Spirit of the Law or the Law Written in Stone.

My Friends,

How much does the Father love us? Look at mankind from the beginning until now, what a disaster we are and always have been and yet we are still here, being born every day, living, dying, and of course sinning; doing everything possible that goes against creation. What did I hear you say? Not me? I don’t steal, I don’t cheat, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.  Friends, it’s time to look at what we do and as well as what we do not do and in saying to look at what we do not do I am not speaking about the sin that we claim we do not commit, I am speaking about the thing that we should do and do not. Almighty God has had a lot of patience with us. Our Father will not give us presents in order for us to love Him, we are to love Him because He gave us life and this life will last for an eternity and it is up to us where we spend this eternity.

We are all sinners in thought, word, and deed by what we do and by what we do not do. The Father loves us so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son to us as a sacrifice. Now remember this; the sacrifice was not a command, our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ gave His life willingly, He did not have to do this, he could have simply said that mankind was not worth the price; but He did not.

So what have we done my friends to repay this? Since the beginning Almighty God has dealt with us with mercy, the ground that we walk on, the world that we live in is corrupt because of man, it is us who allowed the deceiver in and it is us who allow him to reign in this world because we allow him to reign in our heart. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and it wages war against the spirit. This spiritual struggle, this war, is not simply an external battle that is waged against us, we ourselves in the flesh are a universe unto ourselves made up of spirit and flesh and the war rages inside of us, some fight the good fight and some do not. The Father has placed His law in our heart so that we have no excuse but since the beginning we fight against it.

Friends, did not Noah understand the law in his heart and live accordingly? How could he have known? 

Remember Noah’s great grandfather Enoch; Enoch walked with God, and he was no more; for God took him. The writer of Hebrews says this about Enoch; "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." How did Enoch please God without Holy Scripture to read and interpret? The epistle of Jude says this about Enoch; “Now of these Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying: Behold, the Lord cometh with thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done ungodly, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against God”. How could Enoch know this without Holy Scripture?

Friends, the law existed since the beginning, how could Abraham know to worship Almighty God when the rest of the world was worshiping other gods? Abraham was also before the Law of Moses, where could he acquire this knowledge? Was Abraham not the eighth generation from Shem the son of Noah? If you look at the ages of Shem after the flood and the years of his life and compare them to the years of Abraham you will find that Shem actually outlived Abraham by just over 30 years. Shem knew not only Abraham but also his sons Ishmael and Isaac. The teaching and understanding of God and what He expected, the law of God has always been known. 

This is how Enoch could know that the Lord would come with thousands of His saints to judge mankind even before the flood; do you imagine that Enoch taught his descendants these things? Of course he did because Enoch is quoted in our New Testament saying just this very thing.  Almighty God has not changed from the beginning. These things were handed down, if Abraham was the only true man in his day where did Melchizedek come from? Ancient Jewish understanding says that Melchizedek was Shem, there is at least one other understanding of Melchizedek but not for this article. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham paid him a tithe, Melchizedek was a king and a priest, our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ is a priest in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron, why?

So what is my point of these things? The law was lived and those who lived it and knew Almighty God did so without a written Holy Scripture. The early church survived and thrived, grew in the face of persecution long before there was a written Christian Holy Scripture. How could all of these things be? My friends, God should be in our hearts, not just simply in our minds and written on paper as a law to abide. “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God saith: I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people”. We have the law within us, we have the law surrounding us, it permeates us if we allow it, we have to listen, so what is this finally all about?

It is about the love of God for us and the love of God from us. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law and what did He teach? Love one another, again “for God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son”. It is about love, when that last of the apostles, the apostle St. John was near the end of his life and yet still teaching, he was so sick with age that the Bishops would bring him out already seated on a chair and he would speak, everyone was quiet, all of the people, the Bishops ad Deacons, all were silent waiting for the last of the great ones to speak, St. John’s last homilies were always the same; “Brothers and Sisters, remember to love one another”. The Bishops finally asked him; ‘sir, we and all of the people wait to hear words of wisdom from you and all that you ever say is; “brothers and sisters, remember to love one another”. Why is that all that you say? 

This apostle, the apostle of love, the one who laid his head on the breast of Jesus listening to His heartbeat, responded; “if you have pure love, there is nothing else”.

Pure love my friends fulfills all of the law, there is nothing that is not covered if you have pure love. Pure love comes from the heart and it does not need to be written on stone or paper, it is a living love, it is a part of everything that is. So back to an earlier question; why did Jesus as a king and a priest come in the order of Melchizedek and not a priest in the order of the established priesthood through Aaron? It is because of the law of love my friends; Enoch, loved the Father, he walked with the Father and he was no more, Noah and his sons and families loved the Lord and walked with the Lord and were saved from the flood. Abraham loved the Lord and was chosen, Melchizedek; king and priest of Salem which was to become Jerusalem, worshiped and served out of love, Moses was given a written law because the law was no longer on the heart of men because of the hardness of their heart.

The law of love will always be greater than the written law. It is on our heart, it guides us, the written law is always subject to interpretation, this is obvious in the manner in which Jesus the Christ attacked the keepers of the law in His day for their mistreatment of the law, it is obvious today in the many divisions of the church through private interpretation of the law and scripture. This twisting is done for the benefit of the twister, the one who is in power. Pure love, if it is pure, is guided by the Father because it can come from nowhere or no one else but the Father. It is imperative that we understand this pure love. How do we acquire it?

We already know the steps, we need only to obey them; love Jesus, this is covered in the commandment to love God first and then to love your neighbor as yourself. Worship and pray, if we do not worship and pray to the Father how will we be His? Jesus said; “Not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven”. “Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name and done many miracles in thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity”.

How can one cast out demons in Jesus name and not be known by Him? How often did Jesus heal and say to the one healed; go your faith has made you whole? And Jesus said to him: I will come and heal him. And the centurion making answer, said: Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as you have believed, so be it done to you.

Faith in the Lord which can only come with love for the Lord is the key; love is the key to all things. Love is the key to faith. So what are the steps? Love; love God and love your neighbor as yourself, worship and praise of Almighty God, these things are necessary; Jesus said: You believe that there is one God. You do well: the devils also believe and tremble.  

Do you understand what this means? Simply believing and leaving it at that is the same thing that the demons do, they know who He is but they will not worship, they have fallen. These things are the key; Love God first, love your neighbor as yourself, contained within these two things is; worship, we worship Almighty God through our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ, we pray; this is communion with our Lord, prayer is formal and informal, without prayer, without communion with the Lord how can we expect Him to know us?

Is there more? Yes! Confession and repentance, these two things cannot be left out and they need to be done every day. How often do we sing praise to God in the morning, confessing our faith and then we go out during our day and sin? We sin everyday whether in thought, word, or deed.  If we truly love our Lord we will worship, praise, confess, and repent. Love my friends is the key. For God so loved the world, remember that verse? The Apostle St. John, the apostle of love is known for preaching the love of Christ.

In his very old age and being very sick, the people still wanted to hear him speak as he was the last of the Apostles, the Bishops would carry him out seated on a chair and he would speak; brothers and sisters, remember to love one another. The Bishops finally asked him; sir, we and all of the people continually wait to hear words of wisdom from you and when you speak all that you say is; brothers and sisters remember to love one another. Why is that all that you say? The great Apostle St. John simply replied; because if you have pure love there is nothing else.

My friends it is really this simple but unless you have this love of Almighty God in you then you can never fully grasp the meaning. This is why confession and repentance is so important. Praise, worship, pray, confess, and repent and then the last thing; the Body and Blood, partaking of the Eucharist is very important, in this we receive the Holy Spirit , we receive grace and by receiving these things we obtain wisdom and understanding. Here it is simply put; worship, praise, confess, repent, Body and Blood.

So earlier on I asked a question; why in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron and the Levitical Priesthood? It is my humble opinion that since the teachings were continually handed down from generation to generation from before the flood to after the flood that  this was done out of love for Almighty God Creator of all that is seen and unseen, this was through the law of love written on the heart . The Law of Moses was a law written in stone that showed mankind how that without Almighty God in the heart and leading us we can never be what we were created to be. The law written in stone is unbending, unyielding and condemns us in our sins. Such was the Law of Moses and the Levitical Priesthood making sacrifices for God’s people.  Thus did Jesus the Christ condemn those in His day for judging by the letter of the law and forgetting about the spirit of the law.

Jesus the Christ came and explained the spirit of the law, He spoke of the love of the Father and then in a most amazing and utterly astounding manner; He demonstrated this law of love written on the heart by the surrendering of His life, voluntarily for the sake of all mankind. This is the ultimate proof of love.

There will be a day when owning a Bible will be illegal, what will all of the people do then? How will the people and the church survive when there is no Bible to read? So I return to Melchizedek, I mentioned that there was another view of where Melchizedek was from but it was not for this article. You see, it doesn't matter who Melchizedek was or where he was from, if it did this would have been revealed to us, Melchizedek  was from a time when the law was written on the heart, Aaron and the Levitical Priesthood was during a time of the law being written in stone as well as words on parchment because man refused to live according to what is imprinted within him. In this manner we live the same today, Holy Scripture is words on paper, the written word that man attempts to live up to and man has forgot the word written on the heart.  

Jesus the Christ came to remind us of this law of the heart, he admonished those of His day for chasing the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law, he lived the spirit of the law and he gave His life to demonstrate this spirit, He defeated death and sin so that we can have eternal life with Him but just as in the past we have taken the law and removed the spirit from it. Do you think that this isn’t so? Just look at the church that has descended from the apostles, different branches yet both claiming apostolic succession and being spirit led yet having differing theologies and doctrine, add to them the many protestant denominations and doctrines with all claiming to be spirit led and what have we? There is not one that is not full of corruption, is it any wonder that the world spirals down and down?

It is time, now, to begin to learn and live this law of love in the heart. With all of this am I saying that the written word is of no consequence? Heaven forbid that I would say this, what I am saying is that without the law of love in our heart it is impossible to live the written law or word, again just look at the state of all who call themselves the Christian church and see, without the pure love there is nothing but division, power struggles, decisions made regarding subjects that we truly cannot know about and that cause splits and schisms all for the sake of control.

Think of me what you will, but I tell you a truth, learn the law of the love of the heart, seek and find wisdom and understanding, become one with the Christ, you can only do this through; prayer, praise, confession and repentance, and not forsaking the body and blood. Faith will only grow in this manner, there is no other way. Without faith there is no hope; not in the end times and certainly not in that dreaded Day of Judgment.  The Law of Love, written on the heart, without it there is no understanding or discernment.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us.

May Almighty God have mercy on us all.

In Christ,

Monk Michael

 

Epistle to the Philippians chapter 1

Today we are looking at a few verses in the Epistle to the Philippians

Chapter 1

27 Only let your conversation be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you, or, being absent, may hear of you, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind laboring together for the faith of the gospel. 28 And in nothing be terrified by the adversaries: which to them is a cause of perdition, but to you of salvation, and this from God: 29 For unto you it is given for Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. 30 Having the same conflict as that which you have seen in me, and now have heard of me.

Chapter 2

1 If there is therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy: 2 Fulfill my joy, that you may be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves: 4 Let each one look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

My Friends,

How often do we work or live around others who at some point speak of the church that they belong to having some bake sale or flea market to raise money and we are shocked to discover that they belong to a Christian church? The language that comes out of their mouth on a daily basis, the gossip, the lifestyle, nothing that we have seen in our daily dealings with this person has ever led us to suspect that they were Christian.

The words written here in chapter 1 verse 27 are not peculiar to this letter but are repeated throughout all of scripture. Our speech, our daily actions, all of our dealings with people should make them think, if nothing else, that there is something peculiar about this person, this one is not like most people that I deal or work with. This should be the least that others see in us, granted on a day to day basis life can get pretty rough and we may not always be at our best but in a daily sense on a general basis, people should see Jesus Christ in us by our speech and our actions, or at the least recognize that we are different from others because of our integrity, our work ethic, our avoiding gossip and slander. This should be our way of dealing with everyone.

As the verses continue we see that we are not to be afraid of our adversaries, we must live Christ every day; this does not mean that we go around browbeating everyone on accepting Christ into their lives, we are to live Christ in our life always ready to bear witness when asked or questioned. As the verses continue notice St. Paul states that we will suffer for the name of Christ and that this is for salvation, over and over again throughout the writings of the New Testament we see that it is Christian privilege to suffer in Christ as He also suffered for us. This is not punishment as some would attempt to lead us to believe but in suffering we know that we belong to Jesus Christ and are being tried, tested and purified.

It is through these trials that we are to come closer to Him and more and more forsaking the things of this world.

The entertainment, the luxuries, the easy living are not for us in the flesh, having these things makes us turn our backs on Almighty God, we develop the attitude of; look what I have achieved, I am a self-made person, I did not need God to accomplish this great life that I live. This idea spills over into chapter two.

We are not to be filled with conceit or selfish ambition, but to be of one spirit, one mind, working for the betterment of others, each of us looking to help others and by this everyone will help everyone. All will be of a like mind, worshipping and praising God through Jesus Christ and insuring that no one is in desperate need of anything.

This is the way of Jesus Christ, it is the resounding message throughout all of scripture, love or charity which is love in action, charity is an action word, something that is taking place, is love doing something and not simply expressing itself in word alone.

Think on these things.

May Almighty God fill our hearts with all charity so that even if we tried, we could not even deny the Christ in word without someone calling us a liar, this should be what fills our heart.

In Christ,

Monk Michael

monkmichael.com 

A Study in Ephesians chapter 6 (conclusion)

A Study in Ephesians (conclusion)

Chapter 6         

Children and Parents Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters (Employee/Employer) 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

The Whole Armor of God 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

  Final Greetings 21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

My Friends, Right from the beginning of this chapter we have misunderstanding, it is of course right for children to obey their parents, that is their job. Yet these verses are not about simple do what I said and don’t ask questions; this attitude is in truth the opposite of the meaning, the word obey as used here is from a word that means to listen attentively, this of course carries the same understanding as in marriage, it is not a master/slave relationship but rather one of a teacher and student. It is the command to the children but it is also a command to the parents, if a child is to listen attentively; a parent must be teaching, to listen, hear, and obey means that someone is speaking, teaching, and explaining.

The next section teaches us about employee/employer relationship, this seems to be severely lacking in the world, far too many employers treat their employees as slaves, there are many hard working people who do not make enough money to even pay rent in the area where they are working unless they work sixteen hour days and far too many companies are way understaffed in order to save money in benefits and taxes on their employees, this allows major corporate boards to increase their own bottom line, instead of making, say, ten million in profit, they can make fifteen million in profit, this is nothing more than a modern form of slavery.

On the other side there are far too many employees who do not dedicate themselves to their job, they do only the bare minimum to prevent themselves from being fired, they have no respect for their employer or for themselves much less any respect for our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, ‘for in all things that you do, do so as if unto God’, this working attitude applies  even if your employer who is not Godly. It is Jesus Christ whom we represent everyday of our life and in everything that we do.

We are to put on the ‘Whole Armor of God’: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, and faith. We will be given the strength to endure if we would allow ourselves to be completely guided by the Holy Spirit in all things, admittedly this at times can seem very difficult but it is what we are to do, regardless of our living conditions. This is our faith, this is how we represent our Lord and Savior, this is our life now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

As the Apostle St. Paul stated; the reward is for those who persevere unto the end.

May Almighty God grant to all of us this perseverance that we need, may we be blessed with faith and understanding, when we fall may we reach a hand unto our Lord and Savior who will never not reach down and pick us up, and in doing so may we be blessed with the knowledge that in picking us up we are to also ourselves rise up with Him who gave His life for us and stand strong in His Most Holy Name.

Many blessings and peace upon all who call on His name.

In Christ,

Monk Michael
monkmichael.com

Continuing Study in Ephesians chapter 5

A Study in Ephesians (continuing)

Chapter 5

¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Instructions for Christian Households

²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

My Friends,

It is obvious that the world and many who call themselves Christian have absolutely no clue what this life entails, the first seven verses alone make this painfully obvious. Our Lord knows that we will sin, the Father in heaven understands this and it is through the Son that we can have forgiveness for the sin that we commit but does this mean that we can completely ignore instruction and the nature of design? Never recognizing our sin while we continue to worship God through Jesus the Christ as if nothing is wrong? No, should I repeat this word? NO and again NO!

  ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Many of today’s so called Christian church members no longer care for the words of Jesus Christ.  

The first twenty verses of this chapter tell us how we are to live, if we claim Jesus Christ then we are obligated to walk as Jesus Christ, obeying His commandments and letting the world see Him through us, we are to be living examples of Christ on earth. What is the job of the church? Is it not to unite all true Christians to one another? Is it not also to re-unite all of mankind to our Creator? How do we do our job if we do not walk in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ? We are no longer to walk in darkness but in light. Yet far too many choose to be each his/her own shining light, agreeing with the society of darkness while fooling ourselves by worshiping the Lord.

The next verses; 21 - 33 cause much contention in the church and in the world, why is it that we in the church refuse to submit to each other out of reverence for Christ? Is this not what we are told, today’s woman seems to despise the verses; ²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Yet these women attend worship and claim Jesus Christ. This is pride and ego, the sins of Satan and yet the other side of the problem is the men.

Many of today’s men are no longer men; I have heard this time and time again from women in the church when they marry a man outside of the church, they say that they did so because they are looking for am man, one who can do things and who has a strong character. This my friends is lacking in the church today. What does this chapter tell us regarding the husband? Are the men not commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church? A holy love, Jesus gave his life for his bride; the church, in this manner men are to love their wives.

Many men attempt to carry this instruction out as if they are some sort of dictator, they attempt to make this a master/slave relationship, this is not loving your wife. The man needs to be strong in the Lord, his life needs to be a life that reflects Jesus Christ and his actions need to be of nurturing and caring, ready to give his life for his wife, all decisions that he makes should be based on sound reasoning and consulting the Lord for guidance. This does not mean the opposite of the master/slave relationship either, every whim of his wife does not need to be met because in practice there may be no end to the whims. Decisions should be made as partners, where did our Creator create the woman from, a bone in the foot so that she is kept under, no, from the side of the man, a partner working together, by separating the two God not only removed a rib but He split the personality as well, the man and the woman contain all aspects of personality but some are greater in the one than in the other and it is for this reason that the two become one, a marriage or the uniting of man and woman is the bringing together of the separated parts so that they work together as one.

This is the design, there are times when one must have a final decision and as commanded by our Creator from the time of sin, the man shall be the one and the woman must yield. But for this to be so, a man must be a man and a woman must be a woman as we are created to be and each must conform to the likeness of Jesus Christ, each living his/her role in the scheme of creation. There is no other way.

May you be blessed with the understanding of the creation of man and woman, may you be blessed with all desire to fulfill each your role in Jesus the Christ realizing that there can be no other way that we can live if we are to call ourselves Christian.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In Christ,

Monk Michael

monkmichael.com 

A Study in Ephesians
(continuing)


Chapter 4

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their
thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.


20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off
your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and  to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.


25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful  with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.


29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave
you.


My Friends,


Today’s Christian Church suffers greatly, there is of course much persecution in much of the world; prison, torture,
mutilation, beheading. These things come from outside of the church but there is much that comes from inside the church itself. There are two things that work to destroy Christianity; one is the churchless Christianity, those who believe that an established church is not necessary or even that it is against Jesus Himself and then there are those within the church that seek to destroy that which is even basic teaching as handed down from the beginning, that faith that the martyrs died for.


In the first nine verses here (17 - 25) we see the old person and the ways of the world which many who call themselves Christians continue to live today and we see what we are to do. In verse 26 we see that we are to put off anger, what is this saying, never to be angry? By no means does it mean this, in the following verses we see how we are to be towards one another and to God and so we see that anger is not a part of how we are to be with one another.


Yet anger was given to us by Almighty God Himself, remember that we are told; “be angry but do not sin”, anger is in
itself not wrong so then why is it there? It is a weapon against Satan, it is not to be used against each other but against Satan, we should become angry when we see injustice, slavery and persecution. Angry when defenseless and innocent ones are attacked, the church does not exist for us to simply be members of a nice club, it exists to unite mankind to itself and to Almighty God, it has a higher calling than what it is used for today.


Heavenly Father, we pray that you continue in Your holy efforts to teach Your church its mission, far too many have left the ideal and have forgotten why we are here. We pray that you do not let us rest until we have been proven, try us in the fire of Your love that we may be made worthy. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

In Christ,
Monk Michael

A Study in Ephesians (continuing)

Chapter 3

8 To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 And to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, who created all things: 10 That the manifold wisdom of God may be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places through the church, 11 According to the eternal purpose, which he made, in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. 13 Wherefore I pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

14 For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his Spirit with might unto the inward man, 17 That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, 18 You may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: 19 To know also the charity of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that works in us; 21 To him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus unto all generations, world without end. Amen.

My Friends,

We again learn important things here if we read and understand. We have seen already that principalities and powers in heavenly places are realms of angels. In verse 10 we see that not even the angels in heaven knew of Almighty God’s plan until they learned it from the church. The importance of the church to mankind cannot be overstated; we must understand our purpose and stop the nonsense that continues here. It is the job of the church, our purpose to reunite all of mankind to Almighty God, of course mankind must listen but how will anyone listen to a church that claims to be led by the Holy Spirit and yet is so divided and at odds with one another that makes the world ridicule the Most Holy Name of Jesus the Christ?

This must be the priority of the church.

How long Oh Lord before we awaken to our own destiny and purpose and stop the quarreling and infighting among those who proclaim the Most Holy Name? It is a disgrace, awaken all who proclaim your holy name to a proper understanding in order to proclaim Your Holy Name with all confidence in one voice and one spirit.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In Christ,

Monk Michael

A Study in Ephesians

(continued)

Chapter 2

19 Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God, 20 Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone: 21 In whom all the building, being framed together, grows up into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In whom you also are built together into a habitation of God in the Spirit.

 Chapter 3

1 For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles; 2 If yet you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me towards you: 3 How that, according to revelation, the mystery has been made known to me, as I have written above in a few words; 4 As you reading, may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, 5 Which in other generations was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit: 6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and co-partners of his promise in Christ Jesus, by the gospel: 7 Of which I am made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, which is given to me according to the operation of his power: 8 To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 And to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, who created all things:

My Friends:

Notice in the first two verses here we see St. Paul telling us that we are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God; how is it that we have so many divisions in the church? Each one claiming to be led by the Holy Spirit yet at odds with one another? Is there not One Father, One Only Begotten Son, One Holy Spirit? Is there not but one worship, one truth? Why are divided on this, those who claim to be of the ancient church as handed down from generation to generation?

We are told are we not in the next few verses that we are one building being fitted together into one holy temple in the Lord? My friends; disunity is unacceptable, it mocks the Most Holy Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. The world already mocks, are to add to this mocking with disunity?

In the first five verses of chapter 3 St. Paul speaks about these things were revealed to him, the mystery was made known to him and had been revealed to the sons of men in ages past, how is this possible that the man who never followed Jesus Christ or listened to any of the Apostles but instead was a persecutor of the church, a murderer of all who followed the way, could suddenly have this knowledge? St. Paul says that it was revealed to him. Did the Holy Spirit tell him all things that he never knew? I don’t think so, remember that St. Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel; Acts 22:   3 And he saith: I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous for the law, as also all you are this day. Gamaliel the elder was one of the most renowned teachers of his day. St. Paul would have already been taught these things except that the Jews were not ready for Jesus in the manner in that He came, politics and power struggle was in the way of understanding and accepting.

Almighty God indeed gives His wisdom to those who love Him; Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 1: 9 He created her in the Holy Ghost, and saw her, and numbered her, and measured her. 10 And he poured her out upon all his works, and upon all flesh according to his gift, and hath given her to them that love him.

St. Paul had been taught the truth but did not have the proper application of it until his encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. How could the truth be known and yet not known? Pride, politics, a closed heart, these things cut off the message of the Holy Spirit. The Jews were to be a nation of one worship to the One True God and to be the light to the world bringing in all other nations. That is now the job of the church, are we following the same path as the ancient Jews?

Is there too much pride and politics in much of the church today? Has the idea of truth so infiltrated the church that she along with the world sees the truth as relevant to one’s own understanding? We must rid the church of the wolves, reunite and be one voice for Jesus Christ on this earth. There simply is no other way.

May the God of all understanding and mercy not let the church established by His Only Begotten Son rest until it is purged and has become one temple, united in one voice, one worship of the One True God through the One True Only Begotten Son in the power of the One Holy Spirit. May those who understand this prayer also pray, may those who do not understand, gain understanding or be purged from the church until understanding be gained.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In Christ,

Monk Michael

monkmichael.com

Continuing studyin Ephesians

A study in Ephesians

Ephesians 1: 20 - 2:8


Chapter  1

 20 Which he wrought in Christ, raising him up from the dead, and setting him on his right
hand in the heavenly places.  21 Above all principality, and power, and virtue, and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. 22 And he hath subjected all things under his feet, and hath made him head over all the church, 23 Which  is his body, and the fullness of him who is filled all in all.

Chapter 2

1 And you, when you were dead in your offences, and sins, 2 Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now works on the children of unbelief: 3 In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:

4 But God, (who is rich in mercy,) for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, (by whose grace you are saved,) 6 And hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus. 7 That he might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his bounty towards us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God.

My Friends;

 Verse 21 shows us the power and the glory of Jesus the Christ. Principality, power, virtue (some translations say 'might’), and dominion are orders of Angelic beings. Jesus the Christ is above all and as His Church; the Bride of Christ, the Body as he is the Head, we share in His glory. The church, those who are true to Him shall become the ultimate masterpiece of creation.


In chapter two, in these first few verses we see the war in which we are engaged. This is a spiritual warfare and each opposing side requires our obedience, we must choose one or the other, one side to eternal damnation, the other side to eternal glory. Neither side forces us, Satan is a created being, he is the Prince of the Air; he is neither of the earth nor of heaven and he has no authority to force us into sin which is anything that opposes the will of Almighty God for us. On the other hand; Almighty God who has all power will not force us because again he gives us a choice. The kingdom of heaven will be filled with those who love God with their heart and it is their heart’s desire to spend eternity with Him in love and worship.

 The war comes because we in the flesh have such a propensity for sin; lust, power, greed, and pride are of the flesh and of the mind, we are weak in the face of temptation, we must earnestly pray for strength to overcome and the faith to believe. This is what is told in verse 8; For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God.

It is truly a gift, we do not earn salvation but we must accept this gift. There is action on our part, acceptance first with the faith that God’s promises are true and once accepted we then must remember this;  James 2:22 Do you see that faith did co-operate with his works; and by works faith was made perfect?

May all be blessed with the understanding of salvation, may our hearts be filled with the love of Almighty God, so filled that it becomes impossible for the works of the Lord not to be done. Grant us this faith and the perseverance needed as the times seem to be growing shorter. We must all strive for the unity that our Lord Himself prayed for; that they may be one, for it is as one voice crying in one spirit that we will find ultimate strength for the last days whenever they may come. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 In Christ,
Monk Michael




 

A study of the Letter to the Ephesians 


Chapter 1 


1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to all the saints who are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. 2 Grace be to you, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ: 4 As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity. 5 Who has predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself: according to the purpose of his will: 6 Unto the praise of the glory of his grace, in which he has graced us in his beloved son.

7 In  whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace, 8 Which has superabounded in us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 That he might make known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he has purposed in him, 10 In the dispensation of the fullness of times, to re-establish all things in Christ, that are in heaven and on earth, in him. 11 In whom we also are called by lot, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. 12 That we may be unto the praise of his glory, we who before hoped in Christ:

My Friends,

In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he makes some rather bold statements just in the first few verses. First he calls himself an Apostle by the will of God, remember that St. Paul never followed Jesus but was a murderer of those who did. How could he have become an Apostle called by God? Next he separates God the Father from the Lord Jesus Christ and yet sends grace and peace in both names as if they are equal in ability to send grace and peace. He blesses God the Father, why? Because we receive spiritual blessings from Him, the Father, He blesses us so it is right that we are to bless Him and not to neglect Him in our worship.

How are we blessed by God? There are many prosperity preachers out there who would say we that we are blessed by financial gain and prosperity. What is the true gain, what is the true blessing that we receive? Read again what is written above, in summary to the few verses above St. Paul is telling us that since the foundation of the world, since the beginning, it was the design of the Father that we were to be like Him our Creator, not in His essence of course because we cannot be God but in love, in understanding, compassionate and caring for the created things and ruler of our planet in this manner.


We were given a mind to think, we were given free will to make decisions, and we had the ability to walk with and to talk with and to know our Creator Father. Man tainted the image that we were created in and so the Father sent His Word to be born into the flesh so that the flesh could be redeemed by the spotless sacrifice and that through this spotless sacrifice we can become adopted sons of the Father thus restoring us to where we should have already been. This is the mystery of His will that St. Paul speaks of in verse 9, the plan of salvation through the blood of the Only Begotten Son so that we may regain our place in creation as adopted sons and daughters.


It is for this that Almighty God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit are to be worshipped and praised. This is why we bless Him who blesses us because He did not have to bless us and yet He did. Do not be fooled and misled.


How many claim to believe that there is a God and yet spend not a moment in prayer and worship? How many expect good things to happen to and for them who claim that there is a God but yet do not pray to or worship Almighty God? How many stand in prayer in selfish ambition expressing only that which benefits their personal well being rather than the well being of all and praise to Almighty God? Do not forget that the God of mercy is also the God of justice, if you claim to believe, then you must stand in prayer and worship or else what is your belief? Do you expect that heaven will be an endless party without work or praise or worship?


If you cannot stand in worship now, you will not stand in worship in heaven; you will not like it there any more than you like it here. We have been redeemed only if we choose to accept this redemption, it is not automatic.


May Almighty God bring you to a place of understanding.
 God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows that shall he also reap.

In Christ,
Monk Michael

A Letter from Almighty God to all World Governments!

From Almighty God to all world governments.


Wisdom of Solomon

Chapter 6

1: Hear therefore, O ye kings, and understand; learn, ye that be judges of the ends of the earth.
2: Give ear, ye that rule the people, and glory in the multitude of nations.
3: For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works, and search out your counsels.
4: Because, being ministers of his kingdom, ye have not judged aright, nor kept the law, nor walked after the counsel of God;
5: Horribly and speedily shall he come upon you: for a sharp judgment shall be to them that be in high places.
6: For mercy will soon pardon the meanest: but mighty men shall be mightily tormented.
7: For he which is Lord over all shall fear no man's person, neither shall he stand in awe of any man's greatness: for he hath made the small and great, and cares for all alike.
8: But a sore trial shall come upon the mighty.
9: Unto you therefore, O kings, do I speak, that ye may learn wisdom, and not fall away.

10: For they that keep holiness holily shall be judged holy: and they that have learned such things shall find what to answer.
11: Wherefore set your affection upon my words; desire them, and ye shall be instructed.
12: Wisdom is glorious, and never fades away: yea, she is easily seen of them that love her, and found of such as seek her.
13: She prevents them that desire her, in making herself first known unto them.
14: Whoso seeks her early shall have no great travail: for he shall find her sitting at his doors.

15: To think therefore upon her is perfection of wisdom: and whoso watches for her shall quickly be without care.
16: For she goes about seeking such as are worthy of her, shows herself favourably unto them in the ways, and meets them in every thought.
17: For the very true beginning of her is the desire of discipline; and the care of discipline is love;
18: And love is the keeping of her laws; and the giving heed unto her laws is the assurance of incorruption;
19: And incorruption makes us near unto God:
20: Therefore the desire of wisdom brings to a kingdom.
21: If your delight be then in thrones and sceptres, O ye kings of the people, honour wisdom, that ye may reign for evermore.
22: As for wisdom, what she is, and how she came up, I will tell you, and will not hide mysteries from you: but will seek her out from the beginning of her nativity, and bring the knowledge of her into light, and will not pass over the truth.
23: Neither will I go with consuming envy; for such a man shall have no fellowship with wisdom.
24: But the multitude of the wise is the welfare of the world: and a wise king is the upholding of the people.
25: Receive therefore instruction through my words, and it shall do you good.


monkmichael.com

Basic Christian Understanding! (conclusion)

In Basic Christianity part 1 we looked at a document called the Didache which was the church teaching by the Apostles Paul and Barnabus before any of St. Paul’s writings were written, they were just setting up the churches and this document was instruction on how to do so.

In part 2 we looked at Holy Scripture that said the same thing only now was in a written form that would be placed into what is called the Bible today. The church must understand these basics, and what I have given you here are just that, the basics. Do not condemn one another who follow these teachings, push away the liars and haters who fight against these truths, seek the truth, knock and never stop knocking.

Another item that I will only mention because it is the subject of a whole other teaching but it concerns the Bible itself. This book of books has been so diluted today that it is ridiculous to call it God’s word anymore. There are many translations that exist and there is one ancient one that is maligned by many but which has been shown by the Dead Sea Scrolls to be true and that is the Septuagint. I have seen it written and I have heard it preached that the Septuagint Bible was a fabrication of the Catholics, or that Origen actually wrote it all himself. All that I am going to say on that now is this; the Septuagint was the Jewish Bible, revered by the Greek speaking Jews and used by the Apostles, stop listening to everyone who speaks based on prejudice and begin researching things on your own. If you stay in your own group and read only what they write and call it research you are only fooling yourself.

Was it the Jewish Bible? Research the Jewish history of the Septuagint for yourself and find out or are you afraid to discover actual truth? This Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was revered by the Jews for centuries until Christianity. Remember that the Jews were scattered throughout the world, Alexander III of Macedon or Alexander the Great had conquered a large part of the known world and most people including the Jews were speaking Greek and not Hebrew, the Septuagint was highly regarded because the majority of the Jews could not speak Hebrew.

Jesus the Christ and the Apostles quoted from the Septuagint, especially Paul. There is a big issue with the books removed from Scripture with the statement that the Jews had never had them in their Bible and that the Catholics added them. This is in fact a blatant lie, it’s from Satan and people condemn the books and have never even read them to know what they contain. Did you know that there was a treaty between Rome and the Jews signed by a delegation from Judas Maccabeus and the Roman Senate before the Roman occupation? How could I know this? It’s in the book 1 Maccabees; the Maccabees are history books, why does anyone have issue with history books?

How about this quote; While all things were in quiet silence, and the  night was in the midst of her swift course, Thine almighty Word leaped out of  Heaven out of Thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war, into the midst of a land  of destruction. Who could this quote possibly be speaking about? We know who the almighty Word that leaps forth from the royal throne of God is do we not? Would this be Jesus the Christ? Where could we find such a quote regarding Jesus the Christ from the Old Testament? This one is from the book of the Wisdom of Solomon chapter 18 verses 14-15, one of the much despised books removed from Holy Scripture in the 19th century. The question that really needs to be answered by Christians is; why would anyone who calls himself a Christian remove books from Holy Scripture based on some Jewish teaching when it was these very same Jews who reject the Christ to start with? They still reject the Christ and yet many so-called Christians follow this Jewish understanding by screaming against the books that the Jews rejected after the Christians began quoting from them and these same Jews still reject Jesus Christ and the same Christians still follow their understanding and yet claim Jesus Christ. How is this even possible? You should just simply join a Synagogue and become Jewish.

 Another understanding to speak on and that is regarding relics and I will make it brief. 2 Kings 13:21 ²¹ And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. Do you accept this as the holy word of God? It’s in the Old Testament of every bible that is accepted by the church and the Jews.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp is considered the earliest genuine post-biblical account of a Christian martyrdom, and one of the very few genuine writings of this from the actual age of the persecutions. It also is one of the earliest accounts of the veneration of relics in the early Christian Church as the Martyrdom records that after Polycarp's Roman sacrifice by fire which couldn’t kill him and the subsequent death by stabbing, the faithful piously gathered up his bones as precious treasures. This is not some centuries after the birth of the church.

St Polycarp died just some 60 years after the Apostle St. John who was his teacher, so this was indeed the very beginning of the church. Tables were often erected over the graves of the martyrs and prayers were held asking the deceased to pray for them while they praised God.

So if you believe that the Bible is the holy written word of God and you accept everything in it as gospel which means that you accept the fact that the bones of Elisha brought a dead man back to life why do you attack a church that continues to believe in these things. Why? The scriptures are true or they are not. Simply because another group takes to heart what is in fact true to Holy Scripture and practiced from the beginning of the church and those of you who choose not to believe the book that you call God’s holy word refuse to accept it does not give you leave to attack those who believe God’s word in heart and not just in lip service.

Another concept; Jesus is the Living Word of God, Jeremiah 31:33 says; But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 Hebrews 8:10 says; This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

In the second chapter of Romans we find this; For there is no respect of persons with God. For whosoever have sinned without the law, shall perish without the law; and whosoever have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law, for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law; these having not the law are a law to themselves:  Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them, and their thoughts between themselves accusing, or also defending one another.

So answer me this if you can, what happened to all of the people who died before the Apostles could get the message of salvation through Jesus the Christ to them, are they in hell? Do you know that there are people on earth today that have never heard the name of Jesus? Still today they have never heard His name spoken so are they doomed to hell for not ever hearing his name?

This Bible tells us that God has written His law on our heart. Has the Bible lied? Do you believe it? So if these people having never heard the name of Jesus and yet live according to the law written on their heart by God, do they then know Jesus even without hearing His name? Is Jesus the law? Is He the fulfillment of the law? Is Jesus the law that is written on the heart of all men if He is the law? Do these people have salvation through Jesus the Christ having never heard His name yet live according to the law written on their hearts? You answer that question for yourself. Now I’m not talking about idol worshippers or worshippers of false gods, there is a big difference.

Don’t just give an arbitrary answer according to your current prejudiced belief, research it, pray about it, and if your research is only within your own church understanding then you will get nowhere because you already have an answer based on that teaching, whatever that teaching may be. You must consider things through the Holy Spirit. There is a lot of finger pointing among Christians and condemning one another to hell, who is it that actually has that authority? Think about that.

And while I’m on the subject of hell, tell me just where hell is, exactly. I know what so many have been taught to include myself but I want to challenge you, find it in Holy Scripture, search and find it, I defy you to do this. Search without prejudice and current thinking, pray about the words that you are reading and remember them, while doing this, find the scripture that tells us where heaven and hell is. You won’t find it.

Do we read about the torments and the fire of hell? Do we read about Almighty God as an all consuming fire? Did King David say; where can I go that you are not? If I go to the depths of Sheol you are there. We can go nowhere in God’s universe that He is not there. God is an all consuming fire. Think about this; if there is nowhere that God is not, there is nowhere that is apart from God. Heaven and hell are the same place, before Almighty God, those who love Him while in the flesh and are doers of the law who follow the commandments of Jesus out of love, will spend eternity before God and experience the joy of His fire or the eternal light of His love.

Those who do not love God or Jesus Christ while in the flesh will still stand before God and the all consuming fire but because of their lack of love for good but love for evil, they will experience the fire as torment, same fire. The gulf between those in heaven and hell is a spiritual gulf, they are far apart but it is a metaphor for the great spiritual gulf between them.

Send me your thoughts, I can almost guarantee that I have already had them and had a lot of difficulty with many passages of scripture that seemed to be giving a different understanding. Whatever you send I can assure you that I will be able to explain with a different understanding. Think about this; we say that God is love, we sing; Jesus loves me this I know. We read and repeat; for God so loved the world.

God is love, he created out of love, He sent His Only Begotten Son out of love, His Only Begotten Son willingly gave His life out of love. So what is the key here? Love. That’s the key. We know that the great Apostle, St. John was called the Apostle of love, we know that he was the last apostle to die and we know that he died peacefully. How many know what his last sermons were about? I’ll tell you.

In his very old age and in poor health, Bishops would carry him out while seated on a chair to preach. The bishops and the people would wait eagerly for the last living Elder or Apostle to speak, he gave the same homily or sermon every time; brothers and sisters, remember to love one another. Finally the bishops said to him; sir, we and the people always wait eagerly to hear words of wisdom from you and all you ever say is brothers and sisters remember to love one another, why do you always say the same thing?

The Apostle’s answer was just as simple as his sermon; because if you have perfect love, there is nothing else.

Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecelius Secundus, circa 61-113) was a Roman administrator whom the Emperor Trajan had sent to Bithynia, in Asia Minor, to reform the region's finances and court system. Around AD 112 he wrote to Trajan reporting how he had dealt with Christians in his jurisdiction, and requesting the Emperor's further advice.

This was his description of how the Christians worshipped, remember, up until this point he simply put them to death but the number of Christians was growing so rapidly that he wrote to the emperor asking for his advice on how to deal with these people and gave a short description of the worship to the best of his knowledge.

According to these people, "on an appointed day they had been accustomed to meet before daybreak, and to recite a hymn antiphonally (that is to respond alternately back and forth, this is the way of the liturgy we practice today) to Christ, as to a god." Then they would take an oath (Latin sacramentum) "to abstain from theft, robbery, adultery, and breach of faith." After this ceremony they left, but reassembled later on to eat together. The ceremony was secret, a liturgy and then the lord’s supper, the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, these things were done in secret.

Pliny also reported that he was unable to get much more information about the ceremony even after torturing two deaconesses.

Justyn Martyr a Christian wrote to the Roman emperor in defense of the Christian faith and the lies perpetrated against them at the risk of his own life; he wrote this in 155 AD, Justin describes both a post-baptismal Eucharist and a Sunday assembly. The first event follows the baptism, or "washing," of one who has become convinced and confessed Christ. The new Christian is then led to the assembly of "brethren." Only those who accept the Christian faith and have "received the washing" for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who live by Christ's principles, are allowed to partake of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist begins with common prayers for the assembly: for themselves, for the new convert, and for others. Then the worshipers greet one another with a kiss. (Now at the tie, men and women were in separate parts of the congregation, so that this greeting was not done, man to woman) Then bread, wine and water are brought to the president, who offers the Eucharistic prayer. The prayer begins by ascribing glory to the Father in the name of the Son and Spirit, and continues with thanksgiving that worshipers have been judged worthy to receive the bread and wine. At the end, the congregation says the Amen.

Deacons then give to those who are present a portion of the bread, wine and water that have been "eucharistized" (offered thanks over). Justin's account adds, "For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus." Justin then repeats Jesus' words in delivering the bread and cup at the Last Supper. At the conclusion of the service, the Eucharist is also taken to those members of the Christian community who were absent. Justin continues by adding "then those who have more, come to the aid of those who lack," and God is blessed for his gifts.

Justin describes the Sunday assembly "in one place." He explains that the community gathers on Sunday, or the first day, both because it was the first day of creation and because on it Jesus rose from the dead.

The service begins with readings from the "memoirs of the apostles" which are the Gospels, or the writings of the prophets as long as time allows. Then the president teaches from the Scriptures. The speaker was probably seated while the people stood, as was the custom in ancient times (see Matt. 5:1). Prayers and the celebration of the Eucharist follow, as described above. At the end, those who have prospered voluntarily bring their gifts to the president, who will distribute them to those in need.

The Sunday assembly combines the service of the Word, or reading and teaching from Scripture, with the Eucharist or service of the Lord's table; this was to become the basic way of Christian worship. The description of the post-baptismal Eucharist makes it clear that the unbaptized were not present for the Eucharist. If during the Sunday gathering they were present for the readings and the president's discourse, they would have been dismissed before the prayers.

The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus

Around AD 200 Hippolytus, a Roman clergyman composed a manual of church order and worship known as the Apostolic Tradition. In this document, Hippolytus describes a Eucharist in two settings: one following the consecration of a bishop, and one following baptism and confirmation.

The Eucharist at the consecration of a bishop begins with the greeting or kiss of peace. Deacons then bring the elements to the bishop, who with other presbyters (elders) lays his hands on them. Introductory responses, still used in many liturgies, are then spoken antiphonally:

The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We have them with the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord.
It is fitting and right.

The Eucharistic prayer is longer than in the previous examples. It begins with thanksgiving for the coming of Jesus, the incarnate Word. It proceeds through the narrative of Christ's sufferings through which he abolished death, to the words of Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper and the recalling of Christ's death and resurrection. The prayer concludes with the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the assembly, and a doxology.

Hippolytus then indicates that if oil is offered as a gift, it is then blessed, symbolic of the anointing of kings, priests and prophets. A doxology concludes the ceremony. If cheese and olives are offered, they are similarly blessed as symbolic of charity and of the free flow from the tree of life, with a concluding doxology.

In Hippolytus' second example, the Eucharist after baptism and confirmation, the ceremony begins with the offering by the deacons of bread, wine, milk, honey and water. During the prayer that follows, which Hippolytus does not quote, the bread is to be eucharistized into the "flesh of Christ" and the cup of wine into his blood. The mixed milk and honey, symbolic of the Promised Land and the nourishment of Christ, is blessed, and also the water, symbolic of cleansing. The bread and cups of water, milk and wine are then distributed by the presbyters. The cups are served to each worshiper three times, with the following dialogue:

In God the Father Almighty. Amen.
And in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
And in the Holy Spirit in the Holy Church. Amen.

In the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus, we note that the elements of the Eucharist are viewed as the representation of the flesh and blood of Christ, having taken on this property through the Eucharistic prayer. There is now an invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiklesis), but it is upon the people rather than upon the elements of the Eucharist.

This was the early church during the persecutions, the church will be persecuted again, and wouldn’t it be wise to follow their example in worship?

So, I want you to think about these things, pray about them, talk to God about them and research what I am saying.

 What will you do when you discover that you may be in error? Will you begin to change your understanding and seek the full truth and begin worshipping in the manner of the early church? Or will you ignore it and continue living and preaching what makes you comfortable because to admit that you had been deceived would be embarrassing? I’ve been there, the truth can be hard at times when we are so convinced of one way already but remember this, it is our salvation through Jesus the Christ that is important, it is the honor of His Most Holy Name that we are to uphold. I have given you the basic understanding of Christianity plus some questions to think about, I have had a very small tiny glimpse of what is facing the end of the church, it will be like the beginning. When will this actually happen? I don’t know but it will happen. There will be house to house searches for Bibles and any written material relating to true Christianity, at first the books may simply be confiscated but there will be some who lose their life or the life of loved ones over the books.

For some there will be no prison terms for the owning of the books only death, have you noticed that in this series there was no Bible needed? Did you catch that? Sure I used scripture to make points but the understanding is there, the knowledge is there without the written word on paper. When the church began teaching and then began to be persecuted, they had no Bible, the message was simple and still is simple, I have presented it all to you in these simple videos. The word is written in your heart, the understanding is written in your heart, if you can memorize whole books of scripture then that is good but you will not memorize all of scripture. It is not necessary, remember the teachings. Read your bibles while you can, teach your children to read their bibles but remember, the word is written on your heart.

What did the Apostle Paul say; So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Also he said; Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.

All things are not written, salvation need not be written in a book, it is written on the heart, it’s simple, all you need to do is live it and pass it on. There will come a time when this will be the only way, the written word will not freely be read and taught but the words of truth, the understanding cannot be unwritten from your heart, it can only be ignored or proclaimed, there is no other choice.

May you be blessed with the heart and determination to find the truth.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Amen.

In Christ,

Monk Michael

Rev. Fr. Michael Valentine

 

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 In Christ,

Monk Michael