We will now consider the subject of God revealing Himself to humanity—the doctrine of revelation. Revelation can be defined as “God’s supernatural disclosure to human beings of truth they would not otherwise know and are incapable of discovering on their own.” This communication may be either oral or written. Revelation is usually understood as God’s written communication to humankind.
Revelation Consists Of Both Words And Deeds
God’s revelation of Himself has been given to humanity by both deeds and words. It consists of God progressively unfolding His character, mighty acts, and purposes in history. The revelation may occur in a single, instantaneous act, or it may extend over a long period of time.
The Definition Of Revelation
The term “revelation” comes from the Greek word apokalupsis, which means “a disclosure” or “an unveiling.” The word was used in other contexts to describe the unveiling of a statute upon its completion. It has the idea of disclosing something that was previously unknown.
It Is The Reverse Of Human Reasoning
Revelation is the opposite of scientific research or human reasoning. The knowledge that God has revealed about Himself to humankind could never be attained through any type of scientific experiment or logical reasoning. It is entirely a supernatural disclosure from God.
It Consists Of Truths Revealed By God Alone
Only God reveals the truths of revelation. He alone is the source of knowledge about Himself and His plan. Revelation is, therefore, an act of God. Jesus said.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Matthew 11:27).
The Identity Of Jesus Christ Can Only Be Known Through Divine Revelation
After Simon Peter acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus said to him.
Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven (Matthew 16:12).
The fact that Jesus Christ is God the Son can only be known through divine revelation – it could not be attained through any human means.
Divine Revelation Is A Work Of The Holy Spirit
God reveals these truths through the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote.
These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:10).
Peter spoke of divine revelation in this manner.
First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20,21).
Therefore divine revelation is a work of God alone.
God Reveals Himself Through The Prophets
God chose a select group of people to be the human channel of revelation. They are known as the prophets. In the Book of Amos we read.
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7).
The Bible often records God giving His revelation to the prophets. For example, He revealed Himself to Samuel.
The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD (1 Samuel 3:21).
Paul Received Divine Revelation
The Apostle Paul wrote of God giving truth to him by divine revelation.
That is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets (Ephesians 3:3-5).
The Act Of Revelation Described
The act of revelation is described in Scripture. In Ezekiel we read.
As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me (Ezekiel 2:2).
Ezekiel also wrote.
He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood (Ezekiel 8:3).
Revelation Gives Humanity Sufficient Truth About God
The doctrine of revelation holds that God has revealed sufficient truths about Himself. The Bible is complete in the sense that it reveals everything necessary for humanity to know God. Scripture has been completely written. Nothing needs to be added. However in another sense, revelation is only partial because it does not tell us everything about Him. In fact, Scripture itself speaks of things that God revealed but humans were prevented from recording. Paul wrote.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows – was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak (2 Corinthians 12:4).
In the Book of Revelation we read.
And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down” (Revelation 10:4).
Not Everything That Was Revealed Was Recorded
In these instances God supernaturally revealed truth to humans but did not permit them to record it in Scripture. Therefore it would be correct to say that the Bible is both partial and complete revelation. Many things about God have been hidden and unrevealed. Scripture is as complete as it needs to be.
There Is More Than One Method Of Revelation
God has chosen more than one method to reveal Himself to humankind. The writer to the Hebrews said.
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe (Hebrews 1:1,2).
The Bible Speaks Of Secrets Hidden That Are Now Revealed
According to the New Testament, divine revelation also consists of revealing secrets that had been hidden for long ages that are now disclosed. Paul wrote.
Now to the One who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith (Romans 16:25,26).
Paul also wrote.
The mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:26,27).
Divine revelation is the key that unlocks these hidden secrets.
Summary
When God reveals to humanity truth that we would not otherwise know it is called “revelation.” Human reason or intuition could never know these truths – they can only be revealed by God Himself. The purpose for our existence, and the plan of God for our salvation, can only be known through divine revelation.
To bring this Word to humankind, the Lord chose a group of people to be the ones through whom He would speak. They were known as the prophets. The prophets revealed God’s truth to humanity over a long period of time in a number of different ways. The revelation given in Scripture tells humanity everything that it needs to know about God and his plan. God’s Word to humankind is therefore both sufficient and complete.
steve morrow says
May 1, 2012 at 6:17 am2 Peter 1:1
Simon Peter a servant and an apostle of JESUS CHRIST
to them that have obtained like precious faith with us
THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD AND OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
2 Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you
THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND OF JESUS OUR LORD
2 Peter 1:3
According as HIS divine power—HATH— given to us all things
That pertain unto life and godliness
THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM THAT HATH CALLED US TO GLORY AND VIRTUE
2 Peter 1:4
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great promises
That by these you might be partakers of the—DIVINE NATURE—
HAVING ESCAPED THE CORRUPTION THAT IS IN THE WORLD THROUGH LUST
Proverbs 24:4
And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches
Proverbs 24:5
A wise man is strong
Yea a man of knowledge increaseth strength
Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD giveth wisdom
OUT OF HIS MOUTH COMETH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Proverbs 2:7
HE LAYETH UP SOUND WISDOM FOR THE RIGHTEOUS
HE is a buckler to them that walk uprightly
LOVING THE LORD
daryl kyle says
May 1, 2012 at 7:53 amI would like to know your view on salvation without ever hearing the Gospel, Scripture, or any knowlege of Israel, ie General revelation.
Barbara LeFevre says
May 1, 2012 at 9:30 amDaryl,
We know from John 3:16 that Jesus died for all mankind, and we know from II Peter 3:9 that it is God’s desire that all of mankind become saved, so it stands to reason that He would reveal Himself in many ways. Yes, we are told in Romans 10:14-15 that we are to play an integral part in bringing the salvation message to the world, but there is a reason that God says, “The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God” (Ps. 14:1a) and that man is “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). It is because He, in His infinite mercy and grace, has revealed Himself to every generation since time began. Here are just a few of the revelations:
~Adam and Eve had firsthand knowledge of God, which they would have passed down.
~The stories of both the creation and the Great Flood are part of the collective understanding of many cultures.
~The miracles that took part prior to Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt
~The miracles that were witnessed by Jew and Gentile in both Testaments
~Lazarus being raised from the dead
~Christ being raised from the dead
~Two witnesses in Revelation
~The angel that goes throughout the Earth in Revelation
~Great Tribulation-God’s last attempt to get people to turn from their sin to Him. It is also a witness of God’s right to judge His creation, complete with a glimpse of what eternity in hell will be like if they don’t repent.
~The Bible, the biggest seller of all time that has been translated into thousands of languages.
~The Internet
~Believers who live their lives according to the Word and who provide a witness through their lives
The Word of God has also testified to God’s revelation to each individual:
~God has put eternity in [our] hearts (Ecc. 3:11b).
~“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his The eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).
~“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and [their] thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another” (Rom. 2:14-15).
~“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).
This is just a list that I started compiling awhile back, which I haven’t finished, so I have no doubt that there are many other witnesses. This is why mankind is without excuse.
God bless you~
Barbara
Donna Martin says
May 1, 2012 at 8:33 amMalachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not…..when we understand that God is still operating today just as He did in the old testiment, and that Jesus is the way through Gods’ way….., Revelation is the reward for not being in conflict with God…. all along God has desired to lead a group of people to enter into His way of doing things so that He could show the world how great a provider, redeemer,restorer He is…He taught the Jews His way and how to operate using the blood….Now we know whose BLOOD was represented in the old test. but we fail to USE THE POWER THAT IS AVAILABLE because we have not understood the type and shadow of the old test….Jesus is THE PASSOVER LAMB….Passover is leaving this world and entering into GODS’ way….where do we go from here? Jesus intructed the disciples to keep Pentecost so that they would recieve POWER from on high…. Have we kept Pentecost….WHERE IS THE POWER????…..GOD gave His people 3 feasts to keep FOREVER…..what does FOREVER mean???…..Is GOD still inviting us to a feast????……Jesus says He is….. Have you come to a FEAST???……Did God change ???? …..REVELATION is the old and the new coming together in ONE NEW MAN walking with Jesus in me and I in Him in the way of GOD…THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY AND GOD NEVER CHANGES!!!
andy bob says
May 1, 2012 at 10:03 amSister Donna,
I loved reading your post about the types and shadows of the Old Testament and how they are revealed and fulfilled in the New Testament.
I especially like what you said about Passover Feast’s fulfillment in Salvation and the Pentecost Feast’s fulfillment in Holy Spirit baptism.
Yes there is still one more feast to come and be fulfilled and that is the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.
It begins with the Day of trumpets, when we begin proclaiming or trumpeting this truth, it has the day of Affliction and the Day of Atonement followed by the feast of Booths culminating in the 8th day of the feast please see Lev 23:1-44, Deut 16:13-16, 2Ch 8:13, Neh 8:14, and Zec 14:16-19.
We have yet to see a fulfillment of this last feast in the New Testament Church of Jesus Christ but it’s coming and I am praying for it to come and be fulfilled in the New Testament churches just like the other two feasts were fulfilled.
Here is some more info about it and I hope it blesses you greatly.
NOTE: For those of you who read this and do not understand please keep your heart open as a lot of our Christian brethren do not quite understand this just yet.
It’s sort of like when Moses first introduced the Law to the Hebrew nation. They had not heard of it before so some may have dismissed it, and when Jesus introduced the new covenant in His blood they had not heard of this before either, and many did not understand it and some walked away and did not believe (John 6:53-64).
Well it is in “our” Bibles and we have not seen a fulfillment of this third feast yet in the New Testament Christian churches so please keep an open mind.
I also wanted to share some thoughts on the Feasts in Old Testament where we find God had Moses put in place for the nation of Israel and their typological fulfillment in the New Testament Christian Church.
God ordained that Israel of old should observe seven yearly feasts (Lev 23:4). These seven feasts, in turn, were collected and organized into three major feasts, which all the men of Israel were required to attend (Exodus 23:14-17)
These feasts are types, or symbols, of the salvation of fallen man. They are a blueprint of God’s master-plan of redemption that would be carried out in the New Testament Church. So it is important for us to know something about them!
First Corinthians 10:11 tells us, “Now all these things happened unto them (Israel of old) for ensamples [literally, “types]; and they are written for our (New Testament Church) admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
The Bible is full of types:
The Greek work for “type” is “typos”. It refers to an imprint or mark that is made upon an object when it is stamped with a metal die. The noun “tupos” is from the verb “tupto” (to strike with repeated blows).
God repeatedly struck the mark of His plan of the ages in the lives of the Old Testament Saints, so that we can look back and see how He is going to carry out that plan in our days. The spiritual reality that a “type” points to is called it’s “antitype”.
The Bible is full of types. In fact, there are so many Biblical types that Dr. Walter L. Wilson has written a dictionary of Biblical types. The secret of man’s future is partially locked up in these types.
For example, consider the typology of the lamb sacrifice. For 1,500 years before God sent Jesus to save the world, millions of lambs were sacrificed. Each one pointed to the Lamb of God (Jesus) who would give up His life on Calvary.
Question: But how was Israel of old to know that all these lambs they were sacrificing pointing to the Messiah?
Answer: God’s commandments concerning the sacrificial system were too intricate to lead to any other conclusion but that they had a spiritual meaning. Everything was spelled out in explicit detail: the sacrifices (their number and kind); the dimensions, materials, colors, and furnishings of the tabernacle; the dates of the feasts; the dimensions of the altar; the design of the priest’s garments; the ritual washings; and the sprinkling of blood, and more!
Question: But how was Israel of old to know that these spiritually significant rituals pointed to the future?
Answer: They would know it because God’s Prophets declared future events that were in line with the spiritual meanings of these types, and even used many of the types in their prophecies. For example, Israel’s greatest prophet, Isaiah, foretold the Messiah would be brought as a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). The Prophet Daniel even told Israel the specific amount of time until the Messiah would come – 69 weeks of years, or 483 years (Dan 9:25).
This same prophecy by their beloved Daniel also foretold that the Messiah would be cut off in the midst of the 70th week of years – just after 3 1/2 years of ministry. Sure enough, as Christ’s ministry was passing it’s three year mark, the leaders of Israel were plotting to kill this man whom the common people held to be the Messiah.
John the Baptist was acknowledged by Israel as their prophet – they even pondered whether he was the Messiah (Luke 3:15). He pointed out the antitype of the lamb sacrifices when he proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world “(John 1:29). Jesus was crucified on the Feast of Passover, and after Paul the apostle called Christ the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) the Jews rejected their Messiah, Jesus, and are without excuse to this day.
Likewise, the Feast of Pentecost was prophesied be Joel and Isaiah, and these prophecies were fulfilled publicly on the exact day of the Feast of Pentecost, as scores of disciples praised God eloquently and excitedly in languages they had never learned. As the bewildered onlookers wondered aloud what this phenomenon might mean, Peter told them, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16).
Thirty years later, Paul said that tongues continued to be a sign, and he connected tongues with Isaiah’s prophecy concerning “other tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:21 & Isaiah 28:11). And Jesus said that the sign of tongues would continue to follow believers as long as we are fulfilling the commission to preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:17)!
Of the 3 main feasts (Feast of Passover, Feast of Pentecost and Feast of Tabernacles) we know that 2 of the 3 feasts have been fulfilled in the Church…as described above.
1. We see fulfillment in the New Testament Church to the Feast of Passover through Jesus’ death on the cross (The Passover Lamb) and His resurrection from the dead.
2. We see fulfillment in the New Testament Church to the Feast of Pentecost through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit that Peter declared in Acts 2:16 when he, by the Spirit of God, proclaimed this is that which the Prophet Joel spoke about in Joel 2:28-29.
3. We have NOT seen a fulfillment in the New Testament Church to the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles is on the horizon…
What could be clearer than the fact that the feast days pointed to things to come? Christ’s death on Calvary was the antitype of the Feast of Passover, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit and speaking in new tongues was the antitype of the Feast of Pentecost.
And what could be clearer than the fact that the antitype of the Feast of Tabernacles must yet be coming in these days before the coming of the Lord?
Could it be any clearer that Passover has been fulfilled in the New Covenant, and Pentecost has been fulfilled in the New Covenant, but the Feast of Tabernacles has not yet been fulfilled in the New Covenant?
And could it be more obvious that the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles must be coming soon, since we are living in the last days and there isn’t much time left?
But how many ministers are teaching today on the Feast of Tabernacles? Your blog post describes the Feast of Tabernacles a little bit but I say to you there is more, much MORE to come!
We need to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches in these last days. We need to set our faces like flint and pursue our Lords Word on this matter.
We need to ask Him for understanding and revelation on this profound truth. We need to look for it, plan for it, and pray for it! We must recognize the hour of our visitation from the LORD on this. We need to not despise the day of small beginnings. We should not follow the majority but follow God and his plan totally!
I encourage you brethren of the Blueletter Bible Study organization to search out this matter like the Bereans did in the Book of Acts (Acts 17:10-11).
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Andybob
References
Scripture References, King James Version, in order as they appear in my blog to you:
1. Leviticus 23: 4 –
4These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons…
2. Exodus 23:14-17 –
14Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.
3. 1st Corinthians 10:11 – 11Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
4. Isaiah 53:7 –
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
5. Daniel 9:25 – 25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
6. Luke 3:15 – 15And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
7. John 1:29 – 29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
8. Acts 2:16 – 16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
9. 1 Corinthians 14:21 – In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
10. Isaiah 28:11 – For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
11. Mark 16:17 – 17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
12. Acts 2:16 – 16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
13. Joel 2:28-29 –
28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
14. Acts 17:10-11 – 10And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Donna Martin says
May 2, 2012 at 3:39 pmLoved your response…. thank you for the reminder to be a Berean….and the word that we need to be open to God teaching us more than we think we know…..the 1st order of God was three feasts Ex 23 the other feasts are all in these three….2nd order was to keep these forever….this is where many stray, thinking since they have been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus that the relevance of them is over….nothing is further from the truth….when they became fulfilled they(Passover and Pentecost) became full filled with Messiah Jesus…..these feasts are the feasts Jesus is alluding to in the Marriage Supper and Feasts in the New Testiment….In the gospel of John you will see that Jesus was coming,going, keeping all the feasts, When he fed the 5 thousand it was passover then he identified himself as the bread from heaven and told those with him that they would have to eat his body and drink his blood…that cleared the room….notice he didn’t run anybody down trying to explain what he meant…thats’ the Holy Spirits Job…. if He (the HS) doesn’t explain it doesn’t get understood…..how many of those people who walked off at that point believed they were right….If you study the words…Understanding….Knowledge….Water,Rain Dew….you will find that God made these things available to those who kept his feasts….Jesus even cried out “If you are thirsty come to him” this was said during the water pouring ceremony at the feast of tabernacles…..I will give you the word God gave me after a fast several years ago ” You enter the Gate by keeping the Feasts” He gave me these two scriptures Luke 11:52 and 2Peter 1:11…. Jesus is the door, he is the gate,He has fully filled these feasts …..just do what God said and keep them and find out what “promises” are in them…..by the way for all those who missed passover there is a second passover, 30 days after the 1st scheduled one, thats’ how important it is to God, he didn’t want anyone to miss it, check it out… it’s in 2 chron.30…I didn’t enter all the scripture ref. because we are on Blue letter and that’s what studing is all about…looking it up….God bless you Andy and I pray you enter in and receive ALL that God has for you, Your sister in Christ…Donna
andy bob says
May 1, 2012 at 8:57 amHello and Good Morning my Beloved Brethren!
Happy May Day 2012!!!
Many of us have been greatly blessed by our Father Yahweh over the years as He has revealed different truths to us from His word. I love Him because He first loved me (1 John 4:19).
The night I got save a little over 34 years ago a man and beloved brother prayed with me to receive salvation and become born again and then went on to explained to me the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). Learning the truth about salvation in Jesus Christ has been such a wonderful revelation in my life and the truth or revelation behind the Prodigal Son taught me the following:
– God loved me while I was still lost in my sins but I have been found by Him and am saved.
– If I backslide and leave my Father’s house He is full of grace (unmerited favor) and mercy and will accept me back.
– My brothers or sisters in the faith may get jealous at times like the Prodigal Son’s older brother did and that as an older brother in the faith I should not be jealous of someone who repents and comes back from being backslidden.
– Our Father loves us more than we can comprehend and we are the apple of His eye.
My Pastor has taught me over the years that our Father’s holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth (John 16:13) and that we should be careful with the truth (Matt 7:6) and not just throw it around to just anyone but be sensitive to His Spirit and speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15) when needed.
When I first saw this morning’s post about revelation I immediately thought about how our Father, the Almighty, Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah.
As I have prayed to God, sang worship songs to Him and have read His word (Bible) over the years our Father has revealed thousands of things to me about Himself, His Son Jesus, how His Spirit works with His people, about His kingdom, prophecies, and more!
I urge each of you to pray for your Pastors, your elders, your Bible teachers, your brothers and sisters, the lost and that our God, Yahweh is His name forever (Exodus 3:15), reveal more and more truth to you and to the body of Christ.
God bless you with His Agape and Peace in Jesus’ name, Amen!
Brother Andybob
Cas says
May 1, 2012 at 10:48 amFunny, this vs. (Mt.11:27) has come up a few times this week… in fact read this a.m. Jesus’ same word in Luke 10:22. Hearing it again today was poignant because I had just had a bit of a heated conversation with someone about something going on in our country. We have two very diametrically opposed views about it, and I wondered even how we “could walk together” if we didn’t ever come to see eye to eye. I say this is important because it would effect life decisions to come. I had prayed for the Spirit of truth and revelation in this situation afterwards, because I was amazed at how differently we saw something that had happened and affected the nation. As with us, I saw our country also divided in the same opinions… as with my friend and I, not agreeing on what is truth, and Jesus says through the Luke passage that division is a cause of desolation and destruction. We were discussing 9/11 and I thought later that the two buildings that fell could be symbols of the division that is caused by not agreeing on truth… of which only God is the Final Say and author. God is not considered the Revelation of truth anymore.
JM Howard says
May 1, 2012 at 7:35 pmI can’t find anywhere Jesus told the disciples “to keep” Pentecost. Maybe I am wrong.
Luke 24:49
Acts 1:4-8
But, I did run across this:
Romans 14:5-9
Colossians 2:16-23
Acts 15:5-21
andybob says
May 2, 2012 at 9:05 amJM Howard,
I agree one will not see the phrase “keep Pentecost” or for that matter “keep Passover by sacrificing lambs” but you will see that Jesus instructed His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father (which is the Holy Spirit – John 14:26). This is not a case of saying to keep Passover or Pentecost but we are seeing a fulfillment in the New Testament churches of the feasts that God set up through the prophet Moses primarily Passover and Pentecost.
Peter and the rest of the disciples who stayed in Jerusalem after Jesus was taken into heaven, chose a new apostle, and waited on the Lord in the Upper room until they received power i.e. the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues or foreign languages they did not learn. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is confirmed by speaking in tongues as seen by Acts 10:44-46 and Acts 19:6.
Peter by the Spirit of truth or “revelation” from God said that this was that spoken by the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29) in Acts 2:16-18. Peter who was deafly afraid prior to being filled with the Holy Spirit denied our Lord three times but then after being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost gets up and preaches to the people without fear, without concern for his life but with boldness and confidence he preaches to them that Pentecost was fulfilled, that they killed their Messiah, and that they need to repent, get saved and filled with the Holy Spirit too!
I hope this answers your question.
As to your scripture references (Romans 14:5-9
Colossians 2:16-23, Acts 15:5-21):
I read them and I am assuming you think I am trying to get someone to do something but I am not esteeming one day more important than another or forcing one to do as I do but rather pointing out some things we see in the Bible that have and have not come to pass, mainly the fulfillment of the Passover and Pentecost feasts have been fulfilled and the Tabernacles feast has not.
If I have offended you please forgive me I am sharing in love what I read and observed.
Sincerely,
Your servant Andybob
Luke 24:49 – And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
JM Howard says
May 2, 2012 at 6:58 pmNo, you did not offend me at all. I had read a post earlier on that said: “Jesus intructed the disciples to keep Pentecost so that they would recieve POWER from on high…. Have we kept Pentecost?”
I am aware of the Moed. The set or appointed time that God set for these feasts. I am also aware that Jesus fulfilled each one perfectly, at the appointed time and that the last feast has not yet been fulfilled. I more than likely misunderstood the post. Sorry about that.
andybob says
May 4, 2012 at 8:51 amBLB-Staff and Brethren,
Thank you for sharing this research tool tip it is very well presented.
Daniel 12:4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
We learn from this prophetic passage of scripture about the future of the world we live in. Most of us will agree that we are living in the age just before Jesus’ return to earth and His Millennial reign. This scripture speaks about an increase in travel (running to and fro – air travel) and the information age we now live in (knowledge increasing, Internet knowledge sharing).
This tool tip helps one do comparative study much like the book by A. T. Robertson’s Harmony of the Gospels does.
Thanks for sharing and I pray that our God and Father, Yahweh, will give you His love and peace!
Brother Andybob 🙂