Hi Brother Ac28, I don’t know if you’ve read any of my explanation of the Old Testament’s elect comparison with those becoming the new man in Christ. I use the example of John the Baptist in Mat 11:11. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
Now I ask that if Jesus said he was the greatest, wouldn’t you think if those of Israel were a part of the bride of Christ, he would certainly be included?
But no, John the Baptist says of himself in that his joy is being the friend of the bridegroom. Joh 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Now the following scripture occurs just prior to the middle of the week of tribulation. Please keep in mind that the things is being shown is future to the Day of the Lord, and he is seeing and reporting of things to be hereafter from that period of time. Rev 4:1.
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion (Where is this?), and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (Until coming to earth later, it remains in heaven today.)
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Just when does the New Jerusalem come down from heave that contains not only the bride, but all of God’s own? Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, and as you said, it is after there is a new heaven and earth we read of in Rev 21:1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. This is even at the end of the millennium.
Thanks for your input in Jesus’ name.
Nothing you said even begins to disprove anything I said. It's like everything you said is based on assumptions and mainstream denominational traditions based on very iffy passages. If you can't see the massive difference between the New Jerusalem, which certainly isn't heaven, at all, and the Heavenly Places of Ephesians, which is the very highest heaven, I have this bridge for sale.
You can't prove anything about the post-Acts books from anything in the Acts books or any other book in the Bible - the only thing that carries over is Christ and your salvation. Why, because everything in Acts was based on the OT - even the mystery of Rom 16:25, was based on the prophetic scriptures - vs 25. On the other hand, EVERYTHING in the post-Acts scriptures was a mystery hid in God from ages and generations - Col 1:26 - until revealed by Paul, starting with Ephesians. No one in history knew anything, ever, about Eph, Col, etc. before Paul revealed it. It's ALL spanking brand new stuff, compared with the rest of the Bible. THEREFORE, EVERYTHING in Paul's post-Acts epistles stands alone - those books are an island unto themselves. If you want to debate about anything in Paul's after-Acts epistles, you can only use scripture FROM Paul's after-Acts epistles. It's like, except for Christ and our salvation, NOTHING in those all-Israel 59 books has ANY influence on anything in those last 7 books written by Paul. Your quotes from John, Revelation, and Hebrews are 100% meaningless in this discussion.
Every word in the Bible is truth and every word is important for our learning. However, when it comes to what is directly for you and I and what our future is, you won't find even a hint of it in ANY of those other 59 books. Those 59 books (starting in Gen 12) are all one COMPLETE unit, all about Israel, and everything in them is contained in scripture somewhere.
Look what Paul said, as late as Acts 26, about 62AD, 32 years after Christ's ascension.
Ac 26:22
Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
Everything Paul taught the Gentiles during Acts had its roots in the OT.
In other words, everything is those 59 books was in prophecy, but Nothing in Eph, Phil, Col, 1&2Tim, Titus, or Philemon was in prophecy because it was ALL hid in God until after Acts ended. So, these 2 parts don't intersect or mesh at all. Therefore, it's impossible to use scripture from any of the 59 books to debate against anything in Paul's last 7 books, and visa versa.
You Have 2 choices. Take your pick.
(1) You can believe what Paul says about your future, but only in his post-Acts epistles, and go to Heaven, or
(2) You can believe what Paul says about your future, in his Acts books, probably go through the White Throne Judgement and probably end up on earth.
Nothing, with no exceptions, was new during Acts.
Everything, with no exceptions, was new after Acts.
The word, "Abraham" appears 19 times in Paul's 6 Acts books - 9 times in Romans
The phrase, "it is written" appears 32 times in Paul's 6 Acts books - 16 times in Romans.
Neither "Abraham" nor "it is written" appears even one time in Paul's 7 post-Acts books.
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