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Lets see, it starts with John.
I. It doesn't make sense for anyone other than someone in authority to address a number of churches at a time.
In other words its official correspondence.
1st and 2nd John, although informal and personal, were sent through the same official channels which at this time were already disseminating what we would recognize as the NT, one generation removed from the dilligent commentary that we know as pauline doctrine.
II. For those that are familiar with OT concepts, the word Mahanaim is indicative of an Ekklesia within Genesis, well before the law.
The same concept is present when it comes to the second invasion by Gog, it also refers to the city and encampment of God, the same identical concept.
It also appears repeatedly in the law.
Seven cities are mentioned by name, one church of which didn't exist at the time. Synagogues are another matter.
Paul wouldn't have a problem with seeing the dual existence of both synagogues and gentile churches in the same cities,
Acts attests;
- to the synagogues as staging areas for the setting up of gentile congregations.
- to how many far-flung synagogues were decidedly radical compared to those in Judea.
The same duality makes a hebrew addressee feasable.
III. The word mystery appears for the first time in the first chapter.
Lets see, handling information on a need-to-know basis...
The Temple was a high-security zone with rosters and guards that were authorized to exert lethal force.
Levites didn't need to know the inner workings, only the Kohanim had a need to know what happened behind closed doors;
-enter drunk like Aarons son's and you die.
-get too creative with the established cooking methods and you loose the ark, you also loose that priestly family as a whole in due time.
-kings, you could end up with leprosy.
Josephus relates a situation where the romans almost had to kill every last priest blocking their way in.
Daniel by contrast, shows details that are indicative of an inside job.
Two scenarios where;
- a gentile exerts authority in the worst possible way.
- a non-gentile cultivates an apostatic environment, a following based on their forsaking of the covenat, granting access to the sanctuary.
There is one related apocryphal detail from the past;
WWII was where someone noticed that musicians were adept at pattern analysis. It came in handy when it came to manually cracking codes.
Anyone who has read the bible enough times can tell you that with time;
1. you remember enough details to make links,
2. you uncover thematic subtopics,
3. you learn to impose order on chaotic bits of information, and with time;
4. you gain a certain appreciable, productive, global perspective.
Mysteries do abound in the real world.
Reading a sealed roll is the start, it puts you under the seal, it makes you aware of details, understanding a mystery is ultimately a matter of looking inside.
I. It doesn't make sense for anyone other than someone in authority to address a number of churches at a time.
In other words its official correspondence.
1st and 2nd John, although informal and personal, were sent through the same official channels which at this time were already disseminating what we would recognize as the NT, one generation removed from the dilligent commentary that we know as pauline doctrine.
II. For those that are familiar with OT concepts, the word Mahanaim is indicative of an Ekklesia within Genesis, well before the law.
The same concept is present when it comes to the second invasion by Gog, it also refers to the city and encampment of God, the same identical concept.
It also appears repeatedly in the law.
Seven cities are mentioned by name, one church of which didn't exist at the time. Synagogues are another matter.
Paul wouldn't have a problem with seeing the dual existence of both synagogues and gentile churches in the same cities,
Acts attests;
- to the synagogues as staging areas for the setting up of gentile congregations.
- to how many far-flung synagogues were decidedly radical compared to those in Judea.
The same duality makes a hebrew addressee feasable.
III. The word mystery appears for the first time in the first chapter.
Lets see, handling information on a need-to-know basis...
The Temple was a high-security zone with rosters and guards that were authorized to exert lethal force.
Levites didn't need to know the inner workings, only the Kohanim had a need to know what happened behind closed doors;
-enter drunk like Aarons son's and you die.
-get too creative with the established cooking methods and you loose the ark, you also loose that priestly family as a whole in due time.
-kings, you could end up with leprosy.
Josephus relates a situation where the romans almost had to kill every last priest blocking their way in.
Daniel by contrast, shows details that are indicative of an inside job.
Two scenarios where;
- a gentile exerts authority in the worst possible way.
- a non-gentile cultivates an apostatic environment, a following based on their forsaking of the covenat, granting access to the sanctuary.
There is one related apocryphal detail from the past;
WWII was where someone noticed that musicians were adept at pattern analysis. It came in handy when it came to manually cracking codes.
Anyone who has read the bible enough times can tell you that with time;
1. you remember enough details to make links,
2. you uncover thematic subtopics,
3. you learn to impose order on chaotic bits of information, and with time;
4. you gain a certain appreciable, productive, global perspective.
Mysteries do abound in the real world.
Reading a sealed roll is the start, it puts you under the seal, it makes you aware of details, understanding a mystery is ultimately a matter of looking inside.
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