St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 11, The Vision: Elias and the Restoration.

Our paragraph topic is:  (On the coming of Elias) Part 3.  

The disciples posed a question to Christ about the teachings of the Pharisees. They were taught that Elias must come first before the end. They believed that when Elias comes then the end is near.  There was conflict in their minds.  There was an understanding that needed to be had that was not forthcoming.  There was a sense of things that needed to be made sense of and they did not have that sense of knowing.   After seeing the vision of Christ with Moses and Elias they needed to have a sense of understanding.  As they came down from the mountain it all began to hit them as to what they had seen and heard.

It was a puzzling experience.  The voice of God the Father said to them that they should hear Christ.  In their efforts to hear him, they had to make sense of what they had heard and seen and experienced.  For this reason they believed that the great and dreadful day of the Lord was upon them.  They were taught that the Lord would bring fire upon the proud and the wicked upon that day.  On that day fire would be set to the wicked and there would be no root or branch but only dust.  And those who fear the Lord shall tread down the wicked and leap like calves of the heard.  These were the thoughts of the disciples as they tried to make sense of what they had experienced.  And they were in fear of the coming of that day and the coming of Elias.  So they asked Jesus, if that day was upon them, where was Elias.  But he answered and said, "Elias" indeed is to come and will restore all things."   

People today would describe fear and False Evidence Appearing Real.  In other words, our emotional reaction is based upon false evidence that is not real but only appears real.  And our reaction to that evidence is not justified.  We live in a world where our fears are minimized.  We are led to believe that we should not be afraid, that we should not fear being robbed, or raped, or shot by a stranger or bombed by a terrorist.  We are led to believe that we should live free of fear and terror and danger and unexpected events that would cause us harm.  We believe in a free society, protected from the danger.  In other parts of the world freedom is not so espoused as in the USA. 

We go about our lives without the fear of the Lord and the coming judgment.  God is love and his love fulfills all our needs.  We search, in this world, for those things that would fulfill us and make us happy but we discover that, that fulfillment is only temporary.  Even love, as we know it, is temporary.  Because our love is based in the physical realm it is only temporary.  Spiritual love is everlasting and comes from God, for he is love.  He fulfills all and completes the need and desire for love.  Yet we live in a society, in a world, that would have us believe that we can have the desires of our hearts.  We live in a world that would have us believe that we are protected and provided for through our own efforts.  We have nothing to fear.  We should live and love and enjoy and have fun to satisfy our hearts desires and pleasures.  And there is nothing to fear, there is no fear of the Lord's judgment.

Our God is a God of love and he loves us because he created us in his image and likeness, an image of love.  To protect us and to provide for us he gave us the commandments to keep us from harm.  For he is the ultimate judge.  Before Adam and Eve sinned God proclaimed that they should not eat of the forbidden fruit.  And if they did then they would die.  Satan tempted them, based upon the logic of the physical mind, into believing that they would not die even though he knew that they would lose their souls and die spiritually.  And the judgment was final.  Only a propitiation would annul the punishment and bring back the spiritual life that was lost.  God is love and he loves mankind.  But there is evil in the world that would have man die spiritually and loose his soul forever.

Christ became the sacrifice in order to annul the sin and give back spiritual life eternal.  Do you know the truth of who you are in Christ?  Do you know the truth of who you are spiritually?  There is a gift waiting for you.  Come, you can discover who you really are, only if you look.  Christ wants you to know who you are.  The Holy Spirit wants to live with you, guide you, protect you, provide for you.  Come!  Seek the truth of who you are in Christ.  Christ loves you and so do I.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 10, The Vision: The coming of Elias.

Our paragraph topic is:  (On the coming of Elias) Part 2.  

They had witnessed the vision of Christ.  They had seen the vision of Moses and Elias.  They were puzzled by what they had seen and what they had heard.   And yet the disciples knew that they had witnessed a great miracle.  God the Father had spoken to them.  He had  instructed the disciples to listen and hear his son.  He had given them the proof that they needed to believe in Christ through the visions they had witnessed.  So they pondered within their minds the answers as to what they had seen and heard.  But Christ warned them not to speak of it.  He told them not to say what they had seen and heard until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

The sacrifice had to be completed.  The mission had to be finished.  The debt had to be paid so that mankind would be redeemed.  And what they had witnessed must be kept secret until that time.  The disciples were puzzled.  There were questions in their minds.  There were burning answers that needed solutions.  And they did not know how to proceed without answers to those questions.  For they had been taught from childhood by the Pharisees the scriptures of their religion.  They had been drilled as to the passages and the words that were passed down from old.  So they questioned Christ as to the correctness of what they had learned.   And the disciples asked him, saying, " Why then do the Scribes say that Elias must come first? "

Christ had taken three of his disciples up to the mountain that they may experience for themselves the truth of who he was.  He wanted them to know with all certainty that he was the Messiah, the Son of the Father.  So they were there to witness for themselves what they would hold within until the sacrifice had been made and the mission completed.  They asked for understanding.  They sought to know the truth of what they were taught and what they believed.  Christ spoke to them about the raising from the dead, an expression that they did not understand.  And today we ask that same question.

Will we die at the end our last days on earth?  Will we sleep for an eternity when our time comes, only to be awakened at the final call?  What will happen in the end?  Do we go to heaven now and wait for the final judgment to come?  Many have gone beyond death and returned to tell of what lies beyond.  Many have experienced the horrors of hell and come back to warn us of what we will face if we continue in our evil ways.  Does that deter us?  Does that turn us around?  There are many lost souls in the world that do not know the truth.  The message is out there.  We hear it being proclaimed in the background but do not listen.  We have some knowledge of what we are to do to avoid judgment but fail to do it.  We are weak.  We are misled.  We are influenced by the temptations of the world, born into a world destined to lead us away from the truth.

Looking back  on my life, I was lost.  I was misled.  I was caught up in the whirlwind of the world thinking that I had to compete, I had to succeed, I had to win the prize.  Little did I know that I was on the road to destruction.  And if I continued on that road, I would loose my soul and the life that had been given me by the sacrifice made by Christ.  I am grateful that he held on to me.  I am thankful that he gave me life.  I am blessed that he did not give up on me.  Now I know who I am.  Now I have found my treasure.  Now I know with certainty that I am a child of God and my father loves me.  And now I can see me through the veil of the physical and know me for who I am. 

If you are reading this message, come follow the path that is laid before you.  You will find peace.  You will find joy.  You will find happiness.  And you will find the truth of who you are in Christ, here and now.  Be certain.  Be knowing.  Be loved.  Christ loves you, the Holy Spirit will lead you, and God the Father will protect you.  May the gift of God be in your heart.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!  

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 9, The Vision: Jesus Cautioned them

Our paragraph topic is:   (On the coming of Elias) Part 1. 

They had been to the mountain top and back.  They had seen a  vision.  The disciples had witnessed the transfiguration of Christ.  They saw Moses and Elias, their great leaders.  What were they to believe?  What were they to do?  What they to say?  They were filled with excitement.  They were filled with joy.  And then they heard the voice of God the Father speaking to them about his son, Jesus Christ.  Their minds and their bodies were filled with the good news that they were going to share with their fellow disciples and all of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

They were in a state of ecstasy.  How would you feel?  What would you think?  What would you say if you had such a vision?  Who would believe you?  What would people say if you told such a thing?  Would they believe you?  Would they criticize you?  Would they call you crazy?  Would they stone you or behead you or put you in a cell and throw away the key?  Would they believe that you have lost it and live in a fantasy world of make believe?  But you are a disciple of Christ and the people need to know what happened to you.  Christ warned his disciples not to speak of the vision until after the sacrifice.   And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus cautioned them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one, till the Son of Man has risen from the dead."

People do not believe in visions today.  You have to be crazy or out of touch with society when you talk about seeing things that are out of the ordinary, things that others have not seen.  And when you tell someone the things that you have seen, you have to have some sort of proof for them to believe that you have witnessed these things.  They will not believe without the proof.  You will be laughed at, ridiculed, called names, isolated, and made to feel different from everyone else.  And who wants to be different?  Who wants to be alone and outside? 

This is why Christ told his disciples to tell no one of the vision.  He did not want them to face the ridicule and scorn of the enemy.  For evil was lurking in the shadows, waiting for every opportunity to pounce upon the disciples and scatter them to the four winds.  The enemy was waiting for the opportunity to belittle the disciples and to decrease their influence among the people so that the people would not follow Christ.  So he told them not to talk of it.  He told them to keep it among themselves until the sacrifice was made.  He told them not to share it with anyone until they had proof of his resurrection from the dead.

If we had proof of the living God today, would all believe?  Would all follow if God sent a sign to show all that he exists?  Evil would not allow us to believe.  Evil would convince our reasoning to come up with something that would explain what we witnessed or saw, or thought that we believed.  And yet it is not for us to make people believe.  It is not for us to convince people that there is a God who loves them.  It is not for us to make people follow and believe in God.  How do you convince a person who does not want to be convinced?  How do you persuade a person who does not want to be persuaded?  We each have to want to know, want to believe, want to find, want to accept God in order for him to come into our lives. 

And so the visions, the miracles, the love, the protection, and all the blessings that come from our heavenly father are for those who seek to know.  For evil would have us without knowledge.  Evil would have us without belief.  Evil would have us dead and unaware of the love that our heavenly father has for us.  So, I can not persuade you to believe if you do not want to believe.  I can not tell you of the miracles that have been worked in my life if you do not want to hear.  I can not make you understand the love and protection and the provisions that God has provided me, if you do not want to understand.  I can only write.  For it has been given me to write.  It has been given to me to write freely what I have read and what I understand from my bible experience.  What was freely given to me from those readings I give to those who want to know.  I give freely to those who seek, even as I have sought.   I give what those readings have done for me.  

God is love.  He created man in his image and likeness.  He gave us life that we may know the awe and the mystery of his love.  I pray that you may know his love.  I pray that you may experience his protection and his provisions.  I pray that you may come to know his wisdom.  For the love that he has shown me, I pray that you may come to know.  And when you know his love, you will understand.  Come! Follow the path.  Read what has been laid out before you and you too will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Christ loves you and so do I.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in! 

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses:7-8, The Son of God: Jesus consoles them.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus transfigured) Part 6.
     
The disciples heard the voice of God and they were afraid.  Out of the cloud came a loud voice that spoke to them.  These were simple men.  They were not scholars.  They were not men of learning, men of power, men of stature in the community, but only simple fishermen, simple farmers, and common laborers.  But Christ chose them to be his followers.  They followed him because he had charisma.  They followed him because he had an aura about him that commanded their allegiance.  Christ cured the sick. He made the lame walk. He opened the eyes of the blind.  He even gave the disciples temporary power to do the same miracles that they saw him perform.  And they followed him because they came to love him.

But when the father spoke to them they became fearful.  They bowed their heads in fear for their lives.  They had not heard such a voice before.  They did not know if they were doomed or if they should rejoice.  Fear came upon them and took hold of them.  Fear opened the door and would have allowed evil to enter.  Fear prepared them for what they considered would be the end.  Yet this was the voice of their father speaking to them.  Hear him, he told them.  Hear Christ he told them.  Hear his words, hear his deeds, hear his actions, hear his presence.  But when the voice ended there was only Christ left for them to see.  There was only Christ left for them to hear.  There was Christ left for them to believe.  And Jesus came near and touched them, and said to them, “Arise and do not be afraid."  But lifting up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.   

Jesus told them, "Do not be afraid."  He told them as he did in many other situations to not be afraid.  He tells us today to not be afraid.  We fear what we do not understand.  We fear what we do not know.  We fear what we can not comprehend.  We are fearful creatures.  There are many things in this world that would cause us to open ourselves to fear.  But why should we be afraid?  Some would say that fear is good because it is a natural emotion built into our defense mechanism that protects us from harm.  We fear harm to our bodies.  We fear loss of life.  We fear loss of possessions, loss of love, loss of happiness, loss of material things, we are afraid of many things in this world.  This is only because we do not have the spiritual understanding that knows no fear.  Christ tells us not to fear.  He tells us not to worry.  He tells us to be happy because we have a father that will protect us from all harm.  It is one thing to believe but it is an even better thing to know with certainty. 

Yet we continue to fear because we do not believe, because we do not know.  We do not know who we are.  We have no idea of our spiritual nature within us because we only judge by our physical beings.  Fear limits us.  Fear controls us.  Fear commands us to act.  Fear closes the door to the opportunity for us to know who we truly are in Christ.  God created us in his image and his likeness.  He gave us dominion over this earth, over this realm, over the material world.  Adam chose for all men to give that dominion to Satan when he chose to be disobedient to God.  But Christ came and gave to all men, individually and collectively, the choice to decide for themselves if they want life or if they want death.

Spiritual life is a wonderful gift to have.  And life is as precious as freedom itself.  How do you know freedom if you have never been without?  How do you know life if you have never been without it?  How do you know death if you have never experienced life?  For he who is dead does not have life but only a dream.  And it is a dream that you wake up from and realize that you are dead.  In our life's dream we are given signs that tell us of our death.  We see death as though it were real life and true spiritual life as though it were a dream, something far off, something that may or may not exist but only in our imaginations. 

For those who seek to know life, Christ gave us the key.  He told us in his words how to experience life.  He spoke to us about the key to unlock death and open the door to eternal life, eternal life that we can see and experience and know with certainty, here on earth.  But we must awaken from the sleep of death.  We must open our eyes and see that we are asleep.  Once awake we can then seek the truth of life itself through Christ.  Some will balk at the idea of being told what to do.  Some will yield to the voice of disbelief and go back to sleep reasoning with the mind of the world.  But for those who seek, the door is open, the path is waiting for you to follow, the light shines at the end of the tunnel.  Come!  Find your treasure.  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  The eye is the lamp of the body.  See the truth within yourself and gain the knowledge of the Holy Spirit within you.  Christ loves you and so do I.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!