ON LOVE; PART MCCCXCVII
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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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We ended the last essay with some thoughts on delusion which we ARE ever reminded of by the Apostle James who tells us clearly that we ARE to “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). While this IS perhaps the primary scripture regarding delusion, the idea IS found throughout the New Testament and IS effectively the subject of the Master’s Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders that we recently discussed. There it IS clear that the foolish builder has deluded himself in his thinking that he need NOT be such a DOER. Jesus says, also clearly, that “every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man” (Matthew 7:26) and His words ARE NO more heeded nor understood than James’ by most ALL of those who proclaim to be ‘saved‘. The Apostle John also captures this idea for us in our selection from his first epistle although it IS clouded by the rendering of the Greek word plánē into such ideas as error, a rendering which IS used by most ALL translators. Some however render in terms of deceit but the idea of a “spirit of deception” IS NOT clear here without the entire context of John’s words that come before it; others render in terms of lies or falsehood which DOES point us to the apostle’s idea of antichrist but fails to show us that sense of deception. We DID discuss Strong’s defining ideas for this word plánē which strongly points us to a meaning that IS objectively, fraudulence and subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety9a while adding as translatable English words deceit, to deceive, delusion, error 9a. There ARE many cautions and warnings to the church regarding men’s propensity to be deluded; from the Master we have His direct warning that we should “Beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15), false teachers that DO NOT see the Truth because they too ARE deluded. Jesus also shows us this in the parable we cite above and in countless other places; these however ARE among the most clear of cautions. John cautions us in our selection with his words against antichrist, words that ARE ill understood in their context while being taken out of context and applied to a variety of eschatological doctrinal ideas. Paul also tells us of this deception in his words to Timothy where we read “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:1-4). We should wonder if his idea of “the latter times” would come so fast as it DID in the early church which primed its doctrines with “another gospel“. Paul shows us a caution that “your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3) along with the of his warning in Galatians that “there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6, 7).
We should try to see that from a spiritual perspective this idea of delusion, of perversion and of corruption IS done at the hands of antichrists and here we should be able to see that the reality of this word IS NOT as it IS presented in the doctrines of men. We should remember that there IS NO link between the idea of antichrist and the doctrinal presentations of a person which IS related to the eschatological ideas found in the gospels, in Thessalonians and in the Book of Revelation. That much of the church has adopted this view of antichrist IS NOT in accord with the context of John’s writing which tell us of everyman who will teach things contrary to the words of the Master, everyman that IS the “false prophet“, the false teacher that Jesus warns us about. We should note that this idea of antichrist IS centuries old and the whole of the idea IS based in the prophetic ideas of Old and New Testament personages; it IS a word that IS doctrinally originated and used. This eschatological usage deflects from the more simple messages of John and of Jesus, a message that IS essentially “Take heed that ye be not deceived : for many shall come in my name, saying , I am Christ; and the time draweth near : go ye not therefore after them” (Luke 21:8). This should be conflated with Jesus’ other words “Take heed therefore how ye hear : for whosoever hath , to him shall be given ; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have” (Luke 8:18) and Mark’s version saying “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24). There IS much in the New Testament that warns against the ideas of men, carnal ideas to be sure, becoming their doctrinal beliefs but these warning have NOT been heeded from the beginning. So what have we? We have the word antichrist referring to ALL that IS NOT the Truth of the Master’s words and this IS become much of the church. We have ALL that IS “another gospel” under the Truth of Paul’s writing where such IS perhaps his own teaching of which he says “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). We should note here that in the end Paul clarifies his intent saying that it IS the “gospel of Christ” that IS moved aside for the “commandments of men” which ARE the essence of “another gospel“. Under the proper understanding of antichrist and of “false prophets” and of “another gospel” we should be able to see that it IS the church at large that IS become these and which offers men their alternate teachings which yet today DO “pervert the gospel of Christ“. And while this IS a harsh assessment of the church, any True evaluation of church doctrine against the words of the Master will prove the point that “The church today is the tomb of the Christ and the stone of theology has been rolled to the door of the sepulchre“^. We should understand however that there IS NOT evil in these presentations as this word IS understood but there IS error, there IS the power of the authoritative church to delude men as they insist that their various doctrines ARE Truth. This IS ALL in the power of that vanity of which Paul tells us “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). And it IS this vanity that Vincent so aptly defines for us as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4.
Our point has ever been to show the ultimate Truth of Jesus’ words where, referring to the past, to His present and to the future He tells us “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). This IS True in Elijah’s day, in Jesus’ day and yet today but the reality IS ONLY accepted as True in Jesus day as the Master speaks against the Jews; it IS here that we should clearly see the blindness of men’s doctrinal approach to the Lord for the last 2000 years. This IS our perspective on the value of doctrines versus the Truth of the Master’s words which, if ever Truly followed, will change men’s view of Life and their actions in this world. We came across this while searching through our archives:
Early on in our series of essays we made this statement which repeat for its value in understanding our perspective as well as our motivation; we said:
And so it becomes our duty to study the words of Jesus and to define, though His words, the proper doctrine to which we ourselves should adhere. Many of the churches are lost in a sea of doctrines and theologies and dogmatic pronouncements that swallow up many of their followers in the traditions of men that they follow and this while each proclaims that they are the way. Disagreement abounds and it is in this disagreement that we see, and they should see, that these varied paths are wrong and divisive; they divide the very Christ that they preach. The church of today teaches theology instead of the words of the Master, it worships Him instead of following Him and it uses its self created doctrines to define Life and ‘salvation‘. Much of what is taught and believed regarding atonement, judgment, resurrection, sin, heaven and hell and our salvation is steeped in the traditions of the church fathers, in Old Testament superstitions and the interpretations of the writings of the Apostles to match. We know that it is in the words of Christ that the truth is to be found and that the Apostles writings should be so interpreted to match this and not any preconceived ideas.
(From In the Words of Jesus Parts 121, 365, and 654)
We post these words today to emphasize that the motivation of this blog has NOT changed. Although it may have become more critical of the status quo of the churches and their continued divisive teachings which ARE NOT in accord with the words of the Master nor His apostles rightly understood, we have remained True to our main tenet which IS that men should keep His words and through this begin to express that Love, that agape, that IS at the center of the teachings. There IS NO fine line between the Truth and men’s chosen versions of that Truth; rather there IS and has been a chasm of difference.. As we often say, it IS easier for the secular person who sees the tides of change that ARE remolding our moral values and our determination to homogenize our societies without the long worn prejudices, hatreds and self-centeredness that IS Life in this vanity, that IS Life in this world. Jesus shows us a vision of the possibility of this secular change in such words as “the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31). Any unbiased view of the doctrinal church’s teachings will show that same dynamic that the Master saw in the doctrinal ideas of the Jews. Those that Truly believe such doctrines ARE NOT searching for the Truth any longer; they ARE ‘satisfied’ that their doctrinal version of the Truth IS the ‘one way’ as they fail to see the deep reality of Jesus words saying: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). While much of the church teaches and believes that it IS through their doctrines that they find Life and avoid destruction, it IS they that ARE on the broad way; these ARE NOT seeking for or striving to “Enter ye in at the strait gate“. This IS the unfortunate situation that the church IS in and has been in for 2000 years. We should note that these words from the Master immediately precede His cautions and warnings about “false prophets“, warnings that ARE lumped together by John into the idea of antichrist which we have been discussing. Jesus’ words ARE perhaps more True today because of the sheer volume of the doctrinal messaging and the indoctrination that this messaging inflicts on the minds of men. Jesus tells us to:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down , and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
While it IS NOT possible to KNOW exactly when, or in what order, the Master gave us the Sermon on the Mount, the Apostle Matthew has organized His words into a continuous string of sayings while Luke DOES NOT. Using Matthew we should note that this caution from Jesus comes after His words regarding the “strait gate” which IS the Way to the Kingdom; there He shows us that most ALL men remain in the broad way and perhaps as a causality for this Jesus shows us the role of the “false prophets“, those that teach men that the broad way IS the way to their ‘salvation‘. We should note as well that Jesus continues His thoughts as He goes from telling us that “by their fruits ye shall know them” to showing us the right Path to Truth. The Master then contrasts those who hear the Truth with those who hear the words of those “false prophets“; it IS their teaching that has led and continues to lead men into greater bondage and it IS these men that ARE Jesus’ reference in saying “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Can we see the point here? Can we see that even if Jesus DID NOT offer these words as a continuous string of Truth that Matthew thought it proper to string them together? Jesus words in this Sermon tell us first the way that men should behave in this world and then goes into the choices that fall upon him; He tells us of our need to focus and leaves it to us to understand that this focus comes through our Repentance and Transformation. He frames this in telling us that of our focus, that it can either be on “treasures in heaven” or those “treasures upon earth“. We should try to see that in a clear focus on His words we can better perceive some measure of Truth while the doctrines of men can be seen as the message of those false teachers. Jesus continues to show us our choices as we ARE told that we must choose either to focus upon God or mammon (Matthew 6:20, 19, 24), the latter of which IS the essential product of the “commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). From here Jesus offers us the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders and it IS in these words that are of the result of our choices IS clearly shown us. Repeating His words which ARE hardly parabolic we read:
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended , and the floods came , and the winds blew , and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended , and the floods came , and the winds blew , and beat upon that house; and it fell : and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
The idea of the ‘parable’ IS clear but rather ignored based in the way that the doctrinal presentations themselves deemphasize the words of the Master in favor of doctrinal ideas interpreted from the words of Paul. We should try to see that it IS in Jesus’ words that the Truth IS found and NOT in the vain ideas of men whose choice has ever been to find an easier Path that DOES NOT Truly exist. Yet the doctrinal thinker clings to this hope of an easy way where it IS perhaps in his support of his church, his denomination or his sect that he will find the promised ‘salvation‘. This IS but a part of the doctrinal chimera that men have embraced from the beginning, from the Jews interpreting the words of Moses into their own convenient mitzvah which ignored the “the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23) to the intentional substitution of the Christian doctrinal precepts for the words of the Master, words of which He tells us that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24). While few see that the words of the apostles ARE NOT new doctrine nor ARE they that new covenant that men seek to ease their burdon while offering ‘spiritual’ comfort, their words ARE actually rather clear regarding the Way that men ARE to follow the Master. The idea throughout the New Testament IS that we follow but men have instead chosen to worship in their strange and peculiar ways. Few see the value of the words of the writer of Hebrews saying “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” while they cling onto other sayings that DO NOT reflect such obedience. And fewer still see the value of such ideas as that it IS Jesus the Christ that IS “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 5:9, 12:2). We choose to cite Hebrews here because much of the Book of Hebrews IS ever more frequently used to support doctrinal precepts which allow men to ‘fantasize’ over obscure ideas that ARE NOT understandable such as the writer’s fascination with the idea of Melchisedec, a fascination that IS meaningless save for the way it ties Jesus more securely to Old Testament ideas in an effort to convert the Jews. It IS despite ALL of the references to Jesus, to keeping His words and following Him, that the church has chosen the alternate road of mammon and this word, rightly understood, should reveal to us not only treasures and riches but rather ALL that IS carnally bound to the vanity of men. That vanity to which ALL are subjected and which, again, Vincent aptly defines for us as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. The Way out of the morass of conflicting doctrinal views IS ever found in the words of the Master and, for us, these ARE rightly summarized for us in our trifecta which we repeat 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).
While the Master and His apostles, and the prophets and writers before them, tried to show the error of the Jews’ ways, ALL were also pointing humanity to the future with the singular message that IS NO different today than it was when Jesus tells the Jews “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matthew 23:23). It IS the substitution of men’s views over the words of the law, the prophets and the Master that has blotted out the reality of the True mission of Souls in this world and if we could see this mission in terms of the Master’s teaching we could better understand our own roles in this great saga that IS Life in form. Again, we ARE NOT bible scholars nor can we see so clearly into the heart of God that our words ARE definitive but, through the application of whatsoever measure of Truth we have realization of, we can surely point to the better Way, “a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31) if you will. This Way IS of course agape and it IS in agape that we should see the deeper reality of “the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith“. It IS ever our ability to express agape in this world that can and will change the Way that men approach Life in form. This change IS NOT ONLY our individual effort to correct the problems of humanity but it IS evermore a corporate effort where portions of the human family can experience the effects of agape as the singular most important aspect of our mission here in this world. Can we see the point here? Can we see how that bringing Unity through Love into this world IS the defining idea of agape from the perspective of both God and man? It IS in this Unity, this realized Oneness, that we can move our focus off of ourselves and onto the greater whole which IS in most every respect our worldly picture of the Lord. And we should understand that this idea IS NOT lost in Jesus teaching but IS ever apparent to any who can look past their preconceived ideas as well as those into which they ARE indoctrinated. It IS the reality of this expression of agape that IS the subject of our selection from the First Epistle of John which we repeat here saying:
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4).
As we have been discussing, John has been showing us that the Way to Truth and Love IS NOT found in the words of men and again we should understand that any of men’s words that ARE contrary to the Words of the Master ARE the words of antichrist; this IS the most defining of ideas regarding this much misused word. While it may seem an affront to the egos of those whose Life IS wrapped up in their doctrinal ideas, the greater reality IS that this IS but the product of our vanity, the product of our desire to feel good and to comfort ourselves regarding those things that ARE yet unknown and perhaps incomprehensible to the human mind. Behind this vanity IS the Soul of everyman and when we can get a glimpse of the reality that there IS a conscious entity behind our phenomenal appearance, an entity whose Life in this world IS part of the overall mission of Unity, we can perhaps begin both hearing and heeding the constant prompting of the Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True. For most everyman this prompting IS obnubilated, drowned out if you will, by the steady din of Life in this world and it IS here that we should note the Master’s words regarding the man who may faintly hear the prompting; Jesus tells us of the ‘thorny ground‘, the man who IS likened to such, saying of this man that upon hearing the word of Truth he becomes as “that which fell among thorns“. These “are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection“. We should try to understand that this “word of Truth” IS NOT ONLY found in Christian scripture, this “word of Truth” IS inherent in our Souls, in our unction by which “ye know all things” (1 John 2:20) and flows through into the carnality of Life in ideas of virtue, in those things that the Master tells us ARE missing in the lives of the Pharisees of whom He says “ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone”. This attitude of the Jews, their beholding to their mitzvah, IS but an aspect of the din of daily living which encumbers the Truth for most ALL men despite whatsoever claims they may make to the contrary. There ARE other ‘classes’ of men cited in this parable but those others ARE NOT getting that glimpse of Truth which IS shown us in the lives of those for whom the Truth “fell among thorns” and we should note here the ideas of God and mammon. These upon whom the Truth “fell among thorns” ARE choosing mammon over God while the final ‘class’ of men chooses God over mammon; of these Jesus tells us that “on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:14, 15). We should note here that in the final reality it IS these who choose God that DO “bring forth fruit with patience” and that the final proof, to oneself and others, IS found in that fruit of which Jesus says “by their fruits ye shall know them“.
We should understand that in many ways it IS the idea of antichrist that afflicts those for whom the Truth “fell among thorns” as it IS their indoctrination at the hands of those who have assumed religious authority that keeps their lives “choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life“. We should note here that such cares ARE the plight of everyman who lives in this world of vanity and it IS this vanity that IS the most basic spiritual delusion and this especially in religious circles where such cares become paramount in one’s Life. And we should note here as well that this IS NOT limited to one’s personal care and the care of those close but extends into men’s doctrinal ideas of ‘salvation‘ by which they see themselves saved and then proceed to indoctrinate others. The Apostle Mark seems more carnally graphic in his version of Jesus’ words saying “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” but we should understand that the same dynamics apply. We should try to see that Jesus IS NOT speaking of the outwardly carnal man; these ARE covered in the first two ‘classes’ of men which Jesus calls the “way side” and the “stony ground” in Mark’s Gospel. Can we see the point here? Can we understand that the Master’s words and the rightly interpreted words of His apostles ARE heard by the man who IS the likened to being the word that IS “sown among thorns” (Mark 4:19, 15, 16, 18) but he DOES NOT heed them despite their scriptural source; this man instead hears the words of doctrine which combine with those other Earthly forces of vanity so that his man “becometh unfruitful“. Most ALL Christians KNOW the words of Jesus but fail to keep those words substituting instead the words of men and the various pictures that they paint regarding ‘salvation‘. This brings us back to where we began this essay, with James words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
The Apostle John ends our selection by telling us that “this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” and while these words ARE ofttimes distorted by the doctrinal ideas of men, this IS the most basic Truth that we can take from the Master’s teaching. It IS when we conflate this saying with the third part of our trifecta that we can begin to see and to understand that it IS this Love, this agape, that IS the prima facie motivator to spiritual living and when we can see that it IS our own measure of selflessness that allows this we can then better understand the True meaning of those ancient words “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. This unfortunately IS become but a trite saying that most ALL Christians, and most ALL men, DO KNOW from the perspective of the words but fail to understand how that it IS in this idea that True salvation lies. It IS the obnubilation of the Truth of agape that IS the singularly most spiritual impediment for those men that have for centuries heeded the words of antichrists, the words of those “false prophets” who DO NOT see for themselves the Truth yet desire to unleash their versions upon others. While there IS surely some, we should NOT see evil at work here; we should ONLY see the results of that vanity to which ALL ARE subjected.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 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
- ^ From The Reappearance of the Christ by Alice A Bailey; © 1948 by Lucis Trust
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
