The Hare

It is important to distinguish "academic epiphanies" from Spirit-led revelations. Too many preachers mistake the former for the latter, in my opinion. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and if this has been your case through various trials and via various interventions, I guess you have been hearing His faint promptings.

Rise of the 'AI god' Navigating the growing Artificial Intelligence conundrum from a Christian perspective. Is an "AI god" on horizon? There are a growing number of adherents in this evolving AI religion. Click on the link and read but be prepared for a surprise towards the end of this essay. https://drmathewmaavak.substack.com/p/rise-of-the-ai-god

True. But it is not as universal outside organized Christendom. I don't really see stylised crosses featured in temples etc.

The universality of both symbols suggests a common point of origin. It must have been a place where people had a common language, had a unified social structure and belief system — all bound together by a single paramount figure. This place would have been brimming with high sorcery, to the extent where its citizens thought they could supplant their own Creator. This would have been the first One World Government. https://drmathewmaavak.substack.com/p/the-swastika-and-the-shatkona

I know this is a long thread. But here is a message to the original poster: Do have the communion at home (breaking bread and having wine/grape juice). The blood of Christ is God's mark of protection over you (Revelation 12:11), just as the blood of lambs on door posts warded off the angel of death in Egypt. You can still do break bread alone at your home. Just say a prayer accompanying the bread and wine. I know it helps.

I need to pose this brief question: Do you feel like giving up on God or giving up on organized Churchianity? Some churches or pastors pour hot coals on struggling Christians by condemning them for their lack of faith. Even certain verses are cherry-picked towards this end. Unemployed Christians do not generate tithes. I have seen pastors getting mean at congregants who had suffered fates similar to those of yours. Thankfully, the ones who still retained some fortitude left their churches. But they didn't leave Christ. During the so-called pandemic, I know of people who had contemplated suicide for two years until they found Christ. And they still refuse to step into the organized church thereafter. Again, during the so-called pandemic, many churches outside the US did not allow the unvaccinated to attend service -- just when personal desperations peaked. There are people who find themselves in situations where they cannot afford to attend church (e.g. no money for petrol; no money for tithes and offerings etc). Furthermore, the first church had appointed seven deacons (Stephen was one of them) to help out those struggling with the means of sustenance (esp widows). Maybe, God is signalling that He wants you take another path. Maybe, it has to do with leaving the church. Maybe, it is something else. You will have to approach God alone and seek his will. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6) This is when the Divine lifeline is thrown. He will surely answer you and eventually help you realize why you were facing this set of crises.

BTW, I am still on the lookout for any preaching, book or sermon that treats Gen 12:3 in the light of Christian treatment. I have heard, watched or read may expositions over that verse with regards to Israel or Jews. Once again, if you have come across any pastor, evangelist or Christian writer who had touched on this matter, please let furnish a link.

I am sorry, I think this interpretation is incomplete to the point of being erroneous. Here is what Matthew 25:31-46 has to say: 31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Is there any mention of Jews here? The Lord will separate the sheep from the goats from ALL nations. Salvation is through Christ alone. Even if the definition of the sheep mentioned can be expanded, then it would include ALL Good Samaritans from ALL nations and tribes who had helped Christians out during extreme phases of tribulation. But I believe the sheep and goats parable refer to the ultimate fates of believing Christians vs unbelievers of all hues. Nothing more. It tallies with what Matthew 7:21-23 says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

After all, Pontius Pilate himself was cursed the moment he allowed Jesus to be condemned to a painful death and subsequently died a horrible death as a result. Based on Pilate's troubled conscience during Jesus'sham trial, God had warned Pilate's wife in a dream. He apparently wanted to give Pilate a chance to spare himself of an impending judgement. Even so, one of Jesus last words to Pilate was "Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin" (John 19:11). Since we are the Body of Christ, aren't we protected the same way by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11)? We have had false prophets invoking "the touch not my anointed" verse many times but isn't this actually applicable to the faithful church?

Here is Deuteronomy 28 is rather long. The chapter begins with a blessing and ends with warnings that a curse is in store for the disobedient. Here is what Deutronomy 28:53-68 says. 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: 54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: 55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, 57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. 58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord Thy God; 59 Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God. 63 And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. 64 And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68 And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you This sounds like a terrible curse and prophecy. I see the "Seed as the Sand of the Sea shore" as representing the church in particular, and the nations in general. Here are two sample New Testament verses: Hebrews 11:12 12 Therefore from one man, and ahim as good as dead, were born descendants bas many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. Romans 4:18 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, q“So shall your offspring be.” But more to the point, I am still wondering whether anyone has ever written or preached on the subject of blessings or curses which befall a nation based on its treatment of Christian believers. If anyone has any link or book to recommend, I'd be obliged.

But to whom does Genesis 12:3 refer to? Let’s explore some scriptural facts and historical evidences. It was a promise made to the patriarch Abraham way before the 12 tribes of Israel came into existence and the seed was none other than Jesus Christ. As the apostle Paul clearly stated in Gal 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). This is the promised “seed” of the woman that would crush the serpent’s (satan’s) head (Gen. 3:15). This clearly establishes the true identity of the Messiah and to whom the blessings and curses of Gen 12:3 are applicable. Therefore, any entity or nation that blesses Christians would be blessed by God. Leaving Christians communities alone to practise their faith is indeed a blessing. Persecuting, abetting or celebrating their persecution invites divine wrath. Gen 12:3 can be tested and validated by observing the blessing and curses visited on nations based on their treatment of Christians. https://drmathewmaavak.substack.com/p/i-will-bless-that-who-bless-you-and

Thanks. That makes sense though many will have a nuanced interpretation of those verses. But then again, this is why the Bible speaks of "iron sharpening iron":-)

Zechariah 5 mentions how the woman in the basket was despatched to the land of Shinar. Was it referring to an event which already happened? Shinar was where the Tower of Babel was built.

So, what would be the "holy city" in this context?

Throughout the past two millennia, there have been constant speculations over the biblical End Times. Scriptures had been interpreted and reinterpreted, according to the zeitgeist of the day, in an effort to identify events leading up to humanity’s concluding phase. Many observers in times past, who were witnesses to countless atrocities and lawlessness during their lives, had believed that the end was nigh. Even Jesus’ disciples, the apostle Paul, and the early churches were not immune from these speculations. There were two ancient red lines that were not crossed until recently: https://drmathewmaavak.substack.com/p/two-cardinal-signs-of-the-end-times