Hidden In Him

3 minutes ago, Abby-Joy said:

@Hidden In Him, the things I'm aware of are based on things I experienced, as I was born into the same things Svali was born into (SRA/MK).  Feel free to message me about the things you mentioned.  

@Abby-Joy

Absolutely. As I recall, talking to you about this kind of stuff before was pretty heavy, LoL. Not for the weak of heart. But yes, I'd love talking to you again, especially about this stuff.

I have some things going on tomorrow, but I will definitely catch up with you!

And thanks for responding to my thread also : )

Hidden

19 minutes ago, Abby-Joy said:

@Hidden In Him, I really appreciate this topic.  It is real and true.  Svali is someone I have known of for over 12 years.  This is something I've been trying to expose since 2006.  And yet... I feel it isn't only the vatican, but in all Christian denominations.  Satanism has made its way into the "protestant" churches as well.... and very much so ..... under the radar.... the church has been sleeping.... and satan has taken advantage of willful slumber. 

So good to hear from you again, sister! On the site that I got the transcript of her interview from, I noticed he had more material on her and I wanted to go through it when I had a chance. In fact, it was from watching a video on that a long time ago that it actually came back to my memory when I was interpreting the dream. At the time I watched it, I knew there was likely some truth to it, but without much other corroborating evidence I just kind of put it out of my mind. When the dream came, I suddenly started doing research and found more evidence for it than I ever suspected.

So fascinating that you've known her! I'd love to talk to you about that, if not publicly in private. I was wondering if she was still alive.

I can tell it is going under the radar by the silence I am getting so far (i.e at another forum). Only you have responded, and I'm guessing it may be because your eyes are already open to it spiritually.

Interesting that you should mention other denominations. I've received several dreams about Catholicism over the last three weeks, and it is clear that the Lord is using multiple people to confirm the message, some who don't even know the first thing about Catholicism (Mayflower for instance didn't even know what the Vatican was). But one of the dreams I just received appears to be suggesting that at least one Protestant denomination could soon be joining the Catholic Church in Australia, to begin destroying churches who still speak out against homosexuality, and a host of other dreams suggest that the Catholic Church there is going to endorse homosexuality at some point, and then form a union with the government. After this, they will begin forcing outspoken churches to shut down and transfer their children into Catholicism. It's creepy. 

But that's getting ahead of things. I'll post on that stuff later in another thread. But I'd be interested in what you know personally about Satanists operating in the Protestant denominations as well.

God bless, and great hearing from you again.

SV: (pause, additional voice stress) Well, there was a table. It looked like dark glass in the center of the room. It was made out of a stone, but it was very shiny and darkened black. It may have been something like obsidian or onyx, I’m not sure. This was the only time I’ve seen stone like that.

Around the corners it had these gold channels that, you know, collect fluids. A little boy was placed in the center of the table and drugged. I think he was drugged, because he was very quiet. He didn’t move or say anything.

GS: This was a little three or four-year-old boy, right?

SV: Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

GS: Then they continued to do a child sacrifice.

SV: Yes, they did. Yes. I told you about that before. Yeah.

GS: Now afterwards, quite, what an unbelievable experience for a youth, a 12-year-old. What went through your mind when that happened?

SV: I was terrified! I mean, I was absolutely horrified. I… I… I… I can’t describe the terror you feel when you go through something like that.

GS: And do you remember the words they were saying as this was going on?

SV: (pause) The man was in scarlet – he was speaking in Latin. And basically he was saying, “Please accept the sacrifice on this day.” And then he said, “This sacrifice will seal the ceremony.” And then he did it.

Again, I was so terrified that… (sighs) Have you ever been in a situation where your heart’s racing, but you can’t do anything? You’re just kind of sitting there, and you’re kind of fading in and out?

GS: Well, I can remember as a youth being frightened, but I don’t think I’ve ever…

SV: (crosstalk) No. All right.

GS:… had anything quite like what you’ve had.

SV: Imagine your heart rate going up to about 220. You can’t move. You’re kind of shaking, but you’re trying not to show it.

GS: Mm hm.

SV: It was horrible. Actually, I keep thinking inside, “I can’t wait ’till it’s over. I can’t wait.” You don’t say this, but inside you’re just saying over and over, “I can’t wait ’till this is over. I can’t wait ’till this is over. I can’t wait ’till it’s over.”

GS: Mm hm.

SV: Afterwards, the man in scarlet, he had a huge golden ring on his hand. He came over to the center of the room. Each of the people that were swearing that day had to go forward and kneel before him and kiss his ring, and swear my allegiance to the New Order, to the New World Order for all… until my death.

GS: Hm. Now at that point you were escorted out.

SV: Yes. Yeah. After the ceremony was all over. I mean, the other people also did theirs as well. They had to swear their allegiance too.

GS: And they were the same age as you?

SV: The two children were, but there were also three adults that went forward and did the same. And afterwards, we were told, (slowly and precisely): “May the same to you or worse occur should you ever break this oath.”

GS: Hm. So it’s basically… whew! Imagine at that age, what [this would do]. And you weren’t really prepped for this, were you? You were told there was a ceremony, but you didn’t expect anything like this, from what I’ve gathered talking to you.

SV: It was very difficult to go through, just because the sense of horrific oppression down there was the worst I’ve [ever felt.] I’ve gone through some ceremonies in my life in the Illuminati, you do go through them. But I have to say that in my experience this was the worst, just because… I can’t explain the amount of darkness in that room. It was just pure evil. And unless you’ve ever been in a… seen a person… it was just horrible.

It wasn’t just what happened, but just… I mean, the oppression. And I’m a Christian now, and I know the difference between when there is evil present – oppression – or when God’s love is present, which is joy and peace. That’s the exact opposite of what there was in that room.

GS: Now you know what I find quite interesting about this? About 25 years ago, I was a reporter and a freelance writer in Rome, and I spent six years there. I walked through the Vatican many, many times… hundreds of times. I covered the papal addresses, things like that.

During that time I was there during a Vatican scandal, which involved the Church bank and other things… members of the Illuminati, the Freemasons. I was approached by a woman, Maria Vendital (ph), and I’ll never forget this. Rome’s a small town. People knew I was covering stories about the secret societies, things like that. I had to ask people.

Well, this woman came up to me and told me similar stories. She wasn’t quite as specific because she couldn’t handle it without breaking out crying, and tried to commit suicide twice because she couldn’t get out of the Illuminati. She was a member, born into it from a very wealthy northern Italian family. She told me basically the same ceremony took place with her.

And so, when I started talking to you, I wanted to relay that to you, and also to relay to my listeners that I also heard about this, 25 years ago, from a woman by the name of Maria, and several other people in Italy that I talked to. I was never able to locate or really, probably for my own safety, ever find out what happened.

But again, Svali’s corroborating a story that I heard about 25 years ago. We’ll get back after the break with this incredible story of a member who is now out of the Illuminati, out of the group and safe, on the Republic Broadcasting Network.

[commercial break – Resume at 23:15]

GS: Okay, we’re back on the Investigative Journal. I’m your host, Greg Szymanski. We’re talking to Svali, a member of the Family, the Order, the Illuminati, for thirty years.

Svali, you leave the induction ceremony. You walk out into the Vatican courtyard with one of the fathers, I believe. What did he tell you then?

SV: At that point he just told me to never forget. He told me that I had performed well during the ceremony because I didn’t scream or pass out or anything like that. He said “You did very well,” and he was pleased. Then we stayed at a home nearby. It must have been a local person. I didn’t know them. We spent the night there before we went back to Germany.

GS: Okay, and what about the other people during the ceremony. How did they handle themselves? Do you remember?

SV: (sighs) I’m going to say, unfortunately, I was so… when you’re in that kind of situation, the last thing you’re thinking about sometimes is what the other people are doing. (Laughs) I was just so trying not to lose it myself. I do know that no one screamed or shouted or anything like that. Everyone was quiet. I think to say ‘dead silence,’ is, unless the person was spoken to, true – or unless they had to go forward and kiss the ring.

Transcript Svali’s Interview with Greg Szymanski

But then it switched again where they were following her again down stairs in complete darkness. Like maybe they couldn't get out? Like it was too late? It was like a dark hole/abyss, and they started descending and started getting very afraid/screaming even. I saw where the coronavirus was, deep down below the hospital, but it was all completely dark. It was like looking beneath the floor and down into the earth. And I sensed torment/darkness there before waking up.

This entire passage of the dream is essentially explained in full by the testimony of Svali, a woman born into an Illuminati family, who at the age of 12 was taken to Rome and forced to undergo a Satanic ceremony in an underground room at the Vatican.

From a transcript of her interview with Greg Szymanski in 2004:
____________________
GS: Okay, we’re back. It’s eight minutes after the hour, and we’re going to get deep inside the Illuminati, the Family, the Order. We have a guest who was involved with this group, born into it, for over thirty years. Her name is Svali. Svali, are you with us?

SV: Uh, yes I am.

GS: Well, it’s nice to have you here. I know you don’t give radio interviews, and I really want to thank you, because I think it really does help the American people understand about this secret organization that you were born into. So I guess we can just start from the beginning. Tell us – right from the beginning you were born into this, from wealthy parents. Tell us about your training in this group when you were a young child and then up until your orientation at the Vatican. Go ahead.

SV: (surprised, laughing) Well, that’s a pretty broad area, Greg! That could take hours, if you know what I mean.

GS: Yes, but do it, you know, if you could just outline it for us.

SV: Yeah. I mean, I was born in the group, I was born in Germany, and came to the US very young. I basically went through all the training that the group… all members of the group do undergo training to various degrees, depending on the role.

By the time I was a teenager, I was a youth leader, and by the time I was 22, I became the youngest member of Leadership Council in San Diego County . At that time I was a head trainer. I was the sixth trainer and eventually moved up to the second position.

GS: Mm hm.

SV: When I was twelve, I had mentioned with you the ceremony at the Vatican…

GS: Right.

SV: …that they really do make all leadership in the group undergo at some point.

GS: Now basically when you were growing up, I remember you told me that you were instilled at a young age. You were born to a very wealthy, well-to-do family.

SV: Yes.

GS: You moved back to the States. You were told at a very young age you were special, you were “chosen.” Correct?

SV: Well, they tell everyone in the group that they are special and chosen, and that’s one of the things that made me very cynical when I was older. You will never meet a person who is an Illuminati who has not been told or programmed for years that they’re special, they’re the only one that can do things for quote-unquote “Family”.

But I was told, yes, I would do great things for Family one day. The reason why I can filter some of this with an objective view is that I know what my role in the group was. It was over quite a significant number of other people. So I don’t evaluate my role or specialness within the group so much by what I was told, but by what I did.

(regretful downturn in voice on “what I did”)

GS: So you reached the age of 12, and then you’re told by your parents you’re going to an induction ceremony in the Vatican.

SV: Yes.

GS: Can you tell us how that happened and what occurred at that ceremony when you went there?

SV: (deep breath, voice becomes stressed) Okay. Um, this isn’t easy to talk about, as you know.

When I was twelve, I was flown over to Germany. And I was at, I’ll call them the German Fathers’ house, over there. And, there was some preparation for a few days, beforehand, and I was told that there would be a very important ceremony. And it was considered a sealing ceremony at that point. And basically I was told a little bit about what I was expected to do during the ceremony.

When we got there, we went through the Vatican. Underneath the Vatican there is a large room that I described to you when we talked before. It has 13 catacomb chambers leading into it. And what they do is as you go down these steps into the room, you can see that it’s circular, so they’re all rounded. They bring out the mummies from the catacombs. And they set them beside each one [each of the 13 catacomb chambers], and they say “That’s the spirit of the Fathers watching over the ceremony.”

During the ceremony, there was a large table in the center of the room. It was on top of this huge golden pentagram. They had a ceremony there.

GS: So how many kids, how many other children were with you being inducted into the Family or the Order, as they call it?

SV: There were two other children at that point. But there were several adults too.

GS: Okay.

SV: See, the Church also brings in adults to swear their allegiance, too, just so you know. I was told, and I don’t know if this is true, that if you want to rise to a certain position within the Catholic Church hierarchy, you do have to go through that ceremony as well.

GS: Okay, so you’re down in this room. Your parents weren’t present.

SV: No. No. The German Father and the French Father were.

GS: Okay, and at that point tell our listeners what you witnessed...

(Continued in next post)

Quote

I went inside, and this woman in a red business suit was giving people a tour and warning them that the coronavirus would get worse the farther inside the building they got. Yet, the people were not afraid and continued following her. It was like two Caucasian adults, don't know if they were a couple, and a hispanic teenager following this woman in a business suit. She showed them this storage closet at the end of the lit hallway... and there was a dead woman stuffed inside of a trunk with a look of horror on her face, and her arms put up as if she had been trying to protect herself before dying. The woman in the business suit looked horrified. The three were right behind her, partially in the closet/partially in the hallway. I do not know if the woman told them what she saw (she said something to them and was horrified) or if they happened to see it themselves. I was following them like I wasn't there, but it is like I got a bird's eye view, like I was looking down into the trunk. However it happened, the three in the tour began getting afraid. They started backing out of the closet with mouths gaped open and they all were headed back in the direction they came.

The tour guide warning them that "the coronavirus would get worse the farther inside the building they went" is a reference to rumors now circulating that the deeper one researches into top levels of the hierarchy in Rome, the more he encounters Satanists. According to the testimony of Malachi Martin:

"Suddenly it became unarguable that now during [Pope John Paul II's] papacy, the Roman Catholic organization carried a permanent presence of clerics who worshipped Satan and liked it; of bishops and priests who sodomized boys and each other; of nuns who performed the “Black Rites” of Wicca and lived in lesbian relationships... In total number they were a minority—anything from one to ten percent of Church personnel. But of that minority, many occupied astoundingly high positions or rank."
Fr. Malachi Martin Affirms - Satanism Practiced In The Vatican

So too did Veronica Lueken attest back in 1978, "How I warned and warned that Satan would enter into the highest realms of the hierarchy in Rome. The Third Secret, My child, is that Satan would enter into My Son's Church." - Our Lady of the Roses, May 13, 1978

This warning of the spread of the "virus" would grow greater as one progressed farther into the building, however, is not taken that seriously by either the tour guide or the guests, since all continue on into the building unafraid. That bravery turns to shock and horror, however, when they encounter a dead body "in the closet." This references our expression, "skeletons in the closet." It refers to things the Catholic Church has done in its past that it doesn't want anyone finding out about. According to Malachi Martin, the Satanist takeover of the Vatican actually began back in 1963, when a secret Satanic ceremony was held in underground chambers there to commemorate it (described in detail in his book, "Windswept House"). Since then, these Satanic rituals have stepped up in frequency and severity.

Regarding these "sins in the Vatican's closet," there was even a book written recently which discussed this same subject matter and went by the same title of "In The Closet Of The Vatican."
In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy by Frédéric Martel – review

Interestingly, the writer mentions the death "of God" in his opening paragraph: "When God died, the official cause was elderly enfeeblement; after reading Frédéric Martel’s exposé of infamy in the Catholic church, I suspect that the old boy committed suicide in remorse, aghast at the crimes and un-Christian sins of organized religion."

But it was not God who died, however. It was the church who died as a result of being "aghast at the crimes" she is now witnessing. This is who the dead woman in the trunk is, with the horrified look on her face, trying to protect herself but to no avail. It is mirrored in this dream by the many Catholics standing outside the church with "their mouths gaping open," and the tour guide and the visitors shocked and horrified as well. It represents them discovering the truth; that Satanism (and even child sacrifice) is now being practiced within the walls of the Church...

(Continued in next post)

Greetings, all. 

The following dream was sent to me a few days ago, and I felt it was important enough that it should be made public. It relates indirectly to prophecy that will be fulfilled during the end-times.

Please keep in mind that I am not anti-Catholic. In light of the things discussed in this thread, however, I believe the time has come for Catholics to "Come out from among her, that you not receive of her plagues." The Catholic Church is now becoming "a home of every foul thing, and every detestable bird." (Revelation 18:2)

Lord willing, I will post more on the consequences of these things prophetically, and how they will effect non-Catholic Christians in the future in subsequent threads.

God bless,
Hidden In Him

Quote

April 26, 2020- I was looking out my kitchen window and there were a sea of people. A lot of them had construction hats on, but there were normal non working people too.They were protesting the corona virus. Some were working and not wanting to work with it, and some were not working and wanting to go back to work. I went downstairs and there was like a train ride for kids/toddlers. One of the construction workers was running it. The others were just standing around everywhere in town. No one was on the kid train, and the construction worker held the lever running the train by the tracks. I thought that later I needed to bring Lorena down to ride, because she loves the kiddie train during street fair. This was the only ride there.

This dream is about the Vatican, and the coronavirus here represents the spread of Satanism within the Catholic Church. The sea of people represent the masses around Rome, many of whom work for the Church of Rome in one form or another. What is stopping many of them from working for the Church now, and bothering others who are still working for the Church but are now deeply concerned, are the revelations that came out about two years ago concerning the following event:
https://nypost.com/2017/07/05/vatican-cops-bust-drug-fueled-gay-orgy-at-cardinals-apartment/

What is not mentioned in this article is that a dossier was also confiscated at the time that implicated very high ranking members of the Vatican of actually engaging in Satanic rituals beneath the Vatican itself. The following video explains it:

The kiddie ride represents the tours that are held regularly at the Vatican, which go around in a regular circular route every day to entertain site seers, most of whom are usually spiritual "children" of the faith.
The Official Pristine Sistine™ Tour: Enter before the Public | Walks of Italy
Guided Vatican Tours | Tours of the Vatican
 

Vatican tours are a huge industry for the Catholic Church that is now taking a serious hit (i.e. "no one was riding on it") in attendance, not just because of the actual coronavirus, but because of the scandals surrounding the Vatican hierarchy engaging in Satanism. From one article on the recent drop in attendance:

"The delicate balancing act of preventing others from being contaminated while not increasing panic has proven to be a challenge, especially for the Vatican, which receives thousands of visitors each year to its museums, catacombs and churches. Matteo Alessandrini, a press officer at the Vatican Museums, acknowledged that cancellations by tour groups have caused a significant drop in visitors... A recent report in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero stated that the Vatican Museums experienced 'an estimated 60% drop in attendance.'"
Preventing pandemic: Vatican moves to stop spread of coronavirus.

1 hour ago, Your closest friendnt said:

You have raised an important issue....

To begin with you are referring to "the baptism of the Holy Spirit", and Paul is referring to "the Spirit of Jesus Christ", to the Spirit of Adaption, which everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is seal with...

Greetings, and blessings in Christ.

Your post brought up too many texts to respond to, but I can at least respond your main argument here. I understand what you are arguing, but the passages are actually all referring to the same thing. There is no differentiation in the Greek. In Galatians 3:2 we have,  ἐξ ἔργων νόμου τὸ πνεῦμα ἐλάβετε ἢ ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως, or "by works of the law did you receive the [Holy] Spirit, or by the message of faith?" In Acts 8:15, οἵτινες καταβάντες προσηύξαντο περὶ αὐτῶν ὅπως λάβωσιν πνεῦμα ἅγιον, or "who having come down prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit." The wording is exactly the same in Greek in both verses, tying the two together.

I think the problem for interpreters today is in not understanding that there were no believers in the early church walking around believing in Christ who had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Each time this was discovered it was corrected as in Acts 8. So verses which speak of all believers "receiving the Spirit" in New Testament times hold true for them, but the same cannot be said for all believers today. Granted, receiving the Spirit is NOT what saves us. We do not "receive" unto salvation, we believe unto salvation. Thus, the Samaritans would have went to Heaven regardless of receiving or not, provided they continued to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ until death, and the same is true of believers today. But those who side-step clear statements made in the word of God do their fellow believers a great disservice, by directly contradicting it and teaching something else instead.

God bless,

Hidden  

3 hours ago, bcbsr said:

How did you receive the Spirit?

Gal 3:2-5 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?  Have you suffered so much for nothing— if it really was for nothing?  Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Paul presumes that they had received the Spirit. After all it says, "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." Rom 8:9 Once a person comes to faith in Christ he receives the Spirit. The point here is that the receiving of the Spirit is not a matter of ceremony or following certain rules and regulations. It's not even a matter of prayer, nor of wishful thinking. It's a matter of believing the gospel.

Paul says elsewhere, "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." Col 2:6 

Greetings, BCBSR.

Going by scripture, the two ways they received the Spirit were by 1. direct outpouring, and 2. laying on of hands.

Both on the Day of Pentecost and when Peter was preaching to Cornelius' house, they received through direct outpouring. After those in Samaria believed, however, John and Peter came and laid hands on them after which they received (Acts 8:14-17). 

Both occurred as a result of believing what they heard, the same wording Paul uses in Galatians 3:2. Thus, these two means are what he is referring to in Galatians 3:2-5.

Hidden

On 7/22/2019 at 9:17 PM, Hidden In Him said:

Greetings all, and blessings in Christ!

Wanted to throw a parable out there and ask what others thought the meaning of it was, and what Christ was trying to communicate to His disciples. I believe I know the answer here, but I will withhold my responses to give those who wish to an opportunity to answer.

Blessings in advance to those who respond!

___________________________________

The Parable of the Unjust Steward
16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was [a]wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:1-13)

 

Alright, thanks to everyone who responded. I appreciate it. Let me see if I can't knock this out, and see what everyone thinks.

For starters, what Jesus was doing here was preparing the disciples for the time when they would take over leadership of the church. This is important to understand. As scripture records elsewhere:

28 Then Peter began to say unto him, "Behold, we have left all, and have followed thee." 29 And Jesus answered and said, "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life." (Mark 10:28-30)

Who would the disciples receive these "lands, brethren, and houses" from? The prosperity people say that "God" will give them to you personally in exchange for giving to His work, but this is entirely foreign to the context. He was talking here about inheriting a new spiritual family of "brothers, sisters, mothers, children etc" when they became the heads of the church after His ascension into Heaven. As such, they would also inherit their lands and houses as well, not personally, mind you, but these would become the property of the entire family of God once many started coming into the fold. This would be fulfilled in the following verses:

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. (Acts 4:32-35)

This is what Jesus was preparing the disciples for. They would soon be reliant upon the support of a different "master," so to speak. The minute they began preaching Christ was raised from the dead the Jewish leadership would no longer support them, but rather decry them as heretics and liars. So they needed to wisely prepare in advance to be welcomed into the homes of those who would believe by giving to them now of their earthly substance - more specifically those who were likewise believing in Jesus but not on as close to Jesus as the disciples were - to make themselves trustworthy in their eyes when the time came for them to become the leaders of the church. 

This is thus the meaning of the parable. Let me quote it in full:

The Parable of the Unjust Steward
16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:1-13)

The translation here is actually a little off. The phrase is actually, "that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations (plural)". In other words, that "when you no longer have the support of the Jewish community, the faithful will receive you into their homes (plural), and take care of you like family." By giving to believers when they still had "little," they would prove themselves worthy of handing the "much" when they took over leadership. 

The confusing part for many is where it says, So the master "praised" or "commended" the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. The Greek word used here is  ἐπῄνεσεν, which can also be translated as "complimented," or "congratulated," and does not necessarily carry a positive sense. Sort of a "well-done" in the sense of "Touche'. You might have been out on the street, but you managed to find yourself new people to welcome you in by cheating me one last time." It must be kept in mind that the phrase was a reference to the Pharisees and Jewish leadership, and how they would react to what the disciples did in earning the trust of the faithful in advance, and it is likely the Pharisees weren't too happy about it. But they would have to come to terms with the fact that the disciples were not at their mercy after they were denounced as heretics. Very quickly they were being supported by an entire family of believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and there was nothing the Jewish leadership could do about it.

Well, that's my interpretation. For anyone interested, tell me what you think, and blessings in Christ.

Hidden In Him

5 hours ago, Who me said:

Obviously, the steward knew the master was a generous person, otherwise he would not have taken such a risk; after all, he wasn't jailed to begin with.

In verse 9 Jesus is not praising the dishonesty, but the ability of the steward to recognize the generosity of his master, see what was coming, and use what he had at the time to obtain something far greater: self preservation.

This is significant.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.  God can condemn you to eternal damnation.  It is wise to seek a way out of that. In fact, the judgment of damnation is so terrible, that praise is offered to the one who, in desperation, seeks a way out of it.

If the unrighteous steward was praised for trusting the master, how much more will you be rewarded if you trust the true and holy Master, the Lord Himself."

That's a different take. I'll take a look, and thanks for the link. My interpretation differs from this one, so give me your opinion of mine in comparison after I post it.

Blessings in Christ!

6 hours ago, GandalfTheWise said:

This is one of those sections of scripture I've never really heard an explanation I'm completely content with.

 

I was planning on waiting till the weekend to post my interpretation, so tell me what you think when you get a chance. I respect your input : )

I had to largely separate myself from family after I first got born again to keep from them derailing my faith. 

Things got better over time, but even then we never developed the closeness we had before I Got saved. I think the Principle that "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me" can apply here somewhat. You have to make a choice as to whether you are going to go full on with God or not.

5 minutes ago, kenny2212 said:

Why would the almighty Jesus "prophesy" something that has already happened? 

Yes. Jesus was making sure they did not think the prophecy of Daniel had already happened, so He was telling them that when they read the Book of Daniel to understand it was still yet future tense. 

If you take the verse as written for us alone, you have Jesus talking right past His listeners to us today, saying, "2,000 years later, those of you who read this book understand..." 

I don't think Jesus talked past His immediate audience like that. Those He was addressing directly at the time were important to Him as well.

Anyway, just placing the prophecy in its proper context for you.

Blessings in Christ.

17 minutes ago, kenny2212 said:

Matthew 24:15 - When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso READETH, let him understand:). Readeth?! Apparently, Jesus meant this for future believers. Jesus wouldn't have said readeth if it wasn't going to be in some book for reading in the future. Verses 15 to 35 is future believers.

Greetings, Kenny. 

I think when He said "readeth," He was telling His audience at the time that when they read the Book of Daniel on this verse to understand that it referred to a future event, and not the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who some might have thought was a fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy some 190 years earlier. But verses 15-35 definitely do apply to our future. The entire chapter does, in fact.

Blessings in Christ, and carry on. Just thought I'd share that with you.  

1 hour ago, missmuffet said:

It helps us if you give the name and number of the verse Luke 16:8

Edited. Thanks for the heads up : )

Here's a secondary question: What specifically did Jesus mean by telling them, "For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light"? (Luke 16:8)

Greetings all, and blessings in Christ!

Wanted to throw a parable out there and ask what others thought the meaning of it was, and what Christ was trying to communicate to His disciples. I believe I know the answer here, but I will withhold my responses to give those who wish to an opportunity to answer.

Blessings in advance to those who respond!

___________________________________

The Parable of the Unjust Steward
16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was [a]wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

23 hours ago, Nightfire said:

Hi everybody, 

Can anyone help? Too many nights now I have dreamt of having lost my salvation. I realise when I awake this isn't the case but when I'm dreaming it, it appears so real and frightening. I don't know what to do except pray.

Look forward to hearing from some of you!

Somebody would post a dream the minute I show up, LoL.

Nightfire, I have experience in this area, and it could be anything; from the Lord trying to warn you about something to demons trying to torment you and cause you unfounded fears and anxieties to some physical imbalance like lack of sleep or too much caffeine or medications, which is effecting your body negatively and inciting you to dwell on troublesome matters.

If you want to send it to me in detail or just post it here publicly, we could discuss it. But to know if it has any substance to it, you would need to tell me what's going on in your spiritual life in some detail. Should it prove to be confirmed by circumstances going on in your life, there would still be the matter of determining if it his coming from God or the enemy.

Just thought I'd offer, since you started the thread by asking for help. First time I've been at this forum in more than a year, so maybe it's not a coincidence. We'd have to talk to find out.

Blessings in Christ Jesus.

On 7/21/2019 at 2:56 AM, Worship Warriors said:

I have found that the best way to keep my faith strong during the waiting period is to sing songs that are so FULL of the word of God.  This is the confession of my faith. And when the anointing of the holy spirit comes upon the song, it takes me to a new level of faith energized again to run the race and fight the good fight of faith

Wonderful words!

I'm curious, what genre of Christian worship do you enjoy that is "Full of the word of God"? Musically I have always inclined towards Chris Tomlin/Watermark type stuff, but what excels at sincerity and devotion also often lacks in scripture-heavy content, and this is what true New Testament worship songs contained (Colossians 3:16). I know the hymns still contain fairly scripture-heavy content, only I've just never been much for the music.   

I'm guessing by your site name that you may have posted some of the stuff you worship to already. Maybe you can provide a link? Just curious as to what you were referring to by "songs that are full of the word of God."

Blessings in Christ, and enjoyed your post.   

On 6/25/2019 at 10:18 PM, Waiting2BwithHim said:

In Matthew 24 Jesus warns us about signs..

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for [a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

What do you see in news today or something you read that shows you that these signs are happening? If you want to use any other prophecy about the end times which one and where in the bible does it come from? I mean maybe within the past 2-3 years. Share with all so that someone that may not know about this subject gets the idea of what the prophecy is all about. 

Greetings, Waiting. 

I was recently putting notes together for a video on this passage, and actually citing it as a reason to believe we still have a ways to go yet. I believe v.9-10 refer to what the apostle Paul warned the Thessalonians about in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4. And if anything, I think we see the opposite just yet: Most believers suffering persecution in other countries and dying for their faith (such as those being beheaded by Muslims), appear to be showing great resilience in the face of martyrdom, and refusing to deny Christ or deliver their fellow Christians up to the authorities. But I'm not up on everything going on with the persecuted church these days, so maybe looks can be deceiving.

Do you keep up with the persecuted church? It seems like something worth looking into.

Blessings in Christ, and good thread.

Hidden In Him  

11 minutes ago, Philadelphianlady said:

 

Yes, I watched a secular show once on dream interpretation. Heard the dream, and then the experts interpretation based on the objects in the dream. Their interpretation had nothing to do with the context of the dream.

Then another told their dream, with the same objects, and the expert used the rote interpretation as the first, yet didn't make sense.

And this is why most tend to just spot check only certain parts of a dream. They "think" they know what "this" means, so they throw that out there, but rarely try addressing the rest. And it's only when you can put the whole package together into a coherent interpretation that you have something worth presenting. Some will argue, of course, that the whole thing is just nonsense, but that's usually coming from the lazy types, who don't have the wherewithal to even attempt to interpret them at all. 

5 minutes ago, Philadelphianlady said:

No, what I mean is "this" equals "that" referring to specifics: snakes only represent this, and babies only represent that. It is not fool proof, and if one makes it a formula, then anyone can come up with an interpretation based on the objects, and not even have the Holy Spirit. For instance, if our formula said, blood only means violence, when the Spirit could mean protection by the blood, then we miss His interpretation. Not saying that is the case here.

Yes, and this is one of the main problems. Context determines meaning, yet there is a tendency towards using "dream dictionaries" and systematic interpretations.

7 minutes ago, Philadelphianlady said:

So in what manner did you receive the interpretation? By the objects, or by the Spirit. I imagine Spirit, but only you know.

Both, if I understand you right. There is a logic to things in their context, just as when you're interpreting the scriptures. But it takes the Spirit of God to interpret them properly.

2 minutes ago, Philadelphianlady said:

I usually have the interpretation if it is a prophetic dream, but not by deciphering what objects mean, like cell phones. I know there are classes on this, but I've never thought much about them.

If by "never thought much about them" you mean never thought they were all that good, then yes. From what I see of most dream interpretation instructional videos and such, most don't impress me very much. I never took classes anywhere. I just started operating in it. But if by it you meant never thought much about taking any, I wouldn't advise it. They charge money, and they're not all that great in my opinion. I personally think the need to stick their hand out wanting to be reimbursed is precisely the problem.

46 minutes ago, Debp said:

I can't remember the movie....anyone else remember an old lady in a rocking chair on top of a truck?!

What comes to mind is "Granny" from the Beverly Hillbillies. 

I joke with people incessantly, almost to the point of it bordering on obnoxious sometimes. But it's a better way to express my emotional side than to get heated as I occasionally do, for as the scripture says, "Laughter doeth good like a medicine." It can make an otherwise cruddy day come alive for me. So find humor in as much of life as you possibly can, I say. It can also make a marriage great, as well as other family relationships and friendships. Very hard not to have a good relationship with someone when you are constantly making each other laugh.

Thanks for the good post!

6 hours ago, GandalfTheWise said:

Many who are good preachers and teachers are not good pastors.  Many who are great pastors are so-so preachers and teachers.  Over the years, I've come to the conclusion that the best pastors are those with a wealth of day-to-day common sense, experience, and wisdom.  It's not about knowing all the answers.  It's about being able to help others learn to apply answers in their lives.  It is not about "teaching" people stuff.  It is about helping them slowly and gradually learn practical spiritual truth and apply it in their lives.  

This is really excellent, Gandalf, and some of the best advice of heard on Pastoring in a while. The dominant teaching role is really supposed to be left to teachers. The Pastor is primarily called to guide the flock, especially in their personal lives and personal decision-making (the word means Shepherd, first and foremost). So a person needs to have a desire to guide people in their personal lives. I have no such desire, which is how I know I am not called to Pastor. I am a teacher of the word, and anything that draws me away from that invariably begins taking me out of God's will for my life, and I can almost feel it tangibly.

Anyway, your posts can be so in-depth that some of the better lines get lost in the shuffle, so I wanted to draw attention to those in particular.