-Matthew
4:4 Did Emmanuel really mean
for us to live by every word of God when He talked about plucking out the
eyes and cutting off the hands.(Matthew
5:29,30)?
And cutting off the foot
too:.Matthew
18:8,9 and Mark 9:43.
First, of course we know
that this means every word of God that is presently applicable, right?
Hosea
was told to commit adultery. We do not feel that we should live by
this word because of other things we have learned from the Bible:.Isaiah
28:9,10; Hebrews 5:13,14;
6:1,2.
Some holy but uninstructed
individual may say 'It stands on the sacred page, so why should you not
take the meaning.literally?'
It might be sufficient to answer because there are many utterances
on the sacred pages which are purely poetic
or metaphorical.
Examples:.Proverbs
30:17 "The eye that mocks at his father and despises to obey his mother,
the ravens of the brook shall pick it out and the young vultures shall
eat it.".The
statement looks straightforward
and positive
enough, but what human being ever took it literally or saw it literally
occur?.Ecclesiastes
10:20 "Curse not the king, no not in your thought and curse not the
rich in your bedchamber, for a bird of the air shall carry the voice and
that which has wings shall tell the matter.".These
words too are metaphorical?
And these also:.Ecclesiastes
11:1 "Cast your bread upon the waters for you shall find it after many
days." Mark 9:44 "Where their worm
dies not and the fire is not quenched." Isaiah
11:4 "...the breath of his lips slays the wicked.".
How many educated Christians
can assert that they believe that the unredeemed will be eaten forever
by literal worms in endless flames? The man who pretends that he is obliged
to comprehend literally the countless Scriptural metaphors involved in
an Eastern language of which nearly every word is a pictorial metaphor,
only shows himself incompetent to pronounce an opinion on subjects connected
with history, literature or religious/spiritual criticism.
Emmanuel was saying to cast
from yourself those things that are unprofitable for you, meaning the ways
of the ego that have caused much trouble in your life:.Matthew
18:7-9.
Some religious crackpots
will claim the literal
meaning is to sever
hands or feet or whatever. It simply means that if what you are doing in
life.(your
hands, your work, your sight, what your attention is on).is
not producing the positives you want, then it is offensive to you.(*),
so get rid of those things you may be doing that are offensive, offensive
to you.(as
Paul found out:.Romans
7:8-25).and
offensive to others. He is referring to things that offend, as verse
7 shows.
Barnes
Notes on it:."This
command is found in.Exodus
21:24; Leviticus 24:20;
Deuteronomy
19:21. In these places it was given as a rule to.regulate
the decisions of judges. They were to take eye for eye and tooth for
tooth and to inflict burning for a burning. As a judicial rule it is not
unjust. Christ finds no fault with the rule as applied to magistrates and
does not take upon himself to repeal it. But, instead of confining it to
magistrates, those
who called themselves Jews had extended it to private conduct and made
it the rule by which to take revenge. They considered themselves justified,
by this rule, to inflict the same injury on others that they had received.
Against this our Saviour remonstrates.
"He declares that the law
had no reference to private revenge; that it was given only to regulate
the magistrate and that their private conduct was to be regulated by different
principles. The general principle which he laid down was, that we are not
to resist evil; that is, as it is in the Greek, not to set ourselves against
an evil individual who is injuring us. But even this general direction
is not to be pressed too strictly. Christ did not intend to teach that
we are to see our families murdered or to be murdered ourselves, rather
than to make resistance. The law of nature and all laws, human and Divine,
have justified self-defence, when life is in danger..Consider
also the lesson of the prostitute Rahab.
"It cannot surely be the
intention to teach that a father should sit by coolly and see his family
butchered by savages and not be allowed to defend them. Neither natural
nor revealed religion ever did or ever can, teach this doctrine. Our Saviour
immediately explains what he means by it. Had he intended to refer it to
a case where life is in danger, he would most surely have mentioned it.
Such a case was far more worthy of statement than those which he did mention.
A doctrine so unusual, so unlike all that the world had believed and that
the best men had acted on, deserved to be formally stated. Instead of doing
this, however, he confines himself to smaller matters, to things of comparatively
trivial interest and says, that in these we had better take wrong than
to enter into strife and lawsuits.
"The first case is, where
we are smitten on the cheek. Rather than contend and fight, we should take
it patiently and turn the other cheek. This does not, however, prevent
our remonstrating firmly, yet mildly, on the injustice of the thing and
insisting that justice should be done us, as is evident from the example
of the Saviour himself:.John
18:22,23. The second evil mentioned is, where a man is litigious
and determined to take all the advantage the law can give him; following
us with vexatious
and expensive lawsuits. Our Saviour directs us, rather
than to imitate him, rather than to contend with a revengeful spirit
in courts of justice and to perpetual.broils,
so, take a trifling
injury and yield to him. This is merely a question about property and not
about conscience and life."
The Creator was building
what was to become the Holy Bible and had included in it what he
wished
for our learning. See 'Proof Of The
Bible'.
The things humanity is subject
to through rules and regulations via
religions and other authorities, are always to do with what the Bible
calls 'the flesh', such as in the verses above about the eyes, hands and
feet.
Emmanuel
at the time was dealing with his disciples,
who were just beginning on the spiritual pathway of life and they had difficultycomprehending
spiritual concepts:.Luke
24:25,26. For example, in Matthew
17:6 they were afraid. They hadn't yet even grasped
the overriding.principle
of love, which would have moved them from fear:.Matthew
14:26-31.
But time and circumstances
had played their part and they did come to see higher consciousness ways:.Matthew
14:33. But they needed to grow more in faith and belief:.Matthew
17:18-20; Mark 6:52; 7:14-23;
Luke
9:33.
The disciples knew He was
the Christ, but somehow their thinking, especially Peter's thinking, couldn't
comprehend the greater implication
of that fact:.Mark
8:29-33; Luke 24:25,26. And
Thomas, also one of the twelve disciples, was the same:.John
20:25-27.
The disciples 'missed the
boat' a lot as they were learning:.Mark
10:13-16; Luke 8:9-11.
Moreover
as Paul said, we no longer know Him after the flesh,
we are new creatures fully reconciled to the Father.(why?).and
these old things are long past away:.2Corinthinans
5:16-21.
Emmanuel was saying that
the spiritual things are.so.important,
that avoiding distractions
to them is critical:.Matthew
10:38,39 "And he that takes not his cross and follows after me is not
worthy of me. He that finds his life shall lose it and he that loses his
life for my sake shall find it.".The
spiritual things are so much more important. This life is for learning
these things:.Romans
15:4 "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for
our learning.....".For
our learning what?
He wanted His disciples to
understand the overall scheme
of things on into eternity and the importance of His presence in coming
to Earth in revealing the way
the Father thinks:.John
14:6; 15:5.
The everlasting fire Emmanuel
was referring to in Matthew 18:8,9
and Mark 9:43 was not some place called
hell.
Emmanuel is saying to get
rid of those things that are offending your spiritual direction, because
this is where the real life is! You
have the power of the Infinite One; what
is there that cannot be done? We are all different and some will use
that power more or less than others. But, for those that just cannot
overcome their offending ways.(perhaps
pedophilics, serial rapists, psychopaths
and killers, those entrenched
with evil ways who may already be too far down the
river of no return), the Infinite
One has a way to save them.
More.
Also, 'What Does Christ Want?'
-2Timothy 4:18. Paul
had such faith that he would be kept whole right up to the time he would
be in the kingdom of God, yet he was beheaded by Nero's
order.
Could God have continued to keep Paul on the Earth?
Of course!
2Peter 2:9
"The Lord knows how to deliver the Godly out of temptations...".and
also trials, but, as in Job's case, allowed the the dark side leader to
get to him:.Job
2:1-7.
Paul endured many hardships
on the spiritual road, but God knew what Paul could handle, as God also
does about us. Paul handled whatever was allowed to come into his life
and handled it right up to the time his work was to be over:.2Timothy
4:6-8. Paul was ready to go anytime. He knew the truth about
death.
Paul was kept safe many times from the workings
of the devouring lion:.1Peter
5:8; 2Timothy 2:26; Luke
22:31.
2Timothy
4:17,18 "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me,
that by me the preaching might be fully known and that all the Gentiles
might hear and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord
shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.".Philippians
4:13.
If God brought you to it, God's big enough to
bring you through it; if that's what the plan is at the time. The time
came for Paul's work to be done on Earth.
-Matthew
13:13 If Emmanuel knew that all His messages to the people back then.(Matthew
13:1-3,10,11;
13-15;
16-30;
Luke
18:34).would
be mostly over their heads and thus
beyond their comprehension,
why then did He expend
His time and energy to try to teach them?
The acts of Emmanuel and
all those before Him were written for us upon whom the ends of the world
have come.(Romans
15:4; 1Corinthians 10:11;
Daniel
12:4), not the end of the Earth,
but the end of the world, the end of evil as played through humanity.
Thankfully the ending of
the system, man's system of greed and control of others that has been produced
by
his
low consciousness is now mostly on the way out. If you're of
the good, great! If you're not, well, you didn't ask to be here, so
why get upset if you're on the way out?
The time of the ordinary
consciousness of humanity is
finishing and we are continuing to move into higher consciousness,
thus
bringing us into the long talked about kingdom
of God.
I mean, look historically
and what do you see? The same old low consciousness junk cropping
up here and there since man has been on
the Earth. Thankfully we are rapidly moving from this age long horrible
way of dealing with others, often to their hurt, based upon our greed and
control.
So, what do we know about
the end of this evil age? Well, once it's done, we know we'll have peace.
Once it's done, we know the principles of God, which are all good for humanity,
will enable man to govern himself with love to others:.Matthew
22:36-40; Revelation 21:3-6.
That's the timeline
to have in mind. Avoid the doom and gloom of going into more negativity
and fear; this helps..
The doom and gloom one is a nowhere timeline, meaning you'll stay in it
until you change your mind's focus:.Isaiah
30:1-18. Choose the good one by your thinking and you'll go with others
to the good. Go with others where? Here!
Once evil is gone, we can
look forward to God's promises to us being fulfilled:.1Corinthians
2:9.
Once evil is gone, humanity
will have a new age of freedom:.Micah
4:1-5.
-Matthew
4:6 What about.'stubbing
one's foot'?
And, does this scripture
apply to us?.Romans
8:29 says He was the firstborn among many brethren. We are called brethren.
We are in God's family. Romans 15:4.
To keep us on
track Creator-God is involved in all concerning us:.Luke
12:6,7.
He is in
control and we are His workmanship:.Ephesians
2:10.
He instructs the angels
regarding you. They bring things to your mind.(Hebrews
1:13,14).to
help and protect you. Important
to listen.
In addition to trusting
God to protect you, listen to your life:.Matthew
4:7. Sometimes we all get swept along the road of life faster than
we would like it to be. Therefore realize that at times it's also important
to 'take a step or two back',
away from any hectic
direction that you may be going in. You have a part in God's protection
of you and your family. What
is it?
And anytime you are stepping anywhere be sure your feet are protected.
You have to do your part in God protecting you. You wouldn't close your
eyes and drive your car. Protect your feet around your home too. If a knife
fell toward the part of the floor where your foot may be, you may get badly
injured, so always wear footware that protects your feet from such risks
as these.
And what about
standing close to the curb waiting for the light to change? Talk about
dangerous!
-Matthew
5:14 What did Emmanuel mean when He said that we are the light of the
world?
John
1:6-9 shows us that Emmanuel is the light that light is in us, that
is, in those having the same loving higher
consciousness that He came to make known. Being so.(as
light), we too will be compassionate
to others.(with
all that means).as
we live our lives. See the subject entitled 'Light'.
-Matthew
6:33 What does it mean to seek the Kingdom Of God?
Emmanuel
was explaining certain principles of love to those He called.(John
17:6).to
be with Him, the disciples, meaning, those wanting to learn of the higher
ways:.Matthew
chapters 5-7 inclusive.
He was saying in effect to
focus more on enriching your soul, on enriching the mind things.(like
thinking and decision).that
can rearrange your motivations.(what
you do things from; what impels
your actions, like, why would you exercise, why would you go to bed early),
the things that formulate
your emotions.(how
you feel {positive or negative} about what it is that is presently before
your mind).and
the things that make up your expressions.(how
you communicate). Your soul is what
is you. Your body is what your soul uses to animate all these things that
comprise
your
personality.
Emmanuel was saying to concentrate
efforts on what is most important and that involved
things
to do, things regarding
being in the Kingdom of God:.Matthew
6:19,20;.Jude
1:21 "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy
of our Lord Emmanuel the Christ unto eternal life.".Being
in
the present and doing things of higher consciousness, leads one on
from low consciousness ego level
things. But, what if you just
can't seem to get going?
One important thing is to
pray for others. To do that, one must be interested in knowing what they
need and must be feeling in their lives. People need help. All true help
comes from God. God listens and acts when one prays for another; example:.Job
42:10.
He was telling them of the
heart of the Father.(John
17:8).and
that if they would be sure to put spiritual concerns regarding the Kingdom
of God first, that the physical things would be looked after, as Father-God
and He both care deeply for them:.John
17:11-26. Notice also, that it is not this thing called a
fear of punishment that pressures you into becoming a spiritual person,
but rather an understanding of His mercy.
These things
also apply regarding us today:.John
17:20.
But what should a person
do when the problems may be so great that there is really not much that
one can do? Exodus 14:13 and, go
into the dark and quiet and,
consider
this... and consider that the Great Infinite One always turns
grief into hope.
Exodus
14:13,14 "And Moses said unto the people, Fear you not, stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today. For
the Egyptians whom you have seen to day, you shall see them again no more
for ever. The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace."
-2Peter
2:11 and Jude 1:9:.What
does it mean."railing
accusation".as
it says here?
Railing means strong emotional abusive language;
harsh and violent language; wanting harm and evil to come to others; a
hothead that can't be reasoned with and shooting off his mouth at something
he is upset about.
Accusation means to charge someone with wrongdoing.
Simply state facts courteously, without exaggeration
and without permitting anything of a bitter, reviling, or railing spirit,
to enter into your accusations.
Why? Everything is a part of what is affecting
our individual spirits. Have an overview of what
we are here for.
2Peter
2:10 "But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness
and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not
afraid to speak evil of dignities."
It's important to realize that all evil is a result
of us not being
in touch with the
Infinite Intelligence and the sad things that occur on Earth because
of this separated state are there for us to figure
out and correct in our lives.
-Matthew
10:39 and Luke 17:33 How do
we lose our lives for His sake?
What
is our life if not our
time? What do we spend our time on? Many things unloving
to ourselves and others?
-Genesis
2:20 Why didn't God create Eve earlier, so she could have been a help
to Adam when he had to name all those animals?
This is interesting! It shows
how Creator-God works. God knew that Adam would need a mate, but he waited
until Adam could see a need for some help. Perhaps that way he would appreciate
her:.Genesis
1:26,27.
-Matthew
23:8 Why did Emmanuel
say this about Christ?
Emmanuel was well aware of
the fact we are all brothers equal in Christ. He understood what
Christ is.
-Matthew
5:34-37 Why did Emmanuel say not to swear.(make
an oath).by
referring to such things.(verses
33,36 there).as
heaven, etc.?
The word
swear means, to
affirm,
to adjure, to
promise.
To promise with a solemn
oath, as though one had power to bring to pass what he says no matter future
circumstances. But, only the Creator controls
circumstances. One should be careful in taking oaths importuning
God, as verse 36 in the passage says.
James
4:15 "For that you ought to say, If the Lord will.(or,
'if it's based on high consciousness' *),
we shall live and do this or that.(*)."
It's a 'God is on my
side, not yours' type of thing and is really claiming one is as
powerful as the Infinite One while still operating his or her life from
the level of the human ego. That's
only arrogance.
When man makes an oath, the
implication
is that it's in the presence of an all encompassing
spiritual being, who because of the spiritual being's involvement is watching
to ensure the oath is carried out. Swearing that we can do this
or that is like a flea saying he can jump as high as a mountain:.verse
36. It's saying that it's unwise to assume
the attitude
that you are great and that the Creator is behind all you claim with an
oath can be done by you, as this is just so much bluster.
And about swearing an oath
in court?