This is a parable in which the Lord teaches that the Jewish people of Jerusalem, specifically the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees, were going to be destroyed. This happened in 70 AD, nearly forty years after the Lord ascended to heaven, in which the Roman empire starved out and nearly annihilated the entire city. Murder, cannibalism, and other unmentionable debaucheries took place within the walls during the siege. After the siege, the Romans crucified THOUSANDS.
This all happened why? Because Jerusalem didn't know the time of her royal visitation by Messiah Jesus.
It is the Lord Jesus of the New Testament (and not the God of the Old) that will avenge the Father with fire upon all those who don't know God and don't obey the Gospel centered around His Son's life.
In fact, we see that Christ's vengeance is so terrible, all who suffer it will experience "everlasting destruction".
Further, in Revelation 6 we read of the first 6 seals on the scroll being opened by none other than Jesus Christ. It is He, through the opening of the scrolls, that unleashes the following:
Four horsemen who have the power to "conquer", to wage "war" and take "peace" from the earth, utterly destroy the global economy, and finally, to kill 1/4 of the planet's population at the time (Jesus indirectly responsible for close to 2 billion deaths? What?).
And this isn't even all. At the opening of the sixth seal, the great day of the Lamb's wrath is unleashed on the world, as if the first four seals weren't bad enough.
And if one continues on through Revelation, one sees Jesus trampling underfoot as if in a wine-press the fierceness of God's wrath, until the blood of His enemies drench the skirt of His robes. We see Him waging the battle of Armageddon, in which there is so much death and destruction, we are given a gruesome image in which a sea of blood nearly six feet deep covers the valley just outside the city of Jerusalem. We also read of the Lord presiding over the smoke of the eternal torment in the lake which burns with fire all them who took the mark of the beast.
So what happened to the New Testament depiction of Christ as this all (and only merciful) lover and lowly friend to sinners?
Sorry, that is only half the picture. The rest of the story is the avenging Christ, who shall rule with a rod of iron and not spare His enemies until they are made His footstool, until He has thoroughly and utterly conquered the world in righteous indignation.
Only until we see and accept both sides of the equation can we get an accurate understanding of who and what the Lord Jesus, the Son and Incarnation of the God of the Old Testament, is.
And would you worship a god like this because you love him or because you are afraid not to?
How can the same God that commands us to love and forgive our enemies, kill and torture His? It would give ultimate meaning to he phrase "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
I'm not talking about things that we don't understand, or things that happened because we live in a fallen world where we are given free will. I get that bad things happen to good people, etc. It's when things that we universally acknowledge as being evil are called Holy because someone says that God told them to do it. If God wanted to give the Jews the promised land, and wanted to clear out the people in it. God could have have done it himself. He could have created a new land out of nothing, and placed in the middle of all the other populated lands. He could have made an island rise up out of the sea....
__________________
“There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting.”
And would you worship a god like this because you love him or because you are afraid not to?
How can the same God that commands us to love and forgive our enemies, kill and torture His? It would give ultimate meaning to he phrase "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
I'm not talking about things that we don't understand, or things that happened because we live in a fallen world where we are given free will. I get that bad things happen to good people, etc. It's when things that we universally acknowledge as being evil are called Holy because someone says that God told them to do it. If God wanted to give the Jews the promised land, and wanted to clear out the people in it. God could have have done it himself. He could have created a new land out of nothing, and placed in the middle of all the other populated lands. He could have made an island rise up out of the sea....
It seems as though God in human form took a whole different approach than the God of creation and the Old Testament. At least God does not operate now the way he did in the Old Testament. The thing I wonder about is, Israel as his chosen people never really got beyond doing the clean up of the promised land and actually begin to spread the truth around their world. Seems like the world was more of any influence on them. Which of course is the lesson for us.
2.) that "it is written"... "I am the LORD, I change not:..." (Malachi 3:6), and
3.) that the Lord Jesus Christ is that SAME God (see John 8:58), and
4.) that the writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews was inspired of God (see II Peter 1:20-21) to write, advising us that "Jesus Christ (is) the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8), then tell me, I humbly implore thee to think on, and answer the following:
What right, privilege, moral or legal grounds, does any imperfect, fallible mortal, possess, or been granted, to question that which God does? Does not the ONLY "sovereign" God, the Creator of all things in heaven and the earth, possess the AUTHORITY to do what He chooses, and in the manner of His choosing? Absolutely!
I would caution everyone, yea, ALL, to pause and prayerfully contemplate what the "sovereignity" of God encompasses before they charge Him wrongly such as I witness being done here!
God is our Judge; NOT the "other way around," for it will be He who judges us; at which time He will use the laws and commandments He caused to be written in the Scriptures as the basis for such judgment ( and please take note: the reference passages I listed above are IN those Scriptures).
Just my thoughts on the matter for what they might be worth. God Bless!
Who determines the correct interpretation and application of scripture, and what makes them the correct, definitive, and absolute right with all others being wrong?
Everybody has an interpretation to scripture, and everyone can argue why their interpretation is the correct one. Therefore, the scriptures are subjective and not absolute.
Not sure what everyone else said about your words, but just because everyone has an interpretation does not mean God intended it to be subjective. Iow, it is not necessarily true that God intended everyone to have their personal interpretation just because people do.
__________________ ...MY THOUGHTS, ANYWAY.
"Many Christians do not try to understand what was written in a verse in the Bible. Instead they approach the passage to prove what they already believe."
Who determines the correct interpretation and application of scripture, and what makes them the correct, definitive, and absolute right with all others being wrong?
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__________________ As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.- Gal. 6:14
Who determines the correct interpretation and application of scripture, and what makes them the correct, definitive, and absolute right with all others being wrong?
Each one must determine it for themselves, with the input of a multitude of counselors, wherein is safety, since everyone must be fully persuaded in their own minds. With a healthy outlook that our souls are on the line, and eternity is on the line, in godly fear, we should be very careful and sincere as can be. And approach God in faith to help us understand by the leading of His Spirit. And when others claim a different interpretation than the one we have, we keep in mind that they may be right and may be used of God to correct us, or they may be wrong. Either way, we tread carefully about this and have faith that God will direct. We always maintain carefulness and openness for correction while not falling for anyone who convincingly presents their views.
__________________ ...MY THOUGHTS, ANYWAY.
"Many Christians do not try to understand what was written in a verse in the Bible. Instead they approach the passage to prove what they already believe."
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