The following translations are about as close to literal as one can get. The only problem I have is that the masculine plural form for days, yamim, could be a proper noun: in other words emphatic, which could be the reason why the definite article is not attached, (Hebrew proper nouns are already emphatic and do not allow the definite article).

Genesis 4:3 YLT
3 And it cometh to pass at the end of days [yamim] that Cain bringeth from the fruit of the ground a present to Jehovah;

Genesis 4:3 SLT
3 And it shall be at the end of days, [yamim] and Cain shall bring in from the fruit of the earth an offering to Jehovah.

Genesis 4:3 LSV
3 And it comes to pass at the end of days [yamim] that Cain brings from the fruit of the ground a present to YHWH;

The reason I say, and believe, that Yamim is a proper noun here is because of the opening creation account, wherein the gathering of the waters are also called Yamim, surely a proper noun because that is the name Elohim gave them, (Gen 1:10 "Seas" = Yamim), and the plural of yam, (sea), which is this word yamim, is the same as the masculine plural form for days, yamim.

Why is the above important to this discussion? That is because in six yamim YHWH made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and He rested the seventh yom: wherefore YHWH blessed the yom of the Shabbat, and hallowed it.

Thus the six yamim are the Yamim of creation and the seventh yom is the Shabbat.

In Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days [yamim] shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days [yamim] the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Genesis 4:3
3 And it comes to pass at the end of [the] Yamim that Cain brings from the fruit of the ground an offering unto YHWH:

So it is not "the end of days", (like as if the end of the world), but the end of the Yamim, and that would be a proper noun because the six Yamim of creation are special, being the prototype for the ages and most everything else that would eventually follow in the whole of scripture. And what therefore is Gen 4:3 telling us? What is the Logos reasoning? What is the Sod reasoning? Cain and Abel are bringing their offerings either right before the Shabbat or in the Shabbat, and thus, they are observing the Shabbat of creation at the end of the six yamim.

Cain and Abel are observing the Shabbat of creation in this passage.
And the Shabbat will be observed until the end of days.

ROME -- ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

Continued below.

Has President Biden delivered on his promise to restore decency and integrity to the White House? Why or why not?

..to Sunday, or the first day of the week?

Some people claim the Sabbath was changed by the resurrection or say 'I keep Sunday in honor of the Resurrection', or they are told that the Apostles began keeping Sunday as the day of worship after the resurrection, but did they? Did the resurrection somehow make the Sabbath to cease or cause a change in the day of worship?

Worship is the reason for the Sabbath from Creation and it is the only day God ever gave us to worship Him on, so we must be careful we don't change to ideas of men. Christ warned that this would happen...

Matthew 15:9
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Mark 7:7
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

So what should we do, follow what man says and 'traditions' that man comes up with? God gives us is the truth and we find it in His Word..
John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
1 Timothy 2:4
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

If we turn from Gods truth what happens...

2 Thessalonians 2:10
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

It is not safe to refuse obedience to the clear and obvious truths of God’s Word.

Proverbs 28:9
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

So what does it tell us clearly in the Word of God when men come up with changes to what God has given us, or bring in tradition which go against Gods Law.

Acts 5:29
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

So does the resurrection change the day of the Sabbath, what do we have from Gods Word. Well the problem is that God never told anyone to keep Sunday in honor of the resurrection of Christ, or for any other reason. But He decidedly and repeatedly told us to keep holy the seventh day of the week. In Gethsemane on Thursday night and on the cross on Friday morning and afternoon, our salvation hung in the balance. By sundown Friday it was all settled. The price had been paid. The salvation of those who would accept it was assured. Then came the Sabbath day of rest, and Jesus our Lord rested in the tomb.

On Sunday morning, He rose and another work week began. Christ began working again. We see no changes made and if there was something that we should focus on, the resurrection of Christ is in no way as important as is Calvary. Those who wish to abandon a clear command of God to keep the seventh day for another day, might as well say they keep Friday holy in honor of Calvary. But we keep a day holy because God says to, not because man says to do it or we decide to.

Some say that they keep Sunday because it is the "great memorial of our redemption." This is not true. The sign or symbol or memorial of our redemption is the Bible Sabbath. Our keeping of it is the sign by which all men shall know that we belong to God our Creator and that it is He, and not we ourselves, who is saving us from sin and will ultimately redeem us from this evil world. The seventh-day Sabbath is the seal of the law and the sign that He is our Creator.

Exodus 31:16-17
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

And through whom we are sanctified so we may be saved by the Redeemer and stand perfect before God.

Ezekiel 20:12
Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.

Matthew 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

So do we break the Law the Creator wrote with His own finger, and continue in sin..
Romans 6:1
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

The answer is clear, 'God forbid.'

Asking a question in regard to 1 Timothy 2:9-10, which states:

"I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God" (NIV).

How would you define the "dress code", if you will, described in this excerpt?

Do you think churches should have a defined dress code, such as guidance on neckline, skirt/pant length, sleeve length, etc., or do you think the interpretation should be left up to the individual?

Would you confront a woman who you thought may be pushing the boundaries with the way they were dressing in church? What about in public in general? If so, how? (I'm speaking of a fellow believer here, not just any random woman you think is dressed inappropriate.)

If a fellow believer approached you and said a woman in your church was dressing in a manner that caused them to either fall under temptation or to sin, how would you address this situation?

Proverbs 12 (select verses)


We who embrace the discipline of God in our lives, who accept his discipline as necessary, even though painful at the time in which we are enduring it, are those who love the knowledge that comes from God and from his word, who desire to hear from and to be taught by the Lord regarding how we should live and what our lives should be like. We accept that suffering is part of being a follower of Christ, not that we necessarily take pleasure in pain, but we know that through suffering we are being made to be like Christ.

But now this is not saying that everyone who suffers is being made to be like Christ, but those who suffer for the sake of righteousness, for the sake of our faith in Jesus Christ, and for the sake of the truth of the gospel, through what we suffer we are growing to maturity in Christ and we are learning the disciplines of the Lord. And all this is helping us to be more like Christ in character, and to be more Christ-like in our attitudes, and in our disciplines, and in our practices, and in our conduct, and in our speaking, etc.

For when we follow Jesus Christ with our lives in holy living and in walks of obedience to his commands, in practice, and when we are sharing the truth of the gospel, and not the altered and diluted “gospel” that is so popular today, and especially when we call for the forsaking of our sins and for obedience to Christ, and when we expose the fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are, we are going to be opposed. And some of our fiercest opponents may be others who profess faith in Christ, even some pastors.

For whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence of what is right in the eyes of the Lord, and not everyone wants to hear the truth, not even many who also profess faith in Jesus Christ. For so many have gone the way of the world, and so many are listening to and believing in a false altered gospel message which makes no demands for death to sin and for living to righteousness, but which tickles itching ears with smooth-sounding words which are intended to appease human flesh and to attract the ungodly.

And those who are walking according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, cannot please God. And they are not of God, and they don’t know God, according to the Scriptures, if sin is what they obey (practice), and if righteousness, godliness, and obedience to our Lord and to his commands are not what they obey. And so many today are self-indulgent and are living to do what pleases the flesh and not what pleases God, for they want their sin more than they desire God and his righteousness.

And among them are those who hate reproof, which is stupid (foolish), and who are engaged in all sorts of evil devices, who are ensnared by the transgression of their lips, who bear false witness, and for whom lying is second nature to them. They are the deceitful, the sexually immoral, the dishonest, the unfaithful, the disobedient, the manipulative, and those who dishonor God with their lying lips and who abuse other humans and who take advantage of the weak and the naïve who don’t know better.

Now, the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway is no death. And that path involves us being crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in practice. But the path of the wicked is death, and in its pathway is no life. And the wicked are those who practice wickedness (sin, evil, immorality, lying, etc.), even if they profess faith in Christ. So, don’t be fooled by the lies.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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Galatians 5:16 (NASB20)
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘You will not carry out’, it does not say, ‘you will not have’, but you will not carry out’…. For as long as one is in the body one will have desires that are not of righteousness…. How to combat these desires is the issue of life before the believing soul… For God Himself wrote; ‘you will not’, meaning that He has made a way for all believers to walk where they will not carry out the desires of unrighteousness….. This question goes to the heart of the believer’s life, for if one knows how to overcome, combat, get the victory over that which is sure to come in the tomorrows, one would be made most secure in one’s walk before God…

Identifying oneself with Christ by faith in both His death and resurrection is the way put forth by God Himself, if one would, one must walk in the way which God has put forth… ‘Walk by the Spirit’ are the words He uses to put forth the truth of the way to not carry out the desires of the flesh… Here is the heart of the issue, what does ‘walk by the Spirit’ mean…? The answer must be that which causes one to ‘not carry out the desires of the flesh’, all other answers, regardless of how spiritual or Christian or doctrinally correct they might sound, if they do not produce the desired effect they are not that which is meant by the words ‘walk by the Spirit’…

For God is true, scriptures are true, it is man’s seeing into the mystery of ‘walk by the Spirit’ that is the issue before the heart of every believer, for it is finding this answer that establishes one in Christ….

May we all be blessed in the finding of that which establishes, for the answer is for all that would be willing to be as humble as a dead man…..


A fellow follower, Not me

I do believe in prayer and I know it's not necessarily an "ask and you shall receive" sorta deal.
Prayer is about intimacy with God and not using it as some sort of genie in the bottle tactic.
Prayer sometimes is looked upon incorrectly as something you do as a petition to God to get an outcome you want.
The reality is we do not change God in and by prayer but it is we who come out of it changed.

Now onto my scenario.

I'm asking this now because I am able to look back in hindsight and see the outcome clearer than when I was
in the moment and hopeful. I realized that no matter how much I prayed, how earnest, sincere, and genuine it was, or
how faithful even of a person I could have been, nothing was going to change the outcome that came to be.

In other words, I'm a little disturbed that seeing and knowing what I know now, prayer wouldn't have made an ounce of
difference because it was never going to go that way.

Here's what I mean. A year ago, I believed God was doing something special in our little community/church. I was convicted
the Holy Spirit was working and going to grow our group and raise leaders, and continue to develop a core group and foundation
here. I'm going to use made up names for this situation.

I thought to myself if I can be faithful and obey God and follow Him, it is He that will build his church and His Spirit will move
and shape everything that is to happen. So I had prayed about the members and believed they would be a foundational part
of what God was building here and preparing us to do. I prayed for Sally, John, Bob, Jim, and Jane, and other people too.

It turns out few months later, Sally, John, Bob, Jim and Jane, Morris, Donny, and Patty were all moving away due to things we cannot change. Sally moved
hundreds of miles away to pursue further education. John also was assigned to another country from his workplace. Bob also
moved with his wife and kids back to another country to live with his parents. Jim and Jane also moved with their family back
to another country where they originally came from, same goes with Morris, Donny, and Patty. These weren't choices they had an option to stay
or not....they were things they HAD/MUST do and staying here was always just temporary.

Basically, 75% of everyone that used to be here had to move. It was either
work related, family related, or simply their time here was finished (contracts were up etc). So I realized now having known this,
when I look back to a year ago when I didn't know they were all going to move away anyways, I realized no matter how much I would
have prayed, fasted, been faithful to God, believed in the things God was doing here, none of it would have changed a thing because
they were ALL going to move away anyways.

It's not like they got sent away because I or we failed to be faithful and obedient, and failed to repent, fast, and give it our best. If we
had been the perfect Christian like Jesus for 1 year, that wouldn't have changed the fact they were all going to be moving away regardless.
So then prayer wouldn't have changed the outcome.

I just found that kinda interesting and depressing when looking back with the advantage of hindsight because you realize I was sort of
played like a fool not realizing that no matter how much I prayed or how good of believer I was, it was never in the cards and it was always
a dead end.

The group has nearly completely dismantled (I also left but by choice). There is a newer group of members that came in now and of course I know God has an infinite
plan so it's not like one possibility was foiled and now God's plan got screwed up. No. God obviously is in full control and nobody can thwart
his plans so He doesn't need us or me, for His plans to carry on, but He is obviously working still and doing something else (with the reset and
new members that have arrived). I just found this to be eye opening and confusing because it's not like a situation where it could have been
averted such as an accident, tragedy, mishap, poor decisions, timing, etc. No, these moves by Sally, John, Bob, Jim and Jane, Morris, Donny and Patty, were all cemented/arranged ahead of time and they weren't going to be here 100%...I just didn't know that specifically at the time, but I believed we were all here
to be the foundational members/leaders and build this church and raise the community to serve and worship God, be a family in Christ, and glorify Him
in our community.

Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth had just given birth to their son John (John the Baptist). Zechariah then named his son “John,” as God had directed. And then Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying,


Now it seems a bit odd that his son would be born, and then he would speak these words which weren’t spoken about his son, but about the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was in the womb of Mary, who had not yet been born. But when we get to the next section of Scripture it begins to come together.

For Jesus Christ is the promised seed of Abraham. He is Israel. He is the Christ, the Messiah who did come to save his people from their sins. And all who believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith are Israel, whether they are Jew or Gentile by physical birth. So if we belong to Christ, by genuine faith in Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise God made to Abraham and to his seed.

See: [Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; Matthew 12:15-21; John 8:18-19,38-47; Acts 8:34-35; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 9:4-8,25-26; Romans 11:17-25; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 3:7-9,16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Philippians 3:2-3; Colossians 3:12-15; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]

So, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied the coming of the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, but also of the fulfillment of the oath that God made with Abraham and his seed (Jesus Christ). Jesus Christ is our redeemer (both to Jew and to Gentile). He is the horn of our salvation. He is the one who saves us from our enemies – Satan, sin, and death, and all those who are opposed to Christ and to his gospel message, some of whom profess faith in Jesus Christ but who do not live for him, in truth.

And the whole purpose of our salvation is not just so we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die, which is what so many are falsely teaching. Jesus died on that cross to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we might now serve him without fear of the enemy, and in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. This is taught us all throughout the New Testament writings. But if we choose to continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in obedience to Christ, we do not have the hope of eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]


Now Zechariah is speaking to his newborn son, John. For this was the calling of John the Baptist to be the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” For John came as a witness, to bear witness about the light (the Christ), that all might believe through him. And John said about himself that “for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And he said, “I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God” (Isaiah 40:3-5; John 1:6-7,22-36).

So Zechariah was also prophesying about his son and his son’s calling of God to go before the Lord Jesus to prepare his ways. And John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. And repentance is not merely a verbal confession of sin nor a mere change of mind from unbelief to believing in Christ. The repentance of the Scriptures has to do with a change of mind and heart resulting in a change of attitude, belief, and practice (behavior). It involves leaving our lives of sin behind us to now follow our Lord in obedience.

For this is why Jesus came to the earth and took on human form and eventually was put to death on a cross for our sins. And by faith in him we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign any longer in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to God, that will lead to death, not to life eternal, regardless of what our lips profess.

[see noted Scripture references above]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Will Christ condemn us?
What will happen to use when being judged by Christ?

BREAKING: Georgia Gov. Kemp's legal staff has notified Ga Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that 17,852 invalid 2020 votes were counted in Fulton County, GA, alone. A public meeting will be held next week at the Georgia State Capitol building.

Dec 15, 2023
8.6M Views

https://x.com/LeadingReport/status/1735768652681445774?s=20

Hi,

After observing the life of christians what can we expect from God ?
We all want to expect this from God, we follow him, He blesses us like what the prosperity Gospel teaches, yes God can give us this no doubt, some christian lifes are like this. But when we observe the lives of christians we know it seems not always the case.

Maybe we should expect nothing from God?
Let Him give what He wants and than we deal with it ? Idk ?
Or ask God what you want and see what God will do ? But be realistic, you might not receive what u asked for, at least u asked God ? For example healing, no persecution life, wealth etc whatever you want to ask.


Br,

Thompson told CTV News Toronto that her decision to end her life was primarily “a financial consideration” due to her strained circumstances, not to fulfill her wish to die.

"WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States experienced a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness to its highest reported level as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, federal officials said Friday.

About 653,000 people were homeless, the most since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. The total in the January count represents an increase of about 70,650 from a year earlier."


There's a lot more within this article for anyone willing to read a little deeper. I look forward to any and all comments about the topics within this article from the Associated Press.

Not believe... but do.

While you are enjoying your salvation... you still have s life to live.

What do you do as a Christian in life... what do your days look like?
What specifically Christian things do you do? And your life in general... How do Christians live?

Should it be after marriage or months into the dating stage or when they are about ti get married?

Long story short, my wife and I are a young couple in our early 30s. We have a 7 year old son and have been tremendously blessed so far in our lives. We are completely aware of the Lords hand on our life and all the mountains He has moved to get us this far. My wife’s sister has two young children that are in a bad situation. The mother is on drugs and the children are being neglected. We have plenty of proof and are willing to take these children into our home. We have plenty of room and the children have both expressed not wanting to live with their mother anymore. They are both young (5 and 7), so hearing them express dissatisfaction with their living circumstances is absolutely alarming. One of the little girls has type one diabetes. The mother is barely doing enough to manage to keep her alive. Everyone knows she is on drugs. We are planning on confronting her in about a weeks time with an ultimatum. We are ready to do whatever it takes to get the children into our care. We are the only family they could go to. My wife is seriously struggling with many different negative emotions regarding this. Betrayal, hurt, agony, anxiety etc. We strongly believe the Lord is going to work a miracle on behalf of these children to get them out of this situation. We desperately ask for your prayers for the Lord to open this door so we can protect these children and secure their future.

Some folks on this forum like to toss a variation of saying attributed to Alexander Hamilton - "if you believe in nothing, you'll fall for anything". I've been observing over the last 30 years that the opposite tends to be true. This especially seems to be the case when it comes to conspiracy theories. A recent YouGov poll on that subject had some very interesting results.

The only CT embraced by a greater number of Democrat respondents was for a belief that top Republicans were sex-trafficking children. 28% D vs. 17% R. A belief that top Dems are doing to the same was embraced by 14% of Ds, but 42% of Rs. Overall the two most embraced CTs were the JFK assassination and a secret cabal running things.

For those interested in how scripture is used in the Church I recommend reading Dei Verbum
DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION
ON DIVINE REVELATION
DEI VERBUM
SOLEMNLY PROMULGATED
BY HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON NOVEMBER 18, 1965

And I offer a few sections as starters for the thread.

1. Hearing the word of God with reverence and proclaiming it with faith, the sacred synod takes its direction from these words of St. John: "We announce to you the eternal life which dwelt with the Father and was made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we announce to you, so that you may have fellowship with us and our common fellowship be with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:2-3). Therefore, following in the footsteps of the Council of Trent and of the First Vatican Council, this present council wishes to set forth authentic doctrine on divine revelation and how it is handed on, so that by hearing the message of salvation the whole world may believe, by believing it may hope, and by hoping it may love.

CHAPTER I
REVELATION ITSELF

2. In His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature (see Eph. 2:18; 2 Peter 1:4). Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (see Col. 1;15, 1 Tim. 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14-15) and lives among them (see Bar. 3:38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself. This plan of revelation is realized by deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them. By this revelation then, the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation. (2)

CHAPTER III
SACRED SCRIPTURE, ITS DIVINE INSPIRATION AND INTERPRETATION

11. Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (see John 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.(1) In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him (2) they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, (3) they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted. (4)

Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings (5) for the sake of salvation. Therefore "all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, for reformation of manners and discipline in right living, so that the man who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind" (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Greek text).

I hope you will visit the link I gave and read the document for yourself, it is not too long. Print it out and take your time. Whatever you do, please do not quote some very short passage from the document and treat it as if it were a definitive and complete statement of the doctrine of Scripture.

I don't think so.

Leviticus 12:

7b “ ‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. 8 But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ”

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Jesus' parents couldn't afford a lamb, Luke 2:

22 And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”), 24and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

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At the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, he told the rich young man in Matthew 19:

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

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At the time, Jesus would not have much personal possession. He preached what he did.

Jesus' ministry itself wasn't rich either. After Mary anointed Jesus' feet, the ministry's money bag holder/accountant complained in John 12:

4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ”

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A year's wages were a lot of money to Jesus' ministry.

At the time of Jesus' death, he didn't have much either as John took up the responsibility for Jesus' mother in John 19:

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

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Was Jesus rich or poor?

From the numerical monetary perspective, at the time of Jesus' ministry, he lived the lifestyle of a minimalist.

Yes, technically an "opinion" piece on Fox News, but directly relevant to both the season and discussions on recent TV and radio shows.

Hi, I am new to be here. Nice to meet you all. I am a servant of God from Myanmar (former Burma). Pastoring and evangelizing to the unreached people.
Can I share my ministry to here?

Blessings,

I found a message in Ezekiel that refers to 390 days and years of Israel's iniquity.
Verses 4 to 6 state that the day/year principle is at work.
My question is; has this period been determined, does it correspond to the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem?
Where does it start and end?
Let me know what you think.

Jeremiah 7:

21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.

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But he did, right?

23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

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This kind of negative speaking was an example of the Hebrew concept of limited negatives.

It was not to be understood absolutely but relatively. New International Version:

For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices,

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NIV added the word "just" to reflect this concept of negative comparative.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown explained:

The negative in Hebrew often supplies the want of the comparative: not excluding the thing denied, but only implying the prior claim of the thing set in opposition to it. "The mere sacrifice was not so much what I commanded, as the sincere submission to My will gives to the sacrifice all its virtue" [Magee, Atonement, Note 57].

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Similarly, Matthew Poole's:

As to the meaning of the words, God doth not condemn them, or deny them, save only comparatively in respect of obedience, not so much these as obeying his commands. Negatives are often put for comparatives, Genesis 45:8 Exodus 16:8 John 5:45. Hence the Hebrew is, the matter of burnt-offerings; for sacrifices were not instituted for themselves, but for other uses, and to be signs of faith in his promises, and obedience to his commands.

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