John the Baptist

 Who was John the Baptist and why does he matter today?

John the Baptist was a truly great first century preacher because in effect he announced a new divine Passover. It was the Passover in which God provided Jesus Christ as the sacrificial lamb. Passover is the feast in which there is a lamb sacrificed by each participating household, originally in divine preparation for the ancient Israelite people leaving slavery in Egypt millennia ago. A few Egyptians who believed also participated. With the later first century Passover the whole thing starts again but this time the household is the household of disciples of Jesus but is for the sins of the whole world too, as many as believe. John the Baptist spent years preaching and foretelling this divine event, before it took place not long after he died a martyr. It prepared everyone for this great new Passover, and many of the disciples of Jesus had started off as disciples of John the Baptist, prepared by him for their life of faith in Jesus and their discipleship as holders to the teachings of Jesus. The inner circle were there to participate in that Passover Last Supper when it happened. Jesus Christ called John the Baptist the greatest of all prophets who came before him and more than a prophet. But Jesus went on to say that anyone included in the kingdom of God is greater still. This is the kingdom created by that Passover in which Jesus was the lamb sacrificed. 

Compare the first Passover with the Passover in the first century AD when the lamb of God was Jesus Christ.

 AI (ChatGPT, June 2026) answers it:

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a3ccdda-d588-83ed-8e8a-bae418cbdfaa

Many Christians see a deliberate parallel between the first Passover in Egypt and the death of Jesus Christ during Passover in the first century AD. The New Testament explicitly identifies Jesus as the Passover lamb, especially in First Epistle to the Corinthians 5:7: "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

Here's a comparison:

First Passover (c. 13th century BC, according to biblical chronology)	Passover in the First Century AD (Jesus Christ)
Israel was enslaved in Egypt.	Humanity is portrayed as enslaved to sin and death.
God sent Moses to deliver Israel.	God sent Jesus to bring spiritual salvation.
A spotless male lamb was chosen.	Jesus is presented as sinless and without blemish.
The lamb was sacrificed.	Jesus was crucified.
The lamb's blood was applied to the doorposts.	Jesus' blood is understood by Christians to provide atonement for believers.
The blood protected households from judgment.	Faith in Christ is believed to save from divine judgment.
The firstborn were spared where the blood was present.	Believers receive spiritual life through Christ.
Israel was freed from physical bondage.	Believers are freed from the power of sin.
The Passover meal commemorated deliverance from Egypt.	The Lord's Supper commemorates Christ's sacrificial death.
The event marked the beginning of Israel as a covenant nation.	Christ's sacrifice inaugurated the New Covenant.

Significant Parallels

1. The Lamb

In the original Passover (described in Book of Exodus 12), each family sacrificed an unblemished lamb. In the New Testament, John the Baptist calls Jesus "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

2. The Blood

The blood on the doorposts identified those under God's protection. Christians understand Jesus' blood as the means by which believers are reconciled to God.

3. Deliverance

The first Passover resulted in Israel's liberation from Egypt and eventually led to the Exodus. Christians see Jesus' death and resurrection as bringing liberation from sin, death, and separation from God.

4. Timing

All four Gospels place Jesus' final days during the Passover season. The Gospel accounts emphasize that his death occurred in close connection with the Passover observance, reinforcing the symbolism.

Important Differences

First Passover	Jesus' Passover Sacrifice
Repeated annually.	Viewed by Christians as a once-for-all sacrifice.
Animal sacrifice.	Human sacrifice of the Messiah.
Applied to one nation (Israel).	Offered for people of all nations.
Delivered from physical death and slavery.	Delivers from spiritual death and sin.

Theological Summary

From a Christian perspective, the first Passover was both a historical act of deliverance and a foreshadowing of Christ. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb spared Israel and led to freedom from Egypt, Jesus—the "Lamb of God"—shed his blood to bring salvation and freedom from sin. Thus, Christians often view the original Passover as a "type" or prophetic picture that finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ during the Passover of the first century AD.

My heartfelt lesson from heaven

 It is important to be clear about heavenly things, when sharing heaven-given experiences and what we learn in them. It was when I was a young man that I heard the message preached by the evangelist “CHRIST DIED FOR YOU”. He wrote it on a white board preaching in the public square outside a large church or cathedral. It was as though he had spoken it to me. It sunk in. My heart was ready for it. I had felt wretched at being trapped into bad behaviour of being so boastful as a young man trying to always impress peers, and dishonestly boasting in that habitual attitude. I knew I was pretty unworthy of real holy things, but people expected me to be religious and to become a church worker. I had heard another preacher preaching what had filled me with awe at the glory of God and His Son. Now the message was a firm hope for redemption, given this direct message to me of Christ having died for me. Indeed, for you too: It is such a very general and open message. My hope clung to this. When the preacher took me inside that church or cathedral to pray with me I experienced the power of God resting on me, but only when I prayed humbly and honestly. When I reverted momentarily to proud boasting, exalting myself, dishonestly, it went. It came back when I stopped that nonsense and humbled myself candidly in my prayer. Others witnessing it waiting for mass or communion were happy to let me take bread and wine body and blood of Christ with them. It went on for days like that, as the power only rested on me when I humbly confessed my real self, abandoning boastful dishonest self-exaltation. So I made it my deliberate aim to always live such that the power of God would rest on me, and dedicated myself to speaking truthfully, especially when among brothers in Christ. This was transforming, and set the course of my subsequent life and later career, so I could serve the living Lord Jesus Christ this way.  Over time but very slowly at my own pace I gained some scripture knowledge to back this up and understand it. 

By blood and spirit

 Jesus is so filled with acceptance of all the fulness of all the teachings and wisdom and knowledge of the One who sent him that if you see him you see this One who sent him. He is one with the Father in this sense. It would be great if we were too. This comes from having a spirit of revelation from God. It makes the one filled this way so much like the Father. Just as Jesus is so much like the Father. I get much of my gospel message from the gospel of John. I find my life has been blessed with fulfilment of promises I find in John’s gospel. So it rings true for me, and I boldly confess that to all. But note that most of the entire second half of his gospel John dedicated to the narrative of Jesus preparing his disciples for his crucifixion and resurrection, and then a full account of how that crucifixion and resurrection came about. This is the divine means by which the spirit of revelation can be given you by God, if you believe Jesus died for you, as the gospel says. It had to be by blood, not just by spirit. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a395132-199c-83eb-bc8a-452559d9a1c0

Filled

 A sponge soaks up, absorbs, water in which it is placed. If you squeeze it first before placing it in the water, then loosen it when it is fully submerged, it soaks up so much water that it is utterly full of it. Jesus is so filled with acceptance of all the fulness of all the teachings and wisdom and knowledge of the One who sent him. He is so full of all this from God that if you see him you see this One who sent him. He is one with the Father in this sense. It would be great if we were too. This comes from having a spirit of revelation from God. It makes the one filled this way so much like the Father. Just as Jesus is so much like the Father. Jesus is full of the teachings of the Father who shows it all so much to Jesus, who holds to these teachings, that it conveys on Jesus the very way of thinking of things that the Father has.  Holding to his teachings we can become like Jesus, if we truly believe in him. This gives us unity with each other, just like the unity Jesus has with God. 

Ashurbanipal and King Lists

 “There is evidence that scribes in the library of Ashurbanipal regarded some very ancient texts as difficult to understand. In several colophons and royal inscriptions, Ashurbanipal boasted that he had studied obscure writings, including texts "from before the Flood" or from the distant past. These statements suggest that by the 7th century BCE, some ancient Sumerian traditions were already archaic and challenging to interpret.” ChatGPT June 2026

“The pre-Flood section of the Sumerian King List contains reign lengths that are far beyond anything considered historically possible.

For example, the first king, Alulim, is said to have reigned for 28,800 years, while other antediluvian kings are assigned reigns ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of years. In some versions of the list, the eight kings before the Flood rule for a combined total of 241,200 years.

After the Flood, the reign lengths drop dramatically. Early post-Flood kings may still be credited with hundreds or even over a thousand years, but the numbers steadily decrease until they become more comparable to realistic human lifespans and reigns.” ChatGPT June 2026

“While there is no direct evidence that misunderstanding produced the huge reign lengths, the fact that ancient scholars themselves regarded antediluvian texts as exceptionally ancient and challenging does fit with the broader distinction the King List makes between pre- and post-Flood history.” ChatGPT June 2026

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a37d3f4-26cc-83ed-9c04-08a40d1998d5 

Resurrection Logistics

 When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead there was an avoidance of a certain problem by choosing Lazarus. Lazarus had no wife. It was for two days that Lazarus was dead in a tomb. Legally, if he had been married, he would have risen after a legal end to his marriage by his death. Jesus avoided some serious problems by raising a single man. Maybe the same issues were avoided with others raised from the dead by Jesus and later by his apostles too. There was much intelligent judgment going on in the logistics of such power. It could get problematic if many were raised this way. Best keep a lid on it, once it was established that God gives this power to a few. One day the many will be raised, when Jesus returns in ultimate fullness of such power. The logistics of it will be another matter, by its huge scale and consequences. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a36b359-2d40-83eb-b613-d438e287636b

Crossing boundaries

 There are various kinds of border. There is a border between one nation and another. This is usually a border you can cross. There is a border between the natural realm and the spiritual realm, which might be crossed by dream visions, or when someone interacts with a ghost. There is a border between the realm of the Most High spirit or His angels and humans such as ourselves. He might allow us to meet Him in a dream vision, and interact with Him. There is another interaction which is something for which we might yearn, which is to interact with a human who has crossed what for us humans is the ultimate border, even beyond the human-ghost border; the border from mortal to immortal. Jesus crossed this. To interact with Jesus is when mortal meets immortal. One way is direct contact. He allows it for some. Here the mortal human touches the immortal human, and the mortal finds it possible to identify with him, with Jesus, as truly human, although immortal and resurrected from the dead to live in that state forever. It becomes a living reality to have this interaction and know this identification. But then there is another more indirect means for this reality to come alive which is when the Holy Spirit becomes manifested. This Holy Spirit can impart things of immortal Jesus Christ and render them part of our living experience. It is this kind of interaction which has given us the Book of Revelation, some of it dictated to John by the resurrected, immortal Jesus Christ. Also there are other writings of apostles who learned things directly from Jesus after he was resurrected. They wrote such things down. We have some of these things in the New Testament today. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a36b043-be94-83eb-839b-2fbf1423a709 

The wrath to come

 Ghost versus the next generation? A heaven-led court case. The departed who are the more saintly among the ghosts, are petitioning the Almighty from their ghostly place in heaven, pleading to be avenged against those who put them there, and being granted this vengeance by God, not against the people of yesterday, but against the entire human population of the next generation, the last generation before Christ returns. Why the delay? Because there is a clock ticking, counting the number of victims being added to those departed, and it must reach a certain threshold. Then the departed will be granted their petition, and wrath will be unleashed, in the future, perhaps against people only young today. We have opportunity, to gather to pray, to seek mercy, and maybe God will soften that coming blow, at least for those who pray for mercy. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a36715a-926c-83eb-ae36-4c822448dab0

A priceless treasure worth owning

 A spirit of revelation is like the treasure a man found buried in a field. He reburies the treasure, then goes and buys the field. (Jesus describes such action and treasure in his parable.) The interesting thing is how the nan wants to hide it from anyone else who might grab the treasure, or drive up the price of that field. The church councils of the Roman Empire drove up the price of buying the field, because they could not grab the treasure. Those who received a spirit of revelation were told the treasure could not be used with any attribution to it of authority. The councils drove down the value of it. They drove up the price of owning it, by claiming it had no authority above the doctrinal decisions of their councils. Still today this lingers in church doctrines. But whatever! If you find the revelation of God, go buy that field and own it, no matter what they say. It is beyond price. 

Live by Jesus’ life

 I find it sad that many who sit in churches and partake in mass or communion there, still refuse to be corrected by the teachings of Lord Jesus himself, or by the testimonies of the gospel writers of the New Testament gospels. Sin continues. Despite truth being made known in Jesus. This is a kind of renewed crucifixion of Jesus. The mass or communion holds little benefit if sin continues despite truth being made known. This is a very sad aspect of life in Christ. To live fully we need to not just embrace the truth revealed in Jesus by God, but also to be corrected by it, and uphold that correction, living according to its righteousness. Only then can mass or communion have benefit, and the cross of Jesus Christ have its way in purifying us from sin. Do not be those who crucify Jesus Christ all over again. Live by the life he gives. 

Lord Jesus and War

 Lord Jesus and War

Living by the sword typically means dying by the sword, Jesus said. Jesus seems to give full credence to the Book of Enoch as holy writ. His views on this are clear in several records of his sayings in the sacred gospel books. The Holy Spirit who is given in Jesus’ name, bringing things from Jesus to his disciples today, speaks words so closely aligned with sayings unique to the Book of Enoch that this verifies the upholding of the book as holy scripture. This figures, in that it is in this book where we find the same attitudes and moral viewpoint about key matters as are found in the views of Jesus Christ. One key matter is on warfare. Here we find how the Book of Enoch attributes the introduction of warfare to the human race as a dastardly deed of angels who were judged heavily by God for doing this. Enoch taught his son, as something to teach all humans, that judgments by God on humans in future necessitate a turning away from violence. Jesus shows this same moral leaning in how he educated his disciples to put away their swords, lest they die by the sword. He did not forbid them taking up the sword in times of grave danger, or using it, but as soon as possible they should put it down again. The Book of Enoch foretells a time when as a whole the disciples of righteousness would put down a mighty sword given to them. This shows that though God does arm the righteous, His righteousness entails as soon as is practical putting down such armaments, much preferring instead to embrace peaceful ways of living, as much as possible. 

Consider

 Consider all the very powerful people who have had subjects and servants and who have been in a position to be able to not have to deal with these people directly but instead to have emissaries they can send. They might be like god to these people, and their emissaries like prophets. Indeed, that god quality can be there in these emissaries too. Consider one of these emissaries turning up at the door, collecting the dues for the big guy. The emissary might convey the importance of the one sending them. To ignore them is like ignoring the big guy, the god. Well these emissaries and gods are all alike not really gods in the fullest sense of what it would truly be to be a god. They eventually fail and eventually die just like anyone else. You could see the emissary in a hospital bed alongside the very people to whom they were sent. The big guy sending them might end up in a grave next to the mere mortals who had during their lives been their subjects and servants. But there is one big guy who really is truly a god. Eventually this one is the only one like that. Even his topmost emissary is more of a god than any of these other so-called gods. Yes, that emissary did die as mortals die, one on one side of him in death, one on the other side. On crosses. But the one true God who sent him, also within days raised him from the dead, making him immortal forever. These are the Son, Jesus who is the Christ, and the Father who is the one true God, who sent this Christ. Your failings to meet this God’s moral standards have necessitated Him sending this Christ to die on that cross, for you. 

A miraculous path to follow

 So what is really involved in following the teachings of Jesus Christ? His teachings are to a great extent focussed on obeying the ten commandments, and believing in his sonship of God, but that is not all. Following him involves belief in who he is in relation to God, and on keeping those ten commandments God commanded. Then his teachings are not only about such belief in him and about social behaviour stemming from these commandments from God. They are also about believing in God and doing the miraculous. Exciting indeed. He definitely teaches that by belief in God, with resistance of worldly temptations to doubt, the miraculous can be a reality. This is to be part of the discipleship experience. Following Jesus is a miraculous path. He set the pattern to follow in his own miracles. God gives these miracles as God’s own testimony, confirming the testimony of His beloved Son, in whom God is well pleased. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a2d6ec7-cbcc-83eb-a886-9bc2a3e8267e 

The top of the pyramid

 For some people an important symbol is found on the American dollar bill: The top of a pyramid. It is seen by many as a poignant and profound symbol of the need to bring back into our lives that missing pinnacle. Some in the past have told me they saw me as one who would bring back that missing top of the pyramid. Now, to do so, I must proclaim two truths. The first is that the Father is actually the one true God, even over and above Jesus Christ His Son. Indeed His Son is by those very words shown to be up there with Him, but His Son, who many of us know to be Jesus Christ, is also one who calls this Father his God, his head, his ultimate authority figure, to whom he will forever subject himself. Secondly, I must proclaim in this same spirit of truth, the true message from God that Jesus Christ died for you. The top of the pyramid symbol is actually a synonym, or should be, of the higher symbol of the cross atop a hill. It was on a hill that there stood a cross and on that cross, between two crucified thieves, was this Son of God, with whom we can identify because he is human like we are, and there he died for the purification of your sins, and my sins, for your moral failings and mine. That sacrifice is the pinnacle of God’s own personal solution for our biggest problem, our moral tendency to do wrong, and for our personal histories of wrong doing, which must be atoned in God’s eyes, or else we could not improve, and could not confidently approach God for help. Jesus helped us by that death. God raised him a few days later, to physically live again, now given immortality in both his flesh together with his spirit. So he does still live, having still that resurrected flesh and bones, and will live forever like that. We can still look to him and can identify with him forever. But that cross of his death of atonement for us must be kept atop that hill, ever raised up in our estimation, like a symbol of the price paid for our having morally fallen short. Because of it, and when we believe in it, God gives the Holy Spirit as a mark, a sign, of our acceptance into His peace and His family of believers like us. It makes us one. As one, under the cross on that hill, we have no cause to lie to each other or to let anger turn to hatred of each other. Truth and love should rule our behaviour toward each other, with acceptance and forgiveness as we too have been accepted and forgiven by God. The commandments of God now apply to us, as those for whom God is our God. It can now lead to eternal life, because Jesus died and is risen, and we hold to his teachings, as his disciples, believing in him. Whoever, wherever we are. It is for all who receive it. Christ died for you. 

The one with whom we can all identify

 One with whom you can identify. A human being. But there in the presence of the holy Most High being: There where otherwise it has to be holiest angels who stand. Enoch the ancient world prophet saw this human. Daniel a later ancient world prophet saw this human. They delighted in this one who was human so they could identify with him, yet holy enough, acceptable to God enough, that he could stand before this Most High God, this God who alone is utterly wise, and utterly holy. Isaiah the later ancient world prophet saw this holy human. Now we have the blessing of seeing this very same human, with whom as humans we can identify, because he became flesh and is known in history, Jesus who is raised by God from the dead as Lord and Christ. The Son of Man, as Enoch called him. The apostles sent by Jesus saw him, even after his resurrection. Believe in him. Hold to his teachings. Be his disciple. And he will save you. To the glory of the Father who sent him as the light into the world. Christ died for you.

Overhead sign

 The eagle is overhead. It is the sign. Because God says, “Israel has sinned”. 

Hurricane Milton 2024

 I will remember Hurricane Milton with great affection. It was commanded, and it obeyed. From Cat 5 to Cat 4, then to Cat 3. The wind and waves obeyed. Greater things, if someone believes when commanding. But here it was a group who commanded it, live on a social media public live stream comment list. Shared faith in God, the Higher Power, nay, the Highest power. As Jesus taught, as Jesus does, and teaches disciples of his sayings so to do. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a254f0d-df8c-83ed-a74a-ad9e70a62e4d 

Living by the spirit and not the mere letter

 The letter or the spirit? Which one is the one to live by? The Apostle Paul wrote about this in a way quite difficult to understand. The ten commandments are a big part of his writings, as they were a major part of Jesus Christ’s teachings. Paul very much followed Jesus. Paul seems to be highlighting the way of approaching the ten commandments he had taken before his conversion by the resurrected Jesus Christ. His approach was a typical approach to the commandments and the Law given to Moses. He characterises it as legalistic righteousness of adherence to the letter without adherence to the spirit of these commandments. It focusses on knowing the wording, while ignoring the underlying intentions of the commandments, and he seems to criticise it as side-stepping the life of righteousness implied in the commandments. What then does he mean by living by the spirit? In practice it is a life intended to actually fulfil the will of God in giving those commandments, living the life God intended by His giving of them, by actually making the necessary changes in behaviour these commandments require. So in order to comply with the commandment not to commit false testimony, it is necessary to recognise the wrongness of falsehood in a context of brotherliness and oneness in Christ, and then to practice truthful speech in that context instead. Likewise, to obey the commandment not to kill, it is necessary to block the tendencies within us that might lead to wrongful killing, such as by managing our anger, and giving no room for evil intentions to influence our thoughts, words, and actions. To keep us from greed, and stealing, and coveting, we must devote ourselves to the opposite of these, by working hard to provide for needs, both our own needs and our social responsibilities to others, remembering especially our families and the poor among us. It is an overall commitment to live fully the way the commandments suggest, in the will of God in commanding those commandments. The nobility of such thinking and such an approach to our lives is what elevates us above our ignoble fleshly side, as we live by spirit, not by flesh. 

Relating faith to facts of time and place

 I like to relate my faith to my personal knowledge. I live in Britain, and here we have towns with remains of ancient temple foundations dating back to times of Roman emperor Claudius. So I can relate my faith to local knowledge of this time. I once took a holiday in Antalya in Turkey, in neighbouring town Side, where the same historic period was very significant in religion, according to New Testament accounts regarding Attalia, as it was then called, and Perga. Perga lies inland to the north-east of Attalia (modern Antalya) and, although it is not directly on the coastal route to Side, while travelling from Antalya toward Side along the coast I would likely have been passing not far to the south of it. According to the New Testament book of Acts, the apostle Paul passed Attalia, visited Perga twice (once when he travelled form Cyprus to Perga, and again when returning from a time preaching around the region), and he actually did preach in Perga on his second visit to it, all very close to that time in history. So much has happened since events of that time and place, but it started from the visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ to Paul and from his sending of Paul to preach. It helps me to relate my faith in this resurrected Jesus to my factual knowledge of the time and places. It starts to fall into place. 

Fact checking: https://chatgpt.com/share/6a1abe2f-5cb4-83eb-a27e-86ea1334db32 

Greater Things

 We do not see in Science today—at least not yet—much explanation of the three-way spiritual interactions between humans, higher intelligence, and Nature. Science is starting to tackle controversial issues such as telepathy, but stops short of including telepathic interactions between humans and higher intelligences: ‘gods’. Maybe future Science will include such things. But there is reality in how God, and other non-biological spirits, and even humans of spiritual power such as the resurrected Jesus Christ, can and do communicate with humans and act with spiritual agency on behalf of humans. If we believe in God, the God who sent Jesus, we can cause effects with such agency by letting God act for us. Jesus taught how this can be achieved by first believing in God with zero doubt, then speaking to Nature with belief that God will bring about what we say. Jesus demonstrated it in various ways: Commanding a storm to stop still such that it obeyed, cursing a fig tree so it withered before the next day, and even bringing dead people back to life by speaking authoritatively to them. He taught that his believers would go on to do greater things still, because he goes to the Father out of sight. So indeed, it is even possible to command not merely a storm to stop but a hurricane to calm down, say from mortally dangerous Category 5, down to something less destructive such as Category 3, and it will do so, if the accompanying belief in God is without tinges of doubt. Greater things. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a176faa-1790-83eb-a807-d64b5e4f4b25 

Science of Spirit

 We might start to see changes in Science: Concepts arising akin to the subject matter of spirit. Personally, I welcome this. It is not going to be easy. It is central to modern sciences that spirit is taboo. The rise of Modern Science was arguably only tolerated by the Church, who burnt many books published using innovative early printing presses, because it carefully avoided anything to do with spirit. But spirit is part of Nature, so it cannot forever be avoided if Science seeks to cover all that humans can know of Nature. However, Science is doomed to fail in this, for one reason: It is a human sinful tendency that God will be ignored. It will try to skirt around aspects of spirit while diligently ignoring individual spirit beings, especially the individual being known to His followers as God. Jesus will be subjected to reductionism by ruling out any acceptance of the possibility that his followers’ gospel testimonies about him were true. Thus, the resurrection will be downplayed as something akin to a spiritual experience, but without a spiritual living body of real, human flesh and bone. Many atheists will fight to downplay even the spiritual possibilities, let alone the realities of actions only possible for the One who alone is the God Most High. So it won’t add up. Yes, humans and animals have a spiritual side to them, and maybe it is similar to the spiritual aspects of inanimate things, but Science will stop short when it comes to the spirit known to many as God interacting spiritually with other living things, and with people. That is how it seems likely to me that the Science of Spirit will unfold. For a follower of the testimonies of the gospels, the testimonies of the eye witnesses of Jesus who learned from him, it is central in understanding spirit that we understand how our spirituality is empowered and enlightened by the Son sent by the Father, and by the Holy Spirit sent in this Son, Jesus Christ’s name. Only then can we hope to truly know this Most High God who sent Jesus. It might be that the limitations historically imposed by the Church on Modern Science have become the stumbling block preventing scientists from seeking and finding this holiest of knowledge. Interactions with humans and animals at a level of their spirit can become a domain of future sciences, but true wisdom comes when it is recognised that a living Lord Jesus interacts with humans, as does the Holy Spirit, and as does the ultimate spirit, the Father. 

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a175dc4-0ef0-83eb-9ca3-0dc15a85d8a3

Kingdom of Heaven

 When a government of a nation makes laws it ensures that the new national laws are made by the authority of the name of its head of state. Then there is authority in each new bud on a tree, each new leaf, each branch newly forming. What authority gives each new bud the right to put forth buds and leaves? The Holy Spirit has said ‘They do so by the authority of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ His name gives the authority for new buds to form, and even for planets to orbit stars. It is the same authority by which a bud is formed as the authority by which a new planet orbits a nearby star: The authority of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If by this same authority the Holy Spirit manifests as gifts such as prophetic speaking in tongues and interpretation, as indeed this message was given, then it is on a par with Nature. It flows from God’s throne, by the petition to Him of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and is directly imparted to the believer receiving it. The kingdom of God is within, given within, flowing from within. 

Happier Times

 Enoch 90:33–36.

“And all that had been destroyed and scattered … were gathered together in that house, and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced with great joy because they were all good and had returned to His house.”

One day the sheep of the Lord’s flocks will no longer scatter and no longer wander away from him. For now, though, his sheep are wandering and scattered, blinded in the process. His judgment will be strong on the blinded sheep. But later there will be happy times. 

Spirits - part 3

 There is sense of what is called ‘spirit’, as is taught in the Book of Enoch, where there is a set of characteristics which define something, plus there is intent of something happening or coming into existence, and this goes back, apparently, to the way of thinking and seeing the world in very ancient times. God brings about such spirits—such defining sets of characteristics with intent of them coming into physical existence—which is the spirit of those things, and Jesus said he is there in existence before the birth of Abraham, who was born centuries before Jesus was born, in that he exists even before the ancient figure Abraham was born, not only as the set of characteristics defining the anointed one, the Christ, as a spirit, a defining set of characteristics, there in those times, but the divine intent of this spirit becoming flesh and blood one day, as Jesus, is also there. God defines Jesus and forms His intent that Jesus would come one day in flesh and blood, and so this spirit is there in existence in the universe, having existence in its own right. Now how does this understanding guide our lives? We are to live by spirit, not by flesh. How can we live by spirit in the sense of meaning of ‘spirit’ here? It is the spirit of what God defines as a set of characteristics for us, and the spirit of what God intends for us. And it is a spirit of saintliness. We are to live our lives aiming to become this set of characteristics which God has ordained for a saint, and we are to live lives within this intention of becoming saints with these characteristics: Saintly people who do not keep ethically failing, sinning, falling short, but live up to the kind of lives that God has revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. We do so as one, united by this shared spirit of it all. 

ChatGPT feedback on my understanding of Spirits

 https://chatgpt.com/share/6a108ac3-03b8-83eb-a0b6-be543bfcdf05 

Spirits - part 2

 In one sense of what is called ‘spirit’, as is taught in the Book of Enoch, there is a set of characteristics which define something. This goes back, apparently, to the way of thinking and seeing the world in very ancient times. The sun has rays of light, and it has heat, and we could see it as two sets of characteristics: a spirit of light-giving nature, and a spirit of heat-giving nature. God creates such spirits—such defining sets of characteristics—just as He creates the things which have these spirits. Therefore the spirit defining something exists as something in its own right. Jesus said he is there in existence before the birth of Abraham, who was born centuries before Jesus was born. But there is an extension of this sense of what is called a ‘spirit’ which is the intention of something either happening or coming into physical existence. There is a phenomenon of intent becoming known at a spiritual level, and this is part of this domain of spirit too. Jesus can say he exists even before the ancient figure Abraham was born, because not only are the set of characteristics defining the anointed one, the Christ, as a spirit, a defining set of characteristics, there in those times, but the divine intent of this spirit becoming flesh and blood one day, as Jesus, is also there. Once God defines Jesus and forms His intent that Jesus would come one day in flesh and blood, this spirit is there in existence in the universe. 

Spirits

 There is a sense of what is called ‘spirit’ taught in the Book of Enoch which seems best to fit what we might call the set of characteristics which define something. This goes back, apparently, to the way of thinking and seeing the world in very ancient times. The sun has rays of light, and it has heat, and we could see it as two sets of characteristics. Then these might be called the two spirits of the sun. Today we would go further and apply these spirits to other stars, regarding both sun and stars as having a common nature, but common nature is more of an ancient Greek concept, particularly seen in later Christianity. God fills the universe with spirits, with many defining sets of characteristics of things He makes. People too have defining characteristics, which too could be seen as their spirits. In the thinking which can be regarded as following on from the Book of Enoch worldview, there is a sense in which the spirit defining something exists as something in its own right. Perhaps this is behind the sense in which Jesus can say he is there in existence before the birth of Abraham, who was born centuries before Jesus was born. Enoch, in the Book of Enoch, wrote of his own ascent up to the Son of Man, and apparently he meant by ‘the Son of Man’ the Christ—the anointed one, the elect one. Eventually this Son of Man became flesh, being named Jesus. Yet his defining characteristics existed as spirit, divine, long before he came in the flesh. 

Prayer and heroics

 Oh what a problem our air travel is becoming. We have international hub airports in various countries. Once a virus outbreak reaches them, it can be spread to many countries very quickly. Closure of airports seems logical, but it is considered problematic too by governments. However, as a very dangerous virus outbreak spreads exponentially, despite containment efforts, there very soon comes a stage at which you cannot prevent it being spread to other countries unless travel restrictions were imposed earlier. Woe to those who put their trust in princes, the proverb says. It is through prayer and heroics that the folly of governments is sometimes overcome. The prophecy of Joel in the Bible tells of a time when the elect should gather to plead with God for mercy. Jesus said to pray with belief that God will answer. 

Authority to grow

 When a nation makes new laws, it has to have clear authority behind this. It goes to great lengths to ensure that this authority is in each new law. The government of a nation typically ensures that the new national laws are made by the authority of the name of its head of state. But what about Nature? What authority is in each new bud on a tree, each new leaf, each branch newly forming? What authority gives each new bud the right to grow? The Holy Spirit says to ‘Consider the trees. They put forth buds and leaves. They do so by the authority of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ His name gives the authority for new buds to form, and even for planets to orbit stars. His name pervades Nature in this way. 

No student is above their master

 Maybe I am only an armchair student of the teachings of the Holy Spirit today, but it is enough to at least be a student of any kind, since no student is above their master. In being a student of the Holy Spirit, the reality behind this is discipleship to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit brings us what Jesus has been given by the Father. The Father teaches His Son all things pertaining to our salvation. So to listen to, and learn from the Holy Spirit, both in our meetings in the name of Jesus Christ, and in our more private moments of meditational devotion and prayer, we learn the heart of Jesus Christ, the truth Jesus deeply holds within him. It is rather nonsensical to try to downgrade the authority of these revelations. This is a taste of the righteousness, truth, and authoritative discipline found in heaven itself, up to and including the very throne of the Most High God, the Father. In the authority of the name of Jesus, all Nature continually functions in accordance with the will of the Father, God. In comparison, even the churches are mere human institutions of power like human courts, as they always have been down the centuries. Take it from Jesus, that he too will forever submit to the Father. The student is no greater than their master. It is enough for the student to be like their master. For example, I found in the Holy Spirit a teaching, interpreted from an angelic message in tongues given in a service meeting, that matches words found in the Book of Enoch but not in other scriptures such as those canonised by largest church institutions. Clearly, the Holy Spirit conveys truth known to Jesus. This manifests that Jesus knowing this Book of Enoch holds it highly as scripture, holding Enoch as true prophet. He must even know Enoch from over the centuries in heaven, since Enoch ascended there five millennia ago. This is consistent with records of teachings of Jesus in the gospels. Jude, a biological brother of Jesus, wrote of Enoch in a manner consistent with this too. The absence of the Book of Enoch from what churches have endorsed as the Bible does not diminish this, but it puts their authority in perspective. We truly learn from Jesus if we go on to become more like him, believing his beliefs. Then our authority is merely an extension of his own, in line with his own, and this in turn is from God who sent him. 

An armchair-historian view of the Apocalypse

 An armchair-historian view of the apocalypse: First there came the fourth horseman. A British Empire arose and unleashed its Darwinian worldview. It is taken up by USA, the lion’s mouth of the three-superpower Beast. From this mouth there arose two powers which took up that view, along with extreme forms of fascist philosophical framework combining ideas and ideologies put forward by Britain and amplified within USA and used via two powers, Japan and Germany, to force the second and third components of the three-superpower Beast to emerge: Russia and China. I sit on an armchair between the times of the fourth and sixth seals of Revelation, watching the three superpowers continue to rise and evolve, but not yet in the time of great wrath of God which comes with the opening by Lord Jesus of the sixth seal. Once that seal gets opened, the wrath is revealed. There might be up to a decade of this truly apocalyptic wrath. Then the Beast will come to fully global domination.  But Lord Jesus will then bring their dystopian rule to an abrupt end before it goes too far and terminates saintliness completely. 

Note: For a critique of this, see https://chatgpt.com/share/69ff080a-1ef4-83eb-a875-9f858ae7f34a 

De jure sonship

 Historically people have focussed on the existence of God de facto, rather than the righteousness God exhibits. This tendency seems to go back to the Greek philosophers who did not think any god was particularly righteous. It is a tendency stemming from lack of belief. Persuasion that the God we associate with the teachings of Jesus Christ is righteous is something supposed to develop with Christian faith, but it seems to have been lacking among many people over the centuries despite their being called ‘Christian’. This lack of ascribing of righteous character to God is also seen in how people have come to think of Jesus, the Son. It is seen more as de facto, less as de jure. In other words, the Son, in this lack of faith, is regarded as simply existing as the Son as a matter of fact, rather than as a matter of the worthiness of his character in the eyes of the Father. It seems to me to go back to the Ancient Greek philosophical thinking of no god being righteous, but simply existing. In the true faith of which first followers of Jesus were persuaded, the Father is believed to be righteous, and the Son is deemed by God to be worthy to be called His Son, in a righteous sense of this worthiness. This faith can seem to be in conflict with traditional forms of Christianity that have developed over the centuries. That does not mean the faith is wrong, but rather that traditional Christian doctrines have developed over the centuries out of not just responses to Christian original preaching but also out of existing Ancient Greek philosophical thinking. As the apostle Paul put it, the philosophers knew not God. They philosophically built on concepts of the existence of gods, and in some of their thinking, an existence of an ultimate God, but adopted a strategy of thinking in which they deliberately did not assume any god to be particularly righteous. There are signs, it seems to me, that this kind of thinking influenced the growth of dogma traditions within Christianity, down to this day. It might be why Christians enthusiastic about theological frameworks such as Trinitarianism have adopted a view of the Son as simply existing as the Son forever (de facto), alongside a Father who simply exists forever (de facto), rather than emphasising his worthiness of Sonship (de jure) in the eyes of a righteous Father. It is a lack of persuasion. It then manifests in lack of understanding that to be children of this righteous Father, we must be righteous too, worthy of this righteous Father. We find in John 8, that Jesus teaches the faith that God is righteous such that to be His children we must be righteous too, and this comes from belief in Jesus the Son who is accepted by the Father as worthy of Sonship, and in following his teachings persistently in order to become worthy children of God. It is then not simply de facto sonship, but de jure sonship, and this is by faith. 

Note: For a critique of this analysis, see https://chatgpt.com/share/69feeec9-a2cc-83eb-a16a-dbfb20263b75