Those who believe in a Trinity carelessly assume the Bible teaches that the two Personages known as the Father and the Son are omnipresent – “everywhere present at once.” It is the Holy Spirit that is Omni Present – not the individual Persons known as Father and Son.
King David asked God, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell [Sheol – “the grave”] behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You” (Psalm 139:7-12).
This Scripture plainly reveals that God is everywhere – but only in and through His Spirit. God explained it this way: “Am I a God near at hand,’ says the LORD, ‘And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the LORD; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:23-24). God the Father does not, in Person, “fill heaven and earth.” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not, in Person, “fill heaven and earth.” Both Father and Son are omnipresent only in and through Their Holy Spirit. God – in Spirit – does fill heaven and earth!
There are three men named James in the New Testament. James the son of Zebedee and James the son of Alphaeus were two of the original twelve disciples (Matthew 10:2-3). Another James called the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:18-19), was the son of Joseph and Mary. Christ had physical brothers and sisters (Matthew 13:55). One of his brothers was named James, his other brothers were named Joses, Simon, and Jude, or Judas.
The fact that James, the brother of Jesus, was the author of The Epistle of James is held with almost complete unanimity by Biblical scholars. Notice the Biblical proof: James the son of Zebedee (and brother of John) was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-2) in the early 40s A.D. James the son of Alphaeus is not mentioned in Scripture after Acts 1:13. Where did he go? Jesus sent the twelve apostles to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6). James the son of Alphaeus planted true Christianity in Spain and “these western parts,” (see William Cave’s Antiquities Apostolicae) with some authorities adding Ireland and Britain. Fulfilling Jesus’ command to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, he carried the Gospel into Western and Northwestern Europe.
Only one James remained behind in Judea: James, the Lord’s brother. This James was in Jerusalem (Galatians 1:18-19; Acts 15:13-21). The Epistle of James was written by James, the brother of Christ, son of Joseph and Mary. He was the one who wrote “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). Jude, another brother of Jesus, wrote The Epistle of Jude after the death of his older brother James in A.D. 62.
Apparently, Joseph died sometime before Christ began His public ministry. Joseph is not mentioned in Scripture again after Jesus was twelve years of age. This would explain one reason why Jesus instructed John to take care of Mary just before His death (John 19:25-27).
John was probably the only apostle of the twelve to die of old age. Biblical and historical sources account for the martyrdom of all the others. John lived over 60 years after Christ’s resurrection and evidently took care of Mary until her death. No details of her death are given either in the Bible or in reliable historical sources.
The laying on of hands is a fundamental doctrine of God’s Church (Hebrews 6:2). It is a symbolic act which sets individuals apart and signifies the conferring of spiritual blessings, authority, or power.
In ancient times, a blessing was often conferred this way – such as when Jacob laid hands on Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh to pass on blessings from God recorded in Genesis 48.
In the New Testament we see that the laying on of hands followed the baptism of repentant converts (Acts 8:14-24; Acts 19:5-6; 2 Timothy 1:6-7). The laying on of hands also accompanies an elder’s prayer when he anoints the sick and afflicted (James 5:14-16; Acts 9:17). Yet, another purpose for the laying on of hands is that of ordination (Acts 6:6; Acts 13:1-3). The laying on of hands serves to demonstrate that God works through His ministers.
The prophet Daniel’s original prophecy has more than one fulfillment. “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.” (Daniel 12:11).
The first fulfillment took place in 167 B.C. On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev (corresponding to November/December on the Roman calendar) the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes, and his army, erected an altar to the Greek god Zeus on the temple mount in Jerusalem and offered swine upon it. The abomination of desolation Jesus Christ mentioned was the desecration of the temple and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in A.D. 70.
However, there is yet to be a final fulfillment. Shortly before Jesus Christ returns to this earth, armies will once again surround Jerusalem and an abomination will be set up in the city. When this occurs, those in Jerusalem are told to flee to the mountains. “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24:16-17; see also Luke 21:20-21).
Leviticus 19:27 states: “You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.” In addition Leviticus 21:5 says: “They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beard nor make any cutting in their flesh.” Does this mean that it is wrong to shave or cut one’s hair?
Absolutely not! It was a ceremonial custom of the heathen to cut and trim their beards and hair into special shapes in honor of the sun god. The ancient Egyptians had their dark locks cropped short or shaved with great nicety, so the hair which remained on the crown of their head appeared in the form of a circle surrounding the head, while the beard was dressed in a square form. Alternatively, a round bald spot was sometimes shaved on the head. God forbids the following of pagan customs and false worship. Shaving one’s beard and cutting one’s hair for normal good grooming is something altogether different and is not condemned anywhere in the Bible.
Mark 16:18 states: “They will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” This is a promise of protection to those God has called to preach the Gospel (verse 15).
An example of this occurred when the Apostle Paul was bitten by a deadly poisonous snake while gathering firewood after being shipwrecked in the cold and rain (Acts 28:3-6). Paul was unexpectedly bitten by accident and God miraculously protected him according to His promise.
On the other hand deliberately handling poisonous snakes or drinking deadly poisonous liquids expecting God’s protection is contrary to Christ’s teachings. We see this in principle in Matthew 4:5-7: “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.” In this example we see that Satan tried to persuade Jesus to throw Himself down from a pinnacle because He had a promise of protection. However, Jesus Christ rebuked Satan because he had twisted and misapplied the Scripture.
We live in an interdependent world where food and water shortages can occur with little or no warning. Therefore, it is advisable to have food, water, and other supplies on hand for such emergencies. Preparing for natural disasters and the like will not only benefit us, but possibly our neighbors as well.
In Proverbs 6:6-8 God tells us to “go to the ant” and learn from it. “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer, or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.”
Preparing for times of emergency is different than storing up massive quantities of food and water thinking that it will preserve our lives during the prophesied time of famine and tribulation to come. Christ said in Matthew 24:21-22 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
Christians ought to put their faith in God Almighty’s protection, not in the amount of food and supplies they have stored away during this prophesied time of trouble which lies shortly ahead.
Most people have never heard of God’s 7000-Year Master Plan for mankind.
That great plan is pictured by the seven-day week. As Genesis shows, God refashioned the earth (Psalm 104:30) and created all life forms in six days and then rested on the Sabbath. God also gave man six days in which to work, followed by a day of rest. In Exodus 20:11 we read: “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” On the seventh day of the week, man is to put aside his normal routine of daily activities and worship the true God (Isaiah 58:13-14).
The Apostle Peter understood that the seven-day week is a pattern which applies to time on a far grander scale. He wrote: “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:9). The Apostle Paul also had this principle in mind when he explained that the seventh day of the week pictures the peaceful time of rest that will follow this present age (Hebrews 4:3-11).
The Apostle John tells us that this period of rest will occur after Christ’s intervention in world affairs and that it will last a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-4). Since the seventh day of the week symbolizes 1000 years of peace under the rule of Jesus Christ (the Millennium), the first six days of the week represent 6000 years in which man has been allowed to govern himself and work out his own ideas and plans. In other words, each day of the week represents 1000 years of human existence.
It is important to note that Satan is the ruler of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), and that he has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9). He began this deception in the Garden of Eden. Where are we now in this 7000-year plan? Charts which list biblical events in time order are accurate enough to show that human life was created about 4000 years before the birth of Christ. History makes it clear that almost another 2000 years have expired since then – making a total of nearly 6000 years of human civilization to date. In short, man’s “week” is nearly over, and God’s great Millennial Rest will soon be here!
Joseph’s two sons were Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribe Manasseh is dominant in the United States, and Ephraim constitutes the Anglo-Saxon, English speaking member countries of the British Commonwealth – such as Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and part of South Africa.
The tribe of Judah (the Jews) is scattered among all nations, with a large number living in the modern nation of Israel.
Putting together the information available from biblical and secular history as well as prophecy, we can be reasonably certain that other tribes are located as follows:
• Reuben – France
• Dan – Ireland and a branch of Denmark that mixed with the northern tribes
• Benjamin – Norway and Iceland
• Zebulun – Holland (the Netherlands)
• Issachar – Finland
• Gad – Switzerland
• Asher – Belgium and Luxembourg
• Naphtali – Sweden
• Levi and Simeon – scattered among the other Israelite nations.
It should be noted that gentiles (people of a non-Israelite lineage) from many nations have also settled among these nations, especially in the big cities.
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