A sheep in wolf's clothing.
To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
( Psalms 136:6 )
On the 3rd day the dry land was stretched out above the waters of the deep in a manner which may be visualized as a potter making a hollow vessel out of a solid lump of clay.
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
( Psalm 42:7 )
Why were there no Cherubim or flaming swords necessary on the North, West and South of Eden? Eden was surrounded on three sides by unscalable cliffs over which four rivers flowed as waterfalls.
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
( Proverbs 8:26 )
We have closed the loop on the idea that the topography of the dry land on the 3rd day was a mountain that filled the whole earth. The summit: Eden. We are also beginning to deduce earth’s original hydrological cycle.
Open Door Baptist Church
Acts 3:1-26
Confirming the Word with signs following.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
( Mark 16:20 )
This was confirmation that Peter and the apostles were authentic and the work that they did was the work of God.
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was a very common way to refer to our God throughout the OT
The Holy One of Israel? This is not a common phrase, but once again Peter is demonstrating his mastery of scripture and his knowledge of the prophets like Isaiah.
For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
( Isaiah 30:15 )
Prince of life?
The Greek work here is Ἀρχηγὸν – archégos
Usage: originator, author, founder, prince, leader
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
( Hebrews 2:10 )
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
( Hebrews 12:2 )
Peter is winding up to make a swing at the religious establishment.
This is a very clear salvation message
Times of refreshing? If the times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord then this has to be a reference to the Millennial Kingdom. The tribulation will include plagues which devastate the surface of the earth and poison all of the world’s oceans. When the Millennial Kingdom is established there will be a temple in Jerusalem from which will issue waters which will heal the land and the oceans.
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
( Revelation 8:8-11 )
The healing is described in Ezekiel’s vision of the temple in the New Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 47:1-12
Jesus is in heaven until the times of refreshing. The times of refreshing is the Millennial Kingdom.
The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
( Deuteronomy 18:15 )
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
( Deuteronomy 18:16 )
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
( Genesis 22:18 )
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Danby House
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
( Luke 23:43 )
Mary asked this question after church Sunday night:
What happens in between dying on the earth and receiving our incorruptible body at the time of the rapture?
Our pastor does not believe in soul sleep based on the passage about what Jesus said to the dying thief. According to Jesus then the day that we die we will be with him in paradise. So how do we understand other NT teaching about Christians falling asleep (dying)?
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
( 1 Corinthians 11:30 )
And what about the passage that says that the dead in Christ shall rise at the rapture?
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
( 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 )
So do we sleep or do we see Jesus on the day we die? And what happens to the body?
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
( 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 )
We need to be sure that we understand the timing of this before we see what the answer is.
The rapture is before a time called the Tribulation. This is when the plagues of the the Book of Revelation come upon the earth. At the end of the Tribulation the Lord will return from heaven and wage war on his enemies, we will see the battle of Armageddon, and then he will establish the Millennial Kingdom.
The beginning of the Millennial Kingdom is when the first resurrection takes place. This includes us if we die before that and all the Christians who are asleep in the earth.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
( Revelation 20:4-6 )
Those of us who were raptured out of the world before the tribulation will receive our incorruptible bodies and we will live on the earth with Christ for 1,000 years. This is not heaven. Heaven comes later.
But what happens in between dying on the earth and receiving our incorruptible body at the time of the Millennial Kingdom?
This was Mary’s original question. I think I have an answer.
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
( Revelation 6:9-11 )
Our souls will be in heaven, we will have white robes to wear because we don’t have our resurrection body yet. Here again we have souls in white robes before the throne of God in heaven:
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
( Revelation 7:11 )
When we die our bodies will go into the ground. Our soul and spirit will go the heaven and be clothed with a white robe and we will serve the Lord with praise. At the end of the tribulation we will receive incorruptible bodies and return to the earth for the Millennial Kingdom.
When the Millennium ends will be when the earth and heavens dissappear like smoke and a new heaven and new earth will come down to us from heaven, there we will live for eternity.
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
(Isaiah 40:22) ESV
Flat earthers claim that the use of the Hebrew word chug, for circle, in Isaiah 40:22 means that the Earth has to be a flat disk. The idea being that if the Earth was a sphere then the Hebrew word for ball should have been used.
Continue reading “Circle, sphere: ח֣וּג – chug”
Davidson Analytical Chaldee and Hebrew Lexicon page CCCCLXXXVI
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
(Ecclesiastes 10:18) KJV
One of our Hebrew gravity concepts occurs in the context of a house so neglected that the roof falls in. The root that the word foundation is derived from is makon. The establishment of a foundation and sinking down are derived from the same root.
Continue reading “To sink, sank: יִמַּ֣ךְ – makak”
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
(Genesis 1:6) KJV
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
(Genesis 1:4) KJV
Dividing the water above the firmament from the water below below it required physical space. Likewise, dividing the light from the darkness isn’t the alternation of day and night, it’s also the their separation by a physical space.
Continue reading “A space between: בֵּ֥ין – bayin”
Matty (Headwind) 