The Prophecy in Isaiah 46:11
Now, is the Holy Spirit symbolized as a bird, so that the prophecy in Isaiah 46:11 can be justified to be the one “called” by Christ? Yes! Luke 3:21-22 described the event when Jesus was baptized that “…the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove…” confirming the fact that the Holy Spirit is symbolized as a bird. Would you say that a dove is not a bird? If you do, then you need to revise your biology lessons! But is a dove a “bird of prey”? No, of course not. We mentioned above that the term “bird of prey” is only used to indicate the strong character of God when it comes to saving His people? A dove is used also as a symbol of the Holy Spirit to signify that it can portend future events (see Genesis 8:8-12) and it will save its people. To simplify further, in Today’s English Version, Isaiah 46:11 is translated as “I am calling a man to come from the east; he will swoop down like a hawk and accomplish what I have planned…” which, if we substitute for what we have discussed above, actually meant that Jesus Christ will pray (call) the Father (Jehovah) to send the Holy Spirit in the far east who will continue the job of God’s plan in saving the people from the coming world destruction! But what country in the far east is fortunate to be chosen as the place for the Holy Spirit to come from? There are many countries in the far east but only one of them is the one chosen, so how are we to know which country is the one? There is only one way to find out. How? Simple.
In 1 Peter 1:12 there are “messengers who announce the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven…” See how simple it is! Just find out what country in the far east that preaches the Good News of the Holy Spirit and lo! You can be sure that that is the country prophesied to be the birthplace of the Holy Spirit! So, what country could that be? Only the Philippines can pass that criteria because nowhere in the far east can you find the messengers of the Holy Spirit incarnate preaching to the world right now. Does the Philippines which is located in the far east pass the criteria as we claimed? Yes! In the book. A Brief History Of The Philippines by Leandro H. Fernandez, page 114, he states that, “In Legaspi’s time, Manila seems to have been the leading commercial center in the Philippines. It was the center of trade in the Far East”. Now, who in the Philippines are preaching the Good News of the Holy Spirit incarnate and at the same time reminding the world that Jesus is not coming back by virtue of His promise regarding His sending of the Holy Spirit to take His place? Only we, the Ministers and missionaries of the Philippine Benevolent Christian Missionaries (PBCM), are doing that. PBCM is the only religion in the Philippines, and indeed in the whole world, that preach the Good News of the Holy Spirit incarnate in the person of Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. Therefore the prophecy in Isaiah 46:11 is now very clear to see that it presaged the advent of the Holy Spirit only and nobody else. If someone else claims this prophecy unto himself but is not attested to by Christ, then you’ll know that it doesn’t belong to him, but just clever enough to explain his claims but lacks the spiritual powers to prove it.
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Holy Spirit Incarnate Hails from the Far East (Part 1) - By Danilo T. Nacua
The Prophecy in Isaiah 46:11
In his book, The Missing Dimension In Sex, Herbert W. Armstrong on page sixteen states that “Much of the Bible is in symbols – but the Bible explains its own symbols”. We are in total agreement with this statement, especially when it comes to biblical prophecies. The Bible almost always describes prophecies in symbols, but most assuredly the Bible explains these symbols. For example, in John 1:29, John the Baptist labeled Jesus Christ as a “lamb”. Naturally, we must not accept that Christ is literally a lamb! The symbol of the “lamb” is used because during the era of God the Father (Jehovah), the practice of slaughtering a lamb as a sacrificial offering was done for the forgiveness of sins, Leviticus 9:1-4. Since Christ was a type of sacrificial offering, sent to the world to save it from its sins (1 John 2:1-2), the “lamb” symbol was used to describe Him. That’s proof that when the Bible uses symbolic language, it explains its own symbols.
Now let’s take a look at the text in Isaiah 46:11, RSV, “Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it”. At first glance, the unaided reader would perceive nothing but another simple biblical statement. Actually, this is a very important and significant prophecy concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit in human form. This prophecy needs to be scrutinized. The symbol, “bird of prey” is used here. The act of “calling”, though not a symbol, has a different meaning. You can’t just jump to claim this prophecy without slicing it to pieces for there’s more than meets the eye with this one. Let the Bible explain itself.
Four entities are involved here. The one “calling”, the man “called” who is labeled as the “bird of prey”, the “far country” and the location which is “east”. The “far country” and the “east” is not a problem since this simply means “a country in the far east”. To prove that we are correct with regards to the “east” concept, Young’s Analytical Concordance To The Bible, by Robert Young, on page 284, pointed out that “mizrach” is the “rising of the sun” meaning east and he cited Isaiah 43:5; 46:11. Smith’s Bible Dictionary by William Smith, page 154, further validates our claim by nothing that the original manuscript used the Hebrew word “mizrach” meaning “far east” in Isaiah 46:11 and 43:5.As for the one who does the “calling”, the Bible also gives its own definition to the word “call”. In Psalms 4:1 David uttered “answer me when I call, O god of my right!...be gracious to and hear my prayer” (underscoring mine). How did David call God? By praying! Therefore, when David called God he actually meant praying. So in this case, the word “call” is the same as “to pray” and vice versa. So, who does the “calling or praying” so that the man who is labeled as “bird of prey” will come from the far east?
Jesus Christ in John 14:15-16, RSV uttered that “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever…the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name…” (underscoring mine). What? How come Christ is the one who did the “calling or praying” when the prophecy mentioned that the one to be called is a “bird of prey” and not the Holy Spirit? That’s the beauty in Bible prophecy. If you are not the fulfillment you wouldn’t be able to explain mysteries like these and consequently you will commit mistakes which will reveal your fraudulent claims. So, here’s the answer to the question. It is true that the one to be called is a “bird of prey”, but remember that this is merely the actuation of the man that possessed the label and just because the man here is labeled as a “bird of prey” doesn’t mean a bad connotation is implied. The “preying” of the bird here simply meant salvation. To give you a parallel example, Jehovah is also labeled as a “bird of prey” (eagle) in Deuteronomy 32:9-11. Does that mean that Jehovah is bad just because He was called an eagle? Of course not! He was likened to a bird of prey because like the eagle who is strong and powerful in protecting its young, so is God when it comes to saving His people!
In his book, The Missing Dimension In Sex, Herbert W. Armstrong on page sixteen states that “Much of the Bible is in symbols – but the Bible explains its own symbols”. We are in total agreement with this statement, especially when it comes to biblical prophecies. The Bible almost always describes prophecies in symbols, but most assuredly the Bible explains these symbols. For example, in John 1:29, John the Baptist labeled Jesus Christ as a “lamb”. Naturally, we must not accept that Christ is literally a lamb! The symbol of the “lamb” is used because during the era of God the Father (Jehovah), the practice of slaughtering a lamb as a sacrificial offering was done for the forgiveness of sins, Leviticus 9:1-4. Since Christ was a type of sacrificial offering, sent to the world to save it from its sins (1 John 2:1-2), the “lamb” symbol was used to describe Him. That’s proof that when the Bible uses symbolic language, it explains its own symbols.
Now let’s take a look at the text in Isaiah 46:11, RSV, “Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it”. At first glance, the unaided reader would perceive nothing but another simple biblical statement. Actually, this is a very important and significant prophecy concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit in human form. This prophecy needs to be scrutinized. The symbol, “bird of prey” is used here. The act of “calling”, though not a symbol, has a different meaning. You can’t just jump to claim this prophecy without slicing it to pieces for there’s more than meets the eye with this one. Let the Bible explain itself.
Four entities are involved here. The one “calling”, the man “called” who is labeled as the “bird of prey”, the “far country” and the location which is “east”. The “far country” and the “east” is not a problem since this simply means “a country in the far east”. To prove that we are correct with regards to the “east” concept, Young’s Analytical Concordance To The Bible, by Robert Young, on page 284, pointed out that “mizrach” is the “rising of the sun” meaning east and he cited Isaiah 43:5; 46:11. Smith’s Bible Dictionary by William Smith, page 154, further validates our claim by nothing that the original manuscript used the Hebrew word “mizrach” meaning “far east” in Isaiah 46:11 and 43:5.As for the one who does the “calling”, the Bible also gives its own definition to the word “call”. In Psalms 4:1 David uttered “answer me when I call, O god of my right!...be gracious to and hear my prayer” (underscoring mine). How did David call God? By praying! Therefore, when David called God he actually meant praying. So in this case, the word “call” is the same as “to pray” and vice versa. So, who does the “calling or praying” so that the man who is labeled as “bird of prey” will come from the far east?
Jesus Christ in John 14:15-16, RSV uttered that “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever…the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name…” (underscoring mine). What? How come Christ is the one who did the “calling or praying” when the prophecy mentioned that the one to be called is a “bird of prey” and not the Holy Spirit? That’s the beauty in Bible prophecy. If you are not the fulfillment you wouldn’t be able to explain mysteries like these and consequently you will commit mistakes which will reveal your fraudulent claims. So, here’s the answer to the question. It is true that the one to be called is a “bird of prey”, but remember that this is merely the actuation of the man that possessed the label and just because the man here is labeled as a “bird of prey” doesn’t mean a bad connotation is implied. The “preying” of the bird here simply meant salvation. To give you a parallel example, Jehovah is also labeled as a “bird of prey” (eagle) in Deuteronomy 32:9-11. Does that mean that Jehovah is bad just because He was called an eagle? Of course not! He was likened to a bird of prey because like the eagle who is strong and powerful in protecting its young, so is God when it comes to saving His people!
The New Name - The Holy Spirit Incarnate (Part 3) by Danilo T. Nacua
Thus, while the preaching of the name Jesus Christ was still in progress, meaning it was still His era, Paul prophesied what would happen to the preaching of the name of Christ. In his letter in 1 Corinthians 13:9-10, TEV Paul said that “…our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.”
Let’s consider this statement. Paul is talking about two things: partial message and perfect message. What he actually meant here is that their “inspired messages are partial” and will soon disappear when the “perfect message” arrives. Now, Paul did not elaborate here what he meant by “messages” but in his other letters he gave the meaning of the term ‘messages” and he rendered advice what to do with their “partial message” after the “perfect message” comes. In Hebrews 6:1-2, TEV he advised that “let us go forward, then, to mature teaching and leave behind the first lessons of the Christian message”. Accordingly, the message Paul wants us to leave is the Christian message. How does this Christian message come about? In Romans 10:17, TEV he said that “…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ”. There you are! The “partial message’ that Paul wants us to leave behind when the “perfect message” comes is the message that comes through “preaching Christ”!
Therefore, it is very clear from these statements of Paul that the preaching of the name of Christ is not an everlasting gospel. There is another gospel or good news, which according to Paul is a “perfect message” that will follow Christ’s era, confirming our claim that another divine administration will follow the era of Christ. These are some of the transitory prophecies that link the era of the Son to the era of the Holy Spirit! Christ Himself pronounced that the world must come to know “the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19, TEV). Since we already know two of them, the Father (Jehovah) and the Son (Jesus Christ), the third ‘name’ that you must come to know is the name of the Holy Spirit! That’s why the Bible speaks of a new name in Revelation 2:17, KJV with a foundation title of a ‘white stone’.
Since this is a prophecy, then a fulfillment is in the offing. Who is the fulfillment of this ‘new name’ with a ‘white stone’ for a foundation title? We have already introduced to you and we will always claim Him to be – Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr., the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit incarnate. Whether you believe us or not doesn’t disturb us a bit because we are only doing our job to preach the Good News of the Holy Spirit as prophesied in 1 Peter 1:12, KJV that must be known by His personal name and foundation title. See the whole point of the divine plot now? It was agreed while the three divine persons were still in heaven that they would administer the human race one by one. They agreed that the Father was to have the first administration (hence the appellation Father, to indicate as first or originator). They also agreed that the following administrator was to be hinted at in accordance with deeds and prophecy. The second or next administrator was to be called the ‘Son’ to conform to logic (from Father to Son because the passing of inheritance in any manner is from Father to Son). The third and final administrator, since there are only three of them, is the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t have to conform to the ‘father and son’ logic because He is the last administrator. Although they possess the same divine powers, the authority to govern the human race rests on the final administrator, which is the Holy Spirit. The most important factors in their respective administrations are that they are to be known by their personal names together with their foundation titles and that the name of the next administrator must be hinted at through prophecy although the personal name must not be given to avoid the devil from claiming it treacherously. Therefore the ‘new name’ refers simply to the Holy Spirit and nobody else. It cannot be attributed either to the Father or to the Son by virtue of their respective personal names, Jehovah and Jesus Christ and foundation titles as stone (rock) and cornerstone.
Let’s consider this statement. Paul is talking about two things: partial message and perfect message. What he actually meant here is that their “inspired messages are partial” and will soon disappear when the “perfect message” arrives. Now, Paul did not elaborate here what he meant by “messages” but in his other letters he gave the meaning of the term ‘messages” and he rendered advice what to do with their “partial message” after the “perfect message” comes. In Hebrews 6:1-2, TEV he advised that “let us go forward, then, to mature teaching and leave behind the first lessons of the Christian message”. Accordingly, the message Paul wants us to leave is the Christian message. How does this Christian message come about? In Romans 10:17, TEV he said that “…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ”. There you are! The “partial message’ that Paul wants us to leave behind when the “perfect message” comes is the message that comes through “preaching Christ”!
Therefore, it is very clear from these statements of Paul that the preaching of the name of Christ is not an everlasting gospel. There is another gospel or good news, which according to Paul is a “perfect message” that will follow Christ’s era, confirming our claim that another divine administration will follow the era of Christ. These are some of the transitory prophecies that link the era of the Son to the era of the Holy Spirit! Christ Himself pronounced that the world must come to know “the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19, TEV). Since we already know two of them, the Father (Jehovah) and the Son (Jesus Christ), the third ‘name’ that you must come to know is the name of the Holy Spirit! That’s why the Bible speaks of a new name in Revelation 2:17, KJV with a foundation title of a ‘white stone’.
Since this is a prophecy, then a fulfillment is in the offing. Who is the fulfillment of this ‘new name’ with a ‘white stone’ for a foundation title? We have already introduced to you and we will always claim Him to be – Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr., the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit incarnate. Whether you believe us or not doesn’t disturb us a bit because we are only doing our job to preach the Good News of the Holy Spirit as prophesied in 1 Peter 1:12, KJV that must be known by His personal name and foundation title. See the whole point of the divine plot now? It was agreed while the three divine persons were still in heaven that they would administer the human race one by one. They agreed that the Father was to have the first administration (hence the appellation Father, to indicate as first or originator). They also agreed that the following administrator was to be hinted at in accordance with deeds and prophecy. The second or next administrator was to be called the ‘Son’ to conform to logic (from Father to Son because the passing of inheritance in any manner is from Father to Son). The third and final administrator, since there are only three of them, is the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t have to conform to the ‘father and son’ logic because He is the last administrator. Although they possess the same divine powers, the authority to govern the human race rests on the final administrator, which is the Holy Spirit. The most important factors in their respective administrations are that they are to be known by their personal names together with their foundation titles and that the name of the next administrator must be hinted at through prophecy although the personal name must not be given to avoid the devil from claiming it treacherously. Therefore the ‘new name’ refers simply to the Holy Spirit and nobody else. It cannot be attributed either to the Father or to the Son by virtue of their respective personal names, Jehovah and Jesus Christ and foundation titles as stone (rock) and cornerstone.
The New Name - The Holy Spirit Incarnate (Part 2) by Danilo T. Nacua
Paul wrote to his brothers in 1 Corinthians 10:4 that their ancestors who followed Moses “drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself.” However, in order for the Son’s foundation title not to be confused with that of the Father’s (Rock), it was further characterized as a ‘cornerstone’ as was furnished in the prophecy of Isaiah 28:16 that says “I am placing in Zion, a foundation that is firm and strong. In it I am putting a solid cornerstone...” Paul then finally distinguished the foundation title of the Son upon knowing the provision mentioned above that “you, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Jesus Christ himself” in Ephesians 2:20. Was Christ the fulfillment of the ‘stone with seven eyes’ cited above? Yes. Revelation 5:6(TEV) speaks of a “lamb standing in the center of the throne...it had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that have been sent throughout the world”.
We all know that the Lamb of God is Jesus Christ according to John 1:29(TEV). Therefore, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the name written or engraved on the ‘stone with seven eyes’. Was it written literally? Of course not; now you know that when the Bible speaks of engraving or writing of a name on a stone, it does not mean that the actual name is written on a stone itself, but it is speaking metaphorically. The ‘name written on the stone’ merely means that the person who bears the name is titled as such, e.g., like a stone. So, when a prophecy states that ‘a name is written on a stone’, it actually means that a person (with a name, of course) will bear that title ‘stone’.
When the era of Jesus Christ came, and he was proven to be the fulfillment of the ‘cornerstone’ to follow the era of the Father, who was preached as the core of the Good News? Was it the Father’s name still? No. It was Jesus Christ who was preached everywhere to the whole known world at that time (Colossians 1:27-28). The apostles dared not preached the name of the Father nor the name of the Holy Spirit at that time because they knew already that the preaching of the name of the Father has reached its limit in time and it was not yet also the era of the Holy Spirit, so, the boundary set by God for them in their ministry was the preaching of the name of Christ only (2 Corinthians 10:13-14-TEV). Paul in his letter to the Hebrews (8:7-12 –TEV), defending their stand as to why they preached only the name of Jesus Christ and not the Father’s, reiterated that the preaching of the name of the Lord Jehovah was limited only to the time before the arrival of the ‘cornerstone’ which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He went on to cite the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34 to support their contention.
Now, that was the way with regards to the transition plot from the Father to the Son. How about the transition from the Son to the Holy Spirit? If the passing of one era to another was backed by transitory prophecies to link that era, likewise, so it is with respect to era of the Holy Spirit.
We all know that the Lamb of God is Jesus Christ according to John 1:29(TEV). Therefore, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the name written or engraved on the ‘stone with seven eyes’. Was it written literally? Of course not; now you know that when the Bible speaks of engraving or writing of a name on a stone, it does not mean that the actual name is written on a stone itself, but it is speaking metaphorically. The ‘name written on the stone’ merely means that the person who bears the name is titled as such, e.g., like a stone. So, when a prophecy states that ‘a name is written on a stone’, it actually means that a person (with a name, of course) will bear that title ‘stone’.
When the era of Jesus Christ came, and he was proven to be the fulfillment of the ‘cornerstone’ to follow the era of the Father, who was preached as the core of the Good News? Was it the Father’s name still? No. It was Jesus Christ who was preached everywhere to the whole known world at that time (Colossians 1:27-28). The apostles dared not preached the name of the Father nor the name of the Holy Spirit at that time because they knew already that the preaching of the name of the Father has reached its limit in time and it was not yet also the era of the Holy Spirit, so, the boundary set by God for them in their ministry was the preaching of the name of Christ only (2 Corinthians 10:13-14-TEV). Paul in his letter to the Hebrews (8:7-12 –TEV), defending their stand as to why they preached only the name of Jesus Christ and not the Father’s, reiterated that the preaching of the name of the Lord Jehovah was limited only to the time before the arrival of the ‘cornerstone’ which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He went on to cite the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34 to support their contention.
Now, that was the way with regards to the transition plot from the Father to the Son. How about the transition from the Son to the Holy Spirit? If the passing of one era to another was backed by transitory prophecies to link that era, likewise, so it is with respect to era of the Holy Spirit.
The New Name - The Holy Spirit Incarnate (Part 1) by Danilo T. Nacua
Let’s slice this prophecy into pieces and analyze each one of them. The full text in Revelation 2:17 reads: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no knows except him who receives it.”
Okay, first things first, let’s discuss the ‘new name’ written on the ‘white stone’. So, what’s in a name that makes this topic so important? Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, page 786 defines ‘name’ as ‘a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing’. The Bible Dictionary of the New Revised Standard Version, page 36, defines ‘name’ as ‘a word by which a person or thing is known and distinguished from others. God’s name was important to the Hebrews, for they believed that it revealed his character and divinity (Exodus 3:13-15)...’. Be also reminded that a ‘title’ is also a ‘descriptive name’ as per definition by Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, page 1238. Therefore, names are important in distinguishing between persons, things and God. Names given to persons are personal names and reveal their human nature. Likewise God’s personal name reveals his true character and divinity. Let’s bear that in mind. Anyone who claims he is God but doesn’t have divine powers is a fraud.
So, why then did God make such a prophecy forecasting the advent of the one to be known to the world as a ‘new name’ when it already knows two divine personal names: The name of the Father (Jehovah) and the name of the Son (Jesus Christ)? It’s because it was pre-programmed to be that way. The world must come to know the names of the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity. Christ declared it in Matthew 28:19 when he said “...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. If the Father and Son were already known by their personal names, it would be unfair if the Holy Spirit wouldn’t bear a personal name.
The plot began a long time ago and the heavenly drama started with God the Father. When it was yet the era of Jehovah, his name alone and his foundation title as a ‘rock or stone’ was preached throughout the known world at that time (Deut.32: 3-4). He had sole domination of the world and He did not recognize any other gods or any other stone (Isaiah 44:8). The Son and the Holy Spirit had nothing to say during this time and did not intervene with His administration because that was their agreement. Remember that at this context, the word ‘stone or rock’ refers to ‘foundation title’ because the stones symbolize the foundation used by God the Father when he established his people Israel (1 Kings 18:31). Yet while it was still his era of authority, a provision or prophecy was established to make the necessary transition of administration from the Father to the Son. He made a decree establishing the fact that when the era of the Son comes, his name shall no longer be invoked starting in Judah and Egypt (Jeremiah 44:26), but the decree was not limited to that places mentioned because the decree encompasses everyone and to all places (Deuteronomy 29:12-15). And for all eternity the name of Jehovah was strictly forbidden to be taught to all persons throughout the world (Jeremiah 31:31-34).What was this prophetic provision concerning the Son? Zechariah 3:8-9(KJV) provides that “...I will bring forth my servant, the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall have seven eyes; behold I will engrave the graving thereof...”. Today’s English Version renders “..I will engrave an inscription in it...”. An inscription is ‘an entering of a name’ according to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, page 625. Therefore, the Branch mentioned in this prophecy has a ‘stone’ for its foundation title and a ‘name’ will be engraved or written on that stone with the seven eyes. The Branch and the ‘stone with seven eyes’ are interrelated because one can’t be without the other. In other words, when you speak of the Branch, the ‘stone with seven eyes’ goes with it.
Okay, first things first, let’s discuss the ‘new name’ written on the ‘white stone’. So, what’s in a name that makes this topic so important? Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, page 786 defines ‘name’ as ‘a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing’. The Bible Dictionary of the New Revised Standard Version, page 36, defines ‘name’ as ‘a word by which a person or thing is known and distinguished from others. God’s name was important to the Hebrews, for they believed that it revealed his character and divinity (Exodus 3:13-15)...’. Be also reminded that a ‘title’ is also a ‘descriptive name’ as per definition by Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, page 1238. Therefore, names are important in distinguishing between persons, things and God. Names given to persons are personal names and reveal their human nature. Likewise God’s personal name reveals his true character and divinity. Let’s bear that in mind. Anyone who claims he is God but doesn’t have divine powers is a fraud.
So, why then did God make such a prophecy forecasting the advent of the one to be known to the world as a ‘new name’ when it already knows two divine personal names: The name of the Father (Jehovah) and the name of the Son (Jesus Christ)? It’s because it was pre-programmed to be that way. The world must come to know the names of the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity. Christ declared it in Matthew 28:19 when he said “...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. If the Father and Son were already known by their personal names, it would be unfair if the Holy Spirit wouldn’t bear a personal name.
The plot began a long time ago and the heavenly drama started with God the Father. When it was yet the era of Jehovah, his name alone and his foundation title as a ‘rock or stone’ was preached throughout the known world at that time (Deut.32: 3-4). He had sole domination of the world and He did not recognize any other gods or any other stone (Isaiah 44:8). The Son and the Holy Spirit had nothing to say during this time and did not intervene with His administration because that was their agreement. Remember that at this context, the word ‘stone or rock’ refers to ‘foundation title’ because the stones symbolize the foundation used by God the Father when he established his people Israel (1 Kings 18:31). Yet while it was still his era of authority, a provision or prophecy was established to make the necessary transition of administration from the Father to the Son. He made a decree establishing the fact that when the era of the Son comes, his name shall no longer be invoked starting in Judah and Egypt (Jeremiah 44:26), but the decree was not limited to that places mentioned because the decree encompasses everyone and to all places (Deuteronomy 29:12-15). And for all eternity the name of Jehovah was strictly forbidden to be taught to all persons throughout the world (Jeremiah 31:31-34).What was this prophetic provision concerning the Son? Zechariah 3:8-9(KJV) provides that “...I will bring forth my servant, the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall have seven eyes; behold I will engrave the graving thereof...”. Today’s English Version renders “..I will engrave an inscription in it...”. An inscription is ‘an entering of a name’ according to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, page 625. Therefore, the Branch mentioned in this prophecy has a ‘stone’ for its foundation title and a ‘name’ will be engraved or written on that stone with the seven eyes. The Branch and the ‘stone with seven eyes’ are interrelated because one can’t be without the other. In other words, when you speak of the Branch, the ‘stone with seven eyes’ goes with it.
The Hidden Manna - The Divine Words of the Holy Spirit Incarnate (Part 3) by Danilo T. Nacua
Christ said in Matthew 4:4 that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. God promised in Revelation 7:16, KJV that “they shall hunger no more”! Which “war” did God have in mind that He meant to save us using the power of the “hidden manna” or “sword” or “word of God”? We have been through many wars and the most destructive so far were World Wars 1 and 2! Actually it is neither the wars above nor the present wars happening in diverse parts of the world. The greatest war that God has in mind is the kind that will make the world totally devastated! Isaiah 24:3-6, KJV speaks of “the land shall be utterly emptied…therefore the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left”.
Just pause for a minute and consider this catastrophe mentioned by God. You have to come to terms with the fulfillment of the “new name” for you to possess this “hidden manna” as your security in times of famine and destruction! Does this “burning curse” really mean war? Isaiah 42:23,25 confirms this by declaring that “…he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart”. Yes! It is very clear that the curse that God would send upon the earth is the burning fury of battle or war! And this war will be so destructive that it will lay the world desolate and empty! The two greatest world wars, the first and the second, were not capable of burning the earth to desolation. Even though the Second World War saw the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the use of atomic bombs, the damage was only local to Japan. But still, the epicenter of the Hiroshima explosion rendered it useless and no blade of grass grew on that place. This was only a foreshadow of the destructive power of the coming third world war. The present nuclear weapons of mass destruction make the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like child’s play, so to speak. A single nuclear bomb with multiple warheads is enough to wipe out an entire country of the size of Philippines! What’s more with the present stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the powerful nations of the world – if all of them would throw them out in an all out war, then, the world will truly be devastated and empty. That’s why you need the “hidden manna” to save you. If World Wars 1 and 2 and the present wars are not the fulfillment of the kind of war that God has in mind, then, what war will it be?
In Revelation 11:14, TEV the Bible speaks of a “third horror”. Two horrors have passed and a third is fast approaching! Other versions render it as the “third woe” and the Jerusalem Bible translated it as ‘third troubles”. Zephaniah 1:14-18, TEV describes that day as “…a day of ruin and destruction…of darkness and gloom…”. Wealth and influence can’t save you from this. Therefore, the Third World War is what God has in mind when He spoke of total destruction! The final and third world war is the coming nuclear holocaust and no one will be saved except those who have the “hidden manna” which will be given by the fulfillment of the “new name” with a “white stone” for foundation title. Remember the final word in Isaiah 24:6 that only a ‘few men are left”? They are the ones who are victorious. In spite of the devastation caused by the nuclear holocaust, these few are left because they have the “hidden manna” given them by the fulfillment of the “new name”. And once again we introduce you to the fulfillment – Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. – the Holy Spirit incarnate. In conclusion, the “hidden manna” is not Jesus Christ but the “divine words” to come from the mouth of the Holy Spirit Incarnate.
Just pause for a minute and consider this catastrophe mentioned by God. You have to come to terms with the fulfillment of the “new name” for you to possess this “hidden manna” as your security in times of famine and destruction! Does this “burning curse” really mean war? Isaiah 42:23,25 confirms this by declaring that “…he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart”. Yes! It is very clear that the curse that God would send upon the earth is the burning fury of battle or war! And this war will be so destructive that it will lay the world desolate and empty! The two greatest world wars, the first and the second, were not capable of burning the earth to desolation. Even though the Second World War saw the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the use of atomic bombs, the damage was only local to Japan. But still, the epicenter of the Hiroshima explosion rendered it useless and no blade of grass grew on that place. This was only a foreshadow of the destructive power of the coming third world war. The present nuclear weapons of mass destruction make the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like child’s play, so to speak. A single nuclear bomb with multiple warheads is enough to wipe out an entire country of the size of Philippines! What’s more with the present stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the powerful nations of the world – if all of them would throw them out in an all out war, then, the world will truly be devastated and empty. That’s why you need the “hidden manna” to save you. If World Wars 1 and 2 and the present wars are not the fulfillment of the kind of war that God has in mind, then, what war will it be?
In Revelation 11:14, TEV the Bible speaks of a “third horror”. Two horrors have passed and a third is fast approaching! Other versions render it as the “third woe” and the Jerusalem Bible translated it as ‘third troubles”. Zephaniah 1:14-18, TEV describes that day as “…a day of ruin and destruction…of darkness and gloom…”. Wealth and influence can’t save you from this. Therefore, the Third World War is what God has in mind when He spoke of total destruction! The final and third world war is the coming nuclear holocaust and no one will be saved except those who have the “hidden manna” which will be given by the fulfillment of the “new name” with a “white stone” for foundation title. Remember the final word in Isaiah 24:6 that only a ‘few men are left”? They are the ones who are victorious. In spite of the devastation caused by the nuclear holocaust, these few are left because they have the “hidden manna” given them by the fulfillment of the “new name”. And once again we introduce you to the fulfillment – Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. – the Holy Spirit incarnate. In conclusion, the “hidden manna” is not Jesus Christ but the “divine words” to come from the mouth of the Holy Spirit Incarnate.
The Hidden Manna - The Divine Words of the Holy Spirit Incarnate (Part 2) by Danilo T. Nacua
Now that we have searched and know the background story of the “manna or bread” topic, we can reliably go now to the correct meaning or interpretation of the “hidden manna” in Revelation 2:17. What is this “manna” and why is it “hidden”? The “manna” here is neither the literal nor the metaphorical one discussed above. Let’s just remember that the purpose of “manna” is to render salvation. This simply means that “manna” connotes redemption. Matthew 4:4 renders that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. In other words, the word of God is some kind of bread or manna because this is clearly explained that man can live also by every word of God.
In Ephesians 6:17, Paul advised us to “…take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. This tells us that the “sword” is also the “word of God” which can also be attributed to “bread” or “manna”! If this “sword” or “word of God” is the “manna” in Revelation 2:17, why is it hidden? To reiterate our discussion regarding the “hidden manna” issue in Revelation 2:17, let us remember that “manna” here is neither the literal nor the metaphorical one we have known above. Let’s just remember that the purpose of “manna” is to render salvation. This simply means that “manna” connotes redemption. But let us find out first why this manna is hidden before we go to the real substance.
In Job 38:23, God revealed that “…I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war”. What? Reserved for war? So that’s the reason why God has rendered it “hidden” because this is reserved for war! So, what is this “manna” and can this be a guarantee to save us in times of war and other things? In Job 5:20(RSV) it is guaranteed that “in famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword”. It is very comforting to know what God has prepared for those who would be victorious in accepting the fulfillment of the “new name”. This “hidden manna” is our food for security in times of famine or hunger! That this “hidden manna” would also redeem the believers from death in times of war from the power of the sword! What is this “manna” that it could be used as a shield against war and as food in times of famine or hunger? Paul said it in his letter to the Ephesians 6:17 KJV, beseeching to “take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and in Hebrews 4:12, KJV he explained that the “word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” There you are! The “word of God” or “sword” or “manna” is powerful that’s why it can protect you in war and feed you in times of hunger!
In Ephesians 6:17, Paul advised us to “…take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. This tells us that the “sword” is also the “word of God” which can also be attributed to “bread” or “manna”! If this “sword” or “word of God” is the “manna” in Revelation 2:17, why is it hidden? To reiterate our discussion regarding the “hidden manna” issue in Revelation 2:17, let us remember that “manna” here is neither the literal nor the metaphorical one we have known above. Let’s just remember that the purpose of “manna” is to render salvation. This simply means that “manna” connotes redemption. But let us find out first why this manna is hidden before we go to the real substance.
In Job 38:23, God revealed that “…I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war”. What? Reserved for war? So that’s the reason why God has rendered it “hidden” because this is reserved for war! So, what is this “manna” and can this be a guarantee to save us in times of war and other things? In Job 5:20(RSV) it is guaranteed that “in famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword”. It is very comforting to know what God has prepared for those who would be victorious in accepting the fulfillment of the “new name”. This “hidden manna” is our food for security in times of famine or hunger! That this “hidden manna” would also redeem the believers from death in times of war from the power of the sword! What is this “manna” that it could be used as a shield against war and as food in times of famine or hunger? Paul said it in his letter to the Ephesians 6:17 KJV, beseeching to “take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and in Hebrews 4:12, KJV he explained that the “word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” There you are! The “word of God” or “sword” or “manna” is powerful that’s why it can protect you in war and feed you in times of hunger!
The Hidden Manna - The Divine Words of the Holy Spirit Incarnate (Part 1) by Danilo T. Nacua
Revelation 2:17 states: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no knows except him who receives it.” To understand what is meant by the “hidden manna” as mentioned in Revelation 2:17, you have to first investigate the background story why God describes this as “hidden manna”. The Bible mentions the word “manna” in Exodus 16:1-36, TEV and what good it will do for those who are allowed to partake of it. If you read the whole chapter sixteen you’ll learn that the food God gave to the people of Israel while they were wandering in the desert was called “manna”. The food was heavenly in the sense that it was God Jehovah who sent it to them and they ate that food (manna) for forty years in the desert. There was only one hitch to that food. If you keep more than what is required, it will rot. Psalms 78:3-25, RSV translates manna as the “bread of angels”. This clearly explains that “manna” is “bread” and vice versa and the purpose in sending it was to save – remember that. But the Bible did not end its allusion of “manna” or “bread” in the Old Testament.
When Jesus Christ came to earth He declared in John 6:51,58 that “I am the living bread which came down from heaven…not as the Fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever”. Listen to this. The first manna or bread was “literal bread” which came down from heaven and saved Israel from famine while they stayed in the desert. The second “manna or bread” was a metaphor but with the same purpose – to save. Christ claimed that He was the “bread that came down from heaven” and invited everyone to this bread! Are we to eat Him literally? Of course not or we will be charged with cannibalism. It was metaphorically stated by Christ for the purpose of saving the world because that’s the whole idea of the manna or bread principle used by God. How do we go about by eating this “bread” (Christ) that came down from heaven? In John 12:49-50 Christ said that “…I have not spoken of my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak. And I know that his command is eternal life…” There you are! The way to eat or partake of this “bread from heaven” which is Jesus Christ is to obey what He says! Therefore from the above arguments we can say that the “hidden manna” mentioned in Revelation 2:17 pertains not to Christ but it means something else. Even though Christ was called the “bread from heaven” he was clearly not the “hidden manna”.
When Jesus Christ came to earth He declared in John 6:51,58 that “I am the living bread which came down from heaven…not as the Fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever”. Listen to this. The first manna or bread was “literal bread” which came down from heaven and saved Israel from famine while they stayed in the desert. The second “manna or bread” was a metaphor but with the same purpose – to save. Christ claimed that He was the “bread that came down from heaven” and invited everyone to this bread! Are we to eat Him literally? Of course not or we will be charged with cannibalism. It was metaphorically stated by Christ for the purpose of saving the world because that’s the whole idea of the manna or bread principle used by God. How do we go about by eating this “bread” (Christ) that came down from heaven? In John 12:49-50 Christ said that “…I have not spoken of my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak. And I know that his command is eternal life…” There you are! The way to eat or partake of this “bread from heaven” which is Jesus Christ is to obey what He says! Therefore from the above arguments we can say that the “hidden manna” mentioned in Revelation 2:17 pertains not to Christ but it means something else. Even though Christ was called the “bread from heaven” he was clearly not the “hidden manna”.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit - Part Five
V. OFFENCES AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Scarcely any phase of the doctrine of the Spirit is more solemn than this. It behooves us all, believer and unbeliever alike, to be careful as to how we treat the Holy Spirit. Sinning against the Spirit is fraught with terrific consequences.
For convenience sake we are classifying the offences against the Spirit under two general divisions, namely, those committed by the unbeliever, and those committed by the believer. Not that there is absolutely no overlapping in either case. For, doubtless, in the very nature of the case there must be. This thought will be kept in mind in the study of the offences against the Spirit.
1. OFFENCES COMMITTED BY THE UNBELIEVER.
a) Resisting the Holy Ghost.
Acts 7:51 – “Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.” Here the picture is that of the Holy Spirit attacking the citadel of the soul of man, who violently resists the gracious attempts of the Spirit to win him. In spite of the plainest arguments, and the most incontestable facts this man willfully rejects the evidence and refuses to accept the Christ so convincingly presented. Thus is the Holy Ghost resisted. (See Acts 6:10.) That this is a true picture of resistance to the Holy Spirit is clearly seen from Stephen’s recital of the facts in Acts 7:51-57.
b) Insulting, or Doing Despite unto the Holy Spirit.
Heb. 10:29 (cf. Luke 18:32). It is the work of the Spirit to present the atoning work of Christ to the sinner as the ground of his pardon. When the sinner refuses to believe or accept the testimony of the Spirit, he thereby insults the Spirit by esteeming the whole work of Christ as a deception and a lie, or accounts the death of Christ as the death of an ordinary common man, and not as God’s provision for the sinner.
c) Blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 12:31, 32. This seems to be the most grievous sin of all, for the Master asserts that there is no forgiveness for this sin. Sins against the Son of Man may be forgiven because it was easily possible, by reason of His humble birth, lowly parentage, etc, to question the claims He put forth to deity. But when, after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and presented to every man’s conscience evidence sufficient to prove the truth of these claims, the man who then refused to yield to Christ’s claims was guilty of resisting, insulting, and that amounts to blaspheming the testimony of the whole Godhead, of which the Spirit is the executive.
2. OFFENCES COMMITTED BY THE BELIEVER.
a) Grieving the Spirit.
Eph. 4:30, 31; Isa. 63:10 (R.V.). To grieve means to make sad or sorrowful. It is the word used to describe the experience of Christ in Gethsemane; and so the sorrow of Gethsemane may be endured by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the most sensitive person of the Godhead. He is called the “Mother-heart” of God. The context of this passage (v. 31) tells us how the Spirit may be grieved: “by foolish talking and jesting.” Whenever the believer allows any of the things mentioned in this verse (and those stated also in Gal. 5:17-19) to find place in his heart and expression in his words and life; when these things abide in his heart and actively manifest themselves, then the Spirit is sad and grieved. Indeed to refuse any part of our moral nature to the full sway of the Spirit is to grieve Him. If we continue to grieve the Spirit, then the grief turns into vexation (Isa. 63:10).
b) Lying to the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:3, 4. The sin of lying to the Spirit is very prominent when consecration is most popular. We stand up and say, “I surrender all” when in our hearts we know that we have not surrendered all. Yet, like Ananias, we like to have others believe that we have consecrated our all. We do not wish to be one whit behind others in our profession. Read carefully in this connection the story of Achan (Joshua 7), and that of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:20-27).
c) Quenching the Spirit.
1 Thess. 5:19 – “Quench not the Spirit.” The thought of quenching the Spirit seems to be used in connection with fire: “Smoking flax shall he not quench” (Matt.12:20); “Quench the fiery darts” (Eph. 6:16). It is therefore related more to the thought of service than to that of life. The context of 1 Thess. 5:19 shows this. The manifestation of the spirit in prophesying was not to be quenched. The Holy Spirit is seen as coming down upon this gathered assembly for praise, prayer, and testimony. This manifestation of the Spirit must not be quenched. Thus we may quench the Spirit not only in our hearts, but also in the hearts of others. How? By disloyalty to the voice and call of the Spirit; by disobedience to His voice whether it be to testify, praise, to do any bit of service for God, or to refuse to go where He sends us to labor – the foreign field, for example. Let us be careful also lest in criticizing the manifestation of the Spirit in the testimony of some believer, or the sermon of some preacher, we be found guilty of quenching the Spirit. Let us see to it that the gift of the Holy Ghost for service be not lost by any unfaithfulness, or by the cultivation of a critical spirit on our part, so that the fire in our hearts dies out snd nohing but ashes remain – ashes, a sign that fire was once there, but has been extinguished.
From what has been said the following may be summarily stated:
Resisting has to do with the regenerating work of the Spirit;
Grieving has to do with the indwelling Holy Spirit;
Quenching has to do with the enduement of the Spirit for service.
Scarcely any phase of the doctrine of the Spirit is more solemn than this. It behooves us all, believer and unbeliever alike, to be careful as to how we treat the Holy Spirit. Sinning against the Spirit is fraught with terrific consequences.
For convenience sake we are classifying the offences against the Spirit under two general divisions, namely, those committed by the unbeliever, and those committed by the believer. Not that there is absolutely no overlapping in either case. For, doubtless, in the very nature of the case there must be. This thought will be kept in mind in the study of the offences against the Spirit.
1. OFFENCES COMMITTED BY THE UNBELIEVER.
a) Resisting the Holy Ghost.
Acts 7:51 – “Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.” Here the picture is that of the Holy Spirit attacking the citadel of the soul of man, who violently resists the gracious attempts of the Spirit to win him. In spite of the plainest arguments, and the most incontestable facts this man willfully rejects the evidence and refuses to accept the Christ so convincingly presented. Thus is the Holy Ghost resisted. (See Acts 6:10.) That this is a true picture of resistance to the Holy Spirit is clearly seen from Stephen’s recital of the facts in Acts 7:51-57.
b) Insulting, or Doing Despite unto the Holy Spirit.
Heb. 10:29 (cf. Luke 18:32). It is the work of the Spirit to present the atoning work of Christ to the sinner as the ground of his pardon. When the sinner refuses to believe or accept the testimony of the Spirit, he thereby insults the Spirit by esteeming the whole work of Christ as a deception and a lie, or accounts the death of Christ as the death of an ordinary common man, and not as God’s provision for the sinner.
c) Blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 12:31, 32. This seems to be the most grievous sin of all, for the Master asserts that there is no forgiveness for this sin. Sins against the Son of Man may be forgiven because it was easily possible, by reason of His humble birth, lowly parentage, etc, to question the claims He put forth to deity. But when, after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and presented to every man’s conscience evidence sufficient to prove the truth of these claims, the man who then refused to yield to Christ’s claims was guilty of resisting, insulting, and that amounts to blaspheming the testimony of the whole Godhead, of which the Spirit is the executive.
2. OFFENCES COMMITTED BY THE BELIEVER.
a) Grieving the Spirit.
Eph. 4:30, 31; Isa. 63:10 (R.V.). To grieve means to make sad or sorrowful. It is the word used to describe the experience of Christ in Gethsemane; and so the sorrow of Gethsemane may be endured by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the most sensitive person of the Godhead. He is called the “Mother-heart” of God. The context of this passage (v. 31) tells us how the Spirit may be grieved: “by foolish talking and jesting.” Whenever the believer allows any of the things mentioned in this verse (and those stated also in Gal. 5:17-19) to find place in his heart and expression in his words and life; when these things abide in his heart and actively manifest themselves, then the Spirit is sad and grieved. Indeed to refuse any part of our moral nature to the full sway of the Spirit is to grieve Him. If we continue to grieve the Spirit, then the grief turns into vexation (Isa. 63:10).
b) Lying to the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:3, 4. The sin of lying to the Spirit is very prominent when consecration is most popular. We stand up and say, “I surrender all” when in our hearts we know that we have not surrendered all. Yet, like Ananias, we like to have others believe that we have consecrated our all. We do not wish to be one whit behind others in our profession. Read carefully in this connection the story of Achan (Joshua 7), and that of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:20-27).
c) Quenching the Spirit.
1 Thess. 5:19 – “Quench not the Spirit.” The thought of quenching the Spirit seems to be used in connection with fire: “Smoking flax shall he not quench” (Matt.12:20); “Quench the fiery darts” (Eph. 6:16). It is therefore related more to the thought of service than to that of life. The context of 1 Thess. 5:19 shows this. The manifestation of the spirit in prophesying was not to be quenched. The Holy Spirit is seen as coming down upon this gathered assembly for praise, prayer, and testimony. This manifestation of the Spirit must not be quenched. Thus we may quench the Spirit not only in our hearts, but also in the hearts of others. How? By disloyalty to the voice and call of the Spirit; by disobedience to His voice whether it be to testify, praise, to do any bit of service for God, or to refuse to go where He sends us to labor – the foreign field, for example. Let us be careful also lest in criticizing the manifestation of the Spirit in the testimony of some believer, or the sermon of some preacher, we be found guilty of quenching the Spirit. Let us see to it that the gift of the Holy Ghost for service be not lost by any unfaithfulness, or by the cultivation of a critical spirit on our part, so that the fire in our hearts dies out snd nohing but ashes remain – ashes, a sign that fire was once there, but has been extinguished.
From what has been said the following may be summarily stated:
Resisting has to do with the regenerating work of the Spirit;
Grieving has to do with the indwelling Holy Spirit;
Quenching has to do with the enduement of the Spirit for service.
The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit - Part Four
IV. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The Work of the Spirit may be summed up under the following headings: His work in the universe; in humanity as a whole; in the believer; with reference to the Scriptures; and, finally, with reference to Jesus Christ.
1. IN RELATION TO THE WORLD.
a) With Regard to the Universe.
There is a sense in which the creation of the universe may be ascribed to God’s Spirit. Indeed Psa. 33:6 – “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath (Spirit) of his mouth,” attributes the work of creation to the Trinity, the Lord, the Word of the Lord, and the Spirit of the Lord. The creation of man is attributed to the Spirit. Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” It would be proper, doubtless, to say that the Father created all things through the agency of the Word and the Spirit. In the Genesis account of creation (1:3) the Spirit is seen actively engaged in the work of creation.
Not only is it true that the Spirit’s agency is seen in the act of creation, but His power is seen also in the preservation of nature. Isa. 40:7 – “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it.” A staggering declaration. The Spirit comes in the fierce east wind with its keen, biting blast of death. He comes also in the summer zephyr, which brings life and beauty.
b) With Regard to Humanity as a Whole.
John 16:8-11 – “And when He is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not in me; of righteousness, because I go unto my Father and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” Here are three great facts of which the Spirit bears witness to the world: the sin of unbelief in Christ; the fact that Christ was righteous and absolutely true in all that He claimed to be; the fact that the power of Satan has been broken. Of sin: the sin in which all other sins are embraced; of righteousness: the righteousness in which all other righteousness is manifested and fulfilled; of judgment: the judgment in which all other judgments are decided and grounded. Of sin belonging to man; of righteousness, belonging to Christ; of judgment belonging to Satan.
John 15:26 – “The Spirit of truth…. Shall testify of me.” Acts 5:32 – “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost.” It is the work of the Holy Spirit to constantly bear witness of Christ and His finished work to the world of sinful and sinning men. This He does largely, although hardly exclusively, through the testimony of believers to the saving power and work of Christ: “Ye also shall bear witness” (John 15:27).
2. THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE BELIEVER.
a) He Regenerates the Believer.
John 3:3-5 – “Born of …. The Spirit.” Tit. 3:5 – “The ….renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Sonship, and membership in the kingdom of God, come only through the regenerating of the Holy Spirit. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth.” Just as Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost, so must every child of God who is to be an heir to the kingdom.
b) The Spirit Indwells the Believer.
1 Cor. 6:19 – “Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you.” Also 3:16; Rom. 8:9. Every believer, no matter how weak and imperfect he may be, or how immature his Christian experience, still has the indwelling of the Spirit. Acts 19:2 does not contradict this statement. Evidently some miraculous out-pouring of the Spirit is intended there, which followed the prayer and laying on of the hands of the apostles. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor.12:3).
c) The Spirit Seals the Believer with Assurance of Salvation.
Eph. 1:13, 14 – “In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise; which is the earnest of our inheritance.” Also 4:30 – “Sealed unto the day of redemption.” This sealing stands for two things: ownership and likeness (2 Tim. 2:19-21). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption” which God puts into our hearts, by which we know that we are His children. The Spirit bears witness to this great truth (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:14, 16). This sealing has to do with the heart and the conscience – satisfying both as to the settlement of the sin and sonship question.
d) The Holy Spirit Infills the Believer.
Acts 2:4 – “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” Eph. 5:18 – “Be filled with the Spirit.” The filling differs somewhat with the indwelling. We may speak of the baptism of the Spirit as that initial act of the Spirit by which, at the moment of our regeneration, we are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ; the Spirit then comes and takes up His dwelling within the believer. The filling with the Spirit, however, is not confined to one experience, or to any one point of time exclusively; it may be repeated times without number. There is one baptism, but many infillings with the Spirit. The experience of the apostles in the Acts bears witness to the fact that they were repeatedly filled with the Spirit. Whenever a new emergency arose they sought a fresh infilling with the Spirit (cf. Acts 2:4 with 4:31 showing that the apostles who were filled on the day of Pentecost were again filled a few days after).
There is a difference between possessing the Spirit, and being filled by the Spirit. All Christians have the first; not all have the second, although all may have. Eph. 4:30 speaks of believers as being “sealed,” whereas 5:18 commands those same believers to “be filled (to being filled again and again) with the Spirit.”
Both the baptism and the infilling may take place at once. There need be no long wilderness experience in the life of the believer. It is the will of God that we should be filled (or, if you prefer the expression, “be baptized”) with the Spirit at the moment of conversion, and remain filled all the time. Whenever we are called upon for any special service, or for any new emergency, we should seek a fresh infilling of the Spirit, either for life or service, as the case may be.
The Holy Spirit seeks – so we learn from the story of the Acts – for men who are not merely possessed by but also filled with the Spirit, for service (6:3, 5; 9:17; 11:24). Possession touches assurance; infilling , service.
e) The Holy Spirit Empowers the Believer for Life and Service.
Rom 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (also vv. 9-11). There are two natures in the believer: the flesh and the Spirit (Gal. 5:17). But while the believer is still in the flesh, he does not live after the flesh (Rom. 8:12, 13). The Holy Spirit enables the believer to get constant and continual victory over sin. A single act of sin a believer may commit, to live in a state of sin is impossible for him, for the Spirit which is within him gives him victory, so that sin does not reign over him. If sinless perfection is not a Scriptural doctrine, sinful imperfection is certainly less Scriptural. The eighth chapter of Romans exhibits a victorious life for the believer; a life so different from that depicted in the seventh chapter. And the difference lies in the fact that the Holy Spirit is hardly, if at all, mentioned in the seventh chapter, while in the eighth He is mentioned over twelve times. The Spirit in the heart is the secret of victory over sin.
Then note how the Holy Spirit produces the blessed fruit of the Christian life (Gal. 5:22, 23). What a beautiful cluster of graces! How different from the awful catalogue of the works of the flesh (vv. 19-21). Look at this cluster of fruit. There are three groups: the first, in relation to God – love, joy, peace; the second, in relation to our fellowman – longsuffering, gentleness, goodness; the third, for our individual Christian life – faith, meekness, self-control.
f) The Holy Spirit is the Guide of the Believer’s Life.
He guides him as to the details of his daily life, Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16, 25 – “Walk in the Spirit.” There is no detail of the believer’s life that may not be under the control and direction of the Spirit. “The steps (and, as one has well said, ‘the stops’) of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”
The Holy Spirit guides the believer as to the field in which he should labor. How definitely this truth is taught in the Acts 8:27-29; 16:6, 7; 13:2-4. What a prominent part the Spirit played in selecting the fields of labor for the apostles! Every step in the missionary activity of the early church seemed to be under the direct guidance of the Spirit.
g) The Holy Spirit Anoints the Believer.
This anointing stands for three things:
First, for knowledge and teaching. 1 John 2:27 – “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth…ye shall abide in him.” Also 2:20. It is not enough to learn the truth from human teachers, we must listen to the teaching of the Spirit. 1 Cor. 2:9-14 teaches us that there are some great truths that are spiritually discerned; they cannot be understood saving by the Spirit-filled man, for they are “spiritually discerned.” See also John 14:26; 16:13.
Second, for service. How dependent Christ was upon the Holy Spirit for the power in which to perform the duties of life is clear from such passages as Luke 4:18 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach,” etc. Also Acts 10:38 – “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good.” Ezekiel teaches a lesson by his vivid picture of the activity of God portrayed in the wheels within wheels. The moving power within those wheels was the spirit of God. So in all our activity for God we must have the Spirit of power.
Third, for consecration. Three classes of persons in the Old Testament were anointed: the prophet, the priest, and the king. The result of anointing was consecration – “Thy vows are upon me, O God”; knowledge of God and His will – “Ye know all things”; influence – fragrance from the ointment. Just as the incense at Mecca clings to the pilgrim when he passes through the streets, so it is with him who has the anointing of the Spirit. All his garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia. He has about him the sweet odor and scent of the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.
3. THE RELATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THE SCRIPTURES.
a) He is the Author of the Scriptures.
Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 Pet. 1:20, 21. The Scriptures came by the inbreathing of God, 2 Tim. 3:16. “Hear what the Spirit saith to the churches,” Rev. 2 and 3. It was the spirit who was to guide the apostles into all the truth, and show them things to come (John 16:13).
b) The Spirit is also the Interpreter of the Scriptures.
1 Cor. 2:9-14. He is “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” Eph. 1:17. “He shall receive of mine and show it unto you,” John 16:14, 15. (See under the Inspiration of the Bible, p. 194.)
4. THE RELATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO JESUS CHRIST.
How dependent Jesus Christ was, in His state of humiliation, on the Holy Spirit! If He needed to depend solely upon the Spirit can we afford to do less?
a) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Spirit, Luke 1:35.
b) He was led by the Spirit, Matt. 4:1.
c) He was Anointed by the Spirit for Service, Acts 10:38.
d) He was Crucified in the Power of the Spirit, Heb. 9:14.
e) He was raised by the Power of the Spirit, Rom. 1:4; 8:11.
f) He gave Commandment to His Disciples and Church Through the
Spirit, Acts 1:2.
g) He is the bestower of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:33.
The Work of the Spirit may be summed up under the following headings: His work in the universe; in humanity as a whole; in the believer; with reference to the Scriptures; and, finally, with reference to Jesus Christ.
1. IN RELATION TO THE WORLD.
a) With Regard to the Universe.
There is a sense in which the creation of the universe may be ascribed to God’s Spirit. Indeed Psa. 33:6 – “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath (Spirit) of his mouth,” attributes the work of creation to the Trinity, the Lord, the Word of the Lord, and the Spirit of the Lord. The creation of man is attributed to the Spirit. Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” It would be proper, doubtless, to say that the Father created all things through the agency of the Word and the Spirit. In the Genesis account of creation (1:3) the Spirit is seen actively engaged in the work of creation.
Not only is it true that the Spirit’s agency is seen in the act of creation, but His power is seen also in the preservation of nature. Isa. 40:7 – “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it.” A staggering declaration. The Spirit comes in the fierce east wind with its keen, biting blast of death. He comes also in the summer zephyr, which brings life and beauty.
b) With Regard to Humanity as a Whole.
John 16:8-11 – “And when He is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not in me; of righteousness, because I go unto my Father and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” Here are three great facts of which the Spirit bears witness to the world: the sin of unbelief in Christ; the fact that Christ was righteous and absolutely true in all that He claimed to be; the fact that the power of Satan has been broken. Of sin: the sin in which all other sins are embraced; of righteousness: the righteousness in which all other righteousness is manifested and fulfilled; of judgment: the judgment in which all other judgments are decided and grounded. Of sin belonging to man; of righteousness, belonging to Christ; of judgment belonging to Satan.
John 15:26 – “The Spirit of truth…. Shall testify of me.” Acts 5:32 – “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost.” It is the work of the Holy Spirit to constantly bear witness of Christ and His finished work to the world of sinful and sinning men. This He does largely, although hardly exclusively, through the testimony of believers to the saving power and work of Christ: “Ye also shall bear witness” (John 15:27).
2. THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE BELIEVER.
a) He Regenerates the Believer.
John 3:3-5 – “Born of …. The Spirit.” Tit. 3:5 – “The ….renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Sonship, and membership in the kingdom of God, come only through the regenerating of the Holy Spirit. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth.” Just as Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost, so must every child of God who is to be an heir to the kingdom.
b) The Spirit Indwells the Believer.
1 Cor. 6:19 – “Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you.” Also 3:16; Rom. 8:9. Every believer, no matter how weak and imperfect he may be, or how immature his Christian experience, still has the indwelling of the Spirit. Acts 19:2 does not contradict this statement. Evidently some miraculous out-pouring of the Spirit is intended there, which followed the prayer and laying on of the hands of the apostles. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor.12:3).
c) The Spirit Seals the Believer with Assurance of Salvation.
Eph. 1:13, 14 – “In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise; which is the earnest of our inheritance.” Also 4:30 – “Sealed unto the day of redemption.” This sealing stands for two things: ownership and likeness (2 Tim. 2:19-21). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption” which God puts into our hearts, by which we know that we are His children. The Spirit bears witness to this great truth (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:14, 16). This sealing has to do with the heart and the conscience – satisfying both as to the settlement of the sin and sonship question.
d) The Holy Spirit Infills the Believer.
Acts 2:4 – “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” Eph. 5:18 – “Be filled with the Spirit.” The filling differs somewhat with the indwelling. We may speak of the baptism of the Spirit as that initial act of the Spirit by which, at the moment of our regeneration, we are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ; the Spirit then comes and takes up His dwelling within the believer. The filling with the Spirit, however, is not confined to one experience, or to any one point of time exclusively; it may be repeated times without number. There is one baptism, but many infillings with the Spirit. The experience of the apostles in the Acts bears witness to the fact that they were repeatedly filled with the Spirit. Whenever a new emergency arose they sought a fresh infilling with the Spirit (cf. Acts 2:4 with 4:31 showing that the apostles who were filled on the day of Pentecost were again filled a few days after).
There is a difference between possessing the Spirit, and being filled by the Spirit. All Christians have the first; not all have the second, although all may have. Eph. 4:30 speaks of believers as being “sealed,” whereas 5:18 commands those same believers to “be filled (to being filled again and again) with the Spirit.”
Both the baptism and the infilling may take place at once. There need be no long wilderness experience in the life of the believer. It is the will of God that we should be filled (or, if you prefer the expression, “be baptized”) with the Spirit at the moment of conversion, and remain filled all the time. Whenever we are called upon for any special service, or for any new emergency, we should seek a fresh infilling of the Spirit, either for life or service, as the case may be.
The Holy Spirit seeks – so we learn from the story of the Acts – for men who are not merely possessed by but also filled with the Spirit, for service (6:3, 5; 9:17; 11:24). Possession touches assurance; infilling , service.
e) The Holy Spirit Empowers the Believer for Life and Service.
Rom 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (also vv. 9-11). There are two natures in the believer: the flesh and the Spirit (Gal. 5:17). But while the believer is still in the flesh, he does not live after the flesh (Rom. 8:12, 13). The Holy Spirit enables the believer to get constant and continual victory over sin. A single act of sin a believer may commit, to live in a state of sin is impossible for him, for the Spirit which is within him gives him victory, so that sin does not reign over him. If sinless perfection is not a Scriptural doctrine, sinful imperfection is certainly less Scriptural. The eighth chapter of Romans exhibits a victorious life for the believer; a life so different from that depicted in the seventh chapter. And the difference lies in the fact that the Holy Spirit is hardly, if at all, mentioned in the seventh chapter, while in the eighth He is mentioned over twelve times. The Spirit in the heart is the secret of victory over sin.
Then note how the Holy Spirit produces the blessed fruit of the Christian life (Gal. 5:22, 23). What a beautiful cluster of graces! How different from the awful catalogue of the works of the flesh (vv. 19-21). Look at this cluster of fruit. There are three groups: the first, in relation to God – love, joy, peace; the second, in relation to our fellowman – longsuffering, gentleness, goodness; the third, for our individual Christian life – faith, meekness, self-control.
f) The Holy Spirit is the Guide of the Believer’s Life.
He guides him as to the details of his daily life, Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16, 25 – “Walk in the Spirit.” There is no detail of the believer’s life that may not be under the control and direction of the Spirit. “The steps (and, as one has well said, ‘the stops’) of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”
The Holy Spirit guides the believer as to the field in which he should labor. How definitely this truth is taught in the Acts 8:27-29; 16:6, 7; 13:2-4. What a prominent part the Spirit played in selecting the fields of labor for the apostles! Every step in the missionary activity of the early church seemed to be under the direct guidance of the Spirit.
g) The Holy Spirit Anoints the Believer.
This anointing stands for three things:
First, for knowledge and teaching. 1 John 2:27 – “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth…ye shall abide in him.” Also 2:20. It is not enough to learn the truth from human teachers, we must listen to the teaching of the Spirit. 1 Cor. 2:9-14 teaches us that there are some great truths that are spiritually discerned; they cannot be understood saving by the Spirit-filled man, for they are “spiritually discerned.” See also John 14:26; 16:13.
Second, for service. How dependent Christ was upon the Holy Spirit for the power in which to perform the duties of life is clear from such passages as Luke 4:18 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach,” etc. Also Acts 10:38 – “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good.” Ezekiel teaches a lesson by his vivid picture of the activity of God portrayed in the wheels within wheels. The moving power within those wheels was the spirit of God. So in all our activity for God we must have the Spirit of power.
Third, for consecration. Three classes of persons in the Old Testament were anointed: the prophet, the priest, and the king. The result of anointing was consecration – “Thy vows are upon me, O God”; knowledge of God and His will – “Ye know all things”; influence – fragrance from the ointment. Just as the incense at Mecca clings to the pilgrim when he passes through the streets, so it is with him who has the anointing of the Spirit. All his garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia. He has about him the sweet odor and scent of the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.
3. THE RELATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THE SCRIPTURES.
a) He is the Author of the Scriptures.
Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 Pet. 1:20, 21. The Scriptures came by the inbreathing of God, 2 Tim. 3:16. “Hear what the Spirit saith to the churches,” Rev. 2 and 3. It was the spirit who was to guide the apostles into all the truth, and show them things to come (John 16:13).
b) The Spirit is also the Interpreter of the Scriptures.
1 Cor. 2:9-14. He is “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” Eph. 1:17. “He shall receive of mine and show it unto you,” John 16:14, 15. (See under the Inspiration of the Bible, p. 194.)
4. THE RELATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO JESUS CHRIST.
How dependent Jesus Christ was, in His state of humiliation, on the Holy Spirit! If He needed to depend solely upon the Spirit can we afford to do less?
a) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Spirit, Luke 1:35.
b) He was led by the Spirit, Matt. 4:1.
c) He was Anointed by the Spirit for Service, Acts 10:38.
d) He was Crucified in the Power of the Spirit, Heb. 9:14.
e) He was raised by the Power of the Spirit, Rom. 1:4; 8:11.
f) He gave Commandment to His Disciples and Church Through the
Spirit, Acts 1:2.
g) He is the bestower of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:33.
The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit - Part Three
II. THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
By the Deity of the Holy Spirit is meant that the Holy Spirit is God. This fact is clearly set forth in the Scriptures, in a five-fold way:
1. DIVINE NAMES ARE GIVEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
In Acts 5:4, the Spirit is called God. And this in opposition to man, to whom, alone, Ananias thought he was talking. Can any statement allege deity more clearly? In 2 Cor. 3:18 – “We….are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit” (R.V.). Here the Spirit is called the Lord. For the meaning of “Lord” see under the Deity of Christ, p.60.
2. THE HOLY SPIRIT POSSESSES DIVINE ATTRIBUTES.
He is eternal in his nature (Heb. 9:14, R.V.); omnipresent (Psa. 139:7-10); omnipotent (Luke 1:35); omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10, 11). For the meaning of these attributes, see under the Doctrine of God & Jesus Christ, pp. 28 and 63.
3. DIVINE WORKS ARE ASCRIBED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Creation (Gen. 1:2; Psa. 104:30, R.V.); Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Regeneration (John 3:5-8); resurrection (Rom. 8:11).
4. THE NAME OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT OF
THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON.
See under Personality of the Spirit, p. 107. The same arguments which there prove the Personality of the Spirit may be used here to prove the Deity of the Spirit. It would be just as absurd to say, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of Moses,” – thus putting Moses on an equality with the Father and the Son – as it would be to say, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the wind.” – thus making the wind as personal as the Father and the Son. The Spirit is on an equality with the Father and the Son in the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-6).
5. PASSAGES WHICH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT REFER TO GOD
ARE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT MADE TO REFER TO THE HOLY
SPIRIT.
Compare Isa. 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-27; and Exod. 16:7 with Heb. 3: 7-9.
III. THE NAMES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Just as the Father and the Son have certain names ascribed to them, setting forth their nature and work, so also does the Holy Spirit have names which indicate His character and work.
1. THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Luke 11:13 – “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” Rom. 1:4 – “The Spirit of holiness.” In these passages it is the moral character of the Spirit that is set forth. Note the contrast: “Ye, being evil,” and “the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit is holy in Himself and produces holiness in others.
2. THE SPIRIT OF GRACE.
Heb. 10:29 – “And hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.” As the executive of the Godhead, the Spirit confers grace. To resist the Spirit, therefore, is to shut off all hope of salvation. To resist His appeal is to insult the Godhead. That is why the punishment mentioned here is so awful.
3. THE SPIRIT OF BURNING.
Matt. 3:11, 12 – “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Isa. 4:4 – “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion….by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.” Here is the searching, illuminating, refining, dross-consuming character of the Spirit. He burns up the dross in our lives when he enters and takes possession.
4. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH.
John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6. As God is Love, so the Spirit is Truth. He possesses, reveals, confers, leads into, testifies to, and defends the truth. Thus He is opposed to the “spirit of error” (1 John 4:6).
5. THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.
Rom. 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” That which had been the actuating principle of life, namely, the flesh, is now deposed, and its controlling place taken by the Spirit. The Spirit is thus the dynamic of the believer’s experience that leads him into a life of liberty and power.
6. THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.
That the references in Isa. 11:2; 61:1, 2 are to be understood as referring to the Spirit that abode upon the Messiah, is clear from Luke 4:18 where “Spirit” is capitalized. Christ’s wisdom and knowledge resulted, in one aspect of the case, from His being filled with the Spirit. “Wisdom and understanding” refer to intellectual and moral apprehension; “Counsel and might,” the power to scheme, originate, and carry out; “Knowledge and the fear of the Lord,” acquaintance with the true will of God, and the determination to carry it out at all costs. These graces are the result of the Spirit’s operations on the heart.
7. THE SPIRIT OF PROMISE.
Eph 1:13 – “Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” The Spirit is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to send the Comforter, and so He is the promised Spirit. The Spirit also confirms and seals the believer, and thus assures him, that all the promises made to him shall be completely fulfilled.
8. THE SPIRIT OF GLORY.
1 Pet. 4:14 – “The spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.” What is glory? Glory as used in the Scriptures means character. The Holy Spirit is the One who produces godlike character in the believer (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).
9. THE SPIRIT OF GOD, AND OF CHRIST.
1 Cor. 3:16 – “The Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” Rom. 8:9 – “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The fact that the Spirit is sent from the Father and the Son, that He represents them, and is their executive, seems to be the thought conveyed here.
10. THE COMFORTER (p.109)
By the Deity of the Holy Spirit is meant that the Holy Spirit is God. This fact is clearly set forth in the Scriptures, in a five-fold way:
1. DIVINE NAMES ARE GIVEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
In Acts 5:4, the Spirit is called God. And this in opposition to man, to whom, alone, Ananias thought he was talking. Can any statement allege deity more clearly? In 2 Cor. 3:18 – “We….are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit” (R.V.). Here the Spirit is called the Lord. For the meaning of “Lord” see under the Deity of Christ, p.60.
2. THE HOLY SPIRIT POSSESSES DIVINE ATTRIBUTES.
He is eternal in his nature (Heb. 9:14, R.V.); omnipresent (Psa. 139:7-10); omnipotent (Luke 1:35); omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10, 11). For the meaning of these attributes, see under the Doctrine of God & Jesus Christ, pp. 28 and 63.
3. DIVINE WORKS ARE ASCRIBED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Creation (Gen. 1:2; Psa. 104:30, R.V.); Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Regeneration (John 3:5-8); resurrection (Rom. 8:11).
4. THE NAME OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT OF
THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON.
See under Personality of the Spirit, p. 107. The same arguments which there prove the Personality of the Spirit may be used here to prove the Deity of the Spirit. It would be just as absurd to say, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of Moses,” – thus putting Moses on an equality with the Father and the Son – as it would be to say, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the wind.” – thus making the wind as personal as the Father and the Son. The Spirit is on an equality with the Father and the Son in the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-6).
5. PASSAGES WHICH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT REFER TO GOD
ARE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT MADE TO REFER TO THE HOLY
SPIRIT.
Compare Isa. 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-27; and Exod. 16:7 with Heb. 3: 7-9.
III. THE NAMES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Just as the Father and the Son have certain names ascribed to them, setting forth their nature and work, so also does the Holy Spirit have names which indicate His character and work.
1. THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Luke 11:13 – “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” Rom. 1:4 – “The Spirit of holiness.” In these passages it is the moral character of the Spirit that is set forth. Note the contrast: “Ye, being evil,” and “the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit is holy in Himself and produces holiness in others.
2. THE SPIRIT OF GRACE.
Heb. 10:29 – “And hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.” As the executive of the Godhead, the Spirit confers grace. To resist the Spirit, therefore, is to shut off all hope of salvation. To resist His appeal is to insult the Godhead. That is why the punishment mentioned here is so awful.
3. THE SPIRIT OF BURNING.
Matt. 3:11, 12 – “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Isa. 4:4 – “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion….by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.” Here is the searching, illuminating, refining, dross-consuming character of the Spirit. He burns up the dross in our lives when he enters and takes possession.
4. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH.
John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6. As God is Love, so the Spirit is Truth. He possesses, reveals, confers, leads into, testifies to, and defends the truth. Thus He is opposed to the “spirit of error” (1 John 4:6).
5. THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.
Rom. 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” That which had been the actuating principle of life, namely, the flesh, is now deposed, and its controlling place taken by the Spirit. The Spirit is thus the dynamic of the believer’s experience that leads him into a life of liberty and power.
6. THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.
That the references in Isa. 11:2; 61:1, 2 are to be understood as referring to the Spirit that abode upon the Messiah, is clear from Luke 4:18 where “Spirit” is capitalized. Christ’s wisdom and knowledge resulted, in one aspect of the case, from His being filled with the Spirit. “Wisdom and understanding” refer to intellectual and moral apprehension; “Counsel and might,” the power to scheme, originate, and carry out; “Knowledge and the fear of the Lord,” acquaintance with the true will of God, and the determination to carry it out at all costs. These graces are the result of the Spirit’s operations on the heart.
7. THE SPIRIT OF PROMISE.
Eph 1:13 – “Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” The Spirit is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to send the Comforter, and so He is the promised Spirit. The Spirit also confirms and seals the believer, and thus assures him, that all the promises made to him shall be completely fulfilled.
8. THE SPIRIT OF GLORY.
1 Pet. 4:14 – “The spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.” What is glory? Glory as used in the Scriptures means character. The Holy Spirit is the One who produces godlike character in the believer (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).
9. THE SPIRIT OF GOD, AND OF CHRIST.
1 Cor. 3:16 – “The Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” Rom. 8:9 – “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The fact that the Spirit is sent from the Father and the Son, that He represents them, and is their executive, seems to be the thought conveyed here.
10. THE COMFORTER (p.109)
The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit - Part Two
2. METHOD OF PROOF.
It is difficult to define personality when used of the Divine Being. God cannot be measured by human standards. God was not created in the image of man, but man in the image of God. God is not a deified man; man is rather a limited God (“a little….less than God.” Heb. 2:7, R.V.). Only God has a perfect personality. When, however, one possesses the attributes, properties and qualities of personality, then personality may be unquestionably predicated of such a being. Does the Holy Spirit possess such properties? Let us see.
a) Names that Imply Personality are Given to the Spirit.
The Comforter: John 14:16; 16:7. “Comforter” means one who is called to your side – as a client calls a lawyer. That this name cannot be used of any abstract, impersonal influence is clear from the fact that in 1 John 2:1 the same word is used of Christ. (See Rom. 8:26). Again in John 14:16 the Holy Spirit, as the Paraclete, is to take the place of a person – Christ Himself, and to personally guide the disciples just as Jesus had been doing. No one but a person can take the place of a person; certainly no mere influence could take the place of Jesus Christ, the greatest personality that ever lived. Again Christ, in speaking of the Spirit as the Comforter, uses the masculine definite article, and thus, by His choice of gender, teaches the personality of the Holy Spirit. There can be no parity between a person and an influence.
b) Personal Pronouns are Used of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7, 8, 13-15 : Twelve times in these verses the Greek masculine pronoun ekeinos (that one, He) is used of the Spirit. This same word is used of Christ in 1 John 2:6; 3:3, 5, 7, 16. This is especially remarkable because the Greek word for spirit (pneuma) is neuter, and so should have a neuter pronoun; yet contrary to ordinary usage, a masculine pronoun is here used. This is not a pictorial personification, but a plain, definite, clear-cut statement asserting the personality of the Holy Spirit. Note also that where, in the Authorized Version, the neuter pronoun is used, the same is corrected in the Revised Version: not “itself” but “Himself” (Rom.8:16, 26).
c) The Holy Spirit is Identified with the Father and the Son – and, indeed, with Christians – in such a way as to Indicate Personality.
The Baptismal Formula. Matt.28:19. Suppose we should read, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the wind or breath.” Would that sound right? If the first two names are personal, is not the third? Note also: “In the name” (singular), not names (plural), implying that all three are Persons equally.
The Apostolic Benediction. 2 Cor. 13:14. The same argument may be used as that in connection with the Baptismal Formula, just cited.
Identification with Christians. Acts 15:28. “For it seemeth good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.” Shall we say, “It seemeth good to the wind and to us”? It would be absurd. 10:38 – “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.” Shall we read, “Anointed .. with power and power?’ Rom 15:13 – “That ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Shall we read, “That ye may abound in hope, through the power of the power”? See also Luke 4:14. Would not these passages rebel against such tautological and meaningless usage? Most assuredly.
d) Personal Characteristics are Ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is represented as searching the deepest and profoundest truths of God, and possessing knowledge of His counsels sufficiently to understand His purposes (1 Cor. 2:10, 11).
Spiritual gifts are distributed to believers according to the will of the Spirit (1 Cor.12). Here is wisdom, prudence and discretion, all of which are distinguishing marks of personality. The Spirit not only bestows spiritual gifts, but bestows them discretely according as He thinks best. See John 3:8 also.
The Spirit is said to have a mind, and that implies thought, purpose, determination Rom. 8:27, cf. v. 7. Mind is an attribute of personality.
e) Personal Acts are Ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit speaks: Rev.2:7 (cf. Matt. 17:5 – “Hear ye him.”) It is the Spirit who speaks through the apostles (10:20). Speech is an attribute of personality.
The Spirit maketh intercession: Rom. 8:26 (R.V.), cf. Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1, 2, where Christ is said to “make intercession.”
Acts 13:2; 16:6, 7; 20:28. In these passages the Holy Spirit is seen calling missionaries, overseeing the church, and commanding the life and practice of the apostles and the whole church. Such acts indicate personality.
f) The Holy Spirit is Susceptible to Personal Treatment.
He may be grieved (Eph. 4:30); insulted (Heb. 10:29); lied to (Acts 5:3); blasphemed and sinned against (Matt. 12:31, 32). Indeed the sin against the Holy Spirit is a much more grievous matter than the sin against the Son of Man. Can such be said of an influence? Can it be said even of any of the sons of men?
It is difficult to define personality when used of the Divine Being. God cannot be measured by human standards. God was not created in the image of man, but man in the image of God. God is not a deified man; man is rather a limited God (“a little….less than God.” Heb. 2:7, R.V.). Only God has a perfect personality. When, however, one possesses the attributes, properties and qualities of personality, then personality may be unquestionably predicated of such a being. Does the Holy Spirit possess such properties? Let us see.
a) Names that Imply Personality are Given to the Spirit.
The Comforter: John 14:16; 16:7. “Comforter” means one who is called to your side – as a client calls a lawyer. That this name cannot be used of any abstract, impersonal influence is clear from the fact that in 1 John 2:1 the same word is used of Christ. (See Rom. 8:26). Again in John 14:16 the Holy Spirit, as the Paraclete, is to take the place of a person – Christ Himself, and to personally guide the disciples just as Jesus had been doing. No one but a person can take the place of a person; certainly no mere influence could take the place of Jesus Christ, the greatest personality that ever lived. Again Christ, in speaking of the Spirit as the Comforter, uses the masculine definite article, and thus, by His choice of gender, teaches the personality of the Holy Spirit. There can be no parity between a person and an influence.
b) Personal Pronouns are Used of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7, 8, 13-15 : Twelve times in these verses the Greek masculine pronoun ekeinos (that one, He) is used of the Spirit. This same word is used of Christ in 1 John 2:6; 3:3, 5, 7, 16. This is especially remarkable because the Greek word for spirit (pneuma) is neuter, and so should have a neuter pronoun; yet contrary to ordinary usage, a masculine pronoun is here used. This is not a pictorial personification, but a plain, definite, clear-cut statement asserting the personality of the Holy Spirit. Note also that where, in the Authorized Version, the neuter pronoun is used, the same is corrected in the Revised Version: not “itself” but “Himself” (Rom.8:16, 26).
c) The Holy Spirit is Identified with the Father and the Son – and, indeed, with Christians – in such a way as to Indicate Personality.
The Baptismal Formula. Matt.28:19. Suppose we should read, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the wind or breath.” Would that sound right? If the first two names are personal, is not the third? Note also: “In the name” (singular), not names (plural), implying that all three are Persons equally.
The Apostolic Benediction. 2 Cor. 13:14. The same argument may be used as that in connection with the Baptismal Formula, just cited.
Identification with Christians. Acts 15:28. “For it seemeth good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.” Shall we say, “It seemeth good to the wind and to us”? It would be absurd. 10:38 – “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.” Shall we read, “Anointed .. with power and power?’ Rom 15:13 – “That ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Shall we read, “That ye may abound in hope, through the power of the power”? See also Luke 4:14. Would not these passages rebel against such tautological and meaningless usage? Most assuredly.
d) Personal Characteristics are Ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is represented as searching the deepest and profoundest truths of God, and possessing knowledge of His counsels sufficiently to understand His purposes (1 Cor. 2:10, 11).
Spiritual gifts are distributed to believers according to the will of the Spirit (1 Cor.12). Here is wisdom, prudence and discretion, all of which are distinguishing marks of personality. The Spirit not only bestows spiritual gifts, but bestows them discretely according as He thinks best. See John 3:8 also.
The Spirit is said to have a mind, and that implies thought, purpose, determination Rom. 8:27, cf. v. 7. Mind is an attribute of personality.
e) Personal Acts are Ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit speaks: Rev.2:7 (cf. Matt. 17:5 – “Hear ye him.”) It is the Spirit who speaks through the apostles (10:20). Speech is an attribute of personality.
The Spirit maketh intercession: Rom. 8:26 (R.V.), cf. Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1, 2, where Christ is said to “make intercession.”
Acts 13:2; 16:6, 7; 20:28. In these passages the Holy Spirit is seen calling missionaries, overseeing the church, and commanding the life and practice of the apostles and the whole church. Such acts indicate personality.
f) The Holy Spirit is Susceptible to Personal Treatment.
He may be grieved (Eph. 4:30); insulted (Heb. 10:29); lied to (Acts 5:3); blasphemed and sinned against (Matt. 12:31, 32). Indeed the sin against the Holy Spirit is a much more grievous matter than the sin against the Son of Man. Can such be said of an influence? Can it be said even of any of the sons of men?
The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit - Part One
The Great Doctrines of The Bible written by Dr. William Evans was first published in 1912. The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit is beautifully explained by Dr. Evans in his book and I have reproduced it here word for word, without editing anything, as I believe it is perfect as it is.
THE GREAT DOCTRINES OF THE BIBLE
Author: Dr. William Evans
Publisher: Forgotten Books
The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit (page 107 to 122)
We are living in the Age of the Spirit. The Old Testament period may be called the Age of the Father; the period covered by the Gospels, the Age of the Son; from Pentecost until the *second advent of Christ, the Age of the Spirit.
All matters pertaining to the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit should, therefore, be of special interest to us who live in this age of special privilege. Yet how ignorant is the average Christian concerning matters pertaining to the Spirit. The Christian church today needs to heed Paul’s exhortation: “Now concerning spiritual gifts (or, perhaps better, “matters pertaining to the Spirit”), I would not have you ignorant.” May it not be that the reason why the sin against the Holy Spirit is so grievous is because it is a sin committed in the light and with the knowledge of the clearest and fullest revelation of the Godhead. We cannot therefore, afford to remain in ignorance of this all-important doctrine.
I. THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
It seems strange that it should be necessary to discuss this phase of the subject at all. Indeed, in the light of the last discourse of the Master (John 14-16), it seems superfluous, if not really insulting. During all the ages of the Christian era, however, it has been necessary to emphasize this phase of the doctrine of the Spirit (cf. Arianism, Socinianism, Unitarianism).
1. WHY IS THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT QUESTIONED?
a) Because, as Contrasted with the Other Persons of the Godhead, the Spirit Seems Impersonal.
The visible creation makes the personality of God the Father somewhat easy to conceive; the incarnation makes it almost, if not altogether, impossible to disbelieve in the personality of Jesus Christ; but the acts and workings of the Holy Spirit are so secret and mystical, so much is said of His influence, graces, power and gifts, that we are prone to think of Him as an influence, a power, a manifestation or influence of the Divine nature, an agent rather than a person.
b) Because of the Names Given to the Holy Spirit.
He is called breath, wind, power. The symbols used in speaking of the Spirit are oil, fire, water, etc. See John 3:5-8; Acts 2:1-4; John 20:22; 1 John 2:20. It is not strange that in view of all this some students of the Scriptures may have been led to believe, erroneously of course, that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal influence emanating from God the Father.
c) Because the Holy Spirit is not usually Associated with the Father and the Son in the Greetings and Salutation of the New Testament.
For illustration, see 1 Thess. 3:11 – “Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.” Yet we must remember, in this connection, that the Apostolic Benediction in 2 Cor. 13:14 does associate the three persons of the Trinity, thereby asserting their personality equally.
d) Because the Word or Name “Spirit” is Neuter.
It is true that the same Greek word is translated wind and Spirit; also that the Authorized Version uses the neuter pronoun “itself,” when speaking of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:16, 26). As we shall see later, the Revised Version substitutes :”himself” for “itself.”
The importance of the personality of the Spirit, and of our being assured of this fact is forcibly set forth by Dr. R.A. Torrey: “If the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person and we know it not, we are robbing a Divine Being of the love and adoration which are His due. It is of the highest practical importance whether the Holy Spirit is a power that we, in our ignorance and weakness, are somehow to get hold of and use, or whether the Holy Spirit is a personal Being…. who is to get hold of us and use us. It is of the highest experimental importance…. Many can testify to the blessing that came into their lives when they came to know the Holy Spirit, not merely as a gracious influence…. But as an ever-present, loving friend and helper.”
THE GREAT DOCTRINES OF THE BIBLE
Author: Dr. William Evans
Publisher: Forgotten Books
The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit (page 107 to 122)
We are living in the Age of the Spirit. The Old Testament period may be called the Age of the Father; the period covered by the Gospels, the Age of the Son; from Pentecost until the *second advent of Christ, the Age of the Spirit.
All matters pertaining to the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit should, therefore, be of special interest to us who live in this age of special privilege. Yet how ignorant is the average Christian concerning matters pertaining to the Spirit. The Christian church today needs to heed Paul’s exhortation: “Now concerning spiritual gifts (or, perhaps better, “matters pertaining to the Spirit”), I would not have you ignorant.” May it not be that the reason why the sin against the Holy Spirit is so grievous is because it is a sin committed in the light and with the knowledge of the clearest and fullest revelation of the Godhead. We cannot therefore, afford to remain in ignorance of this all-important doctrine.
I. THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
It seems strange that it should be necessary to discuss this phase of the subject at all. Indeed, in the light of the last discourse of the Master (John 14-16), it seems superfluous, if not really insulting. During all the ages of the Christian era, however, it has been necessary to emphasize this phase of the doctrine of the Spirit (cf. Arianism, Socinianism, Unitarianism).
1. WHY IS THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT QUESTIONED?
a) Because, as Contrasted with the Other Persons of the Godhead, the Spirit Seems Impersonal.
The visible creation makes the personality of God the Father somewhat easy to conceive; the incarnation makes it almost, if not altogether, impossible to disbelieve in the personality of Jesus Christ; but the acts and workings of the Holy Spirit are so secret and mystical, so much is said of His influence, graces, power and gifts, that we are prone to think of Him as an influence, a power, a manifestation or influence of the Divine nature, an agent rather than a person.
b) Because of the Names Given to the Holy Spirit.
He is called breath, wind, power. The symbols used in speaking of the Spirit are oil, fire, water, etc. See John 3:5-8; Acts 2:1-4; John 20:22; 1 John 2:20. It is not strange that in view of all this some students of the Scriptures may have been led to believe, erroneously of course, that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal influence emanating from God the Father.
c) Because the Holy Spirit is not usually Associated with the Father and the Son in the Greetings and Salutation of the New Testament.
For illustration, see 1 Thess. 3:11 – “Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.” Yet we must remember, in this connection, that the Apostolic Benediction in 2 Cor. 13:14 does associate the three persons of the Trinity, thereby asserting their personality equally.
d) Because the Word or Name “Spirit” is Neuter.
It is true that the same Greek word is translated wind and Spirit; also that the Authorized Version uses the neuter pronoun “itself,” when speaking of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:16, 26). As we shall see later, the Revised Version substitutes :”himself” for “itself.”
The importance of the personality of the Spirit, and of our being assured of this fact is forcibly set forth by Dr. R.A. Torrey: “If the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person and we know it not, we are robbing a Divine Being of the love and adoration which are His due. It is of the highest practical importance whether the Holy Spirit is a power that we, in our ignorance and weakness, are somehow to get hold of and use, or whether the Holy Spirit is a personal Being…. who is to get hold of us and use us. It is of the highest experimental importance…. Many can testify to the blessing that came into their lives when they came to know the Holy Spirit, not merely as a gracious influence…. But as an ever-present, loving friend and helper.”
The Holy Spirit Incarnate – The Second Child by Danilo T. Nacua
Jesus said, “You will not see me anymore…”
The first question that would come to your mind might be: “How come the Holy Spirit would take on human form?” You might base you assumption in Luke 24:39 (RSV) that says, “see my hands and my feet, that it is I myself…for a spirit has no flesh and bones as you and I have”, and would conclude that the Holy Spirit has no flesh and bones. So, how come, we preaching a Holy Spirit incarnate?
This particular passage in Luke is grossly misinterpreted by theologians and other religious leaders. When Christ said that the spirit “has no flesh and bones” (meaning human), he did not mean the Holy Spirit and no God was involved in this statement. You see, if you’ll read in Luke 24:1-7, 36-39 (RSV), you’ll find that this concerns the resurrection of Christ and His disciples were frightened when Christ suddenly appeared before them and they presumed that what they saw was a spirit! How did they come to conclusion that Christ was a spirit at this event?
Christ himself lectured them about spirit and resurrection in Mark 12:18-25 (RSV). When asked about the status of the people on the day of the resurrection, he told them that when “they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor given into marriage, but are like angels in heaven”. Now, an angel in heaven is a spirit being (Hebrews 1:13-14).
With this concept in mind, they thought that Christ was a spirit when he was resurrected, that’s why He had to correct them that He was not in spirit form but in human form because His resurrection was different from that of ordinary beings and also because he had dual nature – man and God (Philippians 2:5-7 TEV, TLB).
He was resurrected with his human body intact! This was merely a reprimand from Christ for the misconception of His disciples and has nothing to do with the subject of the incarnation of the Holy Spirit.
For these reasons, it is wrong to conclude that the Holy Spirit will not take on human form.
The Holy Spirit was prophesied in Isaiah 46:11 as the “man” who will hail from the far east and this was fulfilled in Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr.. If anybody wants to challenge this, we are ready to defend this claim. No one was born into this world already grown up. Adam and Eve were the only ones not born but created. So, everybody else must be born of a woman and pass from infant to childhood, then to maturity, that is if one will not die in between that stages. Even Christ did not exempt himself from those natural stages of development.
Before Christ was born into this world, he was prophesied in Isaiah 9:6 as “a child is born unto us…and he will be our ruler…he will be called Counselor, Mighty God…” and he was to be “born of a virgin” in Isaiah 7:14. The fulfillment this prophecy was recorded in Matthew1:18-23 (TEV). But did Jesus Christ remain a child? Obviously not! Jesus Christ was thirty years old when he began his ministry according to Luke 3:23 (TEV). I’m sure you will agree that a thirty-year old man is no longer a child though he passed that stage.
When the child Jesus was already a grown up man, what did he promise? In John 14:15-17, 26 (TEV) he prayed the Father to send the Holy Spirit in his name. In John 16:7-10, 13-15 (TEV) the advent of the Holy Spirit is the very reason why Christ must leave the earth and not come back because he had relinquished all power and authority in heaven and on earth to the Holy Spirit.
Will the Holy Spirit also pass the childhood stage just like Jesus Christ? If so, was he also prophesied as a child? Yes, yes, yes! In Ecclesiastes 4:15 (KJV) the prophesy went like this: “I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.”
We stand firmly that this prophecy pertains to the Holy Spirit. The term “second child” is used to distinguish between the “first child” Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Although Christ was not referred to as the “first child” in Isaiah 9:16, it can not be denied that he promised to send the Holy Spirit that shall stand up in his stead when he said in John 16:7-10 that “…I will send him to you…”.
Just look at the spiritual logic. The Father, Jehovah, promised to send a child that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In turn, the child promised to send someone in his stead, the Holy Spirit. Since the bible spoke of a “second child that would stand up in his stead”, there’s no other biblical reference that would point out to this linked passage but to the Holy Spirit that would stand up in stead of Jesus Christ. By simple deductive assumption, in order not to confuse between them, we refer to Jesus Christ as the “first child” and the Holy Spirit as the “second child”.
When Jesus was still a child he showed exploits as a sign of his being; will the second child, the Holy Spirit, also show exploits for his being? Isaiah prophesied in 11:6-8 (NIV) that this child would “…will lead…and…will play the hole of the cobra…and puts his hand into the viper’s nest.”
As a child, did Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. – the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit incarnate- do these things mentioned above? Yes. You can read that in the Homepage section of this website wherein Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. had the ability to play with poisonous snakes, insects and wild animals and his propensity to tame them without exerting any effort. These feats he did as a child of pre-school age and these can be proven by actual interview of his contemporaries presently living in San Antonio, Jasaan, Misamis Oriental.
As it is, the world must know about the deeds done by the Holy Spirit incarnate – in the person of Divine Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. while still a child as prophesied in Ecclesiastes 4:15.
It is our responsibility, the PBCM ministers and missionaries, to let the world know. We are also prophesied in 1 Peter 1:12 as the “…messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things even the angels would like to understand.”
Well, to those who will not accept him as the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit incarnate, they are not refusing us (the messengers) but “God, who gave you his Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:8). But to those who would accept, Revelation 2:17 has the answer: “…I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
That “new name” is Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. and the “white stone” is his foundation title as we have explained in other articles to distinguish between Jehovah as the “rock or stone” and Jesus Christ as the “cornerstone”.
The first question that would come to your mind might be: “How come the Holy Spirit would take on human form?” You might base you assumption in Luke 24:39 (RSV) that says, “see my hands and my feet, that it is I myself…for a spirit has no flesh and bones as you and I have”, and would conclude that the Holy Spirit has no flesh and bones. So, how come, we preaching a Holy Spirit incarnate?
This particular passage in Luke is grossly misinterpreted by theologians and other religious leaders. When Christ said that the spirit “has no flesh and bones” (meaning human), he did not mean the Holy Spirit and no God was involved in this statement. You see, if you’ll read in Luke 24:1-7, 36-39 (RSV), you’ll find that this concerns the resurrection of Christ and His disciples were frightened when Christ suddenly appeared before them and they presumed that what they saw was a spirit! How did they come to conclusion that Christ was a spirit at this event?
Christ himself lectured them about spirit and resurrection in Mark 12:18-25 (RSV). When asked about the status of the people on the day of the resurrection, he told them that when “they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor given into marriage, but are like angels in heaven”. Now, an angel in heaven is a spirit being (Hebrews 1:13-14).
With this concept in mind, they thought that Christ was a spirit when he was resurrected, that’s why He had to correct them that He was not in spirit form but in human form because His resurrection was different from that of ordinary beings and also because he had dual nature – man and God (Philippians 2:5-7 TEV, TLB).
He was resurrected with his human body intact! This was merely a reprimand from Christ for the misconception of His disciples and has nothing to do with the subject of the incarnation of the Holy Spirit.
For these reasons, it is wrong to conclude that the Holy Spirit will not take on human form.
The Holy Spirit was prophesied in Isaiah 46:11 as the “man” who will hail from the far east and this was fulfilled in Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr.. If anybody wants to challenge this, we are ready to defend this claim. No one was born into this world already grown up. Adam and Eve were the only ones not born but created. So, everybody else must be born of a woman and pass from infant to childhood, then to maturity, that is if one will not die in between that stages. Even Christ did not exempt himself from those natural stages of development.
Before Christ was born into this world, he was prophesied in Isaiah 9:6 as “a child is born unto us…and he will be our ruler…he will be called Counselor, Mighty God…” and he was to be “born of a virgin” in Isaiah 7:14. The fulfillment this prophecy was recorded in Matthew1:18-23 (TEV). But did Jesus Christ remain a child? Obviously not! Jesus Christ was thirty years old when he began his ministry according to Luke 3:23 (TEV). I’m sure you will agree that a thirty-year old man is no longer a child though he passed that stage.
When the child Jesus was already a grown up man, what did he promise? In John 14:15-17, 26 (TEV) he prayed the Father to send the Holy Spirit in his name. In John 16:7-10, 13-15 (TEV) the advent of the Holy Spirit is the very reason why Christ must leave the earth and not come back because he had relinquished all power and authority in heaven and on earth to the Holy Spirit.
Will the Holy Spirit also pass the childhood stage just like Jesus Christ? If so, was he also prophesied as a child? Yes, yes, yes! In Ecclesiastes 4:15 (KJV) the prophesy went like this: “I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.”
We stand firmly that this prophecy pertains to the Holy Spirit. The term “second child” is used to distinguish between the “first child” Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Although Christ was not referred to as the “first child” in Isaiah 9:16, it can not be denied that he promised to send the Holy Spirit that shall stand up in his stead when he said in John 16:7-10 that “…I will send him to you…”.
Just look at the spiritual logic. The Father, Jehovah, promised to send a child that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In turn, the child promised to send someone in his stead, the Holy Spirit. Since the bible spoke of a “second child that would stand up in his stead”, there’s no other biblical reference that would point out to this linked passage but to the Holy Spirit that would stand up in stead of Jesus Christ. By simple deductive assumption, in order not to confuse between them, we refer to Jesus Christ as the “first child” and the Holy Spirit as the “second child”.
When Jesus was still a child he showed exploits as a sign of his being; will the second child, the Holy Spirit, also show exploits for his being? Isaiah prophesied in 11:6-8 (NIV) that this child would “…will lead…and…will play the hole of the cobra…and puts his hand into the viper’s nest.”
As a child, did Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. – the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit incarnate- do these things mentioned above? Yes. You can read that in the Homepage section of this website wherein Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. had the ability to play with poisonous snakes, insects and wild animals and his propensity to tame them without exerting any effort. These feats he did as a child of pre-school age and these can be proven by actual interview of his contemporaries presently living in San Antonio, Jasaan, Misamis Oriental.
As it is, the world must know about the deeds done by the Holy Spirit incarnate – in the person of Divine Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. while still a child as prophesied in Ecclesiastes 4:15.
It is our responsibility, the PBCM ministers and missionaries, to let the world know. We are also prophesied in 1 Peter 1:12 as the “…messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things even the angels would like to understand.”
Well, to those who will not accept him as the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit incarnate, they are not refusing us (the messengers) but “God, who gave you his Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:8). But to those who would accept, Revelation 2:17 has the answer: “…I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
That “new name” is Master Tomas D. Eugenio, Sr. and the “white stone” is his foundation title as we have explained in other articles to distinguish between Jehovah as the “rock or stone” and Jesus Christ as the “cornerstone”.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Christ Not Coming Back Again (Part 5) - By Danilo T. Nacua
The Misinterpreted Passages:
Revelation 1:7 (TEV)
“Look, he is coming on the clouds! Every one will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!”
I don’t deny that this is a promise of his coming. But if you’ll take a look at the prevailing circumstances of the promise you’ll realize that the phrase ‘including those who pierced him” will stop you in your tracks. Would you be so naive so as to assume that until now those “who pierced Christ” are still alive, since they will also see his coming? That information alone raises more questions than answers. The next question is: how else was the coming of Jesus described?
Revelation 22:12,20 (TEV), “Listen”, says Jesus. “I am coming soon! I will bring my rewards with me, to give each one according to what he has done. I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” He who gives his testimony to all this says, “Yes, indeed! I am coming soon.”
Other versions render “soon” as “quickly” (NIV). Before going further let’s simplify the phrase “coming soon”. How soon is “coming soon”? Two days? Two years? Two centuries? Any respectable dictionary such as Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines the word “soon” as promptly or immediately, not a long time passing.
Revelation 22 is not the whole Bible. Searching answers for questions like these must be done accordingly within Biblical principles. Paul advised 1 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV) that, “Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying ‘Do not go beyond what is written’...”
Beyond what is written will be conjectures and is subject to errors. The only way to stay within what is written is to search the scriptures or the Bible. Isaiah 28:10,13 (RSV) gives the procedure as, “...precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little...therefore, the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”
To prove with a concrete example of staying within the limits of what is written, by taking precepts, lines, and lessons (take them and join them together), let’s take another promise of the same nature using the word “soon” to determine its duration, whether it will be so long as to last up to our present times.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:19 (RSV) promised that, “...I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.” This can be construed as of the same futuristic promise given by Jesus. But didn’t Paul reach Corinth until this present time? If he didn’t then we can surely hope for Paul to appear in Corinth anytime now, if that promise has not been fulfilled yet! That is, if we don’t go to other books in the Bible to search if Paul didn’t really go to Corinth to fulfill his promise. But remember that the promise was not ambiguous but specifically given to the members in Corinth.
Well, Acts 18:1 (NIV) tell us that, “After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.” This confirms that the word “soon” connotes short period of time interval between the promise and the fulfillment. The above text establishes the fact that Paul fulfilled his promise to go to Corinth!
Now let’s go back to the main issue concerning Christ promise of “coming soon”. The logical questions would be: how long or how soon is his “coming soon” and what’s the time limit that defines this phrase “coming soon” to signify his return?
Matthew 10:5-6,23 (The Living Bible, Illustrated Catholic Edition) renders this as, “Jesus sent them out with these instructions: ‘Don’t go to the Gentiles, or to the Samaritans. But only to the people of Israel - God’s lost sheep...When you are persecuted in one city, flee to the next. I will return before you have reached them all’.”
Okay, the time limit is that before all the cities of Israel were covered by the apostles of Jesus Christ, he has returned already. Would you say that until now his apostles have not yet finished preaching to the people of Israel? My goodness, it would be utterly stupidity to assume so! And also the apostles were prohibited to go to the Gentiles before his return. Would you also dare to say that the apostles haven’t reached the Gentiles until now?
Again it would plain idiocy to believe so. Ephesians 2:11-13 (NIV) proves the fact that the apostles have reached the Gentiles in their preaching works. The Gentiles were lucky to be included as members of the people of God because in Acts 15:13-14 (RSV) they were also selected to become so and Romans 16:4 (RSV) proves the existence of Gentile churches at that time.
What can be the proper conclusion from the above premises? Simple. Jesus Christ has already fulfilled his promised “second coming” during the lifetimes of the apostles and those who pierced him. His promise to give gifts to men has likewise been fulfilled as stated in Ephesians 4:8 (The Living Bible, Catholic Illustrated Edition), “However, Christ has given each of us special abilities - whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts. The Psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and victory over Satan, he gave generous gifts to men.”
No wonder all the self proclaimed Christians who are hoping today for Christ’s supposedly second coming are subjected to dismay every time their religious leaders tried to guess the time of his arrival. They have not understood well what the Bible wants us to understand that Christ’s second coming have passed and they have nothing to do with it because the promise was specific only to his disciples and church members at that time - even to his enemies!
* * * * *
Acts 17:31(RSV)
“…because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.”
And as to who is this man appointed by God by raising him from the dead, Romans 10:9 (RSV) clarified that, “because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Therefore, Jesus Christ was the one appointed by God to judge the world and John 5:27 (RSV) further explained the reason for this appointment that God, “...has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man” and 2 Corinthians 5:10 (RSV) further affirmed that, “...we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done.”
So, if Jesus Christ must judge the world, then he must come back again (his supposedly second coming) to fulfill job!
Well, so far so good, i.e., if we will not search the Bible, then we are compelled to accept such argument. But, as we said before, the cited text is not the whole Bible. We must search the whole Bible to exhaust all means if there other passages that would further shed light to certain issues, before jumping to conclusions. If there are none, then, that would be the time to render final conclusions.
The argument presented above is only a partial exposition to the whole issue of the second coming. The truth of the matter is partially hidden behind the argument. To expose the whole truth then we must again apply the procedure emphasized in the Bible that we take a precept here, and a line there, and a lesson there, and then join them together! (Isaiah 28:1013, RSV)
Okay, let’s start asking questions to dig the truth of the issue. Who else is present on the court of Christ during judgment?
1 Timothy 4:1 (RSV), “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom.”
So, Christ is with God on the court during judgment. But, will Christ accept this appointment as the judge? John 8:15-16 (NIV), “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.” So, it would seem to come out now that there would be two judges - the Father and Son!
Wait a minute! See, the point of argument here? God did appoint Jesus Christ as the judge of the world, but (and it’s a big but), he refuses to judge no one! The phrase “if I do judge” indicates condition whether he would accept or not the appointment as judge! But let’s give this statement the benefit of a doubt. Did Christ really accept or refuse?
Final refusal was expressed by Christ in John 8:50 (NIV) when he said that, “I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”
Now, we seem to be in a quandary. God wanted Christ to judge the world but he refused and instead pointed somebody else. Did Christ restore judgment to the hands of his Father who gave him the authority? Let’s see.
Christ said in John 5:22 (NIV) that, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.” Wow! Now this is really something to think about. Although Christ refused the job, he did not restore the authority to his Father! So, who is going to judge the world now if the Father and Christ are no longer interested in the job?
We can only solve this problem if we will ask Christ himself to clarify the issue. So, let’s ask him. “Lord (Jesus Christ), who is this one you said above will judge, if you and your Father are no longer interested in judging us?”
Hey, since Christ cannot answer us personally we will just have to rely on his spoken statements recorded in the Bible. But rest assured that his statement was meant to be to clarify this issue.
In John 12:48 (NIV) Christ pre-declared that, “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.”
He revealed in John 14:15-17, 25-27 (TEV) that the ‘very word’ he spoke is the Holy Spirit that he promised.
Will the Holy Spirit judge the world as indicated by Christ? Yes! In John 16:7-10, 28-30 (NIV) he definitely and plainly proclaimed that “...I tell you the truth: It is for your own good that I go away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit - John 14:26) will not come to you; but If I go, I will send him to you. When he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict (judge) the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.” (parenthesis mine)
May 27 at 1:04pm
Revelation 1:7 (TEV)
“Look, he is coming on the clouds! Every one will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!”
I don’t deny that this is a promise of his coming. But if you’ll take a look at the prevailing circumstances of the promise you’ll realize that the phrase ‘including those who pierced him” will stop you in your tracks. Would you be so naive so as to assume that until now those “who pierced Christ” are still alive, since they will also see his coming? That information alone raises more questions than answers. The next question is: how else was the coming of Jesus described?
Revelation 22:12,20 (TEV), “Listen”, says Jesus. “I am coming soon! I will bring my rewards with me, to give each one according to what he has done. I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” He who gives his testimony to all this says, “Yes, indeed! I am coming soon.”
Other versions render “soon” as “quickly” (NIV). Before going further let’s simplify the phrase “coming soon”. How soon is “coming soon”? Two days? Two years? Two centuries? Any respectable dictionary such as Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines the word “soon” as promptly or immediately, not a long time passing.
Revelation 22 is not the whole Bible. Searching answers for questions like these must be done accordingly within Biblical principles. Paul advised 1 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV) that, “Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying ‘Do not go beyond what is written’...”
Beyond what is written will be conjectures and is subject to errors. The only way to stay within what is written is to search the scriptures or the Bible. Isaiah 28:10,13 (RSV) gives the procedure as, “...precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little...therefore, the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”
To prove with a concrete example of staying within the limits of what is written, by taking precepts, lines, and lessons (take them and join them together), let’s take another promise of the same nature using the word “soon” to determine its duration, whether it will be so long as to last up to our present times.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:19 (RSV) promised that, “...I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.” This can be construed as of the same futuristic promise given by Jesus. But didn’t Paul reach Corinth until this present time? If he didn’t then we can surely hope for Paul to appear in Corinth anytime now, if that promise has not been fulfilled yet! That is, if we don’t go to other books in the Bible to search if Paul didn’t really go to Corinth to fulfill his promise. But remember that the promise was not ambiguous but specifically given to the members in Corinth.
Well, Acts 18:1 (NIV) tell us that, “After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.” This confirms that the word “soon” connotes short period of time interval between the promise and the fulfillment. The above text establishes the fact that Paul fulfilled his promise to go to Corinth!
Now let’s go back to the main issue concerning Christ promise of “coming soon”. The logical questions would be: how long or how soon is his “coming soon” and what’s the time limit that defines this phrase “coming soon” to signify his return?
Matthew 10:5-6,23 (The Living Bible, Illustrated Catholic Edition) renders this as, “Jesus sent them out with these instructions: ‘Don’t go to the Gentiles, or to the Samaritans. But only to the people of Israel - God’s lost sheep...When you are persecuted in one city, flee to the next. I will return before you have reached them all’.”
Okay, the time limit is that before all the cities of Israel were covered by the apostles of Jesus Christ, he has returned already. Would you say that until now his apostles have not yet finished preaching to the people of Israel? My goodness, it would be utterly stupidity to assume so! And also the apostles were prohibited to go to the Gentiles before his return. Would you also dare to say that the apostles haven’t reached the Gentiles until now?
Again it would plain idiocy to believe so. Ephesians 2:11-13 (NIV) proves the fact that the apostles have reached the Gentiles in their preaching works. The Gentiles were lucky to be included as members of the people of God because in Acts 15:13-14 (RSV) they were also selected to become so and Romans 16:4 (RSV) proves the existence of Gentile churches at that time.
What can be the proper conclusion from the above premises? Simple. Jesus Christ has already fulfilled his promised “second coming” during the lifetimes of the apostles and those who pierced him. His promise to give gifts to men has likewise been fulfilled as stated in Ephesians 4:8 (The Living Bible, Catholic Illustrated Edition), “However, Christ has given each of us special abilities - whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts. The Psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and victory over Satan, he gave generous gifts to men.”
No wonder all the self proclaimed Christians who are hoping today for Christ’s supposedly second coming are subjected to dismay every time their religious leaders tried to guess the time of his arrival. They have not understood well what the Bible wants us to understand that Christ’s second coming have passed and they have nothing to do with it because the promise was specific only to his disciples and church members at that time - even to his enemies!
* * * * *
Acts 17:31(RSV)
“…because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.”
And as to who is this man appointed by God by raising him from the dead, Romans 10:9 (RSV) clarified that, “because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Therefore, Jesus Christ was the one appointed by God to judge the world and John 5:27 (RSV) further explained the reason for this appointment that God, “...has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man” and 2 Corinthians 5:10 (RSV) further affirmed that, “...we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done.”
So, if Jesus Christ must judge the world, then he must come back again (his supposedly second coming) to fulfill job!
Well, so far so good, i.e., if we will not search the Bible, then we are compelled to accept such argument. But, as we said before, the cited text is not the whole Bible. We must search the whole Bible to exhaust all means if there other passages that would further shed light to certain issues, before jumping to conclusions. If there are none, then, that would be the time to render final conclusions.
The argument presented above is only a partial exposition to the whole issue of the second coming. The truth of the matter is partially hidden behind the argument. To expose the whole truth then we must again apply the procedure emphasized in the Bible that we take a precept here, and a line there, and a lesson there, and then join them together! (Isaiah 28:1013, RSV)
Okay, let’s start asking questions to dig the truth of the issue. Who else is present on the court of Christ during judgment?
1 Timothy 4:1 (RSV), “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom.”
So, Christ is with God on the court during judgment. But, will Christ accept this appointment as the judge? John 8:15-16 (NIV), “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.” So, it would seem to come out now that there would be two judges - the Father and Son!
Wait a minute! See, the point of argument here? God did appoint Jesus Christ as the judge of the world, but (and it’s a big but), he refuses to judge no one! The phrase “if I do judge” indicates condition whether he would accept or not the appointment as judge! But let’s give this statement the benefit of a doubt. Did Christ really accept or refuse?
Final refusal was expressed by Christ in John 8:50 (NIV) when he said that, “I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”
Now, we seem to be in a quandary. God wanted Christ to judge the world but he refused and instead pointed somebody else. Did Christ restore judgment to the hands of his Father who gave him the authority? Let’s see.
Christ said in John 5:22 (NIV) that, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.” Wow! Now this is really something to think about. Although Christ refused the job, he did not restore the authority to his Father! So, who is going to judge the world now if the Father and Christ are no longer interested in the job?
We can only solve this problem if we will ask Christ himself to clarify the issue. So, let’s ask him. “Lord (Jesus Christ), who is this one you said above will judge, if you and your Father are no longer interested in judging us?”
Hey, since Christ cannot answer us personally we will just have to rely on his spoken statements recorded in the Bible. But rest assured that his statement was meant to be to clarify this issue.
In John 12:48 (NIV) Christ pre-declared that, “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.”
He revealed in John 14:15-17, 25-27 (TEV) that the ‘very word’ he spoke is the Holy Spirit that he promised.
Will the Holy Spirit judge the world as indicated by Christ? Yes! In John 16:7-10, 28-30 (NIV) he definitely and plainly proclaimed that “...I tell you the truth: It is for your own good that I go away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit - John 14:26) will not come to you; but If I go, I will send him to you. When he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict (judge) the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.” (parenthesis mine)
May 27 at 1:04pm
Christ Not Coming Back Again (Part 4) - By Danilo T. Nacua
The Misinterpreted Passages:
Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV)
“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Again we ask this question: Does the above phrases, second appearance and to those who are waiting for him, concern us today? Can we honestly say that we have the right to include ourselves in this promise just because we have read it in the Bible so? We can answer this question sincerely if we can fully understand the implications of the first appearance. In order to do that we must go back to the event wherein the first appearance occurred and find out why a second appearance was necessary.
If we take a look at Hebrews 9:26 (NIV), we will find that first appearance was imperative due to the fact that the world needed a savior to take away its sins: “Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
If Christ had to come the first time to sacrifice himself, then it must have been God’s plan all along. When did it start? It started with the promise in Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) which said that, “For to us a child is born, to us a child is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Where would this child be born? Isaiah 7:14 (NIV) gave the clue: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel.”
And who was this virgin that would gave birth to the promised child? In Matthew 1:20-23 (NIV) the promise was fulfilled, thus, “Joseph...do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife...she will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel.’ - which means, ‘God with us’.” When did this promise come to fruition? Galatians 4:4 (NIV) tells us that: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law...”
Well, almost everybody knows the full story of the life and times of Jesus Christ and his afflictions as described in Isaiah 53:3-12 (NVI). The sufferings and the actual reactions of Christ was prescribed beforehand as embodied in this prophecy. To wit: “He was despised by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering...Surely he took up our infirmities and carried out our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed...He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth...He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet is was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer...After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Galatians 3:13 (NIV) described these things as a curse, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’.” By taking upon himself the sins of the world he became a redeeming curse that save the world’s sin. And this was confirmed be Christ when he declared in Matthew 20:28 (NIV) that, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Who would perform those afflictions prophesied above? Matthew 16:21 (NIV) gave the account as, “From the time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
And where would Jesus be after he suffered all the things that must befall him? In Matthew 12:40 (NIV) Christ specified the place as, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
The above prophesies and fulfillment pointed to the first appearance of Christ where his mission was to sacrifice himself by dying for the sins of the world, but his second appearance as cited in Hebrews 9:28 does not concern anymore about saving the world’s sin by dying again but only to save those disciples who were hoping and waiting for him at that time.
As proof for this contention that his disciples were hoping for him to save them, let’s take a look as Luke 24:13-21 (TEV), an event after his resurrection: “On that same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened. As they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them; they saw him but somehow they did not recognize him. Jesus said to them, ‘What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?’ They stood still, with sad faces. One of them, named Cleofas asked him, ‘Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days?’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,’ they answered. ‘This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the peoples to be powerful in everything he said and did. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified. And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened.
* * * * *
1 Thessalonians 14:15-17 (NIV)
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
Do the phrases “we who are still alive” and “we will be with the Lord” include “you and me or us (the ‘we’)”, the present readers of the Bible? If ‘we are’ then some indications would have been provided by Paul who wrote this message to his fellow believers in Thessalonians. But sadly, Paul only addressed this directive to the early Christians and ‘we’ have nothing to do with it!
If you’ll read back 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (NIV) you’ll come to realize that Paul referred to Christ’s original teaching regarding the topic of his return. Paul thus quoted Christ in verse fifteen and said that; “According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep...”
The Lord that Paul referred to here is Christ by virtue of John 13:13 (NIV), “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.”
Where in the Bible did Paul quote this phrase “according to the Lord’s own word” and refer to in his letter cited above that allegedly portrays the future rapture? Clearly Paul quoted this in Matthew 16:27-28 (RSV) when Christ said that: “For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming to his kingdom.”
The Son of Man here refers to Jesus Christ according to Luke 22:67-70 (NIV). Again, we don’t deny that this is a promise of his coming. But if you’ll take a look also at the prevailing circumstances of the promise you’ll also realize that the phrase “there are some standing here who will not taste death” sets the condition of his return. Would you be so naive so as to assume that until today those who are “standing here who will not taste death” are still alive, since they will also see his coming?
Did the promise of Christ return referred to by Paul 1 Thessalonians 14:15-17 which he quoted from Matthew 16:28 already come to pass? Paul himself proved this in 1 Corinthians 15:5-7(TEV), “That he appeared to Peter, and then to all twelve apostles. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles.”
Therefore, Jesus Christ has already fulfilled his promised “second coming” (with regards to Matthew 16:28) during the lifetimes of the apostles and those whom he promised that some would still be alive in his second coming. His promise to give gifts to men (in verse 27) was likewise fulfilled according to Ephesians 4:8 (The Living Bible, Catholic Illustrated Edition), “However, Christ has given each of us special abilities - whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts. The Psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and victory over Satan, he gave generous gifts to men.”
Self proclaimed Christians who are hoping today for Christ’s supposedly second coming are subjected to dismay every time their religious leaders tried to guess the time of his arrival. They have not understood well what the Bible wants them to understand that Christ’s second coming have passed and they have nothing to do with it because the promise was specific only to his disciples and church members at that time.
What’s confounding them more is that they forgot the basic law of cause and effect. If you can see the effect it does not matter whether you have seen the cause. A concrete example is Revelation 8.5 (NIV) where, “Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”
What effect did the taking of the censer from the altar and hurling it to the earth bring? Thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake! What other cause can bring this kind of effect?
Revelation 15:5 (NIV) tell us that, “After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.” And what’s the effect when the temple opened? Revelation 11:19 (NIV), “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hail storm.”
We can see here that an angel hurling a censer full of fire to the earth and the opening of heaven’s temple bring the effects of thunder, lightning, rumblings, and earthquake. Now, would you say that these things have not occurred yet because you have not seen an angel doing the actual throwing of a censer or the actual opening of heaven’s temple?
Since the effects have been experienced here on earth that simply means that the angel has done its job or that heaven’s temple have been opened, regardless of whether we have seen him or not. It is not for us to see the cause (unless we are privileged to witness it) but only its effects!
Likewise, the conditions set for Christ second coming was already fulfilled to the concerned disciples and we are not privileged to witness it but can only read about it.
* * * * *
May 27 at 1:02pm
Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV)
“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Again we ask this question: Does the above phrases, second appearance and to those who are waiting for him, concern us today? Can we honestly say that we have the right to include ourselves in this promise just because we have read it in the Bible so? We can answer this question sincerely if we can fully understand the implications of the first appearance. In order to do that we must go back to the event wherein the first appearance occurred and find out why a second appearance was necessary.
If we take a look at Hebrews 9:26 (NIV), we will find that first appearance was imperative due to the fact that the world needed a savior to take away its sins: “Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
If Christ had to come the first time to sacrifice himself, then it must have been God’s plan all along. When did it start? It started with the promise in Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) which said that, “For to us a child is born, to us a child is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Where would this child be born? Isaiah 7:14 (NIV) gave the clue: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel.”
And who was this virgin that would gave birth to the promised child? In Matthew 1:20-23 (NIV) the promise was fulfilled, thus, “Joseph...do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife...she will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel.’ - which means, ‘God with us’.” When did this promise come to fruition? Galatians 4:4 (NIV) tells us that: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law...”
Well, almost everybody knows the full story of the life and times of Jesus Christ and his afflictions as described in Isaiah 53:3-12 (NVI). The sufferings and the actual reactions of Christ was prescribed beforehand as embodied in this prophecy. To wit: “He was despised by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering...Surely he took up our infirmities and carried out our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed...He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth...He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet is was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer...After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Galatians 3:13 (NIV) described these things as a curse, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’.” By taking upon himself the sins of the world he became a redeeming curse that save the world’s sin. And this was confirmed be Christ when he declared in Matthew 20:28 (NIV) that, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Who would perform those afflictions prophesied above? Matthew 16:21 (NIV) gave the account as, “From the time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
And where would Jesus be after he suffered all the things that must befall him? In Matthew 12:40 (NIV) Christ specified the place as, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
The above prophesies and fulfillment pointed to the first appearance of Christ where his mission was to sacrifice himself by dying for the sins of the world, but his second appearance as cited in Hebrews 9:28 does not concern anymore about saving the world’s sin by dying again but only to save those disciples who were hoping and waiting for him at that time.
As proof for this contention that his disciples were hoping for him to save them, let’s take a look as Luke 24:13-21 (TEV), an event after his resurrection: “On that same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened. As they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them; they saw him but somehow they did not recognize him. Jesus said to them, ‘What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?’ They stood still, with sad faces. One of them, named Cleofas asked him, ‘Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days?’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,’ they answered. ‘This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the peoples to be powerful in everything he said and did. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified. And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened.
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1 Thessalonians 14:15-17 (NIV)
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
Do the phrases “we who are still alive” and “we will be with the Lord” include “you and me or us (the ‘we’)”, the present readers of the Bible? If ‘we are’ then some indications would have been provided by Paul who wrote this message to his fellow believers in Thessalonians. But sadly, Paul only addressed this directive to the early Christians and ‘we’ have nothing to do with it!
If you’ll read back 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (NIV) you’ll come to realize that Paul referred to Christ’s original teaching regarding the topic of his return. Paul thus quoted Christ in verse fifteen and said that; “According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep...”
The Lord that Paul referred to here is Christ by virtue of John 13:13 (NIV), “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.”
Where in the Bible did Paul quote this phrase “according to the Lord’s own word” and refer to in his letter cited above that allegedly portrays the future rapture? Clearly Paul quoted this in Matthew 16:27-28 (RSV) when Christ said that: “For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming to his kingdom.”
The Son of Man here refers to Jesus Christ according to Luke 22:67-70 (NIV). Again, we don’t deny that this is a promise of his coming. But if you’ll take a look also at the prevailing circumstances of the promise you’ll also realize that the phrase “there are some standing here who will not taste death” sets the condition of his return. Would you be so naive so as to assume that until today those who are “standing here who will not taste death” are still alive, since they will also see his coming?
Did the promise of Christ return referred to by Paul 1 Thessalonians 14:15-17 which he quoted from Matthew 16:28 already come to pass? Paul himself proved this in 1 Corinthians 15:5-7(TEV), “That he appeared to Peter, and then to all twelve apostles. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles.”
Therefore, Jesus Christ has already fulfilled his promised “second coming” (with regards to Matthew 16:28) during the lifetimes of the apostles and those whom he promised that some would still be alive in his second coming. His promise to give gifts to men (in verse 27) was likewise fulfilled according to Ephesians 4:8 (The Living Bible, Catholic Illustrated Edition), “However, Christ has given each of us special abilities - whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts. The Psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and victory over Satan, he gave generous gifts to men.”
Self proclaimed Christians who are hoping today for Christ’s supposedly second coming are subjected to dismay every time their religious leaders tried to guess the time of his arrival. They have not understood well what the Bible wants them to understand that Christ’s second coming have passed and they have nothing to do with it because the promise was specific only to his disciples and church members at that time.
What’s confounding them more is that they forgot the basic law of cause and effect. If you can see the effect it does not matter whether you have seen the cause. A concrete example is Revelation 8.5 (NIV) where, “Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”
What effect did the taking of the censer from the altar and hurling it to the earth bring? Thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake! What other cause can bring this kind of effect?
Revelation 15:5 (NIV) tell us that, “After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.” And what’s the effect when the temple opened? Revelation 11:19 (NIV), “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hail storm.”
We can see here that an angel hurling a censer full of fire to the earth and the opening of heaven’s temple bring the effects of thunder, lightning, rumblings, and earthquake. Now, would you say that these things have not occurred yet because you have not seen an angel doing the actual throwing of a censer or the actual opening of heaven’s temple?
Since the effects have been experienced here on earth that simply means that the angel has done its job or that heaven’s temple have been opened, regardless of whether we have seen him or not. It is not for us to see the cause (unless we are privileged to witness it) but only its effects!
Likewise, the conditions set for Christ second coming was already fulfilled to the concerned disciples and we are not privileged to witness it but can only read about it.
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May 27 at 1:02pm
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