1st John 1:1-2:2 With NKJ tenses changed

1st John 1 nkj appp Aa 1 That which was being from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we look upon, and our hands handle, concerning the Word of life. 2 That life is manifested, and we have seen, and are bearing witness, and are declaring to you that eternal life which was being with the Father and is manifested to us. 3 That which we have seen and heard we are declaring to you, that you also might be having fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we are writing to you that your joy might be being full.

5 This is being the message which we have heard from Him and are declaring to you, that God is being light and in Him is being no darkness at all. 6 Whenever we say that we are having fellowship with Him, and are walking in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are walking in the light as He is being in the light, we are having fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son is cleansing us from all sin. 8 Whenever we say that we are having no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not being in us. 9 If we are confessing our sins, He is being faithful and just since He forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 10 Whenever we say that we have not sinned, we are making Him a liar, and His word is not being in us.

1st John 2 nkj appp Aa 1 My little children, these things I am writing to you, in order that you sin not. And whenever anyone sins, we are having a Supporter with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is being the covering for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

The above was modified from the New King James version by modifying just the verb structure according to 1.0 of Principles of Translation Page at the blog. I have extended the treatment to using "whenever" with the aorist subjunctive and translating some subjunctives as indicative for clarity.  I also changed Advocate to Supporter and propitiation to covering because I believe both changes much improve understanding.

It may be easier to judge just the one set of changes without the additional changes made earlier in James. Having a familiar text changed to something completely unfamiliar is disorienting. And it certainly is easier for me to produce. (One could write a simple program to do it if appropriate data bases and software tools were available.)

The aorist tense and its impact on other tenses seem to be unique in Greek. When translated on the basis suggested by Knock, the distinction between the river of time and the timeless is plainly seen. One can easily affirm that Providence gave man that language so that the Good News of eternal life and resurrection could be written in it.

I2C 131030a 1Jo 1v1to2v2 nkj tenses changed / I2C M1310 / 131030 1658 / 1st John 1:1-2:2 With NKJ tenses changed

T 1Jo 1v1to2v2 nkj appp Aa | Translation | 131020 1153 | First John - 1.1 to 2.2 - nkj appp Aa

1st John 1:9 Love is now!

1John 1:9 NKJ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1John 1:9 jvb aa Whenever we are acknowledging our [former] sins, He is being trustworthy and He is being righteous since He forgives us our sins and since He cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

It is interesting that a quick application of the Principles of Translation posted as a permanent page on this blog largely removes the inconsistencies between 1Jo 1:9 and 1Jo 3:6, 9, 5:18. And between 1John 1:9 and the rest of Scripture.

The separation of the traditional translations and interpretations of the verse from the rest of scripture even among dispensational evangelicals is demonstrated its treatment in Chafee's Major Bible Themes. As I remember, he declared only one Christian duty. That was confession of sins recently committed. And he had only this verse, 1 John 1:9, to support his position. (To be fair to Chafee, in the book he represented the views of the generality of dispensational evangelicals at the time and this might have been his way (and I believe, the Lord's way) of showing the flimsy support for this remnant of pre-Reformation works religion.)

The title of this blog post is borrowed from the title of the book that first clued me in to the difficulties caused to many believers because of the traditional translations and interpretations of this verse. (An early edition of Love Is Now may be best. Some ecclesiastical officials were upset over the lack of mention of the local church in the first edition and forced changes. Very few understand that a teaching of the equal apostleship of all believers is applicable in post-apostolic times.) You might want to check out reader's comments at the above Amazon link for the book, Lord willing I shall be adding a big comment.

An experienced and much respected Christian counselor known to me regularly gave a message to patients in rehabilitation wards. He expounded three passages that pertain to the severe emotional problems of some Christians. The first was 1 John 1:9, And he came back two weeks later and explained the same passages to the same patients again.

Darby in his Synopsis avoids taking a firm position on the verse. But, in a footnote he finds no objection to the position of another scholar that sins before conversion are meant.

I2C 131029a 1Jo 1v9 Love is now ee / I2C M1310 / 131029 1128 / 1st John 1:9 Love is now!

James 2:14-26 Regard as righteous

The Greek verb often translated as "justified", has a variety of senses.

Properly it means, according to the verb ending, "to make righteous". This meaning is rare since only God can make one righteous. I believe that this meaning now may be applied to the begotten again since the means by which God makes sinners righteous, the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ have been revealed.

But apostolic usage of recent revelation was of necessity limited. (An example of this limitation is the limited mention of the virgin birth.) Their hearers and readers were not properly prepared. They were limited to milk and not solid food. It was the infancy of the church. (The toddlerhood of the church did not begin until after revelation was complete.)

So Paul in Romans 4 and James in James 2 use senses of "justify" that may be harmonized as "to regard as righteous". It is God who regards the man who has faith as righteous. It is man who regards the man who has deeds as righteous. This is the Old Testament teaching which of necessity often formed the basis of apostolic teaching while New Testament teaching was incomplete and not always generally known or accepted. The Greek translation of the Old Testament which was the familiar Bible of New Testament writers and early readers has many examples of "justify" being used in these senses (as does the New Testament).

This is the reasoning that informs the following translation. Other more general Principles of Translation may be found in that permanent page at the blog..

James 2:14-26 | jvb Aa | 14 What benefit, my brothers, if someone is saying that he is possessing faith, while, in fact, he is not possessing deeds? Is that sort of faith being able to save him? 15 If a brother or sister is lacking clothing and needing daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Be departing in peace, be warming yourself, and be eating," but you do not give to them the necessities of bodily life, what benefit? 17 In like manner, this sort of faith also, by itself, if it is not possessing deeds, is lifeless.

18 But someone will be saying, "You are possessing faith, and I am possessing deeds." Make known to me your faith by your deeds, and I will be making known to you, by my deeds, my faith. 19 You are believing that God is being one. You are doing rightly. Even the demons are believing -- and are shuddering! 20 But are you willing to come to know, oh senseless man, that faith apart from deeds is being lifeless? 21 Is not Abraham our father seen on the basis of deeds to be righteous as he offers Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Are you perceiving that faith was working with his deeds, and by deeds faith is brought to its goal? 23 And the Scripture is fulfilled, the part saying, "and Abraham believes God, and it is looked upon in him as righteousness." And he is distinguished as a friend of God. 24 You are perceiving then that a man is being regarded on the basis of deeds as righteous and not on the basis of faith only. 25 Likewise, is not Rahab the prostitute also regarded on the basis of deeds as righteous as she receives the messengers and sends them out another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is being lifeless, in like manner faith without deeds is being lifeless also.

I2C 131026b Jam 2v14to26 Regard as righteous / I2C M1310 / 10/26/2013 9:08 PM / James 2:14-26 Regard as righteous

Judges 19-21 "Sodomy" in Scripture

An utterly futile attempted homosexual gang rape (Gen 19:1-11) has given rise to our word "sodomy". A perpetrated homicidal heterosexual gang rape (Judges 19:25-29) and the resulting near extinction of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 21:15-23) are relatively unnoticed. Despite the similarities: homosexual gang rape demands (Gen 19:4-5, Judges 19:22) and heterosexual alternatives offered (Gen 19:8, Judges 19:23-34). (The alternatives offered seem to reflect scriptural values. Homosexual gang rape is considered a great offense against nature and nature's God, and neighbors are to be deterred from such a great offense if possible. Family authority and responsibility are upheld.)

Attempted gang rape of the two angels was the offense that gave rise to our term "sodomy". The popular sense of the word is male homosexual anal copulation. Interestingly, the legal sense seems to extend to a genital body part of one person and a non-genital body part (or perhaps instrument) of another person. Penetration, however slight, constitutes the offense.

The men of Sodom recognized the attractiveness of the angels (Gen 19:4-5). Lot, a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7-8), recognized that the attractiveness was the result of sinlessness (Gen 19:1-3). The homosexual gang rape intentions were not the cause of the destruction of the city, but were evidence of the reason for that destruction. The cries of those afflicted because of their godlessness and lawlessness had reached a level that Providence would no longer tolerate (Gen 18:20-21, 19:13).

I2C 131026a Jdg 19to21 q Sodomy q in Scripture / I2C / 10/26/2013 10:18 AM / Judges 19-21 "Sodomy" in Scripture

Gen 3v7 Sinner mortality visible

The prediction of the serpent in Gen 3:5 becomes fulfilled in Gen 3:7. Their eyes are opened and they know evil. And they know that they now need clothing. And their sons and daughters after childhood also are generally aware of the need for clothing. The now known specific evil, upon which each does not wish to gaze, is the visible mortality of his own flesh.

We do not notice the visibility of sin in the flesh because it is universal. Biology explains it in terms of the genetic programming of cellular repair. Up until age eleven, cells are programmed to repair virtually all deterioration in their structure. After eleven the programming allows cellular deterioration. This is noticed by all of us in the condition of the skin. Children have beautiful skin. The elderly have unappealing skin. Young adults, as Adam and Eve were at their creation, are not all that bad, but the comparison with children makes the small deterioration evident. Adam and Eve could remember vividly their prior sinless perfection as evidenced by their prior faultless skin.

The noun used for angelic messengers in scripture may be based on the appearance of the flesh. They appear as men in order to communicate with men. When they are called "angels" (Gen 19:1), it seems that their flesh appears sinless, like the skin of a child (Gen 19:4-5). At other times when they disguise themselves, as our Lord did in His incarnation, in the flesh of sin, they are called "men" (Gen 18:16).

I2C 131025b Gen 3v7 Sinner mortality visible / I2C / 10/25/2013 6:13 PM / Gen 3v7 Sinner mortality visible

Rom 1v18to32 Temple Prostitution

Traditional and off-the-cuff interpretation of Rom 1:18-32 make it a particularly harsh indictment of homosexuality, both male and female.

A careful reading combined with some knowledge of ancient religion, discloses that temple prostitution, both male and female, is in view.

Female heterosexual prostitution is regarded as a misuse of the body (including heart and mind), which is to be used in a marriage relationship for the begetting, protecting, nurturing, and edification of children (Rom 1:26).

Male homosexual prostitution is regarded as repugnant (particularly anal copulation, I believe) to God-given natural instincts (Rom 1:27).

But both are providential results of men created in the image of the Creator worshiping the images of creatures. The debasement of the bodies of selves and neighbors is the result of debasing the image of the Creator in those bodies through false worship (Rom 1:23-24).

False worship and temple prostitution is regarded as the first and most direct evidence of men disregarding their natural inner knowledge of the Creator (Rom 1:19-20).

The later, more general, evidence (Rom 1:29-31) is not the result of temple prostitution, let alone homosexuality, but simply the wider results of ignoring the inner knowledge of the Creator (Rom 1:28, 32).

I2C 131025a Rom 1v18to32 Temple Prostitution / I2C M1310 / 10/25/2013 8:25 AM / Rom 1v18to32 Temple Prostitution

James 2v8to13 Freedom! Love! Joy!

James 2:8-13 jvb Aa | 8 If you are truly fulfilling a Scripture-based, kingly ^1, prognosis ^2, summarized ^3 as, "You will be loving your neighbor in the same manner as you will be loving yourself" ^4, you are doing well. 9 But if you are respecting external differences ^5, you are working in sin ^6, and are being refuted by the Law like ^7 transgressors. 10 […] 12 Be speaking and doing in this manner: as those who are being about to be being evaluated ^8 upon on the basis of principles based on freedom ^9. 13 For evaluation is being unkind to one who does not manifest kindness. Freedom is rejoicing ^10 in kindness replacing evaluation.

^1 - Consistent with reigning in life (Rom 5:17), and receiving an unshakable kingdom (Heb 12:28). Also the proper king is united with his kingdom and cares for his subjects as he cares for himself.

^2 - The commandments are not in the imperative (Deut 6:5-6, Lev 19:18). The English future auxiliary verb "shall" confuses us. They may be looked upon as a millennial prophecy fulfilled in part by the faithful remnant, in full in the millennium, a good prognosis for Israel's illness. (The command is "hear" and "be careful to observe" (Deut 6:3-4)).

^3 - The quoted passage, Lev 19:18, along with Deut 6:5 is a summary of the Scriptural instruction known as the Law and the prophets (Mat 22:37-40, Rom 13:9-10).

^4 - Both self and neighbor are created in the image of God and are channels of His love to us. (Even deeds attended by man's evil intentions are instruments of God's love (Gen 50:20, Rom 8:28)). That is how both self and neighbor can be loved in the same manner and why the second "great" commandment is "like unto the first".
^5 - Both context and a component of the Greek word argue for this more specific translation.

^6 - Sin in the flesh and not the individual will may be involved (Rom 7:17, 21).

^7 - The refutation may be apprehended as judgment (Rom 7:13).

^8 - The behavior of the begotten again is Christ is better said to be evaluated rather than judged, both by God and, properly, by others John 5:24).

^9 - The meaning of the Greek word for "law" extends to a set of regularly operating principles maintained by the Creator. Here it is the "law of freedom" (James 1:25, Rom 8:21, Rom 14:6, 10, 1Cor 8:9, 13).

^10 - "Freedom" is implied in the Greek. Literally: "… he/she/it is triumphing in mercy over judgment" - James 2:13.

I2C 131023a Jam 2v8to13 freedom love joy / I2C M1310 / 10/23/2013 12:35 PM 10/24/2013 1:41 PM / James 2v8to13 Freedom! Love! Joy!

Translation project non-log pages

Established two non-log pages on my blog for works in progress.

One is for the complete book of James and contains the first pass at all five chapters. Internal links not currently working.

The other is for my Principles of Translation document.

Both pages will be modified as work progresses. Major changes will be communicated.

Tabs on  the home page of the blog direct to these pages. This may be moved to a sidebar later. The direct links below may be modified later.

http://intwocities.blogspot.com/p/principles-of-translation-jvb-aa-0.html

http://intwocities.blogspot.com/p/james.html

Identifying the enemy

From a forum post:

{{_ {{_ What are some of the ways you identify the enemy?}}

{{_ By their actions [/] By the way they utilize scripture. They only use scripture which condemn others and not the ones which show God's love.}}

___ Thanks for that last sentence. I have just been translating James and your thought is marvelously parallel to several passages and a sound application of them. It is, of course, an identification of the activity of the enemy, and not of an actual enemy.

Jas 1:25 KJV  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Jas 2:12-13 KJV  So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.  (13)  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Jas 3:13-18 KJV  Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.  (14)  But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.  (15)  This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.  (16)  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.  (17)  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  (18)  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Jas 4:11-12 KJV Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.  (12)  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

___ My translation of the second passage above is what made possible a startling recognition of the truth of your statement. Those that are happiest in Christ Jesus are those that observe the law of freedom.

James 2 12-13 jvb Aa 12 Be speaking and doing in this manner: as those who are being about to be being judged by the law established by freedom. 13 For condemnation unkind is coming to one who shows no kindness but freedom's rejoicing is placing kindness over condemnation.

{{_ {{_ (The enemy is evil.) Of course there are obvious ways, but give some of your tests you use to test spirits.}}

{{_ I have never encountered a demon or an evil spirit so a test I will use is to ask them if they love Jesus.}}

___ Sound idea. The begotten again in Christ seem to have no difficulties with demons. There is a reported experience of being instantly in spirit upon recognition of the demon possessed. The experience is a sense of an unusual unity between human will and God’s will. If an exorcism is God’s will at that time, the believer is capable. Reported horrendous difficulties in exorcism seem to be the result of nominal Christian exorcists. The reported success of such liturgical ceremonies may sometimes be due to the prayers of a true believer present in a lowly physical assistant capacity.

Errors of nominal Christian bureaucracy

From a forum post:
{{_ bob>True. But, it seems to me the pagan gentiles around 320 ad took over the Christian religion and added things. what do you think?}}

___ Thanks for the prompt reply. It is pleasant also to find some support for my ideas.

___ It was a nominal Christian bureaucracy that added things.

___ The awkward notions of eternal generation and eternal procession of the Nicean creed are to be renounced by the instructed.

___ But addition is not as serious offense as taking away. 

___ Rev 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (19) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

___ Baptised humanity has suffered much more from nicolatian additions than from subtractions until rather recently.

___ The mainstream protestant denominations in "advanced" nations are rapidly ceasing to be even properly nominal Christian. 

Principles of Translation - jvb Aa

0.0 Introduction. Any serious student of Scripture becomes a translator. Even without knowledge of the original languages, one can experiment with alternate formulations that seem to make more sense in the context of verse, passage, chapter, book, author, dispensation, and the whole of Scripture. And / or formulations that are more fluent, able to state the content in a more readily comprehensible manner. A book that is helpful in this exercise is "The Bible in 26 Versions" which is a condensation of the meaningful variations. This book may be used to provide some scholarly validation to ones formulation of an alternate translation.

Various tools are now available to make the original languages more accessible to the individual student of Scripture. Thayer's lexicon, a majority text interlinear, and BibleWorks versions 3 through 9 have been particularly helpful to me.

The primary force behind my present, more formal, translation activity is the approach to the translation of the Greek tenses pioneered by Knock over a century ago and then neglected. The insight of Robinson into the Greek cases has a similar history.

My translations are experimental. I welcome feedback from all sorts and conditions of men. But I pray that these translations may enable the viewing of God's Word from a different angle and that this may be of benefit to the reader and might be to the glory of God.

1.0 Tenses. An extreme approach has been followed in applying Knock to the translation of verbs. The frequent use of the English present participle may be an awkward distraction. But I have attempted to be consistent. The aorist becomes present. The aorist participle becomes present with some circumlocution. The imperfect, present, and future become the present participle prefixed by the past, present, and future, respectively of the verb "to be". I have attempted to show both the past process and the present state that are parts of the Greek perfect.

2.0 Cases. Our examples of early written Greek have five cases. The earlier written Sanskrit, a similar language, has eight cases. In early written Greek, through identical case endings, the ablative has been merged with the genitive. the locative and instrumental have been merged with the dative. But usage reflects the earlier differentiation. I have used the ablative, locative, and instrumental meanings wherever it seemed to make sense.

3.0 Imperatives. The first and third person imperatives and the exhortative senses present special problems. I have attempted to retain the imperative force despite the resulting awkwardness.

4.0 Words. My criteria for the translation of individual words are quite eclectic. Whatever seems to make sense at the time. But I try to find some support from the lexicons. Thayer has been a frequent inspiration.

5.0 Style. Style is at best a tertiary consideration. Sometimes it is very analytical. Sometimes it is colloquial. Whatever seems the most sensible and fluent.

I2C 131022a Wip T Principles jvb Aa / I2C M1310 / 10/22/2013 9:49 AM / [Work in progress: ]Principles of Translation jvb Aa1

T Principles jvb Aa.docx / Translation M1310 / 10/22/2013 6:39 AM

Work in progress: Translation James 1

James 1:1-27 jvb Aa 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

2 Count it all joy, my brethren, whenever you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 But allow steadfastness to have its accomplishment perfected, that you might be being entirely mature and sound, lacking nothing.

5 Any one of you needing wisdom, be asking from God, the One giving to all of you liberally without reproaching, and you will be receiving it. 6 But be asking in faith, without hesitating, for the one hesitating has become like a wave of the sea being driven and tossed by the wind. 7 Hesitating man, be not expecting that you will be receiving anything from the Lord; 8 since you are being a double-souled man, unstable in all your ways.

9 Humble brother, be boasting in your exaltation, 10 Wealthy brother, be boasting in your humiliation, since like a wild flower you will be passing away. 11 For the sun rises with a scorching heat and withers the wild plant; its flower falls, and its outward beauty is lost. In this manner, the wealthy man, in his way of life, will be also fading away.

12 Happy is a man who is enduring testing; for as he is approved, he will be receiving that victor's wreath out of life in Christ Jesus which the Lord promises to those loving Him. 13 Being tempted, be not saying, "By God I am being tempted"; for God is being untemptable by evil, and He Himself is not tempting anyone. 14 But each is being tempted by his own cravings, being dragged away and being lured. 15 Then, craving becomes pregnant, and is giving birth to sin; and sin, when full-grown, is bringing forth death.

16 Be not being led astray, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good giving and every perfect gift is being from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is being no variation or shadow of turning. 18 His will gives birth to us through a word of truth, into our being a sort of set apart first fruits of His creatures.

19 Come to understand these things, my beloved brothers. Every man of you, be being swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for wrath from man is not producing righteousness from God. 21 Therefore, first put away all filthiness and residue of evil, and then fitly receive the implanted word, which is being able to keep your souls safe and sound.

22 But be becoming doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 23 For if anyone is being a hearer of the word and is not being a doer, that one has become like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, and has gone away, and immediately forgets what sort of man he was being. 25 But the one who investigates the perfect law of liberty and remains in it, and becomes not a forgetful hearer but a doer of deeds, this one will be being happy in his doing.

26 If anyone among you is thinking that he is being religious, while not bridling his tongue but misleading his own heart, this one's religion is being empty. 27 Pure and unsullied religion before our God and Father is being this: to be visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, and to be keeping oneself unspotted from the world.

I2C 131017 Wip T James 1 Aa / I2C M1310 / 10/17/2013 9:06 PM / Work in progress: Translation James 1 /// T James 1 jvb Aa / Translation M1320 / 10/17/2013 10:50 AM

Rev 1v7 The first born see Him

Rev 1:7 KJG Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Rev 1:7 jvb Each of you, look, and learn! (1), He is coming (2) with clouds (3). And every eye (4) will perceive Him (5). And those who pierce Him will perceive Him (6). And all the tribes of the earth will mourn (7) because of Him. This is true and sure (8).

(1) - A familiar interjection, found over 200 times in the New Testament. I have expanded its translation to encompass the nuances of the word, particularly in its imperative force toward the individual reader or hearer.

(2) - Our Lord is in the act of "coming" at the time of the writing of Revelation. His manifestation is imminent. This is affirmed by the command to each reader and hearer to "look and learn", and by the focus on "things which must shortly come to pass" (Rev 1:1).

(3) - "Clouds" are obscuring His form at the time of writing. For most they continue to obscure. But John has directed each of us to focus on His manifestation, particularly in the visions of this book. If the inner spiritual eye of the begotten again Christian is "single" (Mat 6:22-23), he is able to "look and learn", Jesus comes again to His own in the same way that He left (Acts 1:9, 11).

(4) - Eye in the singular is often used in scripture to refer to an inner spiritual eye that "sees" in the senses of "perceives" and "comes to know". "Every" is not always universal, but applies to a group implied by context. Here two groups are implied. The faithful remnant ("servants") to whom the angelic explanations of the imminent events (Rev 1:1) are to be repeated by the assemblies (Rev 1:3), and the assemblies themselves. The secular Greek assemblies were gatherings of the citizens of city-states. The Christian assemblies are gatherings of the citizens of heaven, (In either case, there may be non-citizen adherents.) The golden lampstands (Rev 1:12, 20) represent the local regular gatherings of the righteous and eternal spirits of the begotten again in Christ.

(5) - The perception of the visions and the manifestation of our Lord is mediated by a begotten again spirit and the written word of God.

(6) - The perception of the manifestation of our Lord will be mediated by a special spiritual vision to a world that pierces Him as much as Providence allows (Rev 6:16-17).

(7) - The mourning may lead to repentance for some. An earlier prophesied (Zec 12:10) event (John 19:34, 37, Luke 23:48) pertained to Israel. The future mourning includes both Jew and gentile.  (If it were only gentiles, "nations" which has a sense of "gentiles" would have been written instead of "tribes"}.

(8) - A rather free translation of the meaning of two familiar Greek particles in this context.

At present, with Scripture complete (1Cor 13:10, Eph 4:13-16), the first born ones (Heb 12:23-24) are seeing (1Cor 13:12) Him "face to face".

I2C 131016a Rev 1v7 The first born see Him / I2C M1310 / 10/16/2013 12:17 PM / Rev 1v7 The first born see Him

Egregious malfeasance on US borders

Government godlessness and lawlessness march on.

Egregious malfeasance is an impeachable high crime

My Evernote clip of Drudge linked article follows.
Article link: http://www.local2544.org/border-patrol-agents-impeded-no-charges-brought/
Clip link: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/26b82eaa-1f04-46a9-bfdd-24cf7d596276/acd77e0e61c9a79cb2d1415aaa85ad20

Border Patrol Agents Impeded – No Charges Brought 

“I hate Border Patrol agents too, fellas. Your legalization papers are coming soon.”

Apparently 18 USC 111 still only applies if an agent sustains serious injuries. How many times has the AUSA asked “How badly is the agent injured?” when presented with a case of impeding or assault on a federal officer? No serious injury sustained by an agent almost always = no prosecution. That has been a running joke for many years (along with the ridiculous threshold amounts of dope to trigger a prosecution). So when dozens of “protesters” impede, resist and otherwise interfere with Border Patrol agents and the carrying out of our duties, what happens? Nothing. They get a little pepper spray, they act like they have pulled off some heroic deed, they are attended to by the fire department, they get their picture in the paper and they walk away with no citations and no criminal charges. And does that encourage further lawlessness and put us in a bad position as we try to do our job? Absolutely. It emboldens these types of people and puts us in danger. Impeding law enforcement should be a serious no-no. Protest some other way, but not by interfering with an active enforcement operation and creating a dangerous atmosphere where someone could be badly injured or killed. Why weren’t these people arrested and charged?

Another truly despicable example of agents being handcuffed, having to fear doing our jobs and having nobody standing in the gap to help protect us from the illegal alien cheerleaders and the anarchists. Shameful.

Since these “protesters” can be easily identified, charges should be filed on them as soon as possible.

You can read a story about these heroic “protesters” here.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/dozens-confront-border-patrol-agents-during-tucson-traffic-stop/article_977b6e76-309d-11e3-b3be-001a4bcf887a.html

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 at 7:55 am and is filed under News . Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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EU is "a great bluff"?

• Just posted the latest news on the possibility of the eurozone being put out of its misery by schism.

  
  

  There is a red / blue schism of important factions in the United States. Evans-Pritchard points this out in a recent article. The move of Southern conservatives from the Democratic Party is, as he suggests, the major source of our present gridlock. (Note: the articles but not the blog are behind a pay wall. Currently I am willing to pay it. Evans-Pritchard, the International Business Editor is perhaps the best journalist of our times. I can send links to my Evernote clips upon request.)

  
  

  There is an important biblical principle of government that is involved here. One that Pius XI named and defined as "subsidiariy". More about this in a later post, Lord willing.

  
  

  Jim Batley

  Source of quote of the day cited in earlier post.

  

  France's triumphant 'Joan of Arc' vows to bring back franc and destroy euro - Telegraph

  www.evernote.com

  France's triumphant 'Joan of Arc' vows to bring back franc and destroy euro Marine Le Pen is spoiling for a fight.The leader of France's Front National vows to smash the existing order of Europe and f...

  1: Source: telegraph.co.uk

  Like ·  · Share · Get Evernote · 41 minutes ago via Evernote · 

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  Jim Batley

  Quote of the day. “Europe is just a great bluff. On one side there is the immense power of sovereign peoples, and on the other side are a few technocrats.” – Marine Le Pen, quoted by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at link. A French Margaret Thatcher takes on Euro folly.

  

  Time to take bets on Frexit and the French franc? – Telegraph Blogs

  www.evernote.com

  Time to take bets on Frexit and the French franc? Marine Le Pen.(Photo: EPA) We have a minor earthquake in France.A party committed to withdrawal from the euro, the restoration of French franc, and th...

  1: Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Spiritual Vision

The begotten again human spirit (John 1:12-13).has attributes. We are familiar with eternal life (John 3:16, John 5:24, 1Jo 5:9-13) and the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17), either actual or imputed (Rom 3:24-27).

Spiritual vision also seems to be an attribute of the begotten again human spirit. Sometimes the vision is direct (Act 2:3, Rev 1:12-16), sometimes the vision is mediated by knowledge and understanding of Scripture (Pro 29:18). Both under the law of Moses and in apostolic times special spiritual vision was though special spiritual callings, gifts, and manifestations (1Co 12:4-7). Those revelations which are of special value to us were recorded in Scripture. Spiritual vision through the mediation of knowledge and understanding of Scripture is available to all those begotten again in Christ.

I2C 131013a Spiritual Vision / I2C M1310 / 10/12/2013 9:29 AM 10/13/2013 4:04 PM / Spiritual Vision

Gen 15v17 The First Vision

The entry in Nave for "vision" seems to confirm my notion that the first vision in Scripture is that to Abraham just after he had received imputed righteous by faith (Gen 15:6) and had become the father of all receiving that gift (Rom 5:17), either imputed or actual (Rom 3:24-27), by faith (Rom 4:11-13,16-17). (The "vision" given to Job's friend Eliphaz may have occurred earlier in time but it seems a bit too fuzzy to qualify as a "vision" and the revelation is mostly a rather important spoken message (Job 4:16-21).)

Gen 15:17 KJG And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark (1), behold a smoking furnace (2), and a burning lamp (3) that passed between (4) those pieces (5).

1 - I am reminded of the darkness that occurred when a Man was completely separated from God (Psa 22:1-2, Mark 15:25, 33-34) in order to take away the sins of the World (John 1:29-34). And of the pre-dawn darkness when a rescued sinner went to a tomb to see if she could properly tend to the corpse of her Savior (John 20:1-2,15-17).

2 - The prophesied captivity in Egypt may also be in view (Deut 4:20), but I believe that the primary meaning is the separation of the Son of Man from the Triune God. The description of the lake of fire includes the smoke of the torment of the worshippers of the anti-Christ. The Lamb was there when He took away the sins of the World, having been made both sin and accursed. And He continues to be aware of the torment that He endured for six hours that the begotten again might spend eternity in His presence and not is the place where God and everything good is not (Rev 14:9-11).

3 - The first appearances of the risen Christ were like a lamp burning in the general darkness of contemporary Israel (Isa 62:1 KJG For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.) According to the Geneva notes it is Isaiah who will not rest (while breath remains in him) until these two goals are met. The general spiritual brightness of the holy and spiritual Jerusalem is presently available in the nations of the saved (Rev 21:22-24).

4 - Passing between the halves of a sacrificed animal seems to have been a recognized method of ratifying a covenant (Jeremiah 34:17-20). The lesser party would walk between the halves, thus showing that the penalty for breaking the covenant might be as severe as being cut in two. A prophetic parable illustrates this severe penalty and may apply symbolically to the leaders of Israel in the 70 ad rebellion against Rome (Mat 24:45-51). The remarkable thing about the First Vision is that it is God and not Abraham that passes between the halves of the sacrifices. It is God through the Crucifixion and Resurrection who would pay the price for the covenant breaking of all who are united to Abraham by having like precious faith and the resulting gift of righteousness.

5 - The specific animals (Gen 15:9-10) cut in half have specific applications to the Crucifixion. The split heifer signifies the separation of the Son of Man from the Triune God and the taking away of the sins of the World (Deut 21:1-9). The goat signifies the separation of spirit and soul (Luk 23:46). The ram signifies separation of flesh from bone. (Heb 4:12, Col 2:11). More later, Lord willing.

I2C 131012a Gen 15v17 First Vision / I2C M1310 / 10/12/2013 9:29 AM / Gen 15v17 The First Vision

Rev 1:1 radical notions

For some time I have been entertaining some non-traditional notions about the translation and interpretation of the Bible. Those notions concerning the book of Revelation begin with the first verse.

Rev 1:1 KJG The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Rev 1:1 jvb A revelation belonging (1) to Jesus Christ, which God gives to Him to show to His servants (2) those things which must shortly take place. And he makes these things (3) known (4) by sending an angel (5) of His to His servant John.

1 - This revelation belongs to Jesus Christ since "God gives" it "to Him". This is the sense in context of the genitive which is usually translated "of Jesus Christ". Since the "of" precedes "gives" we too often apply the meanings "from Jesus" or "about Jesus" when the specific sense is clear from context. This ownership of this revelation is important for in various degrees the spiritual visions of the book also belong to those who are begotten again in Christ, those who are members of His body, and those who are gathered in His name.

2 - "His servants" I interpret as those who are under the law of Moses. The apostles were also servants in a similar sense since they were prophets under the law of Moses, as was our Lord, and were to be received as such by those under the law. The generality of Christian believers in the apostolic age do not seem to be considered as servants. The generality seems to be regarded as spiritual babes (Heb 5:12-14) looked after through special spiritual manifestations, gifts, and callings (1Co 12:4-7). With the completion of scripture the babes seem to have become weaned (Gal 4:28-30 with Gen 21:8-10) and, as spiritual toddlers, are somewhat capable of serving.

3 - Most translations, like King James above, assume that what is made known to John through an angel is the entire revelation. One respected translator (Greene, I believe, LITV in E-Sword) omits the inserted "it" and properly allows the mind and spirit of the reader to interpret. The context of Revelation and common sense compel me to somewhat improperly make the "things which must shortly take place" the subject of angelic explanation. (More in a later post, Lord willing.)

4 - Thayer assigns the meaning "make known" to the Greek verb as used in this specific verse.

5 - The method of making known those things which must shortly come to pass is by sending an angelic messenger. This seems to refer to the messages delivered by one of the angels who bore the bowls of wrath. Roman imperial succession in Rev 17:9-11 and the spiritual descent of the holy Jerusalem in Rev 21:9-11. The latter is referred to a later time by most. But I find the determining factors to be the lack of a temple and the condition of those unable to enter (Rev 21:22-27).

I2C 131011a Rev 1v1 radical notions / I2C  M1310 / 10/10/2013 7:37 PM` 10/11/2013 12:52 PM / Rev 1:1 radical notions