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Support Israel? OK, which Israel?

...does the Scriptures say on the matter of Israel, war and support for violence? Being against the war that is being waged isn't the same as condoning the actions of terrorists or racism or killing children. The arguments just become emotional knee-jerkers when you throw in "the children" rather than looking at the situation as a whole and realising than killing anyone - whether babies, full grown adult or somewhere in between, is wrong (#6 of the 10 Commandments, anyone?).  Consider this from 1 Peter 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. And Romans 12...

New Covenant Israel is no longer physical (nor literal)!

...If you've read my previous two articles on Israel, then this will probably seem familiar. This is a combination of the previous two combined into one study, focussing more on who Israel is under the New Covenant rather than the geopolitical/war situation of the Middle East. So Who is Israel? No doubt what I'm about to say will cause some knee-jerk reactions, but to properly understand the New Covenant, we need to address the issue of who is Israel, Biblically speaking? Yes, there is a modern nation known as "Israel" now since 1948, but is that the same Israel of the Bible? The same Israel to whom God made his promises? If so, does that mean...

Who is the New Jerusalem?

...This is a sort of ‘addendum’ to the Revelation Fulfilled? article    Yes you read the title correct: WHO (not what) is the New Jerusalem?   To answer this, you must ask yourself: who is the Bride of Christ?   If you answered “the Church” (as in, the body of believers, not buildings) then you’d be correct as they are both one and the same!   Roughly 1500 miles square.   Maybe you’ve always wondered why the Church is called the “bride”? Well, let’s examine some Scriptures and see! 2 Corinthians 11:2I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Chris...

How was Jesus a sacrifice?

...ecies and Scripture concerning him in these ways, primarily in the Psalms, and specifically John 19:33; Numbers 9:12 and Psalm 34:20 concerning his bones not being broken. But it doesn’t end there — even the day that Jesus was crucified aligned with the Passover sacrifice of the 14th of Nisan (by our calendar, April), and later died that evening. The Jews asked Pilate to let them take the bodies down that same day (which was unusual, but done because of the Sabbath), so that meant that Jesus wasn’t left overnight, thus fulfilling the obligations of the Passover ritual! The apostles obviously recognised these parallels, as they refer to them in their epist...

Lent: Day 4 - Polycarp to the Philippians

...oritative Scripture within the Church communities during this early period. If you're curious, you can read a version of this epistle with all the New Testament quotes highlighted for easy reference here: newadvent.org. Polycarp does mention the “blessed and glorified Paul” in his letter, and gives him his dues so as not to appear to be stepping on toes, with a short summary of Paul's original letter to this church and it's purpose: He (Paul), when among you, accurately and steadfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of those who were then alive. And when absent from you, he wrote you a letter, which, if you carefully study, you will find to be...

Lent: Day 16 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 48-59

...He quotes Scripture at length in order to fully prove his points in order to show the Emperor, to whom he writes, and indeed any of us reading his works today, the undeniable reality that Jesus was the expected and long-awaited Messiah. I won’t quote massive amounts of these chapters, since it would be redundant, so I’ll just highlight each prophecy and give the Scriptural references which are used in Apology as proofs for Jesus's Messiahship. Finding the actual quotes is sometimes difficult because Justin has a habit of combining various verses from different chapter of the same prophet into one sentence! Christ’s Life and Death Foretold Jesus’ life...