The subject of angels has long fascinated mankind, not just believers but unbelievers, and not just dedicated believers bent on spiritual growth, but also those with "itchy ears" for this subject but not necessarily for other teachings of the Bible.
James Chapter 1 Introduction First, the question of authorship of the letter of James. The reasons for believing James to be the Lord's brother are well summarized elsewhere 1 ; his introduction is therefore an essay in humility and not playing on human relationships as a means to assert authority, seeing he does not mention this fleshly relationship: James the Lord's brother being the clear leader of the early church, it would be fitting that at least one of his letters and Hebrews too?
His high position of respect is indicated by Mk. It was not until after James' death that the Gospel mushroomed among the Gentiles, which again points to a basically Jewish readership being catered for.
The Lord's brothers having been sceptical of him during his ministry Jn. Two outstanding characteristics of James are the constant allusions to previous Scripture, especially the Gospels and Proverbs, and the intensely practical understanding of the moment by moment spiritual battle which we all face.
It is worth noting that the most senior brother of the early church scored highly on these points. His humility in calling himself a servant of the Lord Jesus is remarkable- Paul could legitimately lay weight to his reasoning by saying he had seen Christ in the flesh 1 Cor.
James then goes on to define what that joy is: And so we are introduced to the basic theme of James- the machinery of human nature and our evil desires, and how to overcome them. Contrary to how it is often read, the temptations here are spiritual temptations- so the context of the chapter and letter require.
The real temptations in life are to give way to our evil desires; the trials of life like illness or disaster may not necessarily tempt us so strongly in this way.
It is easy to think that 'temptation' refers to these 'physical' trials, and to see those problems as things in themselves to be bravely endured. But whether we lose a leg or miss a bus, the same spiritual temptation of frustration- or whatever- may be presented to each sufferer.
The flesh tends to make a big difference between physical and spiritual temptations; but to God- and James- the spiritual temptations are of paramount importance; whatever physical temptations we have are not for their own sake but to create the situation which our evil desires will use to tempt us spiritually.
For other examples of 'temptation' and trial referring primarily to the spiritual temptations that lie behind the physical trials, see Digression 1. Spiritual temptation James exhorts us to count falling into spiritual temptation as a joy; instead of the 'here we go again We must instead rejoice that here is another opportunity to please God on the highest level possible; to have an evil desire in your heart and to overcome it.
The idea of falling "When ye fall. But there may be some degree to which we fall 2 a little way before we are tempted: There is surely no real temptation if the evil desire appears so unattractive as to not even lead us part way towards realizing it. Thus the devil in the sense of Christ's natural desires Heb.
Our joy at the onset of temptation should be because we know that we have an opportunity to develop permanent spiritual fruit, if only we can respond correctly in those split seconds when the process of being drawn away and enticed is going on.
The trying of our faith due to spiritual temptation is in the sense of our faith that God "is able to keep us from falling" Jude In the moment of temptation, whether it be from an unkind word from someone or irritation at someone's natural characteristics, our joy will be helped by our faith that God will keep us from falling, and will not lead us any further into temptation unless we go on ourselves.
However, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" Rom. Thus the spiritual temptations lead to a testing of the faith developed by the word- perhaps implying that each individual piece of spiritual faith developed by the word is then tested by a spiritual temptation.
Working patience At this point it is worth drawing attention to the remarkable parallels between James 1 and 1 Peter 1 4. The infallible principle of interpreting Scripture by Scripture will therefore allow more light to be shed on much of James 1. Peter's parallel to "the trying of your faith worketh patience" is "Ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: A heavy spirit is more likely the result of prolonged spiritual temptation than physical trials, although these were no doubt the cause of the spiritual tests.
The fire therefore represents the fire of the flesh, a figure which James also uses regarding the tongue as the epitomy of our evil desires 3: It is the constant reaction to spiritual trial that forges an acceptable character, not just the receipt of physical trial, as would be the case if the fire only represented persecution in itself.Lucifer Vs Satan Contrary to mass belief, Satan and Lucifer are two different names and are not the same exact entities.
This is the current misconception that many Bible believers have come to know for many generations already. Lucifer is actually the angel of God that He . The Goodness of God: Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering - Kindle edition by Randy Alcorn. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Goodness of God: Assurance of .
Genesis says the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed Adam and Eve. This was to cover the changes that had happened to their bodies because of their sin, God had to take the life of an innocent animal to cover their sin. Now, since parts of the book admit to using sources, like Numbers talking about the Book of the Wars, Exodus talking about the Book of the Covenant, or Genesis talking about the Book of the Generation, that traditional view has always allowed room for earlier sources. There are some who claim that the Bible, the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, and all the apocryphal scrolls discovered in Qumran, testify of a solar-only calendar.
Angelology: the Study of Angels: Part 2A of Bible Basics: Essential Doctrines of the Bible. Includes The Purpose, Creation and Nature of Angels, Satan's Rebellion and World Rule, The Occasion of the devil's Rebellion and fall from grace, God's Judgment on the Universe, God's Restoration of the Earth, God's Replacement for Satan, Satan and the Fall of Man, The Limits of Satan's World Rule.
Article explains what Pentecost represents and teaches and answers the mysteries of life and the Bible, such as why God allows suffering and why so few are being saved.
It also teaches the true gospel of the kingdom of God and what lies ahead for the United States and the world according to Bible prophecy. I. THE WHOLE TRINITY, each in His separate office, though all in unity, addressed themselves to the work of creation. 1. The Holy Spirit brooded over the watery chaos.
2. The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was that power, or "Arm of the Lord," by which the whole work was executed. [Page ] The similarity in imagery and language between Lehi’s dream and his discourse in 2 Nephi 2 could be interpreted in different ways.
It is possible that Lehi recognized the connection between the dream he had received and the garden of Eden account in Genesis, and this influenced the way he visualized and described the latter.