I live, surely mine oath which he has profaned, and my covenant which he has transgressed, I will even recompense it upon his head. And I will spread a net upon him, and he shall be caught in its snare. In every battle of his they shall fall by the sword, and I will scatter [his] remnant to every wind: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it. For thus saith the Lord; I will even take of the choice [branches] of the cedar from the top [thereof], I will crop off their hearts, and I will plant it on a high mountain:” (Ezek 17:11-22 [LXXE])

 

“At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind [cometh] from the heights in the wilderness, on the way of the daughter of my people, not for fanning, nor for cleansing. A wind more vehement than that shall come from me: now will I also pronounce judgments against them. Behold, he cometh up as clouds, and his chariots are as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are destroyed.” (Jer 4:11-13 [Darby])

 

The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations. The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world(in Septuagint, “ all those who resided the inhabitant land namely oikoumenithat foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem. This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous. They wandered, blind, through the streets; they were so defiled with blood that no one was able to touch their garments. “Away! Unclean!” people cried at them. “Away! Away! Do not touch!” So they became fugitives and wanderers; people said among the nations, “They shall stay with us no longer.” The LORD himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders. Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save. They dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; our end drew near; our days were numbered, for our end had come. Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the heavens; they chased us on the mountains; they lay in wait for us in the wilderness. The breath of our nostrils, the LORD's anointed, was captured in their pits, of whom we said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.” (Lam 4:11-20 [ESV2011])

 

“Behold, ye despisers, and look, and wonder marvelously, and vanish: for I work a work in your days, which ye will in no wise believe, though a man declare [it to you]. Wherefore, behold, I stir up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, that walks upon the breadth of the earth, to inherit tabernacles not his own. He is terrible and famous; his judgment shall proceed of himself, and his dignity shall come out of himself. And his horses shall bound [more swiftly] than leopards, and [they are] fiercer than the wolves of Arabia: and his horsemen shall ride forth, and shall rush from far; and they shall fly as an eagle hasting to eat. Destruction shall come upon ungodly men, resisting with their adverse front, and he shall gather the captivity as the sand. And he shall be at his ease with kings, and princes are his toys, and he shall mock at every strong-hold, and shall cast a mound, and take possession of it. Then shall he change his spirit, and he shall pass through, and make an atonement, [saying], This strength [belongs] to my god.” (Hab 1:5-11 [LXXE])

 

Babylon being the first of the four beasts of Daniel's prophecy, which rose out of the sea of Gentiles, is likened to a lion that had eagle's wings.

The first [was] as a lioness, and her wings as an eagle's; I beheld until her wings were plucked, ands she was lifted off from the earth, and she stood on human feet, and a man's heart was given to her.” (Dan 7:4 [LXXE])

 

The hostility and arrogance of Israel's neighboring peoples.

Many times the nations living around Israel and Judah gained wealth and power and in a proud and arrogant manner behaved hostilely and rejoiced when Israel and Judah suffered at the hands of other conquerors. But the Lord paid with the same or even worse currency for the cruelty of the neighbors.

Even when the other nations thought they were strong and stood high in the midst of power and worldly dominion, so that they soared like eagles who had built the nest of their kingdom very high, the Lord had and has the power to bring them down and the their fall was and is proverbial and catastrophic.

“Therefore thus saith the Lord; Because thou art grown great, and hast set thy top in the midst of the clouds, and I saw when he was exalted; therefore I delivered him into the hands of the prince of the nations, and he wrought his destruction. And ravaging strangers from the nations have destroyed him, and have cast him down upon the mountains: his branches fell in all the valleys, and his boughs were broken in every field of the land; and all the people of the nations are gone down from their shelter, and have laid him low. All the birds of the sky have settled on his fallen trunk, and all the wild beasts of the field came upon his boughs: in order that none of the trees by the water should exalt themselves by reason of their size: whereas they set their top in the midst of the clouds, yet they continued not in their high state in their place, all that drank water, all were consigned to death, to the depth of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.” (Ezek 31:10-14 [LXXE])

 

“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast like a young lion among the nations, and thou wast as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth in thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also spread out my net over thee with an assemblage of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net. And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowl of the heavens to settle upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with the heap of thy [members] ;” (Ezek 32:2-5 [Darby])

 

“Draw near, ye nations; and hearken, ye princes; let the earth hear, and they that are in it; the world, and the people that are therein. For the wrath of the Lord is upon all nations, and [his] anger upon the number of them, to destroy them, and give them up to slaughter. And their slain shall be cast forth, and their corpses; and their [ill] savour shall come up, and the mountains shall be made wet with their blood. And all the powers of the heavens shall melt, and the sky shall be rolled up like a scroll: and all the stars shall fall like leaves from a vine, and as leaves fall from a fig-tree. My sword has been made drunk in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and with judgement upon the people doomed to destruction.” (Isa 34:1-5 [LXXE])

 

The destruction of Edom

 

“(29:20) Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has framed against Idumea; and his device, which he has devised against the inhabitants of Thaeman: surely the least of the sheep shall be swept off; surely their dwelling shall be made desolate for them. (29:21) For at the sound of their fall the earth was scared, and the cry of the sea was not heard. (29:22) Behold, he shall look [upon her] as an eagle, and spread forth [his] wings over her strongholds; and the heart of the mighty men of Idumea shall be in that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.” (Jer. 49:20-22 [LXXE])

 

“Behold, I have made thee small among the Gentiles: thou art greatly dishonoured. The pride of thine heart has elated thee, dwelling [as thou dost] in the holes of the rocks, [as one that] exalts his habitation, saying in his heart, Who will bring me down to the ground? If thou shouldest mount up as the eagle, and if thou shouldest make thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.” (Obad 1:3-4 [LXXE])

 

Pride and arrogance lead a people to overweeningness and make them think that their dwelling place is very high. He thinks that he flies high like the eagle and his place is in mid-heaven among the stars. But God is the one who has the authority to raise and lower someone from his throne no matter how high he is.

Unfortunately vultures like the eagle fly and sniff from afar where dead bodies are lying(πτώματα).

When the Jews violated the observance of God's Law they were left without the guidance, life and longevity that God gave to those who obeyed him.

 

“And if hereupon ye will not obey me, but walk perversely towards me, then will I walk with you with a froward mind, and I will chasten you seven-fold according to your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will render your pillars desolate, and will utterly destroy your wooden [images] made with hands; and I will lay your carcases on the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall loathe you. And I will lay your cities waste, and I will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell the savour of your sacrifices. And I will lay your land desolate, and your enemies who dwell in it shall wonder at it. And I will scatter you among the nations, and the sword shall come upon you and consume you; and your land shall be desolate, and your cities shall be desolate. Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths all the days of its desolation. And ye shall be in the land of your enemies; then the land shall keep its sabbaths, and the land shall enjoy its sabbaths all the days of its desolation: it shall keep sabbaths which it kept not among your sabbaths, when ye dwelt in it.” (Lev 26:27-35 [LXXE])

 

“(78:1) A Psalm for Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; they have polluted thy holy temple; they have made Jerusalem a storehouse of fruits. (78:2) They have given the dead bodies of thy servants [to be] food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of thy holy ones for the wild beasts of the earth. (78:3) They have shed their blood as water, round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury [them].” (Ps 79:1-3 [LXXE])

 

“Behold, ye despisers, and look, and wonder marvelously, and vanish: for I work a work in your days, which ye will in no wise believe, though a man declare [it to you]. Wherefore, behold, I stir up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, that walks upon the breadth of the earth, to inherit tabernacles not his own. He is terrible and famous; his judgment shall proceed of himself, and his dignity shall come out of himself. And his horses shall bound [more swiftly] than leopards, and [they are] fiercer than the wolves of Arabia: and his horsemen shall ride forth, and shall rush from far; and they shall fly as an eagle hasting to eat. Destruction shall come upon ungodly men, resisting with their adverse front, and he shall gather the captivity as the sand. And he shall be at his ease with kings, and princes are his toys, and he shall mock at every strong-hold, and shall cast a mound, and take possession of it. Then shall he change his spirit, and he shall pass through, and make an atonement, [saying], This strength [belongs] to my god.” (Hab 1:5-11 [LXXE])

 

The lack of understanding and perversion of the prophetic word throughout time by "preachers" and "prophets".

 

The tragic event that is happening in our day between the rulers and the people of the Christian world is similar to what happened to the rulers and the people of Israel during the Old Testament. As then, so today there is a lack of understanding and a perversion of the prophetic word. When the prophets foretold calamities and disasters that would happen in a short period of time, the false prophets opposed the word of God and spoke of "Peace and security" and that the words of the true prophet would come to pass after a long time.

 

Woe [to them] that call evil good, and good evil; who make darkness light, and light darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter. Woe [to them] that are wise in their own conceit, and knowing in their own sight. Woe to the strong [ones] of you that drink wine, and the mighty [ones] that mingle strong drink: who justify the ungodly for rewards, and take away the righteousness of the righteous.” (Isa 5:20-23 [LXXE])

 

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, and thou shalt prophesy, and shalt say to them, Hear ye the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord, Woe to them that prophesy out of their own heart, and who see nothing at all. Thy prophets, O Israel, are like foxes in the deserts. They have not continued steadfast, and they have gathered flocks against the house of Israel, they that say, In the day of the Lord, have not stood, seeing false [visions], prophesying vanities, who say, The Lord saith, and the Lord has not sent them, and they began [to try] to confirm the word. Have ye not seen a false vision? and spoken vain prophecies? And therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; Because your words are false, and your prophecies are vain, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord. And I will stretch forth my hand against the prophets that see false [visions], and those that utter vanities: they shall not partake of the instruction of my people, neither shall they be written in the roll of the house of Israel, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and they shall know that I am the Lord. Because they have caused my people to err, saying, Peace; and there is no peace; and one builds a wall, and they plaster it, - it shall fall. Say to them that plaster [it], It shall fall; and there shall be a flooding rain; and I will send great stones upon their joinings, and they shall fall; and there shall be a sweeping wind, and it shall be broken. And lo! the wall has fallen; and will they not say to you, Where is your plaster wherewith ye plastered [it]? Therefore thus saith the Lord; I will even cause to burst forth a sweeping blast with fury, and there shall be a flooding rain in my wrath; and in [my] fury I will bring on great stones for complete destruction. And I will break down the wall which ye have plastered, and it shall fall; and I will lay it on the ground, and its foundations shall be discovered, and it shall fall; and ye shall be consumed with rebukes: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. And I will accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that plaster it; it shall fall: and I said to you, The wall is not, nor they that plaster it, even the prophets of Israel, who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see [visions of] peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord.” (Ezek 13:2-16 [LXXE])

 

“(29:15) I have made thee small among the nations, utterly contemptible among men. (29:16) Thine insolence has risen up against thee, the fierceness of thine heart has burst the holes of the rocks, it has seized upon the strength of a lofty hill; for as an eagle he set his nest on high: thence will I bring thee down.” (Jer 49:15-16 [LXXE])

 

The Lord's strictest requirements especially of His people were to preserve mercy and right judgment in the trial of cases. To forgive the mistakes of their brothers and to return to their brothers both their freedom and their estates which they lost because of their debts. Otherwise they would see the Lord coming to do judgment and retribution against His perverted people.

“but ye have turned and profaned my name, and caused every man his bondman, and every man his bondmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and ye have brought them into subjection, to be unto you for bondmen and for bondmaids. Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith Jehovah, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will give you over to be driven hither and thither among all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, --the calf which they cut in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, --the princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the calf; them will I give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their carcases shall be food for the fowl of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth.” (Jer 34:16-20 [Darby])

“and I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.” (Ezek 6:5 [Darby])

“Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his hand against them and hath smitten them; and the mountains trembled, and their carcases are become as dung in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.” (Isa 5:25 [Darby])

 

 

Israel's ungodliness and failure to keep the Law many times led to a fall and a crash.

 

“The eye that laughs to scorn a father, and dishonours the old age of a mother, let the ravens of the valleys pick it out, and let the young eagles devour it.” (Prov 30:17 [LXXE])

 

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The altar of Tapheth, and the valley of the son of Ennom, but, The valley of the slain; and they shall bury in Tapheth, for want of room. And the dead bodies of this people shall be for food to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to drive [them] away. And I will destroy out of the cities of Juda, and the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of them that make merry, and the voice of them that rejoice, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for the whole land shall become a desolation.” (Jer 7:32-34 [LXXE])

 

“For death has come up through your windows, it has entered into our land, to destroy the infants without, and the young men from the streets. And the carcases of the men shall be for an example on the face of the field of your land, like grass after the mower, and there shall be none to gather [them].” (Jer 9:21-22 [LXXE])

“They shall die of painful deaths; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground, and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carcases shall be food for the fowl of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth.” (Jer 16:4 [Darby])

“And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their life, and their carcases will I give as food to the fowl of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth. And I will make this city an astonishment and a hissing; every one that passeth by shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat everyone the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the straitness wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.” (Jer 19:7-9 [Darby])

 

In fact, the Lord compares the people who disobey His commandments and follow human commands and traditions to a leaning wall that is ready to fall and be crushed.

“And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What was there yet to do to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? -- And now, let me tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden under foot; and I will make it a waste--it shall not be pruned nor cultivated, but there shall come up briars and thorns; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah the plant of his delight: and he looked for justice, and behold, blood-shedding; for righteousness, and behold, a cry.” (Isa 5:3-7 [Darby])

 

“Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and record it in a book, that it may be for the time to come, as a witness for ever, that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah; who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things; speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits; get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us! Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel: Because ye reject this word, and confide in oppression and wilfulness, and depend thereon, therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a towering wall, whose breaking shall come suddenly in an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of a potter's vessel, that is broken in pieces unsparingly; and in the pieces of it there shall not be found a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to scoop water out of the cistern.” (Isa 30:8-14 [Darby])

 

In the gospels and epistles it is these false prophets on the one hand who are called roaring lions and the rulers on the other hand who are likened to ravening wolves, who are responsible for the fall and destruction of Jerusalem.

 

The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken.” (Ezek 22:25-28 [ESV])

“Have [2 these [things] 1 you known] from the yet of which [time] [2 was put 1 man] upon the earth? For [the] gladness of [the] impious [2 downfall 1 is an extraordinary]; and a cause for joy of the lawbreakers is destruction. If [3 should ascend 4 into 5 heaven 1 his 2 gifts], and his sacrifice [2 [the] clouds 1 should touch]; for whenever he should seem already firmly fixed, then [2 unto 3 [the] end 1 he shall perish]; and the ones knowing him shall say, Where is he?” (Job 20:4-7 [ABPen])

"4 Have you not learned what I am about to say from ancient times, from the time when man was created and placed on earth? 5 That is to say, the joy and good life of the ungodly ends in a terrible fall (πτώμα εξαίσιον, corpse exquisite). And the great and noisy joy of the lawless will be their loss and destruction; 6 even though the gifts of the ungodly reach to heaven before God, and the smoke of their folly touch the clouds. God's punishment will be unleashed against the ungodly. 7 For when the ungodly believe that he is firmly established on earth, then final destruction will break out against him. And those who knew him will say: Where is the wicked man now? (Job 20:4-7) (Translation I. Kolitsaras)

https://www.saint.gr/27/20/biblebooks.aspx

 

The cure for Israel's incurable disease.

 

For many centuries the Israelites and Jews were in a deep spiritual incurable disease because of their disobedience and apostasy from the Lord. The results of this disrespect were tragic. But God, who was and is good and full of love and mercy, always foresaw something better, so that the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be fulfilled. A faithful remnant (seed) would be the cause of healing and the full restoration of glory for His chosen people of Israel.

 

“(40:3) Cry to me, and I will answer thee, and I will declare to thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (40:4) For thus saith the Lord concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the king of Juda, which have been pulled down for mounds and fortifications, (40:5) to fight against the Chaldeans, and to fill it with the corpses of men, whom I smote in mine anger and my wrath, and turned away my face from them, for all their wickedness:” (Jer 33:3-5 [LXXE])

“(37:12) Thus saith the Lord; I have brought on [thee] destruction; thy stroke is painful. (37:13) There is none to judge thy cause: thou hast been painfully treated for healing, there is no help for thee. (37:14) All thy friends have forgotten thee; they shall not ask [about thee] at all, for I have smitten thee with he stroke of an enemy, [even] severe correction: thy sins have abounded above all thine iniquity. (37:15) Thy sins have abounded beyond the multitude of thine iniquities, [therefore] they have done these things to thee. (37:16) Therefore all that devour thee shall be eaten, and all thine enemies shall eat all their [own] flesh. And they that spoil thee shall become a spoil, and I will give up to be plundered all that have plundered thee. (37:17) For I will bring about thy healing, I will heal thee of thy grievous wound, saith the Lord; for thou art called Dispersed: she is your prey, for no one seeks after her.” (Jer 30:12 -17[LXXE])

For her plague has become grievous; for it has come even to Juda; and has reached to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.” (Mic 1:9 [LXXE])

 

At the most difficult turning point in the history of Judaism when Judea was under Roman occupation God acts in his heavenly and miraculous way by placing in historical time the Rock of Salvation and the One through whom every one who would turn in faith would find healing in him.

Thou sawest until a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it smote the image upon its feet of iron and earthenware, and utterly reduced them to powder. Then once for all the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold, were ground to powder, and became as chaff from the summer threshingfloor; and the violence of the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them: and the stone which had smitten the image became a great mountain, and filled all the earth.” (Dan 2:34-35 [LXXE])

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and his kingdom shall not be left to another people, [but] it shall beat to pieces and grind to powder all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Whereas thou sawest that a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it beat to pieces the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold; the great God has made known to the king what must happen hereafter: and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof sure.” (Dan 2:44-45 [LXXE])

“And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:10-13 [ESV2011]), (Read Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31)

 

Jesus came as the anointed priest, doctor, prophet and king to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It is this Christ of the Lord who, when he was in the synagogue of Nazareth, made the most important proclamation for all Israel.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18-21 [ESV2011])

 

God when the fullness of time came He sent His Son and then His apostles and prophets to call His people Israel to enter the Mountain of God and the City of the Living God. There they would partake in a special festive table where there were the most wonderful foods and drinks that would give those attending joy, peace and ultimately Eternal Life.

“O Lord God, I will glorify thee, I will sing to thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, [even] an ancient [and] faithful counsel. So be it. For thou hast made cities a heap, [even] cities [made] strong that their foundations should not fall: the city of ungodly men shall not be built for ever. Therefore shall the poor people bless thee, and cities of injured men shall bless thee. For thou hast been a helper to every lowly city, and a shelter to them that were disheartened by reason of poverty: thou shalt deliver them from wicked men: [thou hast been] a shelter of them that thirst, and a refreshing air to injured men. [We were] as faint-hearted men thirsting in Sion, by reason of ungodly men to whom thou didst deliver us. And the Lord of hosts shall make [a feast] for all the nations: on this mount they shall drink gladness, they shall drink wine: they shall anoint themselves with ointment in this mountain. Impart thou all these things to the nations; for this is [God's] counsel upon all the nations. Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up; but again the Lord God has taken away every tear from every face. He has taken away the reproach of [his] people from all the earth: for the mouth off the Lord has spoken it. And in that day they shall say, behold our God in whom we have trusted, and he shall save us: this [is] the Lord; we have waited for him, and we have exulted, and will rejoice in our salvation. God will give rest on this mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread the floor with waggons. And he shall spread forth his hands, even as he also brings down [man] to destroy [him]: and he shall bring low his pride [in regard to the thing] on which he has laid his hands. And he shall bring down the height of the refuge of the wall, and it shall come down even to the ground.” (Isa 25:1-12 [LXXE])

 

In the past centuries before Christ the tribes of Israel were scattered because of their transgressions among all the nations and so their knees were almost always paralyzed and their hands withered from the fear of the sufferings and wounds that the conquering peoples brought upon them.

When Jesus came to earth it was clearly seen that he was the doctor of souls and the Good Samaritan who would tend to the wounds of His people and heal every sickness and disease physical and spiritual.

Those who took refuge in Him would awaken from the spiritual death brought by the works of darkness and the ministry of the letter of the Law.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach glad tidings to [the] poor; he has sent me to preach to captives deliverance, and to [the] blind sight, to send forth [the] crushed delivered, to preach [the] acceptable year of [the] Lord. “(Luke 4:18-19 [Darby])

“Be not ye therefore fellow-partakers with them; for ye were once darkness, but now light in [the] Lord; walk as children of light, (for the fruit of the light [is] in all goodness and righteousness and truth,) proving what is agreeable to the Lord; and do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather also reprove [them] , for the things that are done by them in secret it is shameful even to say. But all things having their true character exposed by the light are made manifest; for that which makes everything manifest is light. Wherefore he says, Wake up, [thou] that sleepest, and arise up from among the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.” (Eph 5:7-14) [Darby])

“Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the failing knees; and make straight paths for your feet, that that which is lame be not turned aside; but that rather it may be healed. Pursue peace with all, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord:” (Heb 12:12-14 [Darby])

 

 

But the Lord who is the Eagle the great gave his wings which are the power of the Holy Spirit to His Church to fly in the midst of the persecutions until the Lord comes a second time coming out of the Holy of Holies having secured full forgiveness and redemption from the sins they had committed under the First Covenant. (Read Heb. 9:14-18, 24-28)

From the first time that Jesus sent His disciples, the fall of the Devil from the firmament of the spiritual heaven began.

“And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us through thy name. And he said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning falling out of heaven. Behold, I give you the power of treading upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall in anywise injure you. Yet in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subjected to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens.” (Luke 10:17-20 [Darby])

 

When the first church of the apostles was cleansed from all contamination of the flesh and spirit, Satan lost all the foothold and place he found through the Law in the hearts of the first Christians. Then the battle in heaven was completely won by the Church and the Devil ceased to be the ruler of the air and was cast down with his angels to the earth.

And when the dragon saw that he had been cast out into the earth, he persecuted the woman which bore the male [child]  And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the desert into her place, where she is nourished there a time, and times, and half a time, from [the] face of the serpent.” (Rev 12:13-14 [Darby])

 

 

“And the serpent cast out of his mouth behind the woman water as a river, that he might make her be [as] one carried away by a river. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.” (Rev 12:15-17 [Darby])

 

 Jesus proved that He was not only the Physician who came to them to heal them but He was also the Eagle who projected in the East of the New Age of incorruption and immortality like the Sun of Justice with healing under His wings. Those from Israel and from the Gentiles who took refuge in the shadow of His wings in the 40 years of the spiritual desert after their Exodus from the bonds of the slavery of the Law, found rest but also change and renewal in their strength.

“(102:2) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his praises: (102:3) who forgives all thy transgressions, who heals all thy diseases; (102:4) who redeems thy life from corruption; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion; (102:5) who satisfies thy desire with good things: [so that] thy youth shall be renewed like [that] of the eagle.” (Ps 103:2-5 [LXXE])

 

He gives strength to the hungry, and sorrow to them that are not suffering. For the young [men] shall hunger, and the youths shall be weary, and the choice [men] shall be powerless: but they that wait on God shall renew [their] strength; they shall put forth new feathers like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not hunger.” (Isa 40:29-31 [LXXE])

 

The believers of that generation who by the power of the Holy Spirit lived and followed Jesus were entitled to see the Lord as He is because they had become like Him. They saw the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy being miraculously fulfilled.

“But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing [shall be] in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and bound as young calves let loose from bonds. And ye shall trample the wicked; for they shall be ashes underneath your feet in the day which I appoint, saith the Lord Almighty.” (Mal 4:2-3 [LXXE])

Unfortunately the people of God and indeed the inhabitants of Nazareth did not show the due respect and faith in the ministry of Jesus when he was in the synagogue of their village. The compassion, rejection and unbelief of Jesus' fellow citizens did not let him perform many miracles so that they could see the glory of the Great Physician of souls and bodies.

“And they were all filled with rage in the synagogue, hearing these things; and rising up they cast him forth out of the city, and led him up to the brow of the mountain upon which their city was built, so that they might throw him down the precipice; but *he*, passing through the midst of them, went his way,” (Luke 4:28-30 [Darby])

“But though he had done so many signs before them, they believed not on him, that the word of the prophet Esaias which he said might be fulfilled, Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? that the word of the prophet Esaias which he said might be fulfilled, Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? On this account they could not believe, because Esaias said again, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart and be converted, and I should heal them.” (John 12:37-40 [Darby])

 

 

But they did not only reject Jesus but also the first one church of the generation of the apostles but also "the rest of this seed" who had received the distributions of the Holy Spirit to minister and heal the people of God.

“Therefore, behold, *I* send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and [some] of them ye will kill and crucify, and [some] of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will persecute from city to city; so that all righteous blood shed upon the earth should come upon *you*, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” (Matt 23:34-36 [Darby])

 

The result of this disobedience and departure from God's selfless and holy love was to lose the protection and safety of Jesus' wings. This was the Blessed God who always from the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob called His children to be under His protectionThe result of this disobedience and departure from God's selfless and holy love was to lose the protection and safety of Jesus' wings. This was the Blessed God who always from the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob called His children to be under His protection.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the [city] that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen her brood under her wings, and ye would not.” (Luke 13:34 [Darby])

 

“For behold, the day cometh, burning as a furnace; and all the proud and all that work wickedness shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, so that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” (Mal 4:1 [Darby])

 

Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies [and] violence; the prey departeth not. The crack of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots! The horseman springing up, and the glitter of the sword, and the flash of the spear, and a multitude of slain, and a mass of carcases, and no end of corpses: they stumble over their corpses. --Because of the multitude of the fornications of the well-favoured harlot, mistress of sorceries, that selleth nations through her fornications, and families through her sorceries,” (Nah 3:1-4 [Darby])

 

The violent and hostile refusal of the Jews to accept the invitation of their King's servants to attend the wedding table of His Son. This resulted in the Lord sending the abominable eagle of the Roman Empire (Abomination of Desolation) to burn their city and also as a wild-faced and bloodthirsty vulture to devour the flesh of the dead bodies of His ungodly people in AD 70.

“And the rest, laying hold of his bondmen, ill-treated and slew [them] . And [when] the king [heard of it he] was wroth, and having sent his forces, destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he says to his bondmen, The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy;” (Matt 22:6-8 [Darby])

“And these shall ye have in abomination of the fowls; they shall not be eaten; an abomination shall they be: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the sea-eagle, and the falcon, and the kite, after its kind;” (Lev 11:13-14 [Darby])

“Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from afar, from the end of the earth, like as the eagle flieth, a nation whose tongue thou understandest not; a nation of fierce countenance, which regardeth not the person of the old, nor is kind to the young; and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; for he shall not leave thee corn, new wine, or oil, offspring of thy kine, or increase of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.” (Deut 28:49-51 [Darby])

“And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer-fruit. And Jehovah said unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more. And the songs of the palace shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah. The dead bodies shall be many; in every place they shall be cast forth. Silence!” (Amos 8:2-3 [Darby])

 

Indeed it was these vultures of the Roman army who were called by God to partake of God's supper and to devour flesh.

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, Come, gather yourselves to the great supper of God, that ye may eat flesh of kings, and flesh of chiliarchs, and flesh of strong men, and flesh of horses and of those that sit upon them, and flesh of all, both free and bond, and small and great.” (Rev 19:17-18 [Darby])

 

 

Epilogue

In 70 AD by the destruction of Jerusalem and her Temple it was proved who is the one and only heir of the Kingdom of God and the Lord of heaven and earth. He who was rejected as Savior and King by His people was revealed to be the Great God and Savior our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who rejected the life-giving breath of His words remained dead, and their corpses became prey to the vultures of the legions of the Roman army. Thus they never failed to see the Face of the Lord when He came the Second time as the Great High Priest and King who redeemed "many" from Israel. On the contrary, those who accepted him and waited for him with patience saw him in all His glory coming and dwelling in them with all His fullness.

“The Lord at thy right hand will smite through kings in the day of his anger. He shall judge among the nations; he shall fill [all places] with dead bodies; he shall smite through the head over a great country.” (Ps 110:5-6 [Darby])

“And he said unto me, Son of man, [this is] the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever; and the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, they nor their kings, with their fornication, and with the carcases of their kings [in] their high places, in that they set their threshold by my threshold, and their post by my post, and [there was only] a wall between me and them, and they defiled my holy name with their abominations which they committed; and I consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their fornication, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.” (Ezek 43:7 [Darby])

 

Let us all gather under the wings of the Great Eagle who is the Sun of Justice and will heal us from every disease of soul and body and from what hurts us in this world.

Jesus reigns forever and ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Only One and True God manifested in flesh

Author :  Vasileios A. Zafeiroglou  22 Dec. 2020, 11:11 π.μ. 


 

The Bible speaks of only one Divine Entity.

The apostle Paul wrote

[“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”

 

For  although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—

 

Yet for us there is one God, theFather, from whom are all things and for   whom we exist, and one Lord, JesusChrist, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”](1Cor 8:4-6 [ESV2011])

 

So why would people  teach already declared truth about the entity of God ?

 

The whole bible speaks only a Divine Entity and of its form and direct us to the image of the invisible God who is our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”(Eph 4:3-6 [ESV2011])

 

From the above verses it is very clear that there is Only One Supreme God, the Father.

 

There is neither Great God nor small God and  this is paganism and has its roots in Gnosticism.

 


The Bible speaks of only one Divine Entity.

The apostle Paul wrote

[“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”

 

For  although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—

 

Yet for us there is one God, theFather, from whom are all things and for   whom we exist, and one Lord, JesusChrist, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”](1Cor 8:4-6 [ESV2011])

 

So why would people  teach already declared truth about the entity of God ?

 

The whole bible speaks only a Divine Entity and of its form and direct us to the image of the invisible God who is our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”(Eph 4:3-6 [ESV2011])

 

From the above verses it is very clear that there is Only One Supreme God, the Father.

 

There is neither Great God nor small God and  this is paganism and has its roots in Gnosticism.

 

“(96:9) For thou art Lord Most High over all the earth; thou art greatly exalted above all gods.” (Ps 97:9 [LXXE])

 

“(82:18)And let them know that thy Name is Lord; that thou alone art MostHigh over all the earth.” (Ps 83:18 [LXXE])

 

Believers in the days of Paul waited the appearing of this GREAT GOD in the last days of the age of the Old Testament.

 

“Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of Our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”(Titus 2:13-14 [ESV2011])

 

Now as for as the mystery of Godliness is concerned  I would like to bring forth  the greek ancient text in order to understand what exactly  says and how it changes the meaning  as follows  both versions based on the ancient manuscripts.

 

“If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” (1Tim 3:15-16 [ESV2011])

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Cod._Sinaiticus_1_Tim_3%2C16.jpg

 


ΤΟ ΤΗC EYCEBEIAC MYCTHRION : OC EΦΑΝΕΡΩΘΗ ΕΝ CAΡΚΙ  ΕΔΙΚΑΙΩΘΗ ΕΝ

 

«ἐαν δέ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ΕΝ ΟΙΚΩ ΘΕΟΥ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ήτις έστιν ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΘΕΟΥ ΖΩΝΤΟΣ, στῦλος καί ἑδραίωμα τῆςἀληθείας· καί ὁμολογουμένως μέγα ἐστίν το τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον· ΟΣ ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί, ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι, ὤφθη ἀγγέλοις, ἐκηρύχθη ἐν ἔθνεσιν, ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ, ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξῃ.» (1Timothy. 3:15-16 [SBLGNT])


 

 

There is also another version of the manuscript which is not the most valid where instead of OS which means WHO. This is ΘC. OC in ancient greek language with UNCIAL LETTERS  means WHO  but if the scribe put a mark inside of O changes whole the meaning it has the word OC-ΘC=ΘEOΣ=THEOS=GOD which is not far from the truth.

 

Admitting, therefore, that the text correctly says OS (that is, WHO) which is an explanation of what Paul previously wrote "you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God".

 

Therefore OS(that is, WHO) refers to GOD LIVING or more simply to LIVING GOD. So we understand very well that THE LIVING GOD APPEARED IN THE FLESH and not some other person. He is the ONLY LIVING, He is, the ONLY IMMORTAL.

 

“For even as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:26 [Darby])

 

In the First Epistle of John it is very clear that GOD FATHER HIMSELF APPEARED AS THE SON OF GOD to take away our sins.

 

“See what love THE FATHER has given to us, that we should be called [the] children OF GOD. For this reason the world knows us not, because it knew HIM not.

 

Beloved, now are we children OF GOD, and what we shall be has not yet been manifested; we know that whenHE IS MANIFESTED(the Father) we shall be likeHIM, for we shall see HIM as HE IS.

And every one that has this hope in HIM purifies himself, even as *HE* is pure.

 

Every one that practices sin practices also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

And ye know that *HE* HAS BEEN MANIFESTED (the Father) that he might take away our sins; and in him sin is not.

 

Whoever abides in HIM, does not sin: whoever sins, has not seen him or known him.”(1John 3:1-6 [Darby])

 

“He that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested (Jesus is the image of God the Father), that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is begotten of GOD doeth no sin, because HIS seed abideth in him: and He cannot sin, because He is begotten of GOD.”(1John 3:8-9 [ASV])

 

The book of Revelation reveals who Jesus really is.

 

“When I saw HIM, I fell at HIS feet as though dead. But he laid HIS right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I AM THE FIRST and THE LAST,

 

And  THE LIVING ONE. I DIED, and behold I AM ALIVE FOREVERMORE, and I HAVE the keys of Death and Hades.”(Rev 1:17-18 [ESV2011])

 

THE LIVING ONE is the ONLY TRUE GOD and FATHER. But GOD is SPIRIT and LIFE and it was impossible for HIM to die. Through HIS love and wisdom HE prepared the best for the salvation of the whole world. GOD manifested in the flesh as the Son of Man and "surrendered for our transgressions and was resurrected for our justification." (Rom. 4:25)

 

At the end of the book of Revelation we see that in the New Jerusalem there is only ONE TEMPLE and ONLY ONE THRONE. ONLY ONE PERSON is worshiped on the Throne and ONLY ONE NAME is the name of JESUS.

 

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and   THE LAMP. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for THE GLORY OF GOD gives it light, and its LAMB is THE LAMB.”(Rev 21:22-23 [ESV2011])

 

“No longer will there be anything accursed, but THE THRONE of GOD and of the LAMB will be in it, and  HIS servants will worship HIM. They will see HISFACE, and HISNAME will be on their foreheads.”(Rev 22:3-4 [ESV2011])

 

From the above verses  that Jesus Christ is the Lamb who came to reveal GOD and FATHER to us. On the throne sits GOD our FATHER and the LAMB. But we see that John does not say that they worship THEM, that is, two persons, but "HIS SERVANTS will worship HIM." He also does not say they will see their faces but "They will see HIS FACE".

 

So Paul writes very correctly to the Corinthians and the Colossians:

 

“But if also our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those that are lost;

in whom the god of this world has blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving, so that the radiancy of the glad tidings of the glory OF THE CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD, should not shine forth [for them] .

 

For we do not preach ourselves, but CHRIST JESUS  LORD, and ourselves your bondmen for JESUS’ sake. Because [it is] THE GOD WHO spoke that out of darkness light should shine WHO has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge OF THE GLORY OF GOD in THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.”(2Cor 4:3-6 [Darby])

 

The Apostle Paul declared clearly that the human wisdom an enemy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

 

“See that there be no one who shall lead *you* away as a prey through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the teaching of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to CHRIST.

 

For IN HIM dwells ALL THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD;”(Col 2:8-9 [Darby])

 

God our Father did not dwell in any man before Jesus Christ came to earth.

 

The prophets were overshadowed by the Spirit of God and they ministered but the Spirit of God did not dwell in them.

 

All the prophets in part knew and in part prophesied.

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ THE PROPHET to Whom GOD did not

give HIS SPIRIT by MEASURE but dwelt in JESUS, while he was here on earth with ALL His FULNESS. In fact, the disciples found that HE KNEW EVERYTHING and not aside and that HE HAD COME OUT OF GOD

 

 “HE WHO COMES FROM ABOVE IS ABOVE ALL. He who has his origin in the earth is of the earth, and speaks [as] of the earth. HE WHO COMES OUT FROM HEAVEN IS ABOVE ALL,  [ and] what he has seen and has heard, this he testifies; and no one receives his testimony.

 

He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true;

For HE whom GOD has sent speaks the words of GOD, for GOD gives not the Spirit by measure.”(John 3:31-34 [Darby])

 

 “Hither to ye have asked nothing in MY NAME: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in allegories; the hour is coming that I will no longer speak to you in allegories, but will declare to you openly concerning the Father.

 

In that day ye shall ask in MY NAME; and I say not to you that I will demand of the Father for you, for the Father himself has affection for you, because ye have had affection for me, and have believed that I came out from God.

 

I came out from the Father and have come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father. His disciples say to him, Lo, now thou speak openly and utter no allegory.

 

Now we know that thou knows all things, and hast not need that any one should demand of thee. By this we believe that thou art come from God.”(John 16:24-30 [Darby])

 

 

FOR GOD CANNOT BE TEMPTED BY EVIL THINGS AND HE WAS MANIFESTED IN FLESH

 

This is the wonder and the greatness, while JESUS​​ was THE SAME ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD appeared as Man in the likeness of sinful flesh while He was the image of God.

 

The flesh of Jesus was from heaven, it was the Word that became flesh.

 

The Infinite and Timeless God came in flesh and while He was THE LIFE giver  he entered time and was limited to human data had to eat, drink, rest, sleep, laugh, cry, fast like all people.

 

Every person inherits the decay and the tendency towards sin and death from the moment that Adam by his disobedience sinned and gave way to the Devil and death.

 

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—“(Rom 5:12 [ESV2011])

 

Jesus is and was the Man from heaven and His flesh came from God Himself. Therefore in His flesh He did not inherit decay and the tendency to sin. The Devil had no place and no authority in the BODY OF JESUS.

 

“I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world comes, and in me he has nothing;” (John 14:30 [Darby])

 

He has been tempted in all things in our behave while he was life giver , He never  inherited innate desires and weaknesses like us, but by external human infidelities, doubts, hardheartedness, and sins.

 

Just as the Israelites "tempted" God in the wilderness, so the Jews tempted Jesus, with the difference that now God endured these temptations by bringing His Body, His image, on the Cross for the sake of all people.

 

But GOD CANNOT BE TEMPTED BY EVIL THINGS and most importantly for  those who believe that the Word who is God became flesh should remember and think that "there is no variation or shadow due to change " in God. The Divine Body and Blood cannot become an earthly body and Blood.

 

 “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.” (1Cor 15:45-48 [ESV2011])

 

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”(Jas 1:13-17 [ESV2011])

 

We were not bought with common human blood but with the BLOOD OF GOD which is  THE ETERNAL TESTAMENT.

 

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which THE HOLY SPIRIT has made you overseers, to care for THE CHURCH OF GOD, which HE ONTAINED with HIS OWN BLOOD.”(Acts 20:28 [ESV2011])

 

“of how much worse punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God, AND ESTEEMED THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, whereby he has been sanctified, COMMON, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”(Heb 10:29 [Darby])

 

Here is the MYSTERY. Christ as a man from heaven became a MEDIATOR and a NOTARIER with HIS BLOOD.

 

The mystery continues.

 

 In order for a COVENANT to be valid, it must be preceded by the death of the TESTATOR, i.e. the One who made the COVENANT.

Who made the first and the second covenant with the people of Israel?

Did not GOD and FATHER make both the Old and New Testaments?

So God had to die. But GOD is SPIRIT and can not die, so HE prepared BODY and BLOOD, that is, THE MAN FROM HEAVEN, who came and died for the sins of the whole world.

 

“But CHRIST being come high priest of the good things to come, by the better and more perfect tabernacle not made with hand, (that is, not of this creation,) nor by blood of goats and calves, but BY HIS OWN BLOOD, has entered IN ONCE for all into the [holy of] holies, having found an eternal redemption.”(Heb 9:11-12 [Darby])

 

 “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

how much more will THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, who through THE ETERNAL SPIRIToffered himself without blemish to GOD, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”(Heb 9:13-14 [ESV2011])

 

“And for this reason HE IS MEDIATOR of a new covenant, so that, DEATH HAVING TAKE PLACE for redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

 

(For where there is a testament, THE DEATH OF THE TESTATOR must needs come in.For a testament is of force when men are dead, since IT IS IN NO WAY OF FORCE whileTHE TESTATOR is ALIVE.)

 

Whence neither the first was inaugurated without blood.”(Heb 9:15-18 [Darby])

 

 

 

The Glory of the Lord and God was revealed

 

​“And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”(Isa 40:5 [ESV2011])

 

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and the Word was God.

 

He was in the beginning to God.

All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

 

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”(John 1:1-5

 

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”(John 1:14 [ESV2011])

 

“And we know that THE SON OF GOD has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know HIMWHO IS TRUE; and we are IN HIM WHO IS TRUE, in HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. HE is THE TRUE GOD and THE ETERNAL LIFE.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”(1John 5:20-21 [ESV2011])

 

 

Everything else is evil and pagan.


The Lord our God is One Lord

Writer: Evangelos D. Kepenes  (25/11/2016)

Bible verses from: LXXE, AKJV, ESV2011 and others if they fit better with the Greek text


“Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord.” (Deut. 6:4)

 

The meaning of “The Lord our God is one (Grk: Eις) Lord,” is opposed to the meaning of “dyad or dyadic is,” “triad or triadic is,” etc.

An (Εις) = adjective of masculine gender, cardinal number: one.

Dyad = numerical noun of feminine gender: two  (= a set of two similar units).

Dyadic = adjective of masculine gender: two (= a set of two similar units).

Triad = numerical noun of feminine gender: three (= a set of three similar units).

Triadic = adjective of masculine gender which refers to the triad: three (= a set of three similar units).

Note: In Greek adjectives have gender

 

In order to understand the meaning of “The Lord our God is one Lord,” a phrase that the spirit of God, [“God is Spirit”], said to the people of Israel  through Moses, we need to know the worship habits and doctrines of that time that people devised to explain mainly the forces of nature.

The practice of worship to the devised gods was always carried out by the clergies, which strengthened each authority. The Theocratic powers always functioned as manipulators and as a means of subjugating people; and the emperors were the link between heaven and earth, resulting in their deification, since they were considered sons of gods. People’s ignorance and fear of the unknown and mystery, which the clergies systematically cultivated, contributed to this situation.

The prestige, power, and economic robustness of an empire were seen as the result of the people’s worship to its patron gods, whom the authorities could upgrade, modify, and merge with others (theocracy) if it was in their interest to do so. 

The following excerpts can give us an idea of what was happening.


Mesopotamian Mythology

“Mesopotamian Mythology is the mythology of the people   -Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians - who lived in the valley of Mesopotamia.

It seems that the first phase of the Mesopotamian religion was naturalistic -that is, the worship of the forces of life. Man translated these forces of life into the spirits of euphoria and fertility represented by a couple,  just like people’s life. Man also created gods / spirits for all things necessary for people’s life, such as the spirits of grain, forest, vines, springs, etc. Their mortal gods died and were born again, just like the seasons whose productive power they represented.

Mesopotamian religion does not have a single origin but responds to the very constitution of the country. The most ancient countries of Sumer (Shinar Valley), which had their autonomy at the time of their formation, annexed the neighboring states one after another, each of which had its local clergy, which had already formed a tradition. The priesthood of each city had established its own theory of the genealogy of its gods as well as a different patron god for protection from the other cities. As the states slowly became more and more integrated, the pantheon of the one came close to the pantheon of the other.

The gods of Sumer then came in contact with the gods of the Semitic invasion -Akkades-  and were mixed. So the list of gods doubled. There were double names and tangled generations that nevertheless represented the turmoil that existed in the lives of both peoples. As the years went by, discreet processes had to be made, but the great reform came in the years of the first dynasty of Babylon. The priesthood and the leadership decided to formally unite the two concepts by proposing Marduk (a trivial god until then) as the new official, great god of the state and Babylon. With great mastery, the clergy reduced neither the number nor the value of the earlier gods; simply picked one and raised him above the others without, however, abolishing the old ones. Then the poem of Creation was written which "explains" the predominance of Mardouk and generally proposes another genealogy and mythology, the new and common pretty much for all.”

 Source

 

Anu

“In Sumerian mythology, and later in Assyrians and Babylonians, Anu or An was the god of the sky and the constellations, the king of the gods, the spirits and the demons. Anu was considered to have the power to judge those who had committed crimes. He was the father of the Anunnaki. In art, he is usually depicted as a jackal. The basic symbol of Anu is a crown with horns.

Anu was the oldest god in the pantheon of the Sumerian mythology, and he was a Triad along with Enlil, god of the sky, and Enki, god of the waters. Anu is often associated with the city of Uruk, the corresponding biblical Erech, and therefore it is believed to have been his original worship center. The deity of Inanna-Ishtar, also worshiped in Uruk, was often considered to be his companion for this reason.”

Source

 

Greek triadic deities

Indicatively, we will mention the triple goddess Hecate mentioned in Greek mythology as the queen of the sky, earth and sea, protector of justice, army, hunters, fishermen, flocks with the synergy of her lover Hermes, and protector of newborn babies, hence the name kourotrofos (= child nurturer). In the ancient statues, she was depicted with three faces and in the pots holding two torches. In her honor, people celebrated Hecatea at three way crossroads outside their cities.

 

Other than the above perceptions were that the brother gods Jupiter or Zeus, Pluto and Poseidon had distributed the kingdoms; Jupiter was the god of the sky, Pluto was the god of the underworld, and Poseidon was the god of the waters. [Justin the Philosopher, Exhortation to the Greeks (730)]

 

From the above we can see that:

·         Polytheism arose from people’s need to interpret  natural phenomena,  love, wisdom, arts, beauty, etc., by inventing gods of various specialties and responsibilities, donors of good or evil things, supposedly protecting them, their cities, their families, their flocks, their boats, their army, their occupations, etc. (cf. today)

·         The clergies always exercised power over any authority, since the emperors supported their perpetuation through the blessings and the oracles of their false prophets.

·         The authorities without the support of the clergy could not be respected by the people. (cf. today)

·         The gods always complied with the modern needs and policies of the authorities. (cf. today)

·         The inventions of the triadic gods were purely arose from polytheism, implying co-governments hierarchically structured in three similar units (three gods), in the way people-kings ruled together.

·         Biblical cities such as Erech (Uruk), Nineveh, Babylon and others, were worship centers of triadic imaginary gods.

 

The sun’s disc and its phases

 

The natural sun and its three phases, sunrise, culmination and sunset, were the reason for the creation of triadic deities as the New International Encyclopedia informs us.

“The triad became the world’s most widespread number of deity ... The worship of the sun is one of the oldest forms of religion, and the ancient man sometimes distinguished between the rising, the culminating and the setting sun. The Egyptians, for example, separated the solar god into three deities: Horus - the rising sun, Ra - the culminating sun, and Osiris - the setting sun.” (Egyptian deities)

Therefore, the word of the Lord God to Israel through MosesHear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord” was made to overturn this mindset of the polytheists; a mindset which the Israelites from Chaldea also had, who, even in the time of Ezekiel’s ministry, worshiped the sun. (Ez. 8:15)

And Josiah the king of Judahe took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.” (II Kings 23:11)

Hear, Israelites, your own Lord God (unlike the others) is one Lord (not a dyad dyadic or triad - triadic).

 

It is worthwhile to observe the prayer of king Jude Hezekiah when he prays to be freed from the Assyrians:

“So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.” (You are not together with others – that is, you are not dyadic or triadic). (II Ki. 19:19)

 

Agreement with the New Testament

Our Lord Jesus Christ answering a question from one of the secretaries confirms:

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.” (not dyad - dyadic or triad triadic). (Mark 12:29)

 

And the secretary responding also confirms: “And the scribe said to him, Well, Master, you have said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he.” (Mark 12:32)

 

And elsewhere he said:And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Mat. 23:9)

 

And Paul said: One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Eph. 4:6)

 

And James also wrote: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.”  (2:19)

 

 So whoever believes that the Lord God is not dyadic or triadic but ONE is right; besides, the demons believe the same thing, and for that reason they are horrified (they shiver from fear). If, hypothetically, God was dyadic or triadic, then the demons would not be horrified.

Therefore, the father of lies has every reason to deceive for centuries by distorting the truth that the Lord God is ONE (and not a triad - triadic or dyad - dyadic).

 

Concepts of God’s triadicity apart from the above

 

(a) Cabalistic thoughts

 

“The Truth is where Cabalists talk about the veils of the Absolute. The Truth was named in a number of ways: some named it God in general, others named it Father - God, Absolute, Unexpressed, Negative Existence, and some even more vaguely "superior power.” The variety of names and adjectives suggests that the totality of God remains incomprehensible to the human intellect. This knowledge - acceptance is ancient. The ancient peoples had realized that behind the one whom they called father - God there was "something" in which their central God remained accountable. Probably one more superior God, unintelligible even by their supreme God, let alone by themselves. That’s why they mention or hint at him but they do not deal with him, they do not try to interpret him because such an interpretation would be arbitrary. The Cabalistic approach does not escape this. It admits its ignorance and speaks of three veils that give a hint to God, but in essence, like all veils, they conceal him. These veils are Negativity, Unlimited, and Unlimited Light.

These three symbolic veils do not stand out and are not distinct from each other. As a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, He is a "consubstantial and inseparable Triad," others and even the highest insider of this solar system (and others greater than him) cannot enter into their secrets.

Source

 

(b) Hermes Trismegistus

 

“There is one deity in the world”

Hermes is mentioned as an omniscient during the reign of Sostros. The following was written by John Malalas (7th - 8th century):


“Hermes Trismegistus the Egyptian, a man with incredible wisdom, said that the name of the unintelligible and creator has three hypostases in a single deity,” thus giving the triadic of God’s hypostasis, which was then integrated in Orthodoxy.

 

Source                                                                         

 

(c) Holy Trinity

 

“The Triadic God is described as a Triune Unit which is manifested by actions and works in creation and history. He has three faces, but these three faces are not three separate gods, otherwise Christianity would not be a monotheistic but a tritheistic religion. According to the doctrine, the reason that the triadic God is one, although with three hypostases, is the absence of space and time. Space and time differentiate human hypostases from each other so that different faces to be different people. But because space and time are created (God’s creations), God is not subject to them. So we have the mystery (incomprehensible to people) of the Triune Unit.”

Source

 

It follows from the above that the acceptance of the Triadic Doctrine (Triune Unit) entails the acceptance of ignorance, the unintelligible, the incomprehensible, the mystery, and the introduction of new mathematical and grammatical rules. If someone has in mind or sees three veils, three angels, or three ships in a row, this doesn’t mean that God is a triad - triadic. Also, the justification that God is triadic, because he is not subject to space and time, leaves the possibility that he is also, tetradic, pentadic, hexadic, etc.

 

What is the chaff  to the wheat? (Jer. 23:28)

                                                   

The Holy Scripture is profitable for instruction

 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.” (II Tim. 16-17)

 

The words of the Lord are simple, pure, and comprehensible; they illuminate and they are able to make the man wise, and they are inconsistent with these human triadic, polytheistic perceptions. (cf. Mat. 15:9)

 

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.” (Mark. 12:29)

 

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” (Ps. 119:105)

 

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” (Ps. 19:7)

 

“Lead me in your truth, and teach me: for you are the God of my salvation; on you do I wait all the day.” (Ps. 25:5)

 

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (I John 5:20 Esv2011)

 

Note: The AKJV quotes by mistake “This is the true God.” (Grk txt: Ούτος = He)

 

The apostles preached neither a triadic god nor an earthly Jesus, but they preached through the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life.

 

The prophecy of Isaiah for the Son

 

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6)

 

For unto us a child is born

 

The pronoun “us” is in the dative (giving) case of the person and indicates the person who benefits from something, the person for the sake of whom an action takes place.

Born” is the past participle of the verb “to bear,” which means that the child, Jesus, was not born by us, but by God who is Spirit, for us.

Similarly the phrase “unto us a son is given.” The Savior was not born by an earthly man so that he can give him to save the world; God who is Spirit and everlasting did that. Otherwise, the Savior would be an earthly man, unable to save, and not the heavenly Lord Jesus Christ. (I Cor. 15:47)

 

"For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NET)

 

Only - begotten = born alone||without any others||without having any brothers or sisters. [Dictionaries: Scarlatos Vyzantios’ ancient Greek dictionary and Pantazidou Homeric dictionary]

 

The created and earthly Adam is also called son of God (Luk. 3:23/38). So if the born son of God Jesus had Adam’s earthly nature, he wouldn’t be the only-begotten Son of the Father full of grace and truth. Besides:

 

 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (Gen. 1:27, Is. 1:2, John 1:14, 3:16)

 

“Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is (The Lord) from heaven.” (I Cor. 15:45-47 Esv2011)

 

The only-begotten son of God

 

An only-begotten son of God is defined as He who was born through the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, he was given birth by her “where is he that is born king of the Jews?” (Mat. 2:2), and was given the name Jesus by the Lord’s commandment through an angel. The only-begotten son of the Father that was sent to the world, Jesus, had no brothers or sisters born of the Holy Spirit in the womb of a woman, as he was, but:

 

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood (Grk txt: Bloods) nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

 

“He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)

 

 

James, Joseph, Simon, Judas and Jesus’ sisters had the same mother but a different father.

 

“Is not this the carpenter's son? “as was supposed,” is not his mother called Mary? and his brothers, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? From where then has this man all these things? And they were offended in him.” (luk. 3:23, Mat. 13:55-57, 12:47-50)

  

The birth of Jesus

 

“And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give to him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come on you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born (of you) shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30-35 AKJV)

 

Note: In the verse of Luke 1:35, Grk txt omits (of you). Let’s read the same verse in different Bible Versions:

 

·         “And the angel answering said to her, [The] Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of [the] Highest overshadow thee, wherefore the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God.” (Darby)

 

·         “And the Angel aunswered, & saide vnto her: The holy ghost shall come vpon thee, & the power of the hyest shall ouershadowe thee. Therefore also that holy thyng whiche shalbe borne, shalbe called the sonne of God.” (Bishops)

 

·         “And the angel responding said to her; The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, indeed, that holy thing that is begotten shall be called the Son of God.” (Godbey)

 

·         “The angel answered her, "the holy spirit shall descend upon thee, and the power of the most high shall over-shadow thee: wherefore thy holy offspring shall be called the son of God.” (Mace)

 

·         “And the angel, answering, said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of [the] Most High will overshadow you; wherefore also the Holy Thing that is begotten shall be called [the] Son of God.” (Worrell)

 

The angel did not tell Mary that the holy one who would be born of her would be called the son of God, but he told her that the holy one who would be born in her would be called the son of God.

 

The same is confirmed to her husband, Joseph, by the angel of the Lord in a dream. In Matthew chapter one and verse twenty we read:

·         And reflecting upon these things, behold a messenger of the Lord appeared to him saying, Joseph, thou son of David, thou shouldest not fear to take to thyself Mary thy wife: for that begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (SLT)

 

·         And he meditating on these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying; Joseph, son of David, do not fear to receive Mary thy wife; for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit;” (Godbey)

 

·         “And he having pondered these [things], behold— [an] angel [of the] Lord appeared [to] him in [a] dream saying “Joseph, son [of] David, do not fear to take Mary [as] your wife, for the [child] having been fathered in her is by [the] Holy Spirit.” (DLNT)

 

·         “But while he pondered on these things, behold, an angel of [the] Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to [thee] Mary, thy wife, for that which is begotten in her is of [the] Holy Spirit.” (Darby)

 

·         “Το γαρ εν αυτή γεννηθέν εκ πνεύματος έστιν αγίου.” (Nestle-Aland Grk txt)

 

 

This was the reason he was called the only-begotten son of God, because the holy one born in the womb of Mary was from the Holy Spirit not of bloods nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will or power of man or woman.

 

Continuing, the angel said to Joseph: “And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”  Joseph believed the angel’s message.  “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” (Mat. 1:21-24)

 

“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:21)

 

The earthly Mary neither conceived through ordinary means “And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying, For God has raised up to me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew” (Gen. 4:25, LXXE), nor received a fertilized egg (embryo) in order to give birth to a demigod according to the customs of the Olympians in Greek mythology, nor impregnated by herself as Hera did with Hephaestus who was born through parthenogenesis and his father was the dispute and discord according to the ancient doctrines, nor gave birth to an earthly son, but she conceived miraculously and gave birth to the heavenly Jesus who was born by his Father the eternal Holy Spirit, within her; and everyone born has a beginning.

 

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Col. 1:18)

 

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things said the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (The new spiritual creation).” (Rev. 3:14)

 

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Cor. 5:17)

 

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Gal. 6:15)

 

Emmanuel

 

The first-century church of God which he obtained with his own bloodrecognized Jesus as the only true God and called him “Emmanuel,” that is, “God is with us.” (Acts 20:28, Ι John 5:20, Isaiah 7:14, 8:8)

This was the reason why the Jews wanted to kill him, because they thought of Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary and did not believe that he was the only-begotten of the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18)

 

“The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God.” (John 10:33)

 

The opposed Jews did not believe in the teaching of the apostles

 

The teaching

 

“For let this be in mind among you, which also in Christ Jesus; Who, being in the form (image) of God, thought not robbery to be equal to God. But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, born in the likeness of men: And found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, being obedient until death, and the death of the cross.” (Philip. 2:5-8 SLT)

 

Here, Paul is not talking about a pre-existing Son, but about the only-begotten of the Father (the Holy Spirit), the one who was born by Mary, who was given the name Jesus, the one who was already resurrected when Paul wrote the letters.

 

“For the impossibility of the law, in that it was weak by the flesh, God having sent his own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the justification of the law be filled up in us, not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:3-4)

 

Jesus was a Heavenly Man, from Heaven, “the  image of the  invisible God,” and not from the earth, not earthly. (Col. 1:15)

 

“Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (I Cor. 15:45)

 

What Jesus who was born by Mary testifies about himself

 

“Jesus said to them, If God were your father ye would have loved me, for I came forth from God and am come [from him] ; for neither am I come of myself, but he has sent me.” (John 8:42 Darby)

 

“No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” (John 3:13)

 

For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38)

 

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)

 

“And Jesus said to them, You are from beneath (from earth); I am from above (from heaven): you are of this world; I am not of this world.” (John 8:23)

 

 

“The bread that I will give is my flesh (Grk: Sarx 4561).”  The flesh / body of Jesus was from heaven (the manna in the wilderness was also from heaven), and when Paul, apostle of Jesus, wrote about the mystery of piety “God was manifested in the flesh” he did not disagree with Jesus neither he preached an earthly savior.

 

Paul wrote: “For the impossibility of the law, in that it was weak by the flesh, God having sent his own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” (Rom. 8:3)

 

An earthly man could never assert for himself similar testimonies.

 

Actions of Jesus that were impossible to be carried out by an earthly man

 

·         “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Mat. 7:29)

 

·         “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mat. 20:28)

 

 

 

·         “For whoever will save his life shall lose it: but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luk. 9:24)

 

·         “And when he saw their faith, he said to him, Man, your sins are forgiven you.” (Luk. 5:20)

 

·         “Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17-18)

 

·         Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (John 4:31-32)

 

·         “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

 

·         “And after six days Jesus takes Peter, James, and John his brother, and brings them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” (Mat. 17:1-2)

 

·         “And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark. 4:14)

 

 

Jesus was not an angel

 

“For to which of the angels said he at any time, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” (Heb. 1:5)

 

“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me have.” (Luk. 24:39)

 

The body of Jesus, the only-begotten son of God, was special, separate, unique, it was made in the likeness of man

 

“But made himself of no reputation, (Grk: emptied himself) and took on him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.” (Philip. 2:7-8)

 

 

The blood of Jesus

 

The bones of the heavenly man Jesus, produced a unique divine blood

 

“Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” (Rom. 3:25)

 

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” (Eph. 1:7)

 

“Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

 

“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?” (Heb. 9:14)

 

What the apostles said and wrote

 

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”  (Col. 2:9-10)

 

“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”  (Col. 1:19-20)

 

“For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.” (I Cor. 15:39-40)

 

“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being (soul) the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (I Cor. 15:44-45)

 

 

The apostles were sent neither to preach Homer or Middle Platonism, nor to preach a demigod (son of a god and a mortal woman). There were many such gods both in the Greek pantheon and in the pantheon of other tribes. But they preached Jesus Christ as the living God and true savior of the world. (I John 5:20, Rom. 9:5, Titus 2:13, Rev. 1:8)

    

More testimonies

 

(a) John the Baptist

 

John the Baptist said that Jesus was above all because He had come from heaven.

“He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.” (John 3:30-33)

 

And Jesus said that among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.

 

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Mat. 11:11)

 

If Jesus was a man according to the perception of the disagreeing Jews he wouldn't have said that John was the greatest among those born of women, but he would have said, I am the greatest among those born of women.

 

(b) The teaching of the Apostle Paul about resurrection

 

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul (natural body); the last Adam was made a quickening (live-giving) spirit (spiritual body). However, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (I Cor. 15:42-49)

 

The distinction between the earthly and the heavenly is evident, the earthly man is seeded with human sperm and is born as a psychic body "in wear, in unrighteousness, in sickness," and while living on earth, he is spiritually dead because of sin. But the first earthly Adam “was a type of the one who was to come,” that is, a pattern of the spiritual man Jesus. (Rom. 5:14)

 

The heavenly man Jesus Christ “became a Spirit that gives life” in order to rebirth, give life, resurrect, and let the spiritually dead man have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) 

“But Jesus said to him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” (Mat. 8:22)

 

“And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” (Acts 4:1-2)

 

“Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:5-6)

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