At some point

 At some point you have to quit lying and other sinning or you just die a sinner, condemned. Christ died for you.

What makes Jesus special?

 If Jesus is known for teachings, why are rabbis who taught the same not well known? What makes Jesus special is authority.

The Absurdity of Atheism

 It is actually difficult to dislike Ungod since nobody is certain what Ungod is like. This also makes it difficult to put much thought into Ungodism. Or Aungodism. I tend to think in theory I must be an aungodist because I believe Ungod does not exist. But I have no idea what being an aungodist is like since if Ungod certainly does not exist there is nothing tangible to go on. 

I tend to think it is more sensible to identify as an Aungodist rather than an Aungod2ist. There would obviously be infinite non-existent gods (including Ungod2 and Ungod3) I could identify as not believing in but I would tend towards some kind of generalisation, requiring a generic Ungod. But if I identify with not believing in Ungod then it could be construed as very specific to Ungod, not to Ungod2 or Ungod3. Perhaps I should identify as an A<ungodx>ist. I guess for that term to get traction we need to simplify it to Aungodxist. Not easy to say. Auntheistxist is no better. Perhaps I best forget this Aungodism thing as a non-starter. It works better with a real god to not believe in just to get a bit of traction and give it some meaning.

The evidence is there to find

 Look into the physical evidence of cuneiform tablets about crosses and sacrifices made to make way for a vision of prophecy, an oracle. That is the very meaning of the ancient symbol of a cross used since 3500 BC up until less ancient times. There are physical tablets which when deciphered provide evidence of this. That cross and blood of Christ made way for the Holy Spirit and prophesy which followed. God who provided this is seen in it. It is evidence of God. You merely need to understand and know. You can find it in secular sources on the internet.

Which god is God?

Which god is God? People such as the Ancient Greeks used to sacrifice on altars which had images carved into them of the gods to whom the sacrifice was dedicated. If people sacrifice on an altar with an angel carved into it, that sacrifice was being made to that angel to appease that angel. Now a sacrifice made on an altar of uncut, natural stone, to whom is that sacrifice made? That is God.

A dangerous myth

 The idea that you can just ignore God and live your life just as well is a bit of a dangerous myth. Without a deep-down level in your psyche where fear of God is allowed to influence you, you become somebody difficult to correct since correction requires motivation coming from that level of your psyche. When someone cannot be corrected they are very dangerous when given responsibility over others.

First step to freedom

 Believing Jesus is the one whose goings forth have been from most ancient times and even from before earthly times “from everlasting” as Micah prophesied, this is the first step towards freedom from sin. 

(Micah 5:2, John 8 )

Seven doctrines given me by God

 Seven doctrines given me by God:

God only supports our humble truth

Having believed Christ died for me and been given the Holy Spirit I must build the Temple

God the Father alone is God

Jesus, having showed Himself to me alive, has the faith which He commands us to have and He is Lord and Master, teaching what He always taught, and He is God’s Son.

The Holy Spirit tells how Nature is all day by day subject to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ as is the eternal nature of Nature

Israel has sinned (mass surveillance is a sign of this)

Persecutions will come because of this fear of God and devotion to Him but God sends angels as guards just as He did with Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego in the fiery furnace

Relationship #1

 We can be one with Jesus as Jesus is one with the Father. That is the mystery relationship and there is no beating it. Realising it has happened is #1.

The primary truth

 The thing is, the truth is, into which the Holy Spirit leads those who follow, this Jesus was there at the beginning, primary in the creating of the universe because the Father chose Him to be so, such that the universe as it formed obeyed His name’s authority and power right from the very start of matter and energy coming into existence, as creations took shape, the name of Jesus formed the processes the creations of God obey. There was the Son in full glory. There was the name of the Son with full authority which He has. This is who they crucified! Israel has sinned. Love Him now, do not hate Him like they did. Love the Father who sent Him. God gives no photo to put in a frame of Jesus but the words the Holy Spirit speaks of Him and these words we should put up in full view and teach to our children that we and they never forget His glory.

Your primary influence

 When we grow up we learn ways which come from the one who influences people to lie and angrily hate without just cause. We get trapped into that kind of behaviour. Everyone tends to. That is why it is essential to be born again so we instead have our behaviour taken over and influenced by God who never lies. That takes the work of the Holy Spirit and it comes about because Christ was crucified and God raised Him again to live forever. 

Majestic presence

 When Jesus sends a person they acquire some of the characteristics of Jesus in that they bear His good news and this means a kind of glory accompanies them which also accompanies Jesus. Lord Jesus has a tremendous presence. He fills the immediate surroundings with Himself. I think this is part of the meaning of the word for Lord in Greek, Kurios. I think a person sent by Jesus carries some of this characteristic. It is His majesty.

Living stones of the holy Temple

 In my visits to churches I have come across many spiritually gifted, prophetic believers who are truly genuine. Yes, there are many, many fakes, trying to gain trust of believers to be able to use that trust to do more hurtful damage in hope of discouraging believers into falling away. Yet there are clearly real prophets of all ages participating in local church groups where participation is allowed and encouraged. I hope these all grow closer together as the Temple and build each other up in the most holy faith, faith that Jesus shares.

The Temple of God

 The Temple of God: those who follow the Holy Spirit leading into all truth.

Before Abraham was born

 The Son of God is a truly amazing person who tells truthfully how things were before creation but our feeble minds think He means other things. He tells it because He was involved in it. He speaks of what He knows. He testifies to what He sees. Yet few accept it and realise what He is saying because it is too much to believe that He was there before Abraham was born.

Religious folk who despise prophesyings

 Religious people who despise visions and prophesyings, forget that most religion and scripture came about that way, by spiritual perception of things invisible to the masses, shepherds seeing a host of angels, Joseph and Mary seeing archangels, John the Baptist being told to watch out for a spirit dove, Moses seeing a bush burning but not burning up, John seeing a long, long vision of the last days, Paul seeing a light and hearing a voice unpercieved by his companions, Jesus seeing Satan fall from heaven, Isaiah seeing the robe of the Lord fill the temple, Abraham seeing a pitcher of fire pass between carcass halves, Ezekiel seeing lightning flash between angelic beings, many seeing a walking executed man rise steadily into the sky and Stephen while being stoned (not the drug induced stoned, the execution kind) seeing/perceiving Christ at the right hand of God in glory.

Father and Spirit

 God the Father is not the Holy Spirit nor vice versa. I know that first hand from Him. I guess God has to show this to others first hand for them to believe it but I must give the testimony of truth God has given me directly on this, even if nobody believes me.

Persuasion

 Wouldn’t it make an interesting election if every voter before being allowed to vote, had to first give the police a formal witness statement regarding whatever persuaded them to choose their preferred election candidate. Then there would be true evidence of what persuades voters. It would be like faith and belief if their persuasion was full persuasion. It might be that these statements could then be used to persuade others. Here is a parallel to what has happened in Christianity.

Son of God

 If Jesus had said He is God the Jews might have tolerated it because it would be a blatant lie and so obviously a lie, given what they knew about the Father, the LORD, so then they would treat Him nicely like they usual did with false teachers. Trouble for them was “Son of God” was believable because the Christ was expected. So the possibility of Him being believed by many in the crowds threatened them. It was as close to saying He is equal with God as He could say truthfully without the silliness of falsely trying to claim God’s individual identity.

Angel

 Angel: is probably the same as a god or divine being: not necessarily God, so a divine being other than the Father. The ‘el’ on the end of ancient names, which is a star symbol in ancient cuneiform as used by Daniel who told us much about angels, signifies dignitary, noble, ‘star’ or ‘aristocrat’, but also divine being, god, angel. Sons of God is the term in Genesis and Job. Daniel saw several who he described as like a man, but seen in a heavenly context, sometimes a vision. One of these was described in Revelation in exact same terms as in Daniel. That one is identified in Revelation as Jesus. So John is telling us it is the person seen by Daniel. Similar to a human before incarnation but also similar to an angel.

Important

 There is the importance of the truth that Jesus is. The importance of what Jesus is. A being from the mouth of God yet with individual life and existence even before all creation was created. Then there is the importance of what Jesus has. The Holy Spirit anointing without limit since God chose Jesus to be the One to save you (and I) from sin. Then there is the importance of what Jesus teaches and the knowledge of truth He gives. This is now imparted by the Holy Spirit too. Then there is the importance of what Jesus did and does. He died on a cross for you (and me). He rose from the dead. He lives forever. He mediates for you (and me) with God. He judges. He leads. The Holy Spirit leads too in the Lord Jesus Christ’s name. 

Awry

 Believing Jesus is. That is the first step. Adhering to what He said and the Holy Spirit teaches. That is second step. Then truth sets free. The church went awry when it started putting the cart before the horse and expecting knowledge of truth without first these two steps.

The One

 You need to believe Jesus is ‘the one’ if you are to become a true follower of Jesus. God can say ‘I am God’ and not be arrogant or lying. Jesus can say ‘I am the one’ without being arrogant or lying. Believing this is first step towards freedom from slavery to sin.

How best to learn about God

 Why do some many versions of doctrines about God exist? It all comes down to how a person learns. Some learn only from studying scriptures. That is not the best way. The best way to learn truth is to believe Jesus is the Son of Man, Messiah, the one, then follow Him by holding to His teachings then learn truth from Him by agency of the Holy Spirit. 

How many Gods?

 For some people their God died on a cross having become human. My God sent His Son to do it. My God is not a man nor a son of man. Some end up sacrificing to the Son instead of to God, thinking it is the Son who is the one God. Even Jesus, the Son, called His Heavenly Father “My God and your God”. 

Jesus’ trail of breadcrumbs

 Jesus is alive and can teach us to have a mature view of things but we must follow. He leaves breadcrumbs. Not literally of course. He leaves trail like the breadcrumb trail left in the fairy tale. We need to recognise the trail and follow it into truth. The writings of Revelation are a part of that trail. Hints at better knowledge than we learn at school. Read the writings Jesus left us after His ascent to the Father. Take it to heart. Ponder it on your bed. Tell these things to your children. Discuss them in your circle. The Holy Spirit can add more if we show we are following that trail. Faithful in little, faithful in much.

Faith

 FAITH: rooted from the ancient Greek word for persuasion. Being persuaded and persuading. Our ideal faith is persuasion from God Himself.

The Methuselah texts

 The Book of Enoch says a lot about Biblical Methuselah (the man who lived such a long life) and has several sections authored by him, but few realise there are some secular texts in existence other than the Book of Enoch, very ancient texts, perhaps the oldest texts in the world, which mention someone likely to be Methuselah. These texts are copies of one document called the Instructions of Sharappak. One text is kept in a museum in Chicago, the other in a museum near Oxford in England. They document the wise sayings of the father of Noah written for Noah. They mention the grandfather of Noah, calling him Ubara-Tutu, but this is probably Methuselah from the Book of Enoch and the Book of Genesis. The texts clearly hold him in high regard. Another set of texts supports the identity of Ubara-Tutu, and records that he was king in his time, successor to Enmenduranki, probably the contemporary name of Enoch.

Meaningful events

 All the things we do where God is intrinsically involved become a meaningful message, not mere random events. They spell out the nature of Jesus. With me, storm calming by faith depicts how Jesus is the giver of peace to the mighty.

When the 2800 years are over

 Just a few decades short of the 2800 years after the Assyrian conquest of Samaria and captivity of Israel around 730/740 BC foretold by Enoch in the Book of Enoch, what comes next? What follows that soon to finish time of God’s anger? What happens when the anger is fully actioned, anger first kindled when God was rejected and ignored by the northern people of Israel; anger burning ever since? Enoch foretold a series of judgments follow. There are two or three times of judgment involving lakes of fire. The Lord Jesus told of the master of disloyal servants returning from a journey to find there are some servants deserving judgment. He told of sorting sheep from goats. Enoch foretold blind sheep being cast into a lake of fire after overly violent angels are judged similarly. This is not the very final judgment but a precursor to it. The final judgement will come more than a thousand years later. “Even so, Come Lord Jesus”.

God’s ongoing anger

 GOD’S ONGOING ANGER

The Book of Enoch shows us our times and the anger of God still ongoing for the decades in which we live. God’s anger was kindled, Enoch foresaw, in the times of what we now know as Isaiah’s and Hezekiah’s times in Jerusalem (Isaiah chapter 9), when God was rejected and ignored by the northern people of Israel. He showed anger by allowing Assyria to invade but that anger continued, Enoch foretells for us, until our time and the next few decades. Almost 2800 years on from the time that anger was first kindled and its time is just decades from ending (2800 years after the Assyrian conquest of Samaria and captivity of Israel around 730/740 BC).

Evidence of God

 My posts are evidence of my persuasion and my persuasion and memories are the evidence of God and the Christ and the Holy Spirit and a believing church.

Holy Wit

 The Holy Spirit has a great power of wit. No not wit in the comedy sense. Wit in the skill in wisdom sense. Wit in finding ways to do difficult things with deft and completely competent ability. A maze is difficult to navigate but someone might conceive of a way to overcome all the difficulties in such a way it becomes utterly achievable with complete confidence. That is wit like the Holy Spirit wields with flourish like a champion expert fencing swordsman. Like Zorro. Slash, slash, slash and the mark of mastery is cut in the cloth. Look at tongues. He can make light work of the need for proof of identity and authority. No need for fancy identity cards. He can simply give one person a message on their lips which they cannot understand, in an absolutely alien language, welling up from their spirit involuntarily. Then He can give a person hearing that message an inner certainty of what it means by causing the words in their native language which match the message to well up within them. And these two separate pieces of the puzzle fit together so there is no need to doubt that it came from the Holy Spirit if those words of that message glorify Jesus as Lord and Christ bringing the truth from Jesus to the ears and spirits of the hearers who believe. It is double-entry proof. He is not limited to one such piece of wit. He can whisper words that are initially like a mysterious riddle but when followed like a treasure hunt clue lead to wisdom that prove the words whispered were from Him and could not possibly have been imagined. Unbelievers do not know these things because they do not know this Spirit, yet. It must all sound so far fetched. Yet when you know, you know.

Prospects

 The Book of Enoch tells quite a tale, so powerful it can greatly improve the prospects of anyone who believes it. It’s central chapters tell of Enoch being taken up into a place where the Head of Days and the Son of Man dwelt. The final chapters tell that these two awesome beings forever help the righteous and lead the righteous eventually into a fellowship with them that never ends. The opening chapters tell how creation obeys the commands of this Head of Days. Other chapters tell how angels use the name of that Son of Man to counteract evils and keep Nature on an even keel. The whole Book of Enoch comes to life when its sacred contents are picked up by Jesus who identified Himself with the Son of Man, then Jesus’ brother Jude confirmed the truly heavenly prophetic nature and authenticity of the prophecies it contains. When we realise by heaven-granted holy intuition that this Jesus is the Son of Man unto whom the ancient prophet Enoch was taken up before the days of Noah then we find our prospects suddenly elevated: This Jesus is alive now and forever so by believing and obeying His teachings we can obtain His help and have it keeping us in fellowship with Himself and with His God. This Son of Man and the Head of Days. 

Belief in God

 People believe in God because God manifests Himself. As do angels from time to time and ghosts. But belief in God goes beyond just belief in His existence. It includes persuasion that God can be relied on to properly answer prayers and send saving help. The cross of Christ persuades some of this.

Original concept of scripture

 Book of Enoch chapter 104: “ 10. And now I know this mystery, that sinners will alter and pervert the words of righteousness in many ways, and will speak wicked words, and lie, and practice great deceits, and write books concerning their words. 11. But when they write down truthfully all my words in their languages, and do not change or minish ought from my words but write them all down truthfully--all that I first testified concerning them. 12. Then, I know another mystery, that books will be given to the righteous and the wise to become a cause of joy and uprightness and much wisdom. 13. And to them shall the books be given, and they shall believe in them and rejoice over them, and then shall all the righteous who have learnt therefrom all the paths of uprightness be recompensed.'”

Maybe this passage is strong evidence of the origin of what religions call scripture. Looking at early origins is a good technique for discovering the root of a concept or belief. Here we find one of the first prophets, Enoch, writing about his own writings. He distinguishes his writings from other writings and quotations. He teaches that instead of quoting each other, if people instead translate and quote his writings there will be holy blessing. This is perhaps what is truly meant by ‘scripture’: words written which bring holy blessings when faithfully copied and translated without perverting them, bringing blessing when taught rather than quoting the teachings of more common, less holy teachers. Such blessed writings are credited to the workings of God in holy people such as Enoch and other prophets like him. Modern understanding of ‘scripture’ is a perversion of this, focusing instead on canonisation, a human process of distinguishing writing from writing. Jesus Christ came and taught about scripture according to this original concept of it, not the canonical concept which developed centuries later which is prevalent today.

“Israel has sinned”

 The rejection of both the Messiah and the Holy Spirit have constituted rejection of Israel’s God, the Father. Yet it did not only happen two thousand years ago. That sin by ‘Israel’ in Jesus’ time has been perpetuated when the Church let Jerome lead them into rejection of the Book of Enoch along with any scriptures not found in the accepted set of scriptures the Jews of Jerome’s time in the fourth century AD collected as the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible of that time was compiled at the discretion of Jews who had firmly rejected Jesus as Messiah. So although New Testament Greek scriptures were accepted by Jerome in addition to this Hebrew set, his rejection of scriptures not in either set, such as the Book of Enoch, and then the Church following suit after Jerome, this was tantamount to alignment with those who had rejected Jesus, and this is highlighted by Jesus and Jude and John and Peter having shown strong support for the Book of Enoch the Church was rejecting. The Church was rejecting the judgment and counsel of Jesus the Messiah and Jude His brother and the Holy Spirit who had inspired Jude.

Proof behind closed doors

 Does finding God count as enough verifiable evidence to be called proof? When God comes in a dream and tells you things which then lead to proof it really is God, for the one visited that is proof enough. There is nothing unusual about a closed door set of evidence given to a jury who return a verdict. The fact nobody else sees the proof does not negate it being proof. If the things the evidence proves go even beyond the mere existence of God and create a whole religion and faith right inside you that is kind of life changing too. You get to be the brunt of unbeliever ire and the victim of their tortious interference. And maybe even some among friends and family think you are making it up. You cannot let them share the proof you believe but it is still proof.

The glorious mystery

Angels and humans becoming biological partners was so contrary to God’s will, the Book of Enoch records for us, that God severely punished those angels who engaged in it. Angels do not need marriage and children. This, God pronounced, is because angels are not mortal so they have no need of it. Humans are mortal so they have human partners to comfort each other and provide children for each other. Suppose the Holy Spirit takes you back to the beginning of time, by revelation, you find Jesus is there. Actually there. Not just by foretelling prophetic foreknowledge. Actually there. The Son of God from before creation. Among the angels but hidden from Mankind. Enoch saw Him. Enoch was taken up to Him, instead of dying, the Book of Enoch records. The Son of Man so much closer to God than any angel. The One by whose name the angels make petitions to God, invoking the Son’s name. Yet what could allow, in the will of God, this Son to be like a husband to believers, taking the church of all His believing followers as a bride for Himself? It was that He became the flesh and bone genuine and mortal human we know appeared 2000 years ago in our human history. He was destined for this and so they called Him from time immemorial the Son of Man. Having died and risen He is something not yet fully revealed but the church of His believing followers will share this new nature too. That will be a marriage truly made in Heaven.

Actually there

 Suppose the Holy Spirit takes you back to the beginning of time (which He can and does do, as He did with me, by revelation, just a glimmer but a living one, ongoing), you would find Jesus is there.  Actually there. Not just by foretelling prophetic foreknowledge. Actually there.

Sons of God

Being God. Only the Father is that. Being equal, pretty much, to the Father. Only the one and only Son is that. Being other sons of God is the most we can be and if we receive Jesus we can have power to be it, with the power Jesus gives. 

Genesis

 Genesis: God created - first life, then faith.

Truth that sets free

Knowing and following the Son of Man leads to freedom by the knowledge of truth about this Son of Man and His God, and the Book of Enoch supports that truth in writing, to encourage us as we learn the truth. We find a man eventually born human whose God works through Him by His faith and this God’s love. The truth is we too can have that same kind of unity with this God. The Book of Enoch tells of this God and His Son. It tells of living by the Spirit sent from this God instead of by carnal cravings. It tells of this Son supporting those who rely on Him. It tells of an eternal blessed state of harmonious fellowship between the God of this Anointed One and the Anointed One Himself, the Son, and the righteous who have learned to live by these truths and been saved by this Son of God. It encourages us to look to this way and to love one another as we learn to walk in it, assured of a glorious future for those who are led to overcome their spiritual blindness and who adhere to living as God’s temple, not forsaking His glorious house.

Cheeky Trinitarian translators

 Titus 2:13 is an example of how Trinitarian translators into English all conspire, perhaps unconsciously, to change scriptures to make them look Trinitarian. 

See also https://biblehub.com/text/1_timothy/3-16.htm for another example. The word God is inserted by English translators to make the verse seem to support a Trinity doctrine. 

Jerome’s Scripture Opinion

 If by the second century AD most Jewish religious leaders and scholars had already firmly rejected Jesus as a Messiah, why did the Christian religious leaders such as Jerome later give so much importance to second century AD Jewish religious leader opinions about what was and what wasn’t, in their eyes, canonical scripture? Shouldn’t they rather have valued beliefs of those who believed Jesus to be Messiah, such as Jude who proclaimed Enoch’s writings to be true prophecy? Doesn’t it say something dire about the leaders such as Jerome and those who put them on a pedestal (as many do so ever since). “Whose side are they on?!” seems an obvious question. (Admittedly, though, Jerome was actually put on trial by the church for being too secular and more devoted to teachings of Hellenistic pagan Roman orator Cicero than to teachings of Jesus Christ. So this question was indeed being asked by his contemporaries.)

How ancient are the Book of Enoch passages describing the Son of Man?

Jesus once asked “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The Book of Enoch was very popular in Jesus’ time. It seems scholarly opinion tends to believe this included the passages about the Son of Man, even though they are not found in Dead Sea Scroll fragments of the Book of Enoch.
Reality check: Were the ancients aware in Old Testament times of these passages describing the Son of Man? If they were, we would expect the Old Testament to have some evidence of this. Is there any?
Where would such evidence be most likely to appear in Old Testament scriptures? Did Abraham know about the Book of Enoch? Writings from Jesus’ time suggest Abraham was aware of the book. Would that mean Abraham knew about the Son of Man? Is there any evidence he did? The Book of Genesis does not mention it. However Jesus did say “Abraham saw my day and rejoiced”. How did Abraham know about Jesus and His day? One way might be these passages in the Book of Enoch.
The other most obvious place to find the Book of Enoch evidenced in Old Testament scriptures is the Book of Daniel which has so many similarities with it that it implies one influenced the other. No passage shows greater similarity than the seventh chapter:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, a coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
— The Book of Daniel chapter 7

Compare this to chapter 46 of the Book of Enoch and you see the similarities. Now note that this passages is from the sections of the Book of Enoch missing from Dead Sea Scrolls (those publicity available at least) which mention the Son of Man.

“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.
And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen
Shall †raise up† the kings and the mighty from their seats,
[And the strong from their thrones]
And shall loosen the reins of the strong,
And break the teeth of the sinners.
[And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms]
Because they do not extol and praise Him,
Nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them.
And he shall put down the countenance of the strong,
And shall fill them with shame.”
— The Book of Enoch chapter 46

So if Daniel had translated the Book of Enoch or at least if he had a copy in a language he could read (and clearly he was a brilliant scholar of his time) and he knew this passage in particular, then he would have known about the Son of Man. What other information about the Son of Man would he have known? The following passage shows he could have known that this Son of Man had existed in the time of Enoch who met Him when ascending to heaven. And Daniel would have believed that the same Son of Man was the one like a son of man he himself had seen in his vision (Daniel chapter 7).

“And it came to pass after this that his name during his lifetime was raised aloft to that Son of Man and to the Lord of Spirits from amongst those who dwell on the earth. And he was raised aloft on the chariots of the spirit and his name vanished among them. And from that day I was no longer numbered amongst them: and he set me between the two winds, between the North and the West, where the angels took the cords to measure for me the place for the elect and righteous. And there I saw the first fathers and the righteous who from the beginning dwell in that place.
— The Book of Enoch chapter 70

So as Jesus asked, do you believe in the Son of Man?

“Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’
‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’
Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’”
— The Gospel of John chapter 9

Friend and Master

When you know Jesus has the keys to your deepest heart then you know He is both friend and master.

Helpdesk

The Lord Jesus: The heaven-sent Helpdesk agent who can command angels and storms and fix any problem Nature sends. Nice that He kindly wields that power now on our behalf. And the Father, He is just like Jesus, but God, not human.

Love God most

A person loving others more than God will only obey God’s command if it doesn’t upset those they love.

Why I believe in the preexistence of Christ

I have always believed in the preexistence of Christ. Changing away from some aspects of Trinitarian doctrine I did need to maintain certainty about preexistence, especially when faced with Soccinianism arguments which I had never heard before and had to weigh up carefully. The belief I have is that the truth that nature itself depends on Christ’s name’s power must surely mean that name has persisted through all creation’s history and if Christ only existed in recent history it would be too unimaginable for creation to depend so fundamentally on something only existing prophetically then switch only two thousand years ago to fundamentally depend on something existing actually. That would be such an immense metaphysical change in the nature of things that it would warrant major doctrines and revelations. The fact the conception of Christ came so “silently, silently” necessitates the belief that He already existed and already held nature together by the power of His word and name. This is all consistent with scripture.

Preexistent Christ

People might like to think Jesus did not exist until His conception but they have to ignore a lot of important scriptures in persisting that idea. Ultimately they cannot get a true concept of the Christ; what Christ is. You need to get it clear what Christ means, to believe Jesus is the Christ and so be saved from dying in sin.

Churches today

How long would Christ or an apostle last today in a Trinitarian, Unitarian, Oneness Pentecostal, Jehovah Witness or Soccinian-Arian church today? How long before they said something that got them thrown out or effectively gagged for not towing the dogmatic line? In John chapter 8 we see how telling the Jews about His preexistence almost got Jesus stoned to death.

True theology about Christ

A quick scan on all the theological Christian groups  mentioned in Wikipedia such as Trinitarian, Unitarian, Arian, Semi-Arian, Binitarian, Jehovah Witnesses, Oneness Pentecostals, it seems to me the closest to the teachings of Christ in scripture and beliefs of the first apostles about Christ is Semi-Arianism, although it too tries to be too specific about matters not mentioned in scripture such as the substantive nature of Christ before He became flesh. It holds to a belief that Christ was the Son of God before creation and is a person having life and existence created by God but distinct from God. To my understanding and beliefs about Christ He did exist as Son of God before creation and God produced Him as His Word from God Himself before any creation and gave Him His own life to have in Himself as a being in His own right. This seems to me to sum up what we find in John’s gospel and consistent with teachings from the Holy Spirit down through history and today.

Definition of a Christ

A Christ is a chief person who is so much what God wants in a person that God is not ashamed to call Him His Son.

A visit to Cyprus

This year, 2020, before the pandemic, I visited Cyprus as a tourist and stayed near a church where the tomb of Lazarus’ second burial was found. In another part of Cyprus are similar tombs dating back to that time when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and the local traditions say Lazarus lived another few decades before dying the second time. It is a welcome reminder that it was at an actual time and place and in what is today called the land of Israel but back when these tombs were soon going to be used that Jesus the Christ, the son of God who came from heaven into this world, died on a cross to make amends for our sins then rose from the dead to mediate for us forever with His God and Father. We have this Christ now and forever; ours if we believe in Him and hold to His teachings.

Oneness, Unitarian and Trinitarian error

In the mid 90s the Father and Son and Holy Spirit together proved to me that the Unitarians and Trinitarians and Oneness are each partly wrong. The Father appeared in a dream and told me He is God (He said “I am God”, not ‘we are God’). He also showed me His high regard for ordinary people. The Son did a miracle for me and in doing so proved He is the Son of God the Father and they work together in unity. The Holy Spirit proved that Jesus existed before Creation and that Jesus’ authority keeps all Creation together. The word from them then said “Israel has sinned” which I take it to mean everyone is getting it wrong and holding to false doctrine about God. Years later the Holy Spirit spoke to me and I heard Him as a person and He proved He exists as a real person. He used scripture to do it. Everyone doubts scripture except when it seems to support their doctrine so we need first hand revelatory experiential knowledge from God besides scripture too, to correct our mistakes which our Bible readings do not correct.

What is true

Humans can judge what is true and be led into truth but humans do not get to decide what is true.

The son of God Christ

When the Jews of Jesus time spoke of a son of God who was to come into the world, it was an existing son of God like the sons of God mentioned in the Book of Job. This is what they meant by the Christ.

Is Trinitarian doctrine true doctrine?

The formulating of the Trinity idea did have a little basis in truth in that the Father and Son have great unity. The Holy Spirit comes as a distinct person too. That is why the Father waited until Jesus had returned to Him (mission accomplished) before sending the Holy Spirit. Being sent by another person is a crucial indicator that someone is a distinct person. You do not SEND your own spirit to anyone. Of course it got very confused by Tertullian’s unfortunate collaboration with his gnostic opponents. Nice diplomacy for the expediency of debate outcomes, but in giving way to Gnostic and Hellenistic love of the number three and three-fold pantheons, Tertullian caused terrible risk of dividing traditional Christians and muddying the waters of doctrine. God is not the author of confusion. 

What is a Christ?

It is crucial to understand that the Christ who came 2000 years ago was Christ even before He came. A Christ is a chief person who is so much what God wants in a person that God is not ashamed to call Him His Son. God fully approves of the Christ in every way. This is crucial to the chief task given the Christ which was to die on a cross as atonement to purify the disciples from their sins, and then to rise and lead them into eternal life.

Lord by nature

When Jesus said “you call me master and lord and that is what I am” He declared that master is not His role but His nature. In contrast Paul spoke of leaders of this world “who by nature are not gods”. If you become a leader you realise you are never really by nature a god but sometimes you are expected to behave like one. No matter how high we rise, lifted up by God to higher social status, we are aware we are by nature not noble, even though nobility gets thrust upon us. Yet Jesus could declare himself to be master and lord without even having risen to lofty social status. This means He must have had even early in life already a lofty status. It did not come during childhood or short three years of ministry. John the Baptist declared Jesus as greater than himself when Jesus was still obscure and just starting a public ministry so Jesus had status already even before many knew about Him. 

The origin of Lord Jesus

Jesus is the Word who came forth from God before anything else existed. He came forth having been part of what God is. A human or other organism makes offspring in such a way that the offspring originally is part of the parents. Then at some point it gets given a separate existence and a life in itself. This captures what it was before any creation existed for the Son of God to be given life as an entity in Himself, before creation came into being. Then God created all things through Him. (John 1 )

Jesus existed aeons before His birth

Jesus really did exist long before we see Him appear in history, aeons before.

Firstly there is the prophecy by John the Baptist who proclaimed that Jesus surpassed him because He existed before him. Jesus existed before John the Baptist, said John by the Holy Spirit, yet John was born months before Jesus was born.

Secondly, Daniel had a vision in which he saw one like a son of man entering the presence of God, the Ancient of Days. Later he saw Jesus in detail and described what he saw in a way John writer of the Apocalypse centuries later (with hindsight knowledge of Jesus) exactly used again when he saw a vision of Jesus, signifying to us that Jesus is this one seen by Daniel. The one seen by Daniel centuries earlier put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder to encourage him. This was not future but was a man alive in Daniel’s time. Jesus was there with Daniel as an angelic man, like a literal man (son of man), centuries before being born from a virgin.

Thirdly, Micah foretold the coming of Jesus centuries before Jesus came but used these words, telling us Jesus had existed and was active from an almost infinite time in the past: “And thou, Bethleem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be reckoned among the thousands of Juda; yet out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity.”

Fourthly, Jesus Himself proclaimed (John 8 ) that “before Abraham was born, I was/am” and those who heard Him, in their lack of belief, tried to stone Him for proclaiming something which could only be true for the Christ. The Christ, who they knew the prophecies like Micah’s had foretold as existing since time immemorial and being sent to Israel.

Fifthly, the apostles such as Paul proclaimed in their scriptural writings that Jesus was the firstborn over all creation through whom God the Father made all things.

Sixthly, there are other proofs such as what the Holy Spirit tells through prophecies.

Seventhly, there are other books regarded as scriptures in Jesus’ time in Israel such as the Book of Enoch which tells of Enoch being caught up to the Son of Man in heaven.

Jesus is alpha and omega. He is with the first believers such as Abraham, Enoch, Noah, and with the last such as those today and those who will come later.

Proving Jesus is the Christ foretold in prophecy

Signs that Jesus is the Christ who was to come into the world:

John the Baptist: a preacher telling the one with two coats to give to him who had none, who fulfilled the prophecy that a voice would be heard in the wilderness lifting up valleys (those with no coat receiving a coat) and bringing low mountains (those with two coats giving one away) so there is a level ground for the Lord to be revealed, and who is that Lord who came after John? Jesus. He came after John the Baptist but was before Him in time. (Isaiah 40 )

The times are controlled by God, the Ancient of Days, but one goes into this Ancient of Days’ presence who is like a son of man. So Daniel foretold the exact time of the crucifixion by describing seven years at a foretold time in history and in the middle of those seven dies the Christ being cut off and having nothing. And so Jesus was crucified at that exact time in history and was in the ground (in the underworld) half of a week, before rising again. This time was linked to the command for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem seventy sevens earlier and the time of the crucifixion was followed by resurrection in which after three days Jesus rebuilt the temple of His body and started the building of His church. Only God the Father can bring about such exact timings foretold centuries in advance because only God has enough dominion over time. So Jesus is shown to come from God, foretold as Christ. (Daniel 9 )

The name of Jesus is really best translated similar to the name of Isaiah but withou the -iah. This is how Aramaic spells it as Isa (Arabic too) which is the language of Jesus’ people and time. Isaiah foretold this similarity and foretold the significance of it since Isa means Salvation. So the angel who gave Jesus that name foretold Jesus saving His people from their sins. Isaiah linked this aspect of Jesus with the followers of Jesus given Him by God. These He saves. (Isaiah 8 ).

So here are three proofs from prophecy that Jesus is the Christ, i.e. the Son of God who was to come into the world.

Jesus, Salvation

Note the meaning of Jesus’ name. It means Salvation. It means Deliverance. “For He shall save His people from their sins.”

The Christ

What did the apostles mean by calling Jesus ‘the Christ’? They meant ‘the Christ: i.e. the Son of God who was to come into the world’. They didn’t mean God. If they did mean Jesus is God Himself then they  would have confessed it instead and risked execution. Even confessing Jesus as ‘Son of God’ risked similar fate. Given the possibility of charges of the capital crime of blasphemy they would be very careful what to confess, that if it meant potentially fatal backlash from strict Jewish brethren they would better be in trouble for truth than error. Yet by confessing Jesus as the Christ’ they knew what that meant, namely the Son of God who was to come into the world from God. A person with all God’s characteristic makings and righteousness and chosen by God to be sent for the saving of the Jews. Not God Himself. The God-chosen, God-made mediator between man and God. 

The reason the apostles called Jesus the Lord

Note why the apostles called Christ Jesus ‘the Lord’. A Lord in those days was the master of the household slaves and head of the family. So service was constantly directed at this Lord of the house. Yet it did not count as idolatry of course. God alone was still God alone, worshiped as God alone. This is why they recognised Jesus as Lord and never confused Jesus with God, God the Father.

Recognise the evidence

It is sensible, so they say, to know your enemy. Those who defy God and attack His prophets and other servants should try to find out what they can about the One they are deriding because Vengeance is His name, not only on His own behalf but on behalf of His servants the prophets. If atheists who attack God and His servants learn who they have made their enemy they might decide to stop being silly and seek peace before it is too late. A cross makes it possible to be put right if they trust the mediator sent by God, God’s Son. In the mean time sit back and watch, those who rail and say “where is evidence?“ God shows Himself mighty on behalf of His servants and children. Do not mistake His mercy for weakness.

The Kingdom of Heaven: an invisible superpower on your doorstep.

The Kingdom of Heaven: an invisible superpower on your doorstep.

Alive today

You need to believe in the one who gave the world the Good Samaritan phrase. You need to hold to that phrase and the others like it. Then the truth will set you free from your dishonest ways. This one will set you free.  I encountered one who I have every reason to believe is this one. The one who introduced me to him gave me every reason to believe it is this one who gave the world the Good Samaritan teaching. These do, I’m convinced, live today. Forever. You need to believe in these and hold to their teaching. To anyone who lies in whatever ways: You each need this or you’re going to be in serious trouble with the one I encountered who gave the world the Good Samaritan teaching.

Your need

You need to believe in the one who gave the world the Good Samaritan phrase. You need to hold to that phrase and the others like it. Then the truth will set you free from your dishonest ways. This one will set you free. 

The fall of angels

The fall of angels. What if it is happening, as prophesied? Who will they influence? My guess is Big Pharma. 

2020

You might happily break some silly rules, like not really reading those terms before clicking the box to say you did. But I bet you wash your hands and wear a mask when WHO is watching you. A kind of innocent recklessness doesn’t do what it is told by WHO. Such recklessness costs lives, they say. If it really does, then too many lives and you incur a severe penalty. Too few and you save yourself. But washing your hands a lot is just hypocrisy. The real problem is cruelty. WHO would be guilty of cruelty? Mmm.

God appeared to Solomon

It was obedience that led to God appearing to Solomon. Solomon had completed the main task God gave him of building the Temple. That was Solomon’s obedience. The sacrifices were the consecration of that Temple. If you seriously want God to appear to you or come to you as a fellow, you need to learn to lovingly obey His Son. I found this to be true having prayed for God’s appearing to me, praying on and off through thirty years since childhood, but it was only when I read in John 14 about obedience to Jesus being necessary and set about that duty, that then God did appear to me like He did to Solomon, and not only God but the Son of God and Holy Spirit too, just as I had prayed. Interestingly it was just a while after the Holy Spirit told me “Build the temple” and I had started to preach to obey this command. God has His ways and His will.

How reliable are the scriptures for finding life in Jesus?

How reliable are the scriptures for finding life in Jesus? I would tend to rely on scriptures overall but be mindful that any individual verse might have translation errors. It is possible to read them with both of these in tension. I guess historians acquire the skill more than the rest of us when reading translated texts. Some scriptures are not even available in the original languages. Taking to heart what is the gist of a passage is good but if a particular verse is important to your understanding, best to research it a bit. I offer my contribution in this matter by saying that my overall understanding of John’s gospel led me into actual meetings first hand with God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit as those passages said Jesus promised so the English translation must be pretty good. I did try cross referring to the Greek using an interlinear a lot but the overall meaning in most English translations of passages such as John chapter 14 is good enough. Now when it comes to obeying the commands of Jesus we have to be careful and research them fairly well or it could be dangerous. If we misunderstand them or use a poor translation and then go and try to obey it on that basis, that could be disastrous. Once sure of the meaning, obeying is how to show love for Him and His promise ensues. How reliable are the scriptures for finding life in Jesus? I would tend to rely on scriptures overall but be mindful that any individual verse might have translation errors. It is possible to read them with both of these in tension. I guess historians acquire the skill more than the rest of us when reading translated texts. Some scriptures are not even available in the original languages. Taking to heart what is the gist of a passage is good but if a particular verse is important to your understanding, best to research it a bit. I offer my contribution in this matter by saying that my overall understanding of John’s gospel led me into actual meetings first hand with God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit as those passages said Jesus promised so the English translation must be pretty good. I did try cross referring to the Greek using an interlinear a lot but the overall meaning in most English translations of passages such as John chapter 14 is good enough. Now when it comes to obeying the commands of Jesus we have to be careful and research them fairly well or it could be dangerous. If we misunderstand them or use a poor translation and then go and try to obey it on that basis, that could be disastrous. Once sure of the meaning, obeying is how to show love for Him and His promise ensues.  I tend to think it best to hold onto the sayings even when it isn’t clear what they mean or how to obey them, until it becomes clear. For example for years I pondered what “keep your lamps trim and burning brightly” means in practical terms. Clearly nothing to do with actual lamps. Now writing all this it makes sense. I must keep my words clear and in tune with His teachings. That takes discipline and effort. But getting lax and fuzzy is not what He wants from me. So as you serve, you learn. Obeying in what you have already as much as you find you can do so, and getting ever ready to do more as becomes possible later, that is acceptable to Him. That is love for Him. He rewards it with visits, fellowship, and with blessings from the Holy Spirit, eventually when the time is acceptable to God the Father. Fellowship from the Father too.

Time perspective of Jesus

The time perspective of Jesus is huge. He is. This is where that present tense is used to say something is now, is ages ago, is ages to come. I think some languages have a special tense for it. Not English unfortunately.

Slave to the Ultimate Master

I love being a slave to Jesus, who is indeed the ultimate Master. By having Jesus as master, nobody else can claim me as their slave. Yet slavery to Jesus means freedom, ultimately from the death sentence of ethical downfall. How foolish to fall slave to lying and hating just from fear of belief and courage.

A faithless predicament

A faithless, blameful death is to be feared. That is why, in times before being fully assured of faith, I was afraid to find I did not have a worthy faith. The realisation pulled the ground from under me. It had to dash home from overseas fearing I’d have a nervous breakdown. Years later I realised believing and following Jesus was the way out of this predicament. It led me to the assurance from God Himself that created real faith within me. Faith created by God. Beliefs about the Son of God fathered by God the Father Himself.

Fathered by God

You are fathered by God when the beliefs you have about the Son of God are created within your heart by the Father. So the Father makes occasional checks on these beliefs like a baker checks the progress of a cake cooking in an oven. 

The Son of Man in the Book of Enoch

With regard to the Son of Man seen so often in the Book of Enoch and believed to be there in the versions of the book known to Jesus, who identifies with the Son of Man teaching, why ‘the Son of Man’? The parallel with the Book of Daniel chapter 7 passage on “one like a man” is clearly important to understanding the title. Likewise the reference back to a similar passage about this man in Daniel chapter 10 from a passage by John in Revelation chapter 1 describing Jesus is more important still, bringing into the picture the humanness of Jesus, the Christ Himself. Yet Enoch parallels Revelation in importance because to be called Son of Man is more precise than Daniel’s passage and mirrors John’s Revelation contribution to the understanding of this person because even angels are described like men in the Book of Daniel but describing a being as LIKE a man is not as precise as describing the being as the Son of Man. If Jesus merely became a man it would not be saying as much about that humanity as when scripture, by calling Him ‘the Son of Man’ says this person humbled Himself to actually be a child of humans taking cellular form and embryo and foetus form growing in a womb and being born from that woman’s womb, growing up as a child of human parents. Adam was called Man, yet did not live as a Son of Man because as a direct creation he had no earthly parents, whereas the Christ would be born as a Son of Man, as humble and fully human as we are, yet having existed as the Son of Man mysteriously in Enoch’s time of ascension into Heaven. So this utter humanity (yet without sin and fully the son of God) is what the righteous humans need to help them cope with life in this world and eternally continue as children of God, and what every human needs in a mediator with God the Father.

Soundness of mind

If people spend a long time wanting to know about something important but unable to find out reliably (such as the well-being of a distant loved one or the success or failure in an exam), especially if the mind is weakened by isolation or illness or fear, it is easy for involuntary thoughts to take the place of that missing knowledge. With a weak mind that might turn into delusion. That might be why we place such importance on social interaction, churches, government agencies, media and families to help us stay sound in our minds and opinions. “Be careful that the light within you is not darkness.” Our natural tendencies are not the thing to live by, because left unchecked it can lead to sometimes deadly errors.

Hope even for the unsound mind

It takes a sound mind to reason so some are unable to be reasoned with. So if reasoning were the only way then there would be no hope for those with unsound mind. But there is bit more hope because there is the effect down through time, rippling out from the crucifixion of the Christ for every one of us.

The Nietzsche Nightmare

Having probably caused both WW2 and the Cold War, and foresighted awareness of it possibly leading to his madness and suicide, Nietzsche knew full well about gazing into the abyss and the angel of the abyss seized the opportunity. So yes, prewar Germany fought the nightmare of imperialist religiosity and defeated the pseudo-faith of the enlightenment sorcerers making the masses believe atheism had triumphed but every action has a reaction and the alternatives became a worse nightmare with first Communist atheism, then Nazi atheism then both waging war on nominally religious imperialism and on each other to find the overlording master ideology, but imperialism came back like a boomerang and mastered the West, leaving just the Far East outside its imperial reach. The real war is the attempt to escape the clutches of religious imperialism. Brexit shows the peaceful way - just walk out.

Stochastics and Soul

It might be that free will and soul and spirit can be detected scientifically as being beyond the laws of physics. If you sum many different possibly physics-consistent stochastic equations with many ranges of Eigen vectors and Eigen values and reality matches a field of all possible values it might be feasible that reality is devoid of wills. If reality does not fit such possible results then will might actually exist, and therefore soul. Possibly spirit too. I think we discern spirit because inwardly our brains do all that maths to work out the physical nature of our environment and when something is outside the normal range we discern it is spiritual. Such as with dreams. We can guess all the normal kinds of dreams we might dream, by extrapolation and interpolation and intelligently summing possibilities, then we recognise a more cognisant externally inspired dream, perhaps by clarity of a prediction within it and this prediction coming true, for which stochastic models could not possibly allow. Stochastics by nature only takes the recent state and predicts the imminent. Nothing beyond the imminent is predicable by known maths. If it were the insurance industry would be far richer, as would bookkeepers. Spirit can predict it.

Einstein used Brownian motion as use case for his calculus and that calculus is normally used for things like predicting share prices, insurance premiums, etc. Black Scholes is the usual further development of the calculus used for these. Stochastic modelling. So human behaviour is no different. It has a random element and a vector (direction and speed) based on most recent data and a variation component. My memory is a bit rusty so I might have the details wrong. But it is usual to extend such calculus and partial differentials to cater for biological processes such as behaviour, population modelling, force field analysis, etc. No problem using it for looking at predictable behaviour of all kinds except when the system is very volatile. Then you compare predicted behaviour with actual behaviour. The harder part is modelling based on physical laws. That is alright to land a probe on Jupiter but not so good with modelling a disease or pandemic or betting on a race. But not impossible. So why isn’t it being done, with high profile? Perhaps fear of discovering God, soul, free will.

So take a set of laws affecting humans, such as tendency to stay stood upright and the mechanics involved in that. Add a random factor plus preconditions at time immediately before monitoring. Write an calculus equation (partial differentials) to predict very next movement based on these factors. Observe actual next movement in many cases. Adjust the equation to see that randomness is correct and orders of magnitude of forces affecting outcome are correct. Then wait and monitor occasions when actual movement exceeds expected. This is the kind of thing along with machine learning, neural networks, they probably use to monitor people in smart systems, so the maths must exist. Investigate anomalies to see whether physical laws plus randomness alone explain observed movements. If not, look into it further. Was there free will involved? Spiritual effects? Evidence of soul?

If you look at micro level. Macro effects like social ones have too many unknowns. Start with what is supposedly fully understood. Movement is a good fit with the maths. Lots of the factors of movement are known well such as energy availability in form of muscle phosphorus content which can be monitored using a scanner (CAT, NMR). Movement is physically limited to phosphorus I think. ATP, etc. Impulses into muscles can only come in finite ways. These could be monitored and modelled. Physics and chemistry account well for movement and topological freedoms of movement. Movement is well analysed philosophically and metaphysically too. So it should be predictable at microscopic level and it should be subject to only finite physical laws and the randomness should be knowable too. I know that the God series presented by Morgan Freeman mentioned similar studies in brain activity of meditation as example of scientific study of theology.

Spirit and life

Living without help to stay out of trouble is like a released convict living without a probation officer. There is a huge risk of offending or reoffending resulting in a possible harsh sentence. Ultimately, taking justice beyond the justice systems and social vengeance also into account, it might mean death. And religion says this all extends beyond death too, where further justice applies. So people need more than just guiding, they need saving. We each need a Saviour. The extent of saving power is not a matter of religious system or culture or heritage but it extends beyond these things just like natural laws of nature. It is spirit. Spirit keeps people on track. Jesus said His words are spirit and are life. Jesus’ words like all of the Spirit given in His name provides a guide but more than just a guide, a liberation, leading into liberating truth. Liberating and saving from ways of judgement and death.

What do we mean by ‘God’?

Really the concept of God is a matter of history. It requires context. Even children learn the concept of God, learning it from society as they grow up so it is not too complicated to learn, but they learn it for their context. It is harder to generalise it universally. There are several components to the ancient world concept of God. The context of that world changed, though. It became more polytheistic, judging from Hebrew and Sumerian scriptures, including the Book of Enoch, and extant texts. Initially it meant the topmost being. Only one Father is father of all beings and Lord of all and maker of all and highest over all. Topmost Creator. The tree-like status hierarchy of all beings has just one at the top. (Note that later in the time of Christ Jesus, the Son called God His own God, the Father. So the Christ declared one greater than Himself who gave Him His existence.) Top of hierarchy is singular. God is the One God. None other besides is God the way the Father is God. The matter of blessedness of this topmost being is important. Praised by many as such. This too is singular. Only one Father deserves all praise because He of all beings is so praiseworthy. God is the one who answers prayers and saves those who trust in Him and call on Him. Eternal might is also implied. God will remain God forever, always able to save. Lastly, everyone will acknowledge God as topmost God and only God, as all other gods are recognised as subject or submissive to Him and recognised as those required to worship Him. This is not an exhaustive description but it attempts to capture the essence of what the ancients and the scripture writers meant by God and what God Himself means by God. Into this context we find there is one special other being sharing many such characteristics but not God, rather the Son of God. The Christ. God plans to share eternity in this Son’s company but also in the company of many righteous children brought to God through this Christ.

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.”

Heaven?

The Book of Enoch description of the place where Enoch saw God is like the geological phenomena of crystal caves within mountains, an example of which is found in Naica, New Mexico. Yet one detail is puzzling. The description tells of the ceiling of the cave being like the path of the stars in the heavens. It occurs to me that another geological structure might be involved, in addition to the crystal cave. A transform fault running deep into the mountain. This could manifest as a slit going from the cave up to the surface. Archaeology and geography of one region fits with the description and with other ancient sources about a mountain cave abode of the supreme God, that of the Lebanon and Hermon mountain ranges through Lebanon. It matches accounts from sources such as the Epic of Gilgamesh about the Cedar Forest associated with God’s habitation. It runs South even towards Jerusalem too via the Jordan valley. It runs on further into the Red Sea and then the Rift Valley. It is such a fault. Light from the stars might somewhere in the mountain ranges of Lebanon penetrate down to deep mountain caves. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Transform  See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transform_fault https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Crystals ) 

The Christ

The Christ is distinct from God. He is very similar, being in the image of God and without sin and from everlasting to everlasting. Yet God has made Him distinct, just as we too are distinct. It is the Father who is God and there is no other who is God. The Christ is the Son of God. Now the Christ is manifested as flesh and bone, it is clearer why He is called the Son of Man, but He was called this before becoming flesh too. God is not flesh.

Trinity confusion

The Trinity confusion might stem from the way it is expressed about the mystery of how Christ’s history came about, from His origin from God (step 1), through to His being given life in Himself, through to His existence in Heaven before becoming flesh, through to His becoming flesh. That first step (I labelled it step 1) is possibly what gets misunderstood or misrepresented. John 1 expresses it as past tense. Many Trinity dogma adherents express it as present tense and so falsify it.

To be a child of God

Christ could work closely with God, and still can, by faith. His utter belief in God’s love for Him along with knowledge of God’s power enabled Him to do what He did rather than being any different from any other human like ourselves. Ignorance of this can make people mistakenly think Jesus was not made fully human but is somehow God in a bodily form. God gave Jesus life to have as the Son of God distinct from God Himself. Then this life became human flesh. So Jesus is both Son of God and human like us, Son of Man. God is in Him and He in God in just the same way God is in those who confess all this and they in God. So there are many sons of God. A son of God is not to be called God. Neither is Jesus to be called God. Jesus calls the Father His God. We can only hope to have this Father as our God too and our Father too through Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. Believing all this, that is the first step in discipleship leading to permanently becoming a child of God and being freed from the kind of compulsive wrongdoing which can get a person into serious trouble and even lead to deadly results. The next step is to take on board the teachings of Jesus about how to behave rightly. Holding to these teachings is what makes a disciple. The promise of Jesus is that this disciple will know the truth and be set free from the wrongdoing by the freedom which comes from this truth. So stop that wrongdoing where possible. Learn to believe in these things and that Jesus is, that His existence is from before the world began. Believe that His living existence will be forever. Believe that He is the one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Then hold to His teachings to truly be His disciple. Then, and only then, you will know the truth and be free to cease wrongdoing and live forever as a child of God.

The Book of Enoch

Through the Book of Enoch, God catches the wise in their craftiness. Do not underestimate it. God keeps something hidden for that purpose. When Jesus warned the Sadducees they were in error for not knowing the scriptures it was the Book of Enoch He was pointing to. Only this book of scripture tells about angels not being allowed to marry, which was what answered the Sadducees’ trick question. Jude knew Jesus well enough to know He would approve of Jude quoting it. At that time it was one of the most popular scriptures in circulation, as the Dead Sea Scrolls now show. It was addressed to our generation so no coincidence it has resurfaced after centuries lost to the West. It is like an auditor’s check sum to shine light on church doctrines.

The Person of Christ

Much truth hinges on knowing the way the power of God works together with a believer. Ignorance of this can lead to misconceptions about who Christ is. Christ could work closely with God, and still can, by faith. His utter belief in God’s love for Him along with knowledge of God’s power enabled Him to do what He did rather than being any different from any other human like ourselves. Ignorance of this can make people mistakenly think Jesus was not made fully human but is somehow God in a bodily form. God gave Jesus life to have as the Son of God distinct from God Himself. Then this life became human flesh. So Jesus is both Son of God and human like us, Son of Man. God is in Him and He in God in just the same way God is in those who confess all this and they in God. So there are many sons of God. A son of God is not to be called God. Neither is Jesus to be called God. Jesus calls the Father His God. We can only hope to have this Father as our God too and our Father too through Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.

Misrepresented truth

Misrepresenting truth but telling it as truth is more damaging and wicked than outright lies. Outright lies are guarded against and tested as fake. Truths distorted to hide real truth are more damaging because they are like a Trojan horse and are accepted into holy places and yet the receivers of them think they have truth and so do not seek it, plus they reject real truth when they hear it because it differs subtly from what they already received as truth. Thus they stay ignorant and enslaved but are very difficult to set free. Antichrist knows this full well.

The Son

Only the Father IS God. The Word WAS God in the beginning but the Father gave the Son life of His own: Life in himself.

Jesus has life in Himself

https://biblehub.com/text/john/5-26.htm
 Jesus is not God. Jesus has life in Himself. He said so. The Father gave Him this.

Do you want to know the truth about Jesus?

Do you want to know the truth about Jesus? Do what Jesus said to do in John 8. Stop sinning. Believe that He is. Believe that His existence is from before the world began. Believe that He existence will be forever. Believe that He is the one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Then hold to His teachings to truly be His disciple. Then, and only then, you will know the truth.

Evolution or Creation looking the same from the fossil evidence

If a being is created, precedence can be used to create that being using existing beings as a template. There might be subtle variations each time it happens. An almost extant record of such an event is found in the early texts of the Epic of Gilgamesh with the creation of Enkidu, a wild man created to subdue the roguish Gilgamesh. Each creation can therefore improve on or modify the previous one to better fit the current environment. In effect this kind of creating will leave all the same fossil evidence as if there were macro-Evolution taking place. 

The Cross

The cross has great, ancient meaning, before the Christ was crucified. That is why it is so prevalent in medicine too. In most ancient times the cross (‘MASH’) meant a sacrifice opening the way to the gods giving revelations to humans. Christ’s crucifixion opened the way for God to give the Holy Spirit to those who believe and receive Christ and His teachings, holding to them. This Holy Spirit wells up within them and leads into all truth. This truth sets free from the sinful ways that lead to death. This Spirit therefore gives life. Abundant life. All purchased by that cross of Christ.

Trust and Obey

Meeting the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and receiving a teaching from them and a commission gives my life meaning, purpose. It starts with faith and obedience. Initially that obedience is to the teachings of Jesus and truth of Jesus in scriptures but when the Holy Spirit gives vision from heaven it must include obedience to this too. The outcome of meeting the Father and Son and Holy Spirit proves these scriptures are a true enough record of the teachings of Jesus that they can lead to this outcome once obeyed. Translation issues come to light but the tenets are sound enough to start things off and the Lord fills the gaps and makes essential corrections. His grace is sufficient.