ON LOVE; PART MDXLXII
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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In the last essay we continued our discussion of the Master’s words from Matthew’s Gospel that many see as His testimony on the end times while others see the ideas as restricted to the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Still others see a combination of these ideas in the Master’s words. As we frequently discussed, there ARE parts of the church that seem preoccupied with ideas of the end times and have made it a part of the fabric of their denomination’s doctrinal teachings. Leading us to understand that the context IS the sacking of Jerusalem, IS the Master’s comment on the temple which IS recorded in the same way by the three synoptic gospels where we read that “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2, Mark 13:2, Luke 21:6). While there IS much to be said about the prophecies from Daniel, and John’s Book of Revelation, we must remember that both of these writings ARE based in dreams and visions which ARE being interpreted by men with the ‘aid’ of these words from Jesus. Our discussion in the last essay centered in Matthew’s version of the events outlined by Jesus and here in this essay we will try to expand this to include the versions of both Mark and Luke before we continue with Matthew’s writing. As it IS our basis, we post Matthew’s words again saying:
“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:5-24).
Mark’s Gospel, up to the point that we discussed in the last essay tells us much the same a Matthews and while there ARE differences on minor points, the essence IS the same. In Matthew the idea that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come“; on this we commented in the last post. Mark seems to frame this differently; in Matthew we can see these words as a separate idea regarding the end times, apart from the sacking of Jerusalem, while in Mark’s Gospel they seem more connected. Mark frames Jesus’ words as “But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost” (Mark 13:9-11). Here in Mark’s Gospel the idea that “the gospel must first be published among all nations” IS placed in the timeline of the sacking of Jerusalem rather than as a world event that foreshadows what many see as the True end and of which Jesus tells us “of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only“. Two things here; first this IS NOT a divulging of the timeline for the end times in Matthew Gospel and the presumed end times it IS surely NOT intended to be within the timeline of the sacking of Jerusalem. The word rendered as published in Mark IS from the same Greek word, kerusso, that IS rendered as preached in Matthew and we DO KNOW that “this gospel of the kingdom” was NOT preached nor published widely in this timeline that ends in 70 AD. We should note also that the word rendered as world in Matthew IS primarily defined as age and the word rendered as nations primarily means people; these changes alone should show us a different story.
In Mark’s Gospel the narrative goes on to depict the treatment of the apostles and disciples of the Lord by both the Romans and the Jews as they endeavor to spread the word of Truth regarding the Master and His teachings, His death and His resurrection and while the words differ from Matthew’s, the idea IS much the same. It IS here that we come to our endpoint from the last essay. Luke’s Gospel also tells us much the same things. Luke DOES NOT inject the idea of the spread of the gospel into his narrative which follows in much the same way as Matthew and Mark. Luke seems a bit more specific as he covers the same ideas but adds for us some uniqueness that also shows us that the whole idea IS centered in the sacking of Jerusalem. Luke adds that the Master says “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh” (Luke 21:17-20). Historically this IS what DOES happen; we read that ‘The Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) began in April with the Roman legions under Titus encircling the city, followed by intense fighting to breach walls, culminating in the burning of the Second Temple in August (specifically around the 10th of Av, or August 6th), and the city’s final fall and destruction in early September, marking the end of the Great Jewish Revolt and the destruction of the Temple‘**
While Luke’s words DO add some clarity, this has NOT dissuaded some from seeing ONLY the end times in Jesus’ words which continue with “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)“. While these words further fuel the idea of the end times, they ARE ONLY found in Matthew and Mark and are seemingly replaced by the clarifying idea from Luke cited above where the same idea of desolation IS also used. These words ARE NOT in regard to the end time any more than the words that we have already discussed from the three synoptic gospels. The idea of “the abomination of desolation” IS simply the destruction of the temple which IS foretold by Daniel but here too we must be careful. The sacking of Jerusalem marked the second time that the Temple was desecrated; it had previously happened Around 167 BC, when the Seleucid king Antiochus IV desecrated the first temple. The reference to “the abomination of desolation” seems a reference to the persons or powers that DO the desecration; first IS Antiochus IV and then, as the Master tells us, it IS the Romans. Both of these ARE historical events and we should try to see here that Jesus warns men to NOT presume but to understand saying “whoso readeth, let him understand“. We should try to see that this desecration of the temple began before 70 AD and that it IS NOT recorded as it were “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet“. In the period leading up to the Jewish revolt, which was perhaps defined by the cessation of temple sacrifices for the emperor of Rome, the Jews offered sacrifices ‘for the emperor to the Jewish God’*** but these were not viewed as such by some Jews. For some these were sacrifices for the emperor and it IS when these ceased that the turmoil in Jerusalem begins. While historically we are told that these sacrifices for the emperor of Rome were conducted in Jesus’ time, there IS NO mention of these in the gospels. Whenever they DID Truly start however DOES mark a time of the desecration of the temple and “the abomination of desolation“.
The Master goes on then to warn the people that when they see this “abomination of desolation“, when they see the desecration of the Temple, that they should be aware of certain things. Here we should ponder on the idea that this desecration had been going on for some time but was perhaps unnoticed by the populace but this theory has NO real merit. Were this the way in Jesus time, we ARE sure that He would have called it out much as He DID when He “cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:12-13). While it IS NOT ours to correct the historical record, it IS ours to question the veracity of that record when facts DO NOT align. The Master, after His warning on the peoples’ seeing the reality of “abomination of desolation“, that they should “stand in the holy place“, goes on to say: “let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes“. Two things should be seen in these words from Jesus. First we should try to understand what IS “the holy place” as we read His words saying “whoso readeth, let him understand“, words that may have more bearing on the “holy place” than on the idea of the “abomination of desolation“. While the common idea of “the holy place” IS seen as the temple, this IS illogical as it IS the temple that is being desecrated and will be destroyed, where “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down“. What then IS “the holy place” IS perhaps just another mystery shown us by the Master that can be KNOWN as He also tells us “whoso readeth, let him understand“. We should remember here that the Master IS speaking to His disciples, men who have some measure of access to the mysteries, and perhaps we can see a glimpse of the idea of “the holy place” in Luke’s version where we read “In your patience possess ye your souls“. It IS to ALL, His disciples and the populace, that He gives warnings to stay away, to flee if you will, from the ensuing turmoil and to NOT take the time to garner anything that will burden one’s escape.
The Master goes on to depict a view of what will happen saying “woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be“. Mark ends this warning saying “For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be” (Mark 13:19). Luke’s version of the Master words is a departure from these ideas from Matthew and Mark; Luke ends this section saying “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (Luke 21:22). With ALL that the Jews had gone through from the time before Moses through their captivity in Babylon and Assyria, the idea of the sacking of Rome seems to rank as the greater tribulation according to these words from the Master. We will NOT dispute this but, at the same time we should address the idea from both Matthew and Mark that tells us of this tribulation that “nor ever shall be“, nor shall there ever be another tribulation as bad as this. While referring to this as affliction, Mark ends with the same note, that there will NOT be another event that can be seen as this bad. We should try to take this on in context for surely the historical events since this time, which we discussed in the last essay, were more brutal and killed many more people. We should then reduce this down to its context which Luke can help us with in saying “all things which are written may be fulfilled“. Can we get a glimpse here that ALL the prophecies to this time ARE fulfilled in the sacking of Jerusalem and the presumed end to the Jewish epoch? Of course the Jews’ religion DID NOT end as perhaps intended but it was dramatically changed.
Whether this IS or IS NOT an accurate depiction of the reality of the times IS a question that IS unlikely to be accurately answered. While Luke ends His version of the Master’s words with the idea that “all things which are written may be fulfilled“, this IS but one part of the picture. In Mark there IS a very different idea portrayed and it IS one that leads many to believe that the Master’s subject IS the final end times. Mark ends with Jesus saying “For then shall be great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be“, in these words we get the message that there will never be such tribulation again. We can parse these words in multiple ways; first, from the perspective of the Jews and their temple based religion, this IS the final end; there was never a destruction of the temple and the Jews’ religion of such force before and there will never be again. This IS a True statement; the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, calculated as happening in 586 BC, IS recorded in the 2 Kings and in 2 Chronicles where both agree that the temple was burned. The rebuilding of the temple is covered in Ezra and there IS little said in regard to the actual building and while the text tells us that the workers “laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD” (Ezra 3:10), the Hebrew word here can just as easily be rendered in terms of repair. This aside, the idea here IS that the Temple was rebuilt and that there IS little information other than it was burnt and it was rebuilt. The final destruction of the Temple in 70 AD IS NOT covered in scripture which itself is curious as many of the gospels and the epistles are deemed to have been written after 70 AD. This nonetheless IS the final destruction as predicted by the Master who clearly says that “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down“. Another view need not concern the building itself; we can try to see that “great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time” IS, from the perspective to the Jews, their reaction to this final destruction of the temple and the dispersion of the Jews throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. In these ideas we can see both Mark’s saying that the tribulation IS the worst from the beginning and there shall never be another equal to it and we should remember that the sacking ended a long siege and blockade of the city when many died for lack of sustenance. And, as the destruction IS foretold by the the Master Himself, there may be other references of which we ARE unaware causing Luke to write “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled“. There ARE several places where the idea of things written CAN NOT be accurately traced to Old Testament verses despite doctrinal attempts to do so.
Perhaps the point to see here IS that the three gospels agree that this event, the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD was to be the end of Judaism as it had been KNOWN since the days of Moses, approximately 1500 years. We should remember here that the Master IS speaking of the Jews to the Jews and, in this reality, there IS naught that links His words to the end times as many Christians want to believe. The next part IS the most difficult of our selection to properly parse as it IS filled with ideas that CAN NOT be easily rationalized. Returning to our selection from Matthew’s Gospel we read the Master’s words saying first that: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened“. We can ONLY presume that the reference here IS to the previous words saying that “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time“; any other reference here is nonsensical. Mark tells us much the same thing framing Jesus’ words as “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days” (Mark 13:20). Luke DOES NOT repeat this idea, Luke goes on with a very different tone which we will address later.
Matthew and Mark both speak of shortened day; the Greek word here IS koloboo which IS defined as: to mutilate; in NT: to shorten, abridge, curtail 2 by the lexicon. That the word has a separate New Testament meaning IS interesting as these two verses from Matthew and Mark ARE the only uses of koloboo in the New Testament. Strong’s tells us that the word IS: from a derivative of the base of G2849 [kolozo]; to dock, i.e. (figuratively) abridge:—shorten; of kolozo Strong’s tells us that it IS: from κόλος kólos (dwarf); properly, to curtail, i.e. (figuratively) to chastise (or reserve for infliction):—punish 9a and punish IS the rendering of kolazo in its two appearances in the epistles. For us this ALL makes little sense; the idea of shortened days however IS the generally accepted idea and to understand its meaning we go again to Vincent. While Vincent DOES NOT offer us an opinion regarding the totality of the Master’s words here, that they ARE specific to the sacking of Jerusalem or that they portend to the end times, he DOES fix this verse at 70 AD. Vincent tells us that koloboo means: literally, to dock, to cut off, leaving a stump, as a limb 4 as he refers to the idea that the meaning IS abridged. From this perspective shortened makes more sense without having to imply that this IS a figurative meaning. Our purpose for going to Vincent here IS NOT simply his understanding of koloboo but rather his portrayal of the whole verse. Vincent goes on to tell us that: As a fact, various causes did combine to shorten the siege. Herod Agrippa was stopped in his work of strengthening the walls by orders from the emperor; the Jews, absorbed in their party strifes, had totally neglected preparations to stand a siege; the magazines of corn and provisions were burnt before the arrival of Titus. Titus arrived suddenly, and the Jews voluntarily abandoned parts of the fortification. Titus himself confessed that God was against the Jews, since otherwise neither his armies nor his engines would have availed against their defences 4.
In Vincent’s words we see a historical perspective of what happened to Jerusalem in the natural working out of the times. The doctrinal perspective here IS that: God will intervene to limit the suffering for His chosen people, preventing total annihilation before Jesus’ return, with the “elect” being those who choose to believe in Him****. According to our perspective from the beginning that the Lord, the Godhead, DOES NOT intervene in the goings on in this Earth, we should try to understand Jesus’ words here simple as a prophecy from the Christ who, as the Godhead, sees ALL in One vision; sees ALL in the eternal now. We move on now to the final part of our selection which comes just before that part that causes men to see the end times in Jesus’ words. This final verses tell us that “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect“. Here we should try to see a twofold meaning in the Greek word christos. First, for the Master’s apostles and disciples, His audience if you will, we should understand His words as representing both. Jesus IS speaking of the future and they surely have at least an inkling of the fact that He will not be with them at the time when “they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake“. The point to His disciples here IS that there will be “false Christs, and false prophets“, men who pretend to represent the Godhead but who ONLY represent their carnal selves. That they may be able to “shew great signs and wonders” should NOT fool the disciple and, as a special warning, Jesus adds that they too may be susceptible saying “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect“.
While it IS likely that such things did happen, we have NO True record of such “false Christs, and false prophets” save for Simon the Sorcerer and Theudas and Judas of Galilee, all of which have some mention in the Book of Acts. Simon ‘converted’ to Christ while the others were killed. Some however see these verses as a part of the next section from which they attribute the whole to the end times. While many DO see the previous ideas presented by the Master as foretelling of the end times, this next section IS what cements that theory in the minds of doctrinal Christians. We should note here that both Matthew and Mark show us these verses beginning with the Greek word tote which simply means then or at that time connecting these verses to the previous section and NOT to the next. In our review however the next section begins with what IS actually the final verse from the last section that we discussed; we read:
“Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:25:36).
The first idea here “Behold, I have told you before” IS shown us by Mark as Jesus’ saying “take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things” (Mark 13:23) and it IS this fortelling that we should see in both; both ARE reference to His previous words and surely the sacking of Jerusalem. As we go on however, the Master’s words become more eerie and foreboding. We begin with what can be understood as a continuation of the theme that “there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” but turns to an idea that requires clear thinking and NOT doctrinal thought. The Master says “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be“. Jesus IS relating this idea to the previous idea “if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not” and through this we should try to see that He IS speaking here of the mysterious “Son of man“. It IS the “Son of man” that “they shall say….is in the desert” and it IS “Son of man” that “they shall say….is in the secret chambers“. Can we see this in His words. Can we see that in the previous section the Master was speaking of “false Christs, and false prophets” but that here the subject has changed as has the tone of His speech. The subject IS now “the Son of man“; it IS “the Son of man” who IS NOT “in the desert” and it IS “the Son of man” who IS NOT “in the secret chambers“. He tells us of “the Son of man” that his coming will be as the lightning. Before we go further here we should try to understand the meaning of this phrase “the Son of man” which doctrines have turned into just another term by which the Master refers to Himself. The term has its roots in the Old Testament and was likely familiar to the Jews to whom Jesus most often spoke. We should remember here that the Prophet Ezekiel refers to himself as “the Son of man” often in his writings and while these words surely DO have meaning, few have likely discovered what it Truly IS.
The concept of “the Son of man” has long been debated but never Truly resolved as the Master refers to Himself in this way several times in the gospels. There IS a place in the Gospel of John where the Master IS asked outright “who is this Son of man?“; this occurs as Jesus IS telling the crowd “if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me“. Here John interjects his own thought saying “This he said, signifying what death he should die” which IS of course historical at the time of John’s writing. In the people’s question they also ask saying “We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up?“. While the idea here IS rendered as Christ, the anointed, the intent of the people IS to ask about the Messiah, the idea of the Christ did NOT yet exist, only the translation of anointed. The Jews are asking about the law and the Messiah here as Jesus IS, through His interactions with the people and the Pharisees, claiming to be the Messiah as He prepares Himself and His disciples for the end. Our point here IS that Jesus DOES NOT directly answer the question asked: “who is this Son of man?” (John 34, 33). The Master’s answer IS that “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them” (John 12:35-36). In this answer IS NO answer at ALL and we are left with the mystery and if we connect this to Paul’s words regarding mystery we can perhaps extract an answer for ourselves. Perhaps we should try to see that for the Master to answer this question, “who is this Son of man?“, would be to reveal “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations” and this He was NOT prepared to DO at this time. The hiding of the mysteries, except those “made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1:26) would run counter to the idea that the Master’s words ARE protected by parables and this He tells us saying to His disciples that “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11). The fact that Jesus DOES NOT directly answer IS explained by Mark saying “without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples” (Mark 4:34).
The reality here IS simply that we ARE left to figure out the meaning of this idea of “the Son of man” and, according to Jesus’ words and the confirmation from Mark, it IS ONLY the disciple that IS privy to such mysteries. From this perspective most ALL are locked out of a True understanding of the meaning of “the Son of man” and this despite the way that the church believes that they have discovered its meaning. The church’s understanding IS simply that: the “Son of Man” is the primary title Jesus used for himself (over 80 times in the Gospels) to describe his dual nature as truly human and the divine, glorified Messiah. Were this the reality of the idea of “the Son of man” there would have been NO reason to NOT answer the question asked: “who is this Son of man?“. So, again we ARE left to discern the meaning of this idea for ourselves based upon the measure of Truth that flows from our own Souls. We should understand here that as writers we ARE using whatsoever measure that we have attained to discuss such mysteries and that the thoughts and the ideas that we present may NOT be understood by a reader who himself has NOT the necessary measure of ability to Truly discern what we may say. This IS why we ofttimes say ponder on this.
As we close today we should try to see that our new way of referencing Google AI for analyzing doctrinal ideas IS based upon the nature of this new tool which analyzes volumes of data for us and summarizes it. Of course AI can make mistakes but in our view most ARE NOT found in the analyzing of published data which IS synthesized into answers to the questions asked. As we DID NOT get to our trifecta of Truth from the Master in the body of our essay, we close with His words saying:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect | Potency | Aspect of Man | In Relation to the Great Invocation | In relation to the Christ |
| GOD, The Father | Will or Power | Spirit or Life | Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN | Life |
| Son, The Christ | Love and Wisdom | Soul or Christ Within | Heart of God | Truth |
| Holy Spirit | Light or Activity | Life Within | Mind of God | Way |
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- ** Google AI on timeline of the siege of Jerusalem
- *** Google AI on the abomination of desolation
- **** Google AI on Matthew 24:22
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
