Servants of the Kingdom

SERVANTS OF THE KINGDOM

12-16-2018

The Parable of Vineyard Laborers

Matthew 20:1-16 NET Laborers In The Vineyard:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. (2) And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard. (3) When it was about nine o'clock in the morning, he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work. (4) He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.' (5) So they went. When he went out again about noon and three o'clock that afternoon, he did the same thing. (6) And about five o'clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why are you standing here all day without work?' (7) They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go and work in the vineyard too.' (8) When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the workers and give the pay starting with the last hired until the first.' (9) When those hired about five o'clock came, each received a full day's pay. (10) And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. (11) When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner, (12) saying, 'These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.' (13) And the landowner replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn't you agree with me to work for the standard wage? (14) Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you. (15) Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' (16) So the last will be first, and the first last."

All of the parables included in the gospels distinguish various aspects of the Kingdom of God.  Note that the gospel of Matthew employs the phrase, “The Kingdom of Heaven”.  It is claimed by some that Matthew wrote his narrative specifically for the Judeans (Jews) and they expected the kingdom to come from heaven.  This does not give evidence that people will be raptured away to live in heaven, but rather that the glorification of heaven will be presented on the earth by God.  Luke employs the phrase, “The Kingdom of God” because Jesus Christ returning from heaven will rule the earth as King and this (the earth) will be His kingdom.

The first verse makes it clear this parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven (or God).  The first or beginning workers who symbolically agreed to be kingdom workers would literally be the apostles and several others around Judea.   The next group would be the crowd who spoke several different languages as Peter and other apostles preached after receiving an anointing of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit allowed Peter to speak to speak to the crowd and all understood him in their native language.  This is the true meaning of “speaking in tongues”.  The modern babbling instances border on heresy.  About 3000 believers accepted the message concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and were baptized into the faith.

Acts 2:41 NET So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.

As the apostles, including Paul, and other believers spread the word other sincere believers came forward and repeated the actions of the apostles.  This process of preaching and explaining the gospel message of Jesus Christ has continued down to the present time.  All true believers (i.e. Kingdom workers) regardless of the length of their service prior to death will be paid (rewarded) the same.  Length of service is not an issue but the quality of service, as will be explained in the next parable, is very important.

There are many claiming to be believers of the gospel message but are all believers actually kingdom workers?  Does salvation automatically merit you a glorified body in the first resurrection?  Unfortunately it does not.  Salvation will allow you to receive little or no punishment at the second resurrection but it will not necessarily grant you access to the first resurrection.  Only the sincere, completely forgiving kingdom workers with the mind of Christ (and other things to be discussed later) will partake of the first resurrection to be appointed preachers, teachers, and Melchizedek priests under the leadership of Jesus Christ.

The Parable of Ten Minas

In the parable of the minas given to slaves (i.e. servants), verse 19:15 claims that the King (Jesus) had returned to his land (earth) after receiving the kingdom.

Luke 19:15-21 NET The Parable of the Ten Minas:  When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. (16) So the first one came before him and said, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.' (17) And the king said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.' (18) Then the second one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.' (19) So the king said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.' (20) Then another slave came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. (21) For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.'

Mina:  An ancient weight or denomination of money, of varying value.  A weight containing 50 shekels, according to Hebrew usage.

The King had given each servant a certain amount of minas which is symbolic of the express authority and ability to transmit the gospel message.  Each servant had been given equal amounts of ten minas.  The first subject doubled the amount of minas.  The second subject only earned five minas.  The third reported subject buried his mina and did not attempt to earn anything.

The first who doubled his amount was awarded authority over ten cities, the second was awarded five cities, and the third reported servant had his minas taken away and given to another.  The first and second will be a part of the first resurrection and the first will receive more authority than the second one due to his kingdom work ethic. 

The third will have to wait for the second resurrection.  Although at that time, he will receive a glorified body (i.e. abode or mansion in the KJV) with little or no punishment (i.e. the fire of God) he will not be given any authority.

It is generally believed by many that all unbelievers are punished in “hell,” while all believers receive “eternal life.” There appears to envision a type of divine democracy, where all individuals 00are treated equally, depending only on whether or not they believe in Jesus Christ.  However, there are two resurrections; and all the elect of the first resurrection will not receive the same reward or authority.

The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:13-40 This parable is similar in content to the parable of the minas.  However, this version uses talents as a value of currency rather than minas.

Talent:  If the talent was silver it would be equivalent to 3,000 shekels, 6,000 denarii,

or 94 3/7 pounds of silver.

This parable features a man going on a journey rather than a King receiving a Kingdom which could be a parallel feature or issue.  Also each of three servants were given differing amounts:  5 talents; 2 talents; and one talent.  Each servant was told to invest their talents and earn even more.  The 5 talents earned 5; the two talents earned two; and the third servant with one talent buried it in the ground and earned nothing.

Verse 25:14 is the key verse which says, “To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability”.  This implies that if a person can manage well at his/her level of ability he/she can be trusted to manage even more.  The first two mentioned servants were both put in charge “of many things”.

Robertson’s Word Studies:  According to his own ability. Each had all that he was capable of handling. The use that one makes of his opportunities is the measure of his capacity for more.

Fire; Hell; Judgment

The source of the fire in the “lake of fire” which most believe is “hell” is the throne itself. Thrones symbolize authority and law, or more specifically, the administration of the law by one in authority. To be seated upon a throne signified that the king was issuing decrees or judgments in an official capacity according to the laws of the nation or in this case, the laws of God in the Kingdom of God.

Man punishes; God judges.  Burning people alive in hell is not justice, it is punishment. True justice is never fully accomplished until all the victims of injustice have been recompensed and the sinner restored to grace. This cannot happen in a human devised prison system, nor could it happen by torturing sinners forever, nor could it even happen by annihilating all sinners in fire. All of these alternative methods represent punishment, not divine justice.

The Elect, Chosen, Saint, Overcomer

The Jubilee year was called every fifty years and was a time for forgiveness.  It stood as a reminder of God's providence and mercy.  The dedication of a year for this emphasis provided the community with a time to come back into right relationship with one another and with God. 

The Jubilee was a season of total forgiveness and the complete evisceration of all debts:  legal, monetary, and criminal.  All land was restored to its rightful owner; all slaves and indentured servants due to unpaid debt were set free with no recurring penalties for that particular debt. 

A better word that is easily understood is “forgiver”.  An overcomer is essentially a person who forgives or lives by the principles and standards of the Jubilee as written above.  It is a person who is living or growing up into the Kingdom of God which is the laws and standards of Jesus Christ.  It is one who is coming into a state of maturity in Him. An Overcomer is putting on His Father’s mind and is coming to agree with what God does in the earth and how He accomplishes those goals. He is learning to say “Amen” to all that God does, bearing witness to Him in all things, and not disagreeing with Him. An Overcomer is one who is coming to understand the Father and His ways.

Revelation 3:21 KJV  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Revelation 3:21 YLT He who is overcoming--I will give to him to sit with me in my throne, as I also did overcome and did sit down with my Father in His throne.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Matthew 22:1-14 NET Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: (2) "The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. (3) He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. (4) Again he sent other slaves, saying, ….”Come to the wedding banquet."  (5) But they were indifferent and went away, …..(6) The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. (7) The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. (8) Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. (9) So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' (10) And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. (11) But when the king came in ….. he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. (12) And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' But he had nothing to say. (13) Then the king said to his attendants, 'Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!' (14) For many are called, but few are chosen."

The Kingdom was first offered to the Judeans (Jews).  The kingdom was described as a wedding banquet (i.e. the true Church will be the metaphoric “bride of Christ”).  Jesus and his disciples spread the gospel of the Kingdom and Jesus taught many lessons and performed many miracles, but the religious leaders and many of the population did not respond. 

The religious leaders declared war on the believers and proceeded to beat, imprison, and kill many of them throughout Judea and further north as they delivered the gospel word.

In 70 AD the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem and set the remainder on fire.  Most of the Christians in the area, heeded the words of Jesus found in Matthew 24 and fled the city to a northern location.  The believing group then traveled to various places.  One apostle went to India, another to Egypt and other apostles and believers spread out into the Roman world of Turkey, Greece, and other European areas.  They garnered many believers throughout the land and the majority were descendants of the northern ten tribes of Israel who had been forced to leave the Canaan area and later migrated to European areas.

Verse 14, “For many are called, but few are chosen" refers to the above discussed “Elect, Chosen, Saint, Overcomer” group and not to everyone who claims to have made a statement of faith.  One person is indicated who did not receive the first resurrection and he was to be 'Tied up and thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!'

The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” is not literal pain but rather it symbolically represents regret, dismay, remorse, and anguish which again is not literal.  The dead souls do not think or express emotion, but the verse serves to imagine their thoughts.

A Personal Belief Statement

A PERSONAL BELIEF STATEMENT

 8/17/2018

What is Dispensationalism?

Dispensationalism is a teaching that divides Biblical time into various ages.  According to the theory each age has a different plan concerning the dealing of mankind by God.  The only dispensations we will be discussing with will be the 1) Age of Law which ended with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  This was followed by the current 2) Age of Grace or the Church Age.  The so-called raptured Church will be followed by 3) Age of the Jewish Kingdom.

The underlying destructiveness of Dispensational thought is that it destroys the unity of Scripture and establishes two different standards of measure in the world, along with two different plans of salvation.  First, it destroys the unity between the Old and New Scriptures instead of seeing it as a single Book with a progressive unfolding of the divine plan. Second, it teaches that Grace is a temporary interlude that allows a few "Gentiles" a window of opportunity to be saved apart from animal sacrifices. Third, it demands a reversion back to Judaism and to a very Jewish Kingdom in which God has preferential treatment of certain people based upon either their genealogy or their religion.

Dispensationalism has established the mind-set that Jews are saved by the law, while the "Gentiles" are saved by grace. This "Dual Covenant Theology" is being espoused by a number of preachers, though some of them (like John Hagee) actually deny it. They deny it, while at the same time affirming that Jews are in a Covenant relationship with God apart from Christ. What Covenant is that? Obviously, it can only be the Old Covenant, since it can hardly be said that adherents to Judaism are under the New Covenant.

Notice that the “rapture of the Church” is a necessity for the Age of the Jewish Kingdom to exist.  The Jewish Kingdom will last for seven years which is called “the tribulation period”.  This tribulation period is a result of the completely inaccurate interpretation of the seventy weeks of Daniel prophecy.

Daniel’s Seventieth Week

A critical analysis of past misinterpretations of the seventy weeks prophecy is not presently possible but a few areas will be addressed.

Older interpretations base their starting point on a decree given by Cyrus, the Persian King.  This decree allowed the Judahites to leave Babylon and return to Judea, although only a limited number actually left the comforts of Babylon.

The counting of the 490 years never ended at the expected time unless time frames were fudged.  There was also a list of Persian kings that could not be verified at the time and so they were considered alternate names for known kings.

From:  https://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.net/teachings/books/secrets-of-time/chapter-8-the-cleansing-of-jerusalem/

There are some writers from the early 1900's, such as Bullinger, Anstey, and Mauro, who denied the existence of three Persian kings: Darius II, Artaxerxes II, and Ochus (Artaxerxes II).

The view of these early writers was that the names of these kings were really just titles, rather than true names, and that they simply referred to the same king. The result of this theory was that it chopped out over 80 years of Persian history. Since it is well known by Greek history that Persia fell in 331 B.C., this meant that king Cyrus conquered Jerusalem around 455-460 B.C., instead of 537 B.C.

This view (of an unfulfilled 7 years) was formulated by those who insisted that the edict of Cyrus was the event that began the countdown of Daniel's 70 weeks leading to the coming of the Messiah. But since Jesus' ministry occurred around 26-33 A.D. (depending on your view), this would require the edict of Cyrus to have been issued around 455-460 B.C. These authors attempted to resolve the issue by moving Cyrus' reign to a later point in history. But as we said earlier, this view was disproven later in a number of ways.

Erich Schmidt, in his book, Persepolis I, page 224, tells us that they discovered an inscription on the wall of the palace of Artaxerxes III, which listed the three kings in question. (Compare the names on this inscription with the Persian King List.)

During the seventh year of Artaxerxes I, Ezra was sent to offer sacrifices at the rebuilt Temple (Ezra 7: 7). This was done by authority of the edict of Artaxerxes I.  At that time, Ezra performed the final rite of cleansing in Jerusalem, which allowed Daniel’s 70 weeks to begin the countdown toward the work of Jesus on the Cross. 

Daniel’s 70th week extended from 26 to 33 A.D. Jesus’ ministry began precisely in the midst of that week, in the fall of 29 A.D., with His baptism on the Day of Atonement. When Jesus was baptized, He was presenting Himself as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) Thus “in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt” Dan 9:27, which he did at His baptism (not because of the baptism but His presentation at that time as the true Lamb of God).

The crucifixion occurred at the end of the week, in the spring of 33 A.D., which was precisely 490 years after Ezra began his journey to Jerusalem. The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ signaled the end of the 70 weeks.  There may be some intense tribulation within the next few years, but there is no future week of seven years.

It was this decree which initiated the start of Daniel's 70-week prophecy and the countdown toward the Messiah's work.  490 years from 458 BC takes us to 33AD.  Remember, there is no year zero.  Thus, there is no future extra week and there is no tribulation period and there is no Age of the Jewish Kingdom.  The rapture/harpazo will occur on some Feast of Trumpets and the dead saints will rise metaphorically from the ground followed by the living saints/elect/overcomers (see the Rapture section below).

The Book of the Revelation

The Revelation of Jesus Christ written by John the apostle was and remains a prophetic history of the Church from the time of John to the present.  The dissolution of Mystery, Babylon, highlighted in chapter 18, is currently in progress and is yet to be completely fulfilled.  This will be followed by the Millennial Kingdom of God.

With an actual Bible in their possession, the early Reformers never considered the Revelation to be anything other than a prophetic history of the Church.  When and how it became a blueprint or roadmap for the so-called tribulation period remains unknown although it is suspected the Dallas Theological Seminary based on the Scofield Reference Bible is the primary promoter (see below).

After Scofield’s visit to Great Britain and a visit with Darby, the dispensational theory was soon incorporated into the new Scofield Reference Bible.  This Scofield Bible then became the primary reference work for the Dallas Theological Seminary producing graduates such as Hal Lindsey.

Besides the (in)famous Hal Lindsey, other well-known Dallas Theological Seminary faculty, graduates and authors include:  David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll, Zane Hodges, Scott O’Grady, Randall Price, Andy Stanley, J. Vernon McGee (host of Thru the Bible), Daniel Wallace, Jim Rayburn, Ray Stedman, John Walvoord, Dwight Pentecost, Ken Taylor (translator of the Living Bible), Joseph Stowell (president of Moody Bible Institute), Charles Ryrie (compiled the Ryrie NIV Study Bible), Chuck Swindoll, Bruce Wilkinson, Charles Ryrie, Michael Easley, Bryan Fischer, Paul Nyquist, Merrill Unger, Tony Evans, David Lucca, and Robert Jeffress.

Dispensationalism is the New Replacement Theology. Such replacement theology is totally unacceptable and is rank heresy. It has no business being taught anywhere in Christian pulpits, because it entirely undermines the cross, the blood of Christ, and the entire purpose for Christ's coming. This is the great lawlessness that Jesus warned us about in Matt. 24:10-13 and the apostasy which Paul warned about in 1 Tim. 4:1.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 KJV  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;  (2)  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Darby and Scofield

The roots of Dispensational Theology are traceable to John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren group within England.  Darby’s teaching has become enshrined in the Scofield Reference Bible, the most popular of all reference bibles.  Dispensational Theology has been refined to some extent and persistently defended by Dallas Theological Seminary founded by Lewis Sperry Chafer.

The prominent groundbreaker of dispensational theology is the Scofield Reference Bible first appearing in 1909 and revised in 1917.  It is said this Bible with it’s unique (at the time) reference system was financed and encouraged by Jewish bankers living in England, to enhance and further their goal of convincing the Christian church of their self-conceived “chosen people” status in light of their upcoming plan to retake Palestine which became the state of Israel in 1948.

Although Darby claims the idea of dispensationalism just came to him “out of the air”, the Scofield Reference Bible promoted dispensationalism and the Dallas Theological Seminary turned it into an American Evangelical doctrine.  Scofield's notes on the Book of Revelation are a major source for the various timetables, judgments, and plagues elaborated on by popular religious writers such as Hal Lindsey, Edgar C. Whisenant, and Tim LaHaye, along with many others.

Types of Tribulation

Through the past several years there has been a controversy about the timing of the rapture:  pre-tribulation; mid-tribulation; and post-tribulation.  Although pre-tribulation has won the battle among evangelicals, none of the terms are correct because there is no tribulation period of seven years or even seven hours. 

The earth is currently undergoing a certain amount of tribulation in the form of earthquakes (predicted by Jesus in Matt 24); droughts in some areas; floods in other areas; high temperatures in places; exceptionally low temperatures in places; hurricanes; monsoons; tornadoes; massive hail storms; forest fires; etc.  This could be a secondary fulfillment of the disasters contained in the Revelation which were originally metaphorically describing the attacks of Huns, Mongols, Arabs, other European groups, and several others. 

The Rapture

Although the word “rapture” is not in the Greek New Testament there will be a rapture.  The actual Greek word is “harpazo” and “rapture” is the Latin equivalent.  However, the entire Church will not be “gathered up in the air”, as explained by Paul.

Moses was instructed by God to make two silver trumpets (Numbers 10:2-4 as listed below).  The playing of both trumpets would assemble the entire community, but one trumpet would only summon the leaders and not the entire congregation.  In this case as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15:52 there will only be one trumpet sounded.  This will summon only the leaders (i.e. the saints/the elect/the overcomers) both alive and dead to be resurrected and meet the Lord in the air. 

“In the air means above ground since the dead are metaphorically considered to be “in the ground”.  This does not mean floating away in the stratosphere as some people have interpreted.  Actually, there is no air in the stratosphere so this could not be literally true, as some claim.

Numbers 10:2-4 NET "Make two trumpets of silver; you are to make them from a single hammered piece. You will use them for assembling the community and for directing the traveling of the camps. (3) When they blow them both, all the community must come to you to the entrance of the tent of meeting. (4) "But if they blow with one trumpet, then the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Israel, must come to you.

1 Corinthians 15:52 NET (52) in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 NET (16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

The Feast of Trumpets prophesies of the resurrection of the dead. It has been called in Jewish circles, "the Day of the Awakening Blast." Because this festival fell on the first day of the seventh month, it fell on a new moon--that is, when the first sliver of the new moon appeared in the evening sky at the beginning of each lunar month. There was always some uncertainty as to when the new moon would appear or could be seen (if cloudy). For this reason, Jesus spoke of His coming in Matthew 25:13, saying,"Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour."

The phrase of Jesus about not knowing the day nor the hour is a peculiar Hebrew saying, which they specifically applied to the Feast of Trumpets, whose beginning was unknown until the new moon was sighted.  Any internet listing of Feast of Trumpets days, always lists two adjacent days as possibilities.  Also, any literal literalists can see that Jesus specifically stated that the day or the hour was unknown.  The exact year is also unknown by default but there is a high probability it will occur on some Feast of Trumpets.  It is also highly likely that no one will be completely aware of this event until the resurrected elect, both past and present, return from the Father and begin their work on the earth.

Hell and the Lake of Fire

The Scofield reference notes are also responsible for giving life to the idea of a burning hell as eternal punishment for unsaved sinners and unrepentant, ungodly individuals.  This disregards the scriptural statements claiming that Jesus died “for ALL people” and that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow”.  Are these people to confess that Jesus is Lord and then be placed into the fiery furnace of hell?  I don’t think so.

Philippians 2:10-11 KJV  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  (11)  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It also overwhelmingly emphasizes the chosen status of Jews as the “apple of God’s eye” regardless of the prophecies and teachings of Jesus claiming the Judahites of His day are fig trees with leaves but no fruit.  Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem and Judah would be destroyed as an old pottery vessel broken into a thousand pieces which could never be repaired.  Isaiah 29 states that Ariel (i.e. Jerusalem and Judah) would be destroyed in a manner that appears very similar to nuclear destruction.  It also disregards Paul’s statement that true Israel consists of people believing in the Name and lifestyle of Jesus Christ.

Who is a liar?  Anyone denying Jesus is the Christ.  Who is an antichrist?  Anyone denying the Father and the Son.  Is John Hagee correct is saying the Jews have the Old Testament and worship God the Father?  NO, not at all.  Any person who denies the Son does not worship or have the Father either.  Only by confessing the Son does not worship the Father.

1 John 2:22-23 NET  Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.  (23)  Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also.

In the ancient land of Canaan and Moab, worship of Molech (or Moloch) was particularly focused upon child sacrifice by burning them alive.  The doctrine of a burning hell to pay for sin is somewhat derived from the worship of Moloch.

God Is Fire

God is fire.  He is described in the Bible as fire.  He speaks with fire.  He appeared to Moses and the Israelites as fire. 

Ex 20:18  All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the horn, and saw the mountain smoking…..

Deut 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire; he is a jealous God.

Deut 4:33  Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it?

Deut 4:36  From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words.

Psalms 50:3 NET Our God approaches and is not silent; consuming fire goes ahead of him and all around him a storm rages.

He speaks with fire.

Deut 33:2  …..With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them.

Deut 5:24 …..we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire.

His corrective justice is fire.

Zechariah 13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire; I will refine them like silver is refined and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer; I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is my God.' "

Jeremiah 23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! I, the LORD, so affirm it!

Malachi 3:2-3 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire, like a launderer's soap. (3) He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the LORD a proper offering.

Matthew 3:11-12 "I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am -- I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (12) His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire."

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (12) If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, (13) each builder's work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done. (14) If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. (15) If someone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Clement of Alexandria (Origen's teacher), described it:

"Fire is conceived of as a beneficent and strong power, destroying what is base, preserving what is good; therefore this fire is called "wise" by the Prophets . . . We say that the fire purifies not the flesh but sinful souls, not an all-devouring vulgar [earthly, natural] fire, but the "wise fire" as we call it, the fire that "pierceth the soul" which passes through it." (Stromata VII, 2:5-12)

Fire flows from His throne as described in Daniel 7:9-10  

"….. the Ancient of Days took his seat…..His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame. (10) A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence…..

The area around His throne is a “lake of fire”.

Rev 19: (20) Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.  Rev 20: (10) And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire…..  (14) Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death — the lake of fire. (15) If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.

Unlike the American justice system, the laws of God do not penalize any crime, other than murder, rape, or adultery, with the death sentence.  The death penalty offenses of murder, rape, and adultery will be judged by God at the second resurrection.  All earthly punishments will have an end according to the laws of God.  There are no life sentences in the mind of God, only in the minds of humans.  There is no prison system in the laws of God, only in the laws of men.

God does not punish forever.  Those put to death under the Law will be properly punished and rehabilitated by God after the White Throne Judgment but there will be a time limit and it is not forever (as in eternal).  Punishment under the Law took the form of a whipping or stripes (no more than 40).  More serious crimes required a double and sometimes triple replacement of value, or the accused was sentenced to labor (servant work) until either the sentence was fulfilled and paid for or the advent of a Jubilee which rescinded all debts.  Eventually, everything was restored and the victim was properly repaid for any damage when possible. 

That brings us to the “lake of fire” and the interpretation of many who consider the lake of fire as an eternal punishment of burning without death.  If God did not allow a life sentence of punishment in the law given to Moses, why would God allow an eternal punishment of fire at the end of the age?  There is no eternal fiery hell and many are merely misinterpreting the scriptures because of their own mindset.  God is in the business of atonement (reparation), not eternal punishment.  God did not create souls to eternally punish.  He created everything and everything rightfully belongs to Him.  Rather, He created them to worship the King of the Kingdom and to acknowledge and obey the laws of God although a form of punishment will be required as specified in the laws of God as transcribed by Moses.

Was the lake of fire always considered an eternal punishment of the damned?  It appears from various commentator’s research, that many of the early Church Fathers considered the lake of fire as a purifying aspect and only when the Church moved to Rome with the writings of Augustine as the central source of commentary was the idea of eternal punishment established according to the mindset of the Romans. 

What is God?

It should be apparent that no created human being has the mental capacity of the spiritual capability to know or understand anything about God unless it is written in the Word of God.

God is scripturally associated with fire in many instances.  In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream filled with visions while he was lying on his bed.  In Daniel 7:9 he sees God as “the Ancient of Days” with a throne of fire: "While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb's wool. His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame”.

Ezekiel was testifying to the deported ten tribes of Israel who were currently living around the Kebar (also Khabur or Chebar) river when he received a vision:  “while I was among the exiles at the Kebar River, the heavens opened and I saw a divine vision (1:1)”.  In this vision he saw, “an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, such that bright light rimmed it and came from it like glowing amber from the middle of a fire (1:4)”. Then he saw, “High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man (1:26)”.

Moses saw God as a burning tree or bush; Daniel as an ancient man surrounded by fire; Ezekiel as a figure that appeared to be a man surrounded by fire.  But is God any of those things?  Jesus said that, “God is (a) Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” John 4:24 KJV.  Spirit: pneuma – a breath; a current of air.  God is not seen unless He wants to be seen in some form.

Romans 11:34-36 NET

(34) For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  

(A quote from Isaiah 40:13:  “Who comprehends the mind of the LORD, or gives him instruction as his counselor?

(35) Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him?

(A quote from Job 41:11:  Who has gone before Me that I should repay? All under the heavens, it is Mine!)

(36) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

All things, whether physical or spiritual, come from (ek, "out of") Him. This has to do with the origin of the building material by which God created the heavens and the earth. Theologians have used three Latin terms to describe differing views:

creatio ex nihilo, "creation out of nothing"

creatio ex materia, "creation out of some pre-existent, eternal matter"

creation ex deo, "creation out of the being of God"

The second-century Church fathers began to teach that God created all things out of nothing, based on 2 Maccabees 7:28, written over a century before Christ.  This was the belief of Henry Morris, the founder of the Creation Science Institute.

The ex materia view was the Greek classical view that matter was eternal and chaotic before being formed and organized. They also believed that the devil ("demiurge") was the creator, because they believed that matter was inherently evil, and only spirit was good.

However, the Apostle Paul tells us that God created everything from Himself and through Himself (i.e. “creation out of the being of God”).  Thus nothing was created from nothing, and there was no pre-existent matter prior to creation.  The only thing that existed prior to creation was God and God created all things from His being.

Dimensions

God is not anywhere.  He is everywhere because He created everything and everything is His nature.  Scientists can invent theories such as:  The Big Bang; Black Holes; The Red Shift (i.e. the appearance of an expanding universe); Quantum mechanics; the String theory; Einstein’s relativity; the so-called Higgs-Bosom God particle; and many other things but very few know God.

Back in the stone-age I had a Sunday school teacher of an adult class who claimed that God was located possibly in an area of the universe where there weren’t any stars.

I occasionally use the phrase, “the dimension of Heaven”.  It is not a Biblical comment and it may have no validity.  But in my mind (and a few others I have read) it creates a place for God that is everywhere but currently a separate existence other than the so-called dimension of humanity.  It should say that the dimension of humanity is within the dimension of God but humans do not have contact with God other than through prayer.  We cannot see Him and we can’t personally speak to Him in a face-to-face manner.  On the other hand, God knows all our thoughts and actions and He hears us when we spiritually speak to Him in prayer.

It has been said by someone who has intently studied these things, that scripturally speaking, during the Millennial Kingdom of God, an overcomer, an elect, or a saint can minister on the earth or can enter the realm of God’s heaven.  Thus these areas or places or dimensions (which is only a word) must be very close but are not currently the same.