Doing the Works of Jesus

We too can do as Jesus/Yeshua did on earth. He did the raising of Lazarus by like He said in His prayer, knowing the love God had for Him was enough to give Lazarus back his life when the tomb was opened at Jesus/Yeshua's command. We might believe God enough to see answers to our prayers but in line with the Son's teaching about the Father we can go to the next level in knowing God loves us where we command something of nature like "Lazarus come forth" and God in His love for us makes it so. Then we will be doing the works of Jesus/Yeshua. He will be happy to see us do it.

What We Most Need To Know

It is written: There is one God and one mediator between God and man - the man Christ Jesus (Yeshua ha-Mashiach). Notice that was not written "the God Christ Jesus" but "the man Christ Jesus". He is proclaimed as man. He is a man. That is so important for our hope. Unless we ascribe to Jesus, Lord Jesus, that He is a man, The Son of Man, and believe it, we will die in our sins. (John 8.) We humans tend to get ourselves caught in a sin that is a sin causing deadly wrath from God so we need freedom from such sins and believing Jesus (Yeshua) is the Son of Man then holding to His teachings is our escape route. Denying such sin is no escape route. Son of Man means was and is and will be like us and has become human for us. This means able to understand our state and how we can be freed from gravely serious sin so we do not die in it. We cannot afford to die in our sins because that leaves us only to face the Judgement as grievous sinners. Plus it can be a sooner death if the sin grieves and angers God too much as serious sins tend to do. We need this Son of Man as our mediator with God. He really is human so He knows our state but He really knows God too. The truth is what He knows we need to know to be set free. Believe in this man and follow His teachings and teachings from Him the Holy Spirit brings.

Against Calling The Son of God 'God'

If the Son is truly God it would have been nonsensical to call Himself the Son and to call the Father God. He could just call Himself God and say there is another God too. The Jews killed Him for saying He is the Son of God so what would there have been to lose, if He was and is God, just to say so. Or just to proclaim a Godhead and identify Himself as part of that Godhead of equals. So it is very significant that He repeatedly called Himself the Son and proclaimed the Father as both God and Father - His God and His Father - and was crucified for doing so. He preached truth so it must simply be because this is true and what God Himself was proclaiming through Him, like He said.
In ancient prophecy the same applies - in Enoch's very ancient prophecy he did not speak of two Gods but always presented one Lord of Spirits - Ancient of Days - and one accompanying Him called the Son of Man with appearance of a human being. Daniel might have known these prophecies and he prophesied the same - an Ancient of Days and one like a Son of Man. The Son of Man was seen in visions being led into the presence of the enthroned Ancient of Days. Not the other way around. Why did they prophesy such things? Because they are the truth.

Ancient of Days and The One Like A Son Of Man

In Daniel's prophecies he saw in visions the two main exalted glorious people of heaven - the Ancient of Days and the one like a son of man. The most prominent and highest is the Ancient of Days. This is who we should call God. Daniel 3:17 - "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence." Yet to believe that the one Daniel saw like a son of man is truly Jesus is essential to being set free from sins so as not to die in them. John 8:21, 27-29 "But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” ... 'They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ' So when He preached the essential importance to not dying in sins of believing "I am he" it was most obvious that He meant believing both 1, that He is and 2, that He is the Son of Man.

The Father and the Son

The Father is unseen spirit and certainly not flesh. The Son certainly is flesh (interestingly He said after His resurrection He is flesh and bone rather than saying flesh and blood - maybe flesh and blood is just an English expression though). The Son is flesh forever now - resurrected flesh. God is certainly not resurrected flesh. Flesh is weak. Because He is flesh, the Son is forever dependant on God's power for eternal life. Yet He has life in Himself too and can give life to whomsoever He wills so by God's power He is both flesh and life-giving spirit too. While on earth the Son was mortal until His resurrection. He even had to descend into Sheol because of His death. The Father is spirit only and is dependant on nobody. The Father cannot possibly die. The Father is greater than the Son and is God to the Son.

Only Reasonable

All things are under the authority of the Lordship of the Son of Man so surely this means He existed from before the start of creation, otherwise the whole universe would have had to have a transfer of power which clearly hasn't happened. So it must be that the Son of Man, Son of God was in authority over creation by the power of His name before creation was created. So He was begotten before creation - firstborn over all creation.

The Word of the LORD

The word of the LORD that came to me: "Israel has sinned" The eagle watching overhead has been a sign of it; the eagle of military, police and government surveillance. Surely the LORD wants His people to become His children, by putting away sin and falsehood and violence and learning to do right and speak truth and love eachother. "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind" and all your VOICE!

What Does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?

We call Jesus 'Christ' but what does that mean? Christ means God's anointed but why is anointed so significant? It means God has sealed Jesus with this anointing. The Son of Man, known historically as Jesus, is the source of true life sealed by God. Jesus said it: "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed" It also means the One God sends to save His people. Save His people from what? From their ethical failures: their sins. 

The One God has Sealed

The Son of Man is the Son of God. There are very ancient prophetic writings from times predating the Bible scriptures that show that even long before Jesus Christ came in the flesh, God already regarded and acknowledged the Son of Man as His true Son. The Book of Enoch says (chapter 105): "In those days the Lord bade (them) to summon and testify to the children of earth concerning their wisdom: Show (it) unto them; for ye are their guides, and a recompense over the whole earth. For I and My son will be united with them for ever in the paths of uprightness in their lives; and ye shall have peace: rejoice, ye children of uprightness. Amen." This person spoken of in the Book of Enoch as being called by God Himself "My son"  is usually called in these prophecies the Son of Man. Jesus Christ often spoke of The Son of Man too and He taught that the Son of Man is the Son of God. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." So the Son of Man prophetically written about in the Book of Enoch, (Jesus' brother Jude who quoted from Enoch in his own writings attesting to its authenticity and inspiration by the Holy Spirit) this Son of Man is the Son of God loved as such most dearly by God. "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus asked a man He had healed. "Who is He Lord? Tell me so I can believe in Him," replied the man. "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you," answered Jesus. The thought that this Son of Man seen with God by Enoch in ancient times is the person wickedly crucified though He did no wrong ever, this thought is encouraged by many of the sayings of Jesus. The Son of Man is the source of life to many from ancient times. "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed" and "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you". He is from heaven itself "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before" and "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man" yet this very Son of Man is the one wicked men crucified - "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things" and "the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified" because blood of this Lamb of God had to be shed so it is painted on our lives like the blood of the Exodus Passover painted on the doorposts. "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." "All will see the Son of Man coming in clouds of heaven." God has sealed this Son of Man. Listen to Him.

How God Confirms His Truth

With so many messages and doctrines flying around today God confirms His true message by giving the Holy Spirit and miracles to those who read or hear it and believe it.

The Truth of Jesus and His Apostles

Unless we ascribe to Jesus, Lord Jesus, that He is a man, The Son of Man, and believe it, we will die in our sins. (See John 8.) The Apostle Paul: "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." (1 Corinthians 8:6) Surely Paul, as evidenced in this sentence and others like it, believed God is one on His own and it is the Father who is God. Surely Paul, as seen in this sentence, believed that Jesus is on a par with God and is called the Lord but is not God. Surely Paul believed that God is the creator and Jesus is the creator but in a slightly different way to God, hence a difference in prepositions 'from', 'through' in 'from whom all things came' and 'through whom all things came'. The same use of difference of prepositions in relation to creation is seen elsewhere in the apostolic writings to distinguish God and Lord. So prepositions regarding creations distinguished but also title distinguished God and Lord. The Father is God. Jesus is Lord. This is consistent in apostolic writings. Jesus is made flesh forever, always a man, even now that He is resurrected, so God the Father's power is His life-source and we can live by imitating His faith and His apostles' faith.

Key Teaching of Jesus

The apostles of Jesus conveyed Jesus' teachings to the world. John has captured key teachings of Jesus in his Gospel. Chapter 8 shows that, for a life that does not end with dying in your sin, the thing is to be sure in your own heart that Jesus (The Son of Man) existed for the ages before He came and was with God who always planned for Jesus to be made completely human; then to realise too that He is going to be around forever and still human but resurrected. Why so important? So you have assurance He will be there for you eternally to transform you into the kind of person who is enough like God that God always keeps you in His household and treats you as a son, punishing sin but never destroying completely and never forsaking. Then carrying Jesus' teachings close to your heart until He replaces what is not of God with what is - and you do too in partnership with Him.

1994/95 Two Thousand Years On

1994/1995 was a time of great spiritual significance for me, besides it being about 2000 years since Christ came in flesh and blood. Some background: My grandparents were leaders in Pentecostal Church not long after the churches started with revivals. Welsh pentecostal. My parents switched to baptist and I was raised in baptist. There I was baptised. There were few believers in the Holy Spirit gifts or manifestation or miracles there and some taught cessationism (that gifts were not for now) so not much chance I would learn about the Holy Spirit. I got challenged at University. Then after years of desolation I earnestly kept seeking God asking for real knowledge of Him so I could preach properly: by 1994 I was being challenged to preach and later became a methodist lay preacher; and I asked for the Holy Spirit in my private prayers. After earnest prayer one day in 1994 I suddenly got a vision of a building sand bucket being tipped out and the words "Build the temple!". I asked for confirmation three-fold and went to a church that evening where three girls in sunday school sang a song they wrote "build build build the temple; build build build the temple" then two speakers in turn spoke about building the temple - one about David being told his son would do it and David was gobsmacked and said to God "What am I and what is my family that You would give me this honor!". Much followed this.
Later at the end of 1994, at the end of December I think, I asked to see God to preach Father and Son and Holy Spirit with real knowledge. Jesus had taught that God and He would come show themselves to those whose love for Lord Jesus makes them obey. I invoked it after checking myself that as far as my conscience could tell, I was obeying, then I asked earmestly. At night in a dream God stood in front of me and said "I am God" then gave me a task to do with a sign that would happen the next day and it happened as He said and I was so overjoyed to know it was really God I almost forgot to do what He said. Days later Jesus spoke to me and gave me proof it was Him (it was invisibly because I asked not to actually see Him because He had said to Thomas "blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe"). It was Jan 1995, I think. I was going to a river near home in a torrential rainstorm with a huge umbrella up and as I came back a voice clearly said "Put down your umbrella" and as soon as I did that torrential downpour stopped dead. I just remembered the miracle of Jesus giving a great catch of fish and how the disciples said "It is the Lord" and I said the same. I felt it must be Jesus. I asked that night that if it was indeed Jesus He would do such and such by the morning and amazingly He did and I was stunned. The way He did it showed He is my completely powerful Master: Master of my innermost being. I had such calm within. Weeks later the methodist lay preachers supervisor heard I had told people in church I wanted to see real gifts of the Spirit and he took me to the Pentecostal church and I was given interpretation when the man there gave a message in an angelic language (I didn't say it aloud but kept it quiet but the speaker said the same interpretation exactly after I received it).
It went: "Look at the trees how they bud and produce leaves; they do this it by the name of Lord Jesus Christ." It continued about planets or the like but I cannot remember that part. I'd never heard such things. Then the speaker stopped and started speaking in English and his words were the very words I had heard as a translation of the message. I'm certain this was a manifestation the Holy Spirit. A little later I saw a book, The Book of Enoch translated by R H Charles, in an SPCK bookshop and opened it and flicking through saw words almost matching the words I heard in tongues with interpretation so I knew I must accept that this book was a work of this same Holy Spirit. In reading it I might have had that faith sorely tested though were it not for the archeology I had studied. Here is the kind of thing I read in it that first look: "Observe how the trees cover themselves with green leaves and bear fruit: wherefore give ye heed with regard to all, and recognize how He that liveth for ever hath made them so. And His works go on from year to year for ever, and all the tasks they accomplish for Him, and change not, but according as hath ordained so is it done."
A little later, maybe this was still in 1995 but I'm not certain, I was having a bath preparing for church and keen to obey the heavenly vision I was given to build the church. I thought prophecy was how God taught to do it. I knew the church I was attending allowed people to speak in some services. I considered what would I say, would God give me a prophecy. Suddenly words came strongly into my mind "Israel has sinned" and I was told the sign of it would be an eagle overhead. I saw in a vision an eagle with a great white eye flying in the sky. Then there were visions of wars and generals talking. The same day a police helicopter service started and flew later over my local church. It had a search light and camera like that eagle. They called it Operation Vulture. The same day the news showed spy planes black like the eagle. The wars that followed were shown in my vision.
I had started researching the timeline of the scriptures and the copy of The Book of Enoch proved useful over the coming years. Most blessed of all it gave me, though, was its visions of The Son of Man who I understood to be Lord Jesus Christ before He came in the flesh. Believing this book to be authentic it was showing me that the Son of Man, Jesus, had been there from the time of Enoch more than two thousand years BC (before He came in flesh and blood). It made sense of the John 8 "Before Abraham was I am" words of Jesus. The interpretation of tongues about the trees growing by His authority as Lord showed me that even before Creation He is.

Living by the Spirit

I have found my life easily gets filled with worldly things even when trying to follow Christ. It seems there are two ways - two wisdoms - one appeals to our desires but is not from God - then there is another wisdom that comes into our lives at times from God that comes in the form of spirit and appeals not really to our desires but appeals to what seems to be some part of us called spirit that only wakes up when our hearts respond to the gospel that Christ died for us. This wisdom or way of living from God is such that it can get swamped by worldly wisdom not from God because our desires are strong - so we have to spend time filling ourselves with it deliberately to give it power and top spot in our lives and that means acting on it whenever we can and never letting it get forgotten. We can help eachother do this but if nobody is there to help we can still do it ourselves. There were hardly any things I could say were workings of the Spirit from God in my life but sometimes there have been so I keep focussing on them and they seem to surge back to life when I do. Scriptures are hard to understand but sometimes the Holy Spirit helps so the our hearts are sometimes opened to understand the scriptures and we can reflect on such understanding over and over whenever we can. Doing what God teaches is sometimes possible if we are ready so staying ready is important but often we have no opportunity so when one comes along we should make it count.

My Personal Testimony About Jesus

I got to know Jesus gradually throughout my life; starting when Jesus' words were read to me as a small child - from a children's Bible by my wise mother. When bullied at school I would see Jesus in my dreams come and stand in the presence of my enemies and give me peace. I got to love this Jesus who would come in dreams at night and assure me He is there for me, just by standing there without a word but in the time of need showing He knows. At university I went to a great church in London and learned the words of Jesus taught in great depth by a lovely preacher (RTK) and another great preacher visited our University Christian group and taught actual obedience to what Jesus taught. These two concepts - learning Jesus' teachings in depth of understanding and obedience to them - made me study all Jesus' words intensely in private when I finished University. I was so chuffed to find miracles were possible with the kind of faith Jesus taught. I did bigger and bigger works of faith. Especially I found I could command extremes of weather with faith in God and it obeyed me (God made it do so when it was within His will and His love for me). Jesus had taught that God and He would come show themselves to those whose love for Lord Jesus makes them obey. I invoked it and God appeared in a dream to speak to me and days later Jesus met me out in the street in a torrential rain storm and said "Put down your umbrella!" and immediately I did so and the rain stopped so quick not a drop fell on me. Jesus was showing me He too does what I had been doing and He affirmed it. I asked proof it was Him and He gave it - masterfully showing Himself to be supremely my Lord, Master of my whole being, incapable of failing for any lack of power. I was all so calm within that I felt everything was solved there and then. The Holy Spirit sealed it all later when I found His power in church undoubtably. I had asked God before all this to show me Father and Son and Holy Spirit so I know Jesus is the Son of God by this answer I was given. Hallelujah.

Heaven and Hell

The place of the dead was called Sheol in Jesus' time and Jesus confirmed it by speaking of it in His teachings - it is a place of all spirits of people while awaiting judgement at the end - the place is divided into separate places for people deemed wicked and people deemed righteous and is full of light for the righteous but places of wicked or other places are dark and some endure punishment there but all are as if in some kind of sleep but conscious - the Greeks called the place of punishment Hades and Jesus reflected this in some teachings. When Jesus died He too went to Sheol and preached in spirit there to ancient people who had been there since the time of Noah (2500 BC) and then Jesus was raised back to life but eternal immortal life so He will one day raise saints to immortal life to reign over the Earth with Him. The place of Jesus now is called Heaven but is hidden and there is not much prophecy to tell us where it is. It might be a place of light but similar to Sheol but where the throne of God is with God actually enthroned there and Jesus ruling with Him over spirits who are not human who we call angels. To say we go to Heaven when we die means we believe we will go to the Sheol place of light or even closer still to Jesus if blessed with that perhaps because of martyrdom. Those spirits of those beheaded for their faithfulness to Jesus are beneath the throne of God and Jesus. When God judges everyone through Jesus after Jesus has reigned a thousand years there will be no more Hades but instead there will be a lake of fire and a city of light whose light is God. It is not usually called Heaven in scripture but usually called the New Jerusalem.

Are You Tare or Wheat?

'Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”' said The Christ Jesus in The Parable of the Tares. Are you a tare or are you wheat? What is the difference? The Prophet Enoch spoke of the righteous or Elect and the sinners or wicked. The Apostle Paul preached of the elect or saints and the unbelievers or the world. It is God who sees the difference and can foresee an entire life of a person. We might sin but later quit sinning - quit doing wrong actions - or we might never quit. We might not know ourselves or sometimes consider ourselves righteous and sometimes consider ourselves sinners. God sees all of the life of someone He regards as Elect and whether they will hold onto the faith He make cause to grow within them until that faith blossoms in repentance from wrongdoing and learning of His righteous ways. Just as in The Parable of the Tares, it may be that nobody except God with foreknowledge will be sure how each plant in the crop will turn out, whether it is a tare or wheat but by the time of harvest it will become manifest. Yet God can encourage us to believe we are elect by giving us the Holy Spirit and miraclulous signs and love in our hearts towards others He treats this way.

Times Ahead

The Book of Enoch (combined with faith and the Holy Spirit from God) assures me that these times, just as in times before The Flood, will soon be times of massive global removal of the wicked from among mankind in preparation for a time of judgement under the feet of Jesus Christ before the final judgement under God. If we are wicked we need the build-up towards this time to be gradual to give us time to repent. Once the momentum of disasters really builds up (far worse than hurricanes and forest fires) there will be no going back and more and more wicked will perish as the Earth is cleansed. We need books like The Book of Enoch for comfort and assurance and warning against remaining unrepentant as the times exponentially get worse. Dates will matter little except to confirm there is no reversal of God’s plan. Revelation warns of times being dire for the righteous too as the wicked sense their imminent irreversible demise. That means standing firm is so necessary and will be greatly challenged as rarely ever before (except in the times like those spoken of in 1 Maccabees). The end result will be few surviving of the righteous and even fewer of the most wicked so that Christ can abolish violence and wickedness completely from Earth under His rule when He comes like that Flood.
[The Book of Enoch 1:1  "The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect and righteous, who will be living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked and godless are to be removed."]

Get to Know God

Get to genuinely know God first-hand by obeying the teachings of His Son:
Jesus taught (see Gospel of John 14:23-24) “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

The Son of Man was always the Son of God

There are very ancient prophetic writings that show that even long before Jesus Christ came in the flesh, God already regarded and acknowledged the Son of Man as His true Son (The Book of Enoch chapter 105) "In those days the Lord bade (them) to summon and testify to the children of earth concerning their wisdom: Show (it) unto them; for ye are their guides, and a recompense over the whole earth. For I and My son will be united with them for ever in the paths of uprightness in their lives; and ye shall have peace: rejoice, ye children of uprightness. Amen."

The Power of Baptism in Christ

Baptism unites a person with Christ because by it they are identifying with Him. This is very powerful because Christ pleased God His Father: "And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power." ... "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."

The Power of the Cross of Christ

The power of the Cross of Christ makes the Law and Old Covenant look weak. Using a topical analogy from recent news, a hydrogen bomb is so much more powerful than an atomic bomb we might say there is little place left for atomic bombs now the newer hydrogen bombs are here. Atomic bombs still exist though; they just have to stand aside now hydrogen bombs are here. Why focus on such devastating power? There is a mighty weapon in God's arsenal that outweighs the power of the Law He gave to Moses on tablets of stone - it is what gives God supreme power to be both merciful and just - the power of His Son's shed blood - the blood of the Son of Man from Heaven shed for sins. It makes the Law and Old Covenant look weak. He always planned it and now it is unleashed. Thank God or else we might all die when a plague like Ebola comes along. Its power I believe halted that disease's path from going global. It makes mercy real and viable despite what humans do worldwide in hating and destroying all God has made. It has effect on delaying damnation long enough to give time for a true Church of God, People of God to grow. It can save each of us who believes from the power of sin in our lives. Thank God He brought about this power. Invoke it in intercession for everyone when terrible times threaten us all.

An Answer to Quranic teachings

Jesus said (John 3): "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever blelieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." The Quran nowhere records that Isa (Jesus) is Son of Allah (God). Yet it is everywhere in the testimony of Jesus and His miracles given Him by God for Him to do. The Quran records a different version of events about the crucifixion saying Jesus did not actually die (4:157). Yet many believe that this Son of God was sacrificed in death on a cross so His blood shed as sacrificial Lamb of God would take effect in establishing a new covenant to take away sin as John the Baptist foretold. Jesus is the Lord alive today having died on that cross and been resurrected by the One True God, The Father, to whom Jesus was and is and ever will be His beloved Son - and God testifies verbally to this and testified in powerful action of love by raising Him from the dead. The Holy Spirit seals this truth.

The New Covenant

The blood of the Lamb of God made a huge impact on the way things are by creating a whole new covenant - it was so effective - yet the error of men and women who know this is to think God, The LORD, has changed - God is ever the same - past, present and eternal future and does not change - yet the efficacy of the blood shed when Jesus of Nazareth - Lamb of God - Son of Man - Son of God - now risen Lord  and Christ - the power of that blood sacrificed and the new covenant it creates does set aside the old covenant needed before God provided the Lamb - so the old covenant is indeed now old. What people who believe in the blood of the Lamb of God to create a new covenant should now do is to set aside old ways and embrace and adhere to the testimony of the apostles who told of Jesus and of what this Lamb of God accomplished by enduring the cross and to be united with this Christ, Messiah, they should be baptised into Jesus Christ's teachings and then follow the Holy Spirit sent to us by God when we believe. This is the new covenant leading to salvation from eternal damnation. And God's and Jesus' grace and peace be with you.

Jesus Did Say He is the Son of God

Jesus' statement about Himself being the Son of God is perhaps best recorded in John 3 where His words said to Nicodemus a Jewish major teacher are recorded: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." The Quran nowhere records that Isa - Jesus - Yeshua (pbuh) is Son of Allah - God - Jehovah - Yahweh (pbuh). Yet it is everywhere in testimony of Jesus and miracles given by God.

Analysing Our Traditions

It seems good to me to place the testimony of God and commands of God over and above traditions - traditions are a huge part of most denominations (take Sunday observance over Sabbath observance as an example to see how powerful traditions have become - even more so than scriptures). Some distrust traditions but find our lives dictated by them as we analyse our ways - so it is loving towards God to dig down and discover what among those influences is truly the command of God and what is influenced by traditions that do not come from God - so out of love for God and true wisdom we can shift our loyalty towards ways God commands and let our lives be built on these. Why do people do this, trying to downplay tradition if it is found to be merely human and emphasise the commands and teachings coming from God? I believe the scriptures and the Holy Spirit lead this way.

Prophet Enoch's Encouragement to do Right

(Enoch 94:1-5)

"And now I say unto you, my sons, love righteousness and walk therein; For the paths of righteousness are worthy of acceptation, But the paths of unrighteousness shall suddenly be destroyed and vanish. And to certain men of a generation shall the paths of violence and of death be revealed, And they shall hold themselves afar from them, And shall not follow them. And now I say unto you the righteous: Walk not in the paths of wickedness, nor in the paths of death, And draw not nigh to them, lest ye be destroyed. But seek and choose for yourselves righteousness and an elect life, And walk in the paths of peace, And ye shall live and prosper. And hold fast my words in the thoughts of your hearts, And suffer them not to be effaced from your hearts; For I know that sinners will tempt men to evilly-entreat wisdom, So that no place may be found for her, And no manner of temptation may minish."

Prophet Enoch's Warning to the Rich

(Enoch 94:6-11)
"Woe to those who build unrighteousness and oppression And lay deceit as a foundation; For they shall be suddenly overthrown, And they shall have no peace. Woe to those who build their houses with sin; For from all their foundations shall they be overthrown, And by the sword shall they fall. [And those who acquire gold and silver in judgement suddenly shall perish.] Woe to you, ye rich, for ye have trusted in your riches, And from your riches shall ye depart, Because ye have not remembered the Most High in the days of your riches. Ye have committed blasphemy and unrighteousness. And have become ready for the day of slaughter, And the day of darkness and the day of the great judgement. Thus I speak and declare unto you; He who hath created you will overthrow you, And for your fall there shall be no compassion, And your Creator will rejoice at your destruction. And your righteous ones in those days shall be a reproach to the sinners and the godless."

The Divine Timetable

From the Book of Enoch chapter 93: "And Enoch began to recount from the books and said: 'I was born the seventh in the first week, While judgement and righteousness still endured. And after me there shall arise in the second week great wickedness, And deceit shall have sprung up; And in it there shall be the first end. ...'"
Enoch was born around 620 Anno Mundi (AM, years from the creation of Adam) - 'seventh in the first week' - can be understood as being born in the seventh part of the first week so a 'week ' = 700 yrs. The account of subsequent week is consistent with this where the close of a 'week' is around 50 years into the last century of the week of seven centuries. Later in the chapter:
"And after this, in the tenth week in the seventh part, There shall be the great eternal judgement, In which He will execute vengeance amongst the angels. And the first heaven shall depart and pass away, And a new heaven shall appear, And all the powers of the heavens shall give sevenfold light. And after that there will be many weeks without number for ever, And all shall be in goodness and righteousness, And sin shall no more be mentioned for ever."
By the 700 year week reckoning the Final Judgement at close of tenth week will be around 6950 AM. This means the final Millennium starts around 5900 - 5950 AM. Very soon. 

Places of the Deceased

Places like the resting places of all the dead and places of punishment of fallen angels are real physical places hidden below regions of mountains and volcanoes. This is what the ancients were taught by prophets such as Enoch and patriarchal leaders such as Methuselah and Noah. These teachings found their way into mythologies and scriptures and have been passed down to us today. Even the word 'Hell' comes from the ancient word for 'hidden'. Enoch's teachings are preserved like this: "And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. And as for those towards the east, one was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. And I saw a flaming fire. And beyond these mountains is a region the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. ... And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray... '" [Book of Enoch 18:6-11, 19:1]

How are you doing? Really?

Jesus Christ's words recorded by John (John chapter 8) tell of liars being so like Satan in behaviour that they are still regarded by God as children of Satan. Likewise with totally unwarranted hatefull thoughts and intentions which are also characteristic of The Evil One. So does this still mean you and I? We have testimony of Jesus recorded in the scriptures in words given by the Spirit of God which have power to transform us into people characterised by the kind of behaviour associated with God The Father. These words can be kept within like seeds that can grow and change us in this way? Are they doing this yet? Are we becoming more like God in truthful speech and family love? Are you and I keeping those words within? The Holy Spirit nowadays comes direct when sent to those who believe and He too transforms those who believingly receive preaching that God gives so the characteristics of truthful speech and loving attitudes are planted to outgrow the evil lying and hating and displace it. Is that happening to you yet? Are you believing these teachings of Jesus yet in such a real faith that God seals with such visits by the Holy Spirit? Press on towards this goal and truly become a child of God.

WE ALL NEED MIRACLES

WE ALL NEED MIRACLES TO ACCOMPANY GOD'S PREACHING "And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (The Apostle Paul to his Corinthian disciples, '1 Corinthians' chapter 2, verses 1-5)

Jesus is 100% Human

"The Word became flesh" (John 1:14)
"This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God," (1 John 4:2)
"many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world" (2 John 1:7)
"Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." (Jesus quoted in Luke 24:39)
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5)

The Day of Atonement

God through Moses provided for Israel an annual Day of Atonement. Now through Jesus of Nazareth God provides the atonement itself for all people. "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2) So we can avail ourselves of this atoning sacrifice for our wrongdoing by holding to the teachings of Jesus which are the light God gives the world. "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7) As John the Baptist used to say of Jesus for all to hear "See, the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world!" He died for you.

The Secret of Eternal Life

We keep to our side of the bargain - believing He is The Son of Man and holding to His teachings - and Jesus keeps to His - freeing us from our sins, giving us the Holy Spirit to lead us into God's truth.
"As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life." (1 John 2:24-25)
"This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit." (1 John 4:13)
"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them." (1 John 5:18)

What is the Holy Spirit?

WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? Here is one experience that might help understand who and what this Spirit is. I was meditating on things of God and I thought about how often when people tried to bring me down it was as if an angel was guarding me. A verse in a Psalm came to mind that might explain this but I could not think where it came from and wished it were confirmed to me that this was indeed what explained my experiences. "The Angel of the LORD encamps around those that fear Him to deliver them in times of trouble". Moments later it was like a voice spoke directly into my mind and said simply "Daniel 3". The words were so clear and striking I went to look up in The Bible, The Book of Daniel chapter 3. This Bible was one I was not at all familiar with having been given it as a gift. There was no mention in Daniel 3 until right near the end where the word "Angel" has a margin reference next to it. I looked up the reference: A reference to that Psalm where it said "The Angel of the LORD encamps around those that fear Him to deliver them". So I knew this was an actual holy spirit who gave me the simple words "Daniel 3" and so wisely proved to me that He was not a figment of my imagination. He exists as a reality and not imagination. He teaches the fear of God.

Wise Teaching of the Prophet Enoch to his Son Methuselah

Teaching of Enoch's to his son [from The Book of Enoch chapter 93] "And the holy Lord will come forth with wrath and chastisement
To execute judgement on earth.
In those days violence shall be cut off from its roots,
And the roots of unrighteousness together with deceit,
And they shall be destroyed from under heaven.
And all the idols of the heathen shall be abandoned,
And the temples burned with fire,
And they shall remove them from the whole earth,
And they (i.e. the heathen) shall be cast into the judgement of fire,
And shall perish in wrath and in grievous judgement for ever.
And the righteous shall arise from their sleep,
And wisdom shall arise and be given unto them.
[And after that the roots of unrighteousness shall be cut off, and the sinners shall be destroyed by the sword . . . shall be cut off from the blasphemers in every place, and those who plan violence and those who commit blasphemy shall perish by the sword.]
And now I tell you, my sons, and show you
The paths of righteousness and the paths of violence.
Yea, I will show them to you again
That ye may know what will come to pass.
And now, hearken unto me, my sons,
And walk in the paths of righteousness,
And walk not in the paths of violence;
For all who walk in the paths of unrighteousness shall perish for ever.'"

The Flood: Total but not Global

ENOCH: NOAH'S FLOOD TOTAL BUT NOT GLOBAL
From The Book of Enoch (ch 89) - part of a dream in which human characters were depicted as animals: "And one of those four went to othat white bull and instructed him in a secret, without his being terrified: he was born a bull and became a man, and built for himself a great vessel and dwelt thereon; and three bulls dwelt with him in that vessel and they were covered in. And again I raised mine eyes towards heaven and saw a lofty roof, with seven water torrents thereon, and those torrents flowed with much water into an enclosure. And I saw again, and behold fountains were opened on the surface of that great enclosure, and that water began to swell and rise upon the surface, and I saw that enclosure till all its surface was covered with water. And the water, the darkness, and mist increased upon it; and as I looked at the height of that water, that water had risen above the height of that enclosure, and was streaming over that enclosure, and it stood upon the earth. And all the cattle of that enclosure were gathered together until I saw how they sank and were swallowed up and perished in that water. But that vessel floated on the water, while all the oxen and elephants and camels and asses sank to the bottom with all the animals, so that I could no longer see them, and they were not able to escape, (but) perished and sank into the depths. And again I saw in the vision till those water torrents were removed from that high roof, and the chasms of the earth were levelled up and other abysses were opened. Then the water began to run down into these, till the earth became visible; but that vessel settled on the earth, and the darkness retired and light appeared. But that white bull which had become a man came out of that vessel, and the three bulls with him, and one of those three was white like that bull, and one of them was red as blood, and one black: and that white bull departed from them."

The Need

"So he [Jesus] said to them again, 'I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.' So the Jews said, 'Will he kill himself, since he says, Where I am going, you cannot come?' He said to them, 'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.'." ... "So Jesus said to them, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.' As he was saying these things, many believed in him." [The Gospel of John, chapter 8, verses 21-24 and 28-30]

God is not unjust but we should not take His mercy for granted

An unjust judge or master having subjects or servants could rightly forgive them their wrongs against him and debts against him or not forgive and not be unjust either way, even though he is actually unjust. How much more then can God who is just be equally just in forgiving us as in not forgiving us who are indebted to Him and have done Him wrong. We cannot take forgiveness by God for granted. We are wise to forgive others their sins and debts towards us as we turn towards God asking His forgiveness. With the same God, we need to ask Him to give us the Holy Spirit and we need to follow this Holy Spirit's lead, again not taking it for granted but asking with faith because grace can be given justly and equally justly can be withheld. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord".

Distant Past Sheds Light on Near Future

Going back to the beginning sheds light on the future. Going back to inspiration that first guided us helps to light the path ahead of us. A SACRED VISION CONCERNING THE DISTANT PAST: [Enoch 86:1-3] "And again I saw with mine eyes as I slept, and I saw the heaven above, and behold a star fell from heaven, and it arose and eat and pastured amongst those oxen. And after that I saw the large and the black oxen, and behold they all changed their stalls and pastures and their cattle, and began to live with each other. And again I saw in the vision, and looked towards the heaven, and behold I saw many stars descend and cast themselves down from heaven to that first star, and they became bulls amongst those cattle and pastured with them amongst them." A SACRED VISION CONCERNING THE NEAR FUTURE? [Revelation 9:1-4] "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."

Twenty Years Reading One Book

I started avidly reading The Book of Enoch in 1995. I read it sometimes daily. Always with great joy. At first it had so much new in each verse that I was overwhelmed but now I have learned to understand most of the most novel and curious features I can concentrate on its lessons and every time I read it I learn something more. I just read it on the train home from work (writing this as I nearly get there) and found a passage that explains the star falling from heaven in Revelation (a similar vision is there in the dream Enoch dreamt in the second half of the book and the explanation of it is clear so this helps unlock the similar passage in Revelation). To him who is faithful in litlle, more will be given.

An Ode to Joy

[Enoch 69:26-29] "And there was great joy amongst them" [the angels] "And they blessed and glorified and extolled Because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed unto them. And he sat on the throne of his glory, And the sum of judgement was given unto the Son of Man, And he caused the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from off the face of the earth, And those who have led the world astray. With chains shall they be bound, And in their assemblage-place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, And all their works vanish from the face of the earth. And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible; For that Son of Man has appeared, And has seated himself on the throne of his glory, And all evil shall pass away before his face, And the word of that Son of Man shall go forth And be strong before the Lord of Spirits."
... more than 2000 years later ...
"Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus asked a man He had healed. "Who is He Lord? Tell me so I can believe in Him," replied the man. "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you," answered Jesus. 

Wisdom from God speaks still today about those He calls His Israel: "Israel has sinned". Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God as are those who love their brothers born of God. The gift of the Spirit from God is to the believers whether high or lowly, wellborn or common, none of them common in God's eyes. Yet believing in the Son of Man, God's Son Jesus is but the beginning and certain sinful things must be removed before God will endorse and side with believers. Lies are detested by the One True God who never lies. Hatred of those who do us good is equally reminscent to God of His hateful enemy Satan. All these and things like them which God will highlight and Jesus testify against and Spirit convict of - all must be removed permanently - they are devoted to destruction. Put off the old language of lies. Put on the new language of speaking truthfully until the old language is forgotten forever. Wait for God to show what else must be permanently removed. "Israel", He says, "has sinned."

The Writing of Jude about the Book of Enoch

Jude verse 14 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints…” This quote by Jude, a brother of the Jesus of Nazareth, from The Book of Enoch, asserts three things: firstly, that the Book of Enoch is historically authentic as writings of Enoch seventh king of Sumer in sucession from Adam and seventh generation descendant; secondly, that The Book of Enoch is inspired prophetically by the Holy Spirit; and thirdly that the extensive writings in the Book of Enoch about The Son of Man with God in Heaven matches up to what Jude knew with faith about his biological brother who persistently identified Himself as The Son of Man from Heaven who was with God long before Abraham was born. “Before Abraham was, I am” is a saying of Jesus. Another is “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he”. Now, “This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness; And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.” is what Enoch wrote of the Son of Man. Jude clearly recognised that this is (was, will be) his dear brother, the Son of Man made flesh.

The Second Beast

If you look at what Messiah means (for example see Wikipedia entry) it is a special title given to a great ruler who uses his position and power to greatly save Israel. God gave the title to Cyrus. A ‘messiah’ could identify themselves with Cyrus who was of course the king of kings of Persia and Media (now Iran and the Kurdistan area). The USA and UK might say that like Cyrus they have used their power to create the State of Israel and continually save and champion it. Now that is a claim similar to a claim to Messiahship. The fact that Persia was famous for going into the background only to re-emerge later as Parthia is along the lines of it being called the bear in prophecy. The bear hibernates in winter and is powerless yet before that and after it revives it is full of deadly power. Persia is set to re-emerge again as part of the lion-bear-leopard first Beast empire. USA might say it is in the image of this Persia in that it created the State of Israel and champions it using its superpower status and therefore representing the Messiahly role Persia under Cyrus once had, given by God. Yet if it is false in any of this it might be a false Messiah. It should stay true and be faithful and not be a false champion of Israel but a true one. And stay out of future world takeover under the first Beast. If when the first Beast rises there is a boast of Messiahship on Americas part and claim to be a copy of Cyrus then it might be becoming the second Beast or laying its foundations.

The Son of Man is the Lamb of God

In ancient times the prophet Enoch wrote much about the Son of Man through whom God would make a people of righteousness in place of the wicked who God will destroy.
Enoch wrote what was taught him by an angel: 'This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness; And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.' And he said unto me: 'He proclaims unto thee peace in the name of the world to come; For from hence has proceeded peace since the creation of the world, And so shall it be unto thee for ever and for ever and ever. And all shall walk in his ways since righteousness never forsaketh him: With him will be their dwelling-places, and with him their heritage, And they shall not be separated from him for ever and ever and ever."
Jesus Christ often referred to Himself as The Son of Man and He sometimes did so using terms Son of Man and Son of God interchangeably. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." So the Son of Man prophetically written about in the Book of Enoch, read about by Jesus' brother Jude who quoted from Enoch in his own writings, this Son of Man is the Son of God loved as such most dearly by God. "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus asked a man He had healed. "Who is He Lord? Tell me so I can believe in Him," replied the man. "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you," answered Jesus. The thought that this Son of Man seen with God by Enoch in ancient times is the person wickedly crucified though He did no wrong ever, this thought is encouraged by many of the sayings of Jesus. The Son of Man is the source of life to many from ancient times. "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed" and "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you". He is from heaven itself "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before" and "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man" yet this very Son of Man is the one wicked men crucified - "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things" and "the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified" because blood of this Lamb of God had to be shed so it is painted on our lives like the blood of the Exodus Passover painted on the doorposts. "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." "All will see the Son of Man coming in clouds of heaven."

Origins of Ancient Egyptian Eyelid Painting

How and why did those characteristic eyelid-painting customs of ancient Egyptians start? Enoch was a prophet whose writings were famous in the ancient world who lived in the Third Millennium BC and I believe the Book of Enoch preserves his writings to this day. It described how around 3000 BC there were angels who sinfully introduced their technologies to humans in the Middle East. "... And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, ..."

Stone Circle Origins?

ORIGINS OF THE STONE HENGES? The ancient Sumerian prophet's prophetic 'Book of Enoch' chapter 72 "... And this is the first law of the luminaries: the luminary the Sun has its rising in the eastern portals of the heaven, and its setting in the western portals of the heaven. And I saw six portals in which the sun rises, and six portals in which the sun sets and the moon rises and sets in these portals, and the leaders of the stars and those whom they lead: six in the east and six in the west, and all following each other in accurately corresponding order: also many windows to the right and left of these portals. And first there goes forth the great luminary, named the Sun, and his circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and he is quite filled with illuminating and heating fire. The chariot on which he ascends, the wind drives, and the sun goes down from the heaven and returns through the north in order to reach the east, and is so guided that he comes to the appropriate (lit. 'that') portal and shines in the face of the heaven. In this way he rises in the first month in the great portal, which is the fourth those six portals in the cast. And in that fourth portal from which the sun rises in the first month are twelve window-openings, from which proceed a flame when they are opened in their season. When the sun rises in the heaven, he comes forth through that fourth portal thirty mornings in succession, and sets accurately in the fourth portal in the west of the heaven. And during this period the day becomes daily longer and the night nightly shorter to the thirtieth morning. On that day the day is longer than the night by a ninth part, and the day amounts exactly to ten parts and the night to eight parts. And the sun rises from that fourth portal, and sets in the fourth and returns to the fifth portal of the east thirty mornings, and rises from it and sets in the fifth portal. And then the day becomes longer by two parts and amounts to eleven parts, and the night becomes shorter and amounts to seven parts. ..."

Instructions of Sharappak

Where did scriptures start? The earliest we have I believe is the Book of Enoch but it is preserved through the ages and retranslated over and over. Earliest extant ‘scriptures’ of the same kind of religious nature come from the descendants of Enoch. The Instructions of Sharappak is the best example we have preserved as extant text and it starts: "In those days, in those far remote days, in those nights, in those faraway nights, in those years, in those far remote years, at that time the wise one who knew how to speak in elaborate words lived in the Land; Sharappak [biblical name Lamech], the wise one, who knew how to speak with elaborate words lived in the Land. Sharappak [Lamech] gave instructions to his son; Sharappak [Lamech], the son of Ubara-Tutu [biblical name Methuselah] gave instructions to his son Zi-ud-sura [biblical Noah]: My son, let me give you instructions: you should pay attention! Zi-ud-sura [Noah], let me speak a word to you: you should pay attention! Do not neglect my instructions! Do not transgress the words I speak! The instructions of an old man are precious; you should comply with them! ..." -- translation of the 'Instructions of Sharappak', an extant Sumerian text from third century BC (full translated text here - http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr561.htm ), the millennium of the Flood. Methuselah [Sumerian name Ubara-Tutu] was son of Enoch [Sumerian name En-men-dur-ana 'Ruler bridging heaven and earth', the great prophet, who ascended into heaven to meet God and the Son of Man and be taught by angels] who was son of Jared who was son of Mahalalel who was son of Kenan (a teacher of righteousness) who was son of Enos who was son of Seth who was son of Adam [Sumerian name Alulim who was first king of Sumer and ruled from Eridu the first city] who had no earthly parents because he was created by God [as Sumerian King Lists attest - translation here http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr211.htm ].

Was the Crucifixion of the Son of Man Foretold?

What does ancient prophecy say about the cross of Christ - the crucifixion of the Son of Man? Christ's death was a very great sacrifice for sins. What it did, Jesus said, was establish a new covenant ('in His blood'). So to find prophecies about it from before it happened we are looking for prophecies of a new covenant. We have the prophetic teachings of John the Baptist too for comparison and confirmation. The obvious text is 'this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins'. So we can compare this with John the Baptist's great prophecy 'Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world'. So the prophecies show Jesus established by His crucifixion a covenant where sins are not merely forgiven (repentance could result in forgiveness before the death of Jesus) but TAKEN AWAY, eradicated. So by this new covenant sin is not just repented of by the life is freed from its hold and a saint is made.

Hunger for Reality

Those of us who seek to really belong to God through the Messiah, Jesus, should look at ourselves with cold objectivity and ask whether we are truly actually seeking and holding to and practicing the teachings of Jesus and those He sends and of the Holy Spirit. We might follow religious traditions and doctrines and words of scripture and even words we think are from Jesus. If we seek the reality of what Jesus taught we might find what we were following was not the intended meaning of Jesus of Nazareth but something else superimposed, perhaps by misunderstanding or deniminational bias. Digging down to His original meanings is wise if our intentions are to put His teachings into practice because practising a misinterpretation could be folly and not the will of God. We can find the original meanings of Jesus' teachings more easily these days because resources are available such as online Bible tools. We should ask God's help so we can be assured of what we end up holding to that it is the truth from God and true counsel from God through Jesus and not a distortion or misunderstanding. God seals this kind of following by giving the Holy Spirit and miracles.

"Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" was a question asked a group of a dozen or more followers of John the Baptist. When Apostle Paul asked this he went on to preach a gospel including their need of baptism into the teachings and name of Lord Jesus the Christ. It is all recorded in the biblical 'Book of Acts' by the gospel writer Luke. It continues to record that after they believed this gospel: "... they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." Today this happens with various timescales and other variations of detail but the same kinds of events to a few here and there in churches and other groups. I know because it happened to me. I didn't speak in tongues but I interpreted tongues spoken by another believer. Days later I prophesied too. "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?"

The Son of Man Suffered at the Hands of Evil Men

Jesus knew this before He died: that the Son of Man must suffer at the hands of evil men and be crucified and on the third day rise again. This Son of Man was made known to the ancient prophet Enoch as the one before whom every human will be judged "when He sits upon the throne of His glory". So the rightness of God's case against humankind is proven. Firstly there is the demonstration of the evils of humans that given they chance they unjustly crucify this faultless, perfect Son of Man. Secondly none of them are worthy to judge but this Son of Man is worthy. Thirdly this Son of Man having suffered at their hands has full rights to judge them. Fourthly humankind is forever at the mercy of this Son of Man. Fifthly, by raising this Son of Man from the dead the vindication of the Son of Man is complete and God's fatherliness to the Son of Man is revealed and sealed forever as is His perfect pleasure in all the Son of Man is and does. In the events that followed the prediction was correct that those who crucified Him came to realise who they had crucified as many believed Jesus to be this Son of Man, the Lord and the Messiah sent by God as Lamb of God slain for our sins to buy us from slavery to wrongdoing so we are owned by God.

Why Victory is not Assured

The LORD says it. "Israel has sinned" Consecrate the People. The people cannot stand against their enemies until things are sorted out. Sin must be put away and the right ways restored before victory is assured. "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction." [Joshua 7:11-12] Meanwhile: "An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken my covenant" [Hosea 8:1] so wars will hover near until the forbidden things are removed from among God's people. We are not upheld as people of God while lies are tolerated on our lips and murder in our hearts. "Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister." [1 John 3:10] 

The Ancient Sages

The ancient Greeks were known for their wise sages. They were able to discern the workings of the Universe and the existence of laws of Nature organising how all things everywhere in the cosmos behaved. Some called it the great account and Heraclitus called it the Logos. Yet their wisdom, great though it was, fell short of what they needed to escape the doom of the Final Judgement Day because they did not discern the One Most High God. So Jesus came preaching and teaching and working miracles revealing God and calling God 'The Father'. When Jesus was executed, crucified, by jealous Jews there was a final great miracle revealing why God is The Father when God raised Jesus from the dead. The preaching of this can enable even fools to discern God and what God is like and stop sinning and believe, escaping from the doom of the Final Judgement Day with this Christ, Jesus, to help and set free from sinning. This is the glory of the preaching of the Christ and of Him crucified.

Educated to Preach?

What education does a lay preacher for God really need? When I got the calling and pressure compelling me to preach I complained to God that I would not know what I was preaching. He gave me a four part course: a day experiencing Him then a break then a day experiencing Lord Jesus then a break then a day experiencing the Holy Spirit then a break and then His word came to me and I started preaching it.

Thunder and Lightning

Many things in Nature are parables of the things of God. The ancient prophet Enoch knew this more than most. Sometimes it is not explicit but nevertheless implicitly duscernable through his writings. Take thunder and lightning: "For the thunder has places of rest (which) are assigned (to it) while it is waiting for its peal; and the thunder and lightning are inseparable, and although not one and undivided, they both go together through the spirit and separate not. For when the lightning lightens, the thunder utters its voice, and the spirit enforces a pause during the peal, and divides equally between them;" [Enoch 60:14-15] See how the Father and the Son go together like the lightning and the thunder. How inseperable they are. "And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man,
And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me: This is the son of Man who hath righteousness,
With whom dwelleth righteousness, And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever." [Enoch 46:1-3]

The Spring Source

Many rivers start with a spring. If you want the water with the least impurities and the greatest clarity, go back to the spring where it starts. The ancients like Enoch - we are so lucky to have Enoch's writings in English. "You will do well to pay attention to them as to a light shining in a dark place." I long to look into them further and also discern what came even before these like the teachings of Kanan. There are extant texts we have from the times when such wisdom was still being passed from father or grandfather to son or grandson such as The Instruction of Sharappak. Remember the Holy Spirit has been speaking to humans from the beginning and still says the same kinds of things today so it is all relevant even to us today what was taught back then by those so inspired and theirs were times of the first water from the spring. The centuries of misinterpretations and denominations have muddied the later waters but luckily the denominations did not have these ancient texts to muddy so they are translated without so much of this bias and are not overridden in our minds and circles of discussion by such things.

Precious Promises

The words Jesus spoke to the disciples of His inner ring shortly before His crucifixion and resurrection provide a wealth of promises applicable to others who would follow Him faithfully. He gave such promises to provide a pathway away from the world into a fellowship with Him and with God who sent Him and with the Holy Spirit also sent by God in place of Jesus while He is away and fellowship one with each other so following Him, all fellows pulling the same set of oars to row, metaphorically, in the same direction - into the truth and the will of God. The promises provide a means to love Jesus by understanding and keeping in remembrance and either doing or preparing to do at some opportunity the commands and teachings and testimony He gave with hope that is real today that Jesus, alive now and evermore, will make Himself known and the Father make Himself known and the Holy Spirit make Himself known personally.

Goodness and Severity

"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22) God is your judge and mine. He is severe. Stern. Yet He is good and kind and He Himself gives us the advocate to be the real representation we each need before Him - the Son of God, Christ Jesus. The cross they killed Jesus on is a sign of Jesus being from God for each of us. You too, whoever you are. The advocate killed? Yes so He can properly represent us before God because not only was Jesus truly killed but God truly raised Him from the dead; and not only that. Jesus is flesh and bone but He was not always flesh; no He is the Son of Man from the right hand of God in Heaven who was born but was in Heaven before that birth and in Heaven again now to intercede for those who embrace His advocacy for them with God. He is eternal and will ever be the same Jesus the Son of Man so His advocacy for you and me can continue forever so we too can become what God wants us to be, His eternal children with Jesus. A new advocate is here from God called the Holy Spirit now that Jesus has gone back to God and this advocate acts for us in Jesus' name once we accept Jesus. He applies Jesus' words and high authority as Lord into our lives. He is a spirit but eternal having always been acting like this for the few but now available to the many who ask for Him. All this to represent our eternal interests in the eyes of God. Why? So we need not die still failing ethically but can live and in living have more and more fruitful lives that continue forever past the Judgment into greater eternal knowledge of the eternal Father, God. Peace to you and grace from God and from Jesus Christ His Son. In Jesus' name.

The Message

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-ndj_(hieroglyph)  The Egyptian hieroglyph in the shape of a cross means, it is said, 'advocate' or 'counsellor'. God gave the sign that Jesus is the ultimate advocate for us by giving Jesus the work to do of being put on a cross and dying there and so that cross for a few hours carried the dead body of Jesus. Then in full view of the public and of our minds down the ages God raised this man Jesus from the dead showing Jesus to be as a truly loved Son to Him. This counsellor is who we need. This advocate is assigned by God to us to answer for us when we sin and God is grieved. This advocate is gone away for a time so God sends instead another advocate to be with believing souls who is the Holy Spirit. He is to be with us forever. If you believe then you too have this advocacy assigned you too by God.

Where Did it Start?

Want to have faith? Where did it all start? Look back at Abraham. Isaiah 51 starts:
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.”
Here is where it all started when a man dared to question the accepted beliefs in idols and started kicking idols over that lined the streets and realised they were weak and incapable of stopping him kicking them and dissing them so they must be unable to help anyone so he dared to ponder whether there was a more real powerful god who could actually save and so God reached out to him as he reached out to God – and the rest is history.

The King James Version?

Some Christian teachers and pastors only believe in reading from one version of the scriptures and it is usually for these people the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible (the 'Thees and Thous' we used to call it). I was not bound to one version when learning to follow the precepts of Jesus - I took them from whatever version I could understand and tried to find an understanding of the original words using an interlinear bible. The important thing was building up a life of practising what He preached and His apostles preached even when it went into the realm of learning to do miracles by faith like He taught. Eventually though He Himself came graciously to me to teach me and show me what He is. This is what/who I cling to now.

The Wise Person Depicted in the Parables of Jesus

Who is the wise person in any of Jesus' parables? The person who hears God's word through Jesus and puts it into practice now if appropriate or if there is no opportunity now they get themself ready to do so when the opportunity comes.

The Letter and the Manager

Some might ask: Is the Bible accurately preserved? Say there is a day when everyone in the company department arrives at work to find a letter from HR on their desks. They find the letter tells them they will each now report to an official overall manager newly designated as line manager for everyone in the department. Some geeky fools might look at the letter closely and notice that the words used show it wasn't the head of HR personally who wrote it even though the head signed the letter. They might think to themselves that the letter probably isn't the original draft and some HR clerk might have changed the wording after it was signed. Some might notice it is not a copy printed from a printer but actually a photocopy of what was printed and they might wonder whether it was cleverly altered before being photocopied. Most of the department however, though they might guess all this is possible, will simply start reporting to the manager. 

Knowledge Puffs Up

"Knowledge puffs up but love builds up" -- we might search the scriptures to try hard to add to our knowledge but if we do not love Lord Jesus the Christ and do not love God the Father who sent Him we will never really understand what He says and we will die in our sins.

Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59. The passage primarily addresses Israel. It ends with the prophecy of Israel (Jacob) again being accepted by God - verse 20. This comes when the nations against Israel will be opposed strongly by the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul in Romans 11 puts it after all the Gentiles who will believe have believed and been accepted when God turns back to Israel to bring Israel into full acceptance and implies that the Resurrection will quickly follow on from Israel's acceptance by God. This is a warning to other nations that the sand within the hourglass will one day all run through for acceptance by God. For the nations now is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time. Soon it will end and it will be Israel's turn again.

Before we die

The problem I feel we have in our lives is not just that people are ignorant of the pervasiveness of evil practices in everyday life and dependence of society on them day by day (in sanitised form) but the ignorance of the gospel Jesus Himself  preached in its true form since it is so diluted and muddied by misunderstanding among its preachers today. I spent months in my youth trying to go back to it as John  recorded it in his gospel and I recommend that. What we miss is for example in chapter 8, that it is all about not dying in our sin. Major sin can be eradicated from us by Jesus before we die but we need to believe in who Jesus is first and hold to His teachings always. And believing in who He is gets lost in modern Christianity because of historic issues. It is all about Him being a certain being who was with God from the dawn of time and is who He is now and forever still yet alive from the dead - the Son of Man. Believing this and holding to His teachings is essential to having Him free our lives from major sins before we die so we do not 'die in our sins'.

The Ark of the Covenant in Heaven

"Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm." [Revelation 19:11]  "The ark of the covenant... This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant." [Hebrews 9:4] The tablets of stone reminds me of God the Father writing with His finger the commandments on stone. The manna reminds me of the Lord Jesus Christ who is manna from Heaven. The budding staff reminds me of the Holy Spirit who uses the budding of trees to illustrate the authority of Lord Jesus Christ over Nature. All these signs stand ever in Zion before God as constant, enduring reminders to us all.

A Work Ethic

God entrusts heavenly matters to those who have served Him faithfully in worldly matters. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?" -- Jesus Christ

Survive The Fire

Will you survive the fire or be burned up with your dreams? God is fire and eternal spirit and will destroy this world with fire and make all things new. Are your dreams and achievements eternal or all only part of this short-lived world? "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (from Revelation 20)

The Eternal Things

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." "things above ... where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Apostle Paul to the Colossians, c50 AD)
"... and the entire portal stood open before me, and it was built of flames of fire. And in every respect it so excelled in splendour and magnificence and extent that I cannot describe to you its splendour and its extent. And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. The flaming fire was round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and none around could draw nigh Him: ten thousand times ten thousand (stood) before Him, yet He needed no counselor. " (Enoch, c2600 BC)

Constancy

Through Enoch, Sumerian Enmendurana, seventh from Adam, the Holy Spirit encourages the constancy seen in Nature. [Enoch 2:1-2] "Observe everything that takes place in the heaven, how they do not change their orbits, and the luminaries which are in the heaven, how they all rise and set in order each in its season, and transgress not against their appointed order. Behold the earth, and give heed to the things which take place upon it from first to last, how steadfast they are, how none of the things upon earth change, but all the works of God appear to you." ...  [Enoch 5:1-4] "Observe how the trees cover themselves with green leaves and bear fruit: wherefore give heed and know with regard to all His works, and recognize how He that liveth for ever hath made them so. And all His works go on thus from year to year for ever, and all the tasks which they accomplish for Him, and their tasks change not, but according as God hath ordained so is it done. And behold how the sea and the rivers in like manner accomplish and change not their tasks from His commandments. But ye -- ye have not been steadfast, nor done the commandments of the Lord, But ye have turned away and spoken proud and hard words With your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, ye hard-hearted, ye shall find no peace."

The Resurrection

The Son of Man became a mortal human and in obedience to God the Father He preached to reveal God and truth and then died and rose to become the immortal resurrection human. Without a resurrection other humans cannot be raised and we need resurrection and to be made immortal in order to know  God. Without a resurrection our lives are temporary and not permanent and only permanent people can know God because God is eternal. This is why God sent Jesus.

How God Saves

The salvation of people that God achieves is by the same means as controls first the creation of everything and then the governance of all of nature. This is by the Son of Man as a template - so really that means all He is and stands for and the effect of stability and order and obedience and righteousness and faith it has first on Nature and then, once we believe in it (Him), on us, as we keep a close hold of His teachings - the teachings of this Son of Man who we come to realise is The Christ, The Lord, Jesus.

Enoch's Prayer

Enoch 83:6-8 (Enoch's prayer before The Flood when he foresaw it in a vision)  "Now then, O God, Lord and mighty King, I entreat thee, and beseech thee to grant my prayer, that a posterity may be left to me on earth, and that the whole human race may not perish; that the earth may not be left destitute, and destruction take place for ever. O my Lord, let the race perish from off the earth which has offended thee, but a righteous and upright race establish for a posterity for ever. Hide not thy face, O Lord, from the prayer of thy servant."

Human-Making and Human-Fathering God

The Gospel of John (chapter 8) contains the clear understandng given by Jesus of God being not just human-creating but human-fathering. Jesus explained it as being Himself from Heaven with words from Heaven. The existence of the Son of Man, Jesus explained, shows God as not impersonal but having been in conversations with a human-like being in Heaven since before the dawn of time. This is the human-like Son of Man there as first of God's works. Therefore when God made humans and made them through this Son of Man in likeness of Him, God was not doing this for the first time but was making more people like His Son because He had made the Son of Man His Son to be never forsaken but there with Him always and these humans could be like that too. Then Jesus goes on to explain the relationship between the Son of Man and God and shows this fact about God is that He is Father to the Son of Man. So as Jesus reveals in words what His hearers would later realise in their understanding, once they crucified Jesus and He was raised by God from the dead, that He is this Son of Man now made flesh and blood and mortal, it becomes clear that God can be Father to mortals because they too can be resurrected to be immortal so they can truly know this Father.

An Aside: Flat Earth?

The Book of Proverbs (8:27) probably contains the one proof in the Hebrew scriptures of the understanding existing a thousand years BC that the Earth is a sphere. "...when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep" (Proverbs 8:27) has two words that say it all - horizon and face. 'Horizon' or 'edge', Hebrew chug, indicates they could stand in a boat at sea and in each direction see an edge the same distance from them whichever direction they were and this would be the same in whichever geographical location they were at sea. 'Face' literally human face, Hebrew paneh, clinches it because this is used to describe that circle around the observer at sea formed by the horizon. A face is circular. It clinches the proof because a face on a person's head is curved so the nose is higher than the ears if the face is horizontal and looking from the surface in the centre where the nose is, all that can be seen is as far as the ears and chin and top of head which is here compared to the horizon; and of course the reason for this is that the head is spherical like a ball. So picking these words chuga and paneh to describe the Earth as observed from sea (the deep, Hebrew tehom) shows an understanding of not just a spherical Earth but how the horizon at sea proves that understanding.

Truly Being Saved

Truly being saved from the worst outcome of the Final Judgement is the result of God's work in a believing disciple of Jesus Christ. They're saved when the Judgement is over - those who are not hurt by the Second Death - and they are not among the dogs thrown outside the new Jerusalem city into the Lake of Fire because they are not found to have been unrepentant so they are not at that Judgement liars of any kind and nor are they druggers nor sex workers nor idolaters nor murderers nor fearful unbelievers afraid to face up to truth but they are freed from all this in this life by holding to truth and teachings from Jesus Christ and bearing good fruitful works that are written in the Book of Life to be read out on that terrible day.

Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacy and the Pharmakoi

Pharmacy and pharmaceuticals - are these practices related to what God the Almighty and Jesus Christ call 'pharmakoi' in Revelation 21 and 22? Pharmakoi is translated sorcery or practising of magic arts in many English Bibles but it is a word more connected to drugs and medicines than the supernatural concepts we nowadays associate with sorcery and magic. Pharmakoi was a word used to translate words in the Hebrew scriptures related to sorcery but it had wider connotations and still has today. One online translation tool I used to translate the same word from modern Greek translated it as 'medic'. Use of roots for drug purposes to carry out abortions for prostitutes and the like seems to be an origin of the art. In general, attempts to undo consequences of immorality, and trying to extend life, using substances such as those extracted from roots. So 'root'  may be the basis of the word 'pharma'. It also forms a basis for the related arabic word used to form the word 'alkaloid' which is an important part of pharmacy and 'alkali' too in chemistry. In fact chemistry and biochemistry too take their names from alchemy, one of the magic arts. However it is drugs and drugs work, legal and illegal, that seems particularly highlighted in words of Revelation 21:8 and 22:15 - a dire warning to us all.
I can understand Christians wanting to wish away the word used by God and by Jesus but the certainty is there in the word God gave because it came with a strong assurance of its veracity in Revelation 21 before mentioning pharmakoi: "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto   me, Write: for these words are true and faithful...." then pharmakoi are listed for the lake of fire and likewise Jesus too said the same in Revelation 22:15 following pharmakoi listing among those to be in the Lake of Fire with assurance that it is He Himself who sent His angel to John to testify to it in Revelation. So certainly pharmakoi is there as one kind of person to be thrown into fire by God at the end Judgment. So many will want to bend it to mean something irrelevant and different to modern medicine and pharmacy and drug research, production and distribution both legal and illegal but God speaks for Himself.

How to be saved from damnation at the Judgment

How to be saved from damnation at the Last Judgement. [John 8:25-32] '... Then they asked him, “Who are you?" Jesus told them, “What have I been telling you all along. I have much to say about you and to condemn you for. But the one who sent me is truthful, and what I’ve heard from him I declare to the world.” They didn’t realize that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority. Instead, I speak only what the Father has taught me. Moreover, the one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” While he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”'