who are the most influencial theologians currently?

[joshua 1 9]

The only theologian that ever knew all the truth and, therefore, the only one that was ever capable to speak the truth, was the apostle Paul.

Only Moses received all of God's plan of salvation. Nothing has been added to what we learn from Moses. Although Moses does tell us about Jesus and instructs us to listen to Him. "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him."

John 1:17 "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

This is the old and the New covenant. Paul does teach us about this: "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." (Heb 8:6)

 

[ac28]

Only Moses received all of God's plan of salvation. Nothing has been added to what we learn from Moses. Although Moses does tell us about Jesus and instructs us to listen to Him. "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him."

John 1:17 "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

This is the old and the New covenant. Paul does teach us about this: "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." (Heb 8:6)

Moses knew NOTHING about God's plan for us Gentiles as it was hid in God, from every age and generation, until it was revealed to Paul by our Lord and Paul then revealed it to us in his 7 epistles written after Acts. We find in those 7 epistles, only, that our calling is in the highest heaven, where Christ now sits at God's right hand. No one in the other 59 books ever had a calling of Heaven, including Moses and Abraham. Israel's greatest calling was the New Jerusalem, which certainly isn't heaven. It comes down out of heaven and attaches to the New Earth. It is heavenly in nature, though.

 

[joshua 1 9]

Moses knew NOTHING about God's plan for us Gentiles as it was hid in God

If Moses knew it or not ALL of that information is in what He wrote. This is why he was told to be very exact in what he did. I do not believe any doctrine until I look to see what Moses wrote on the subject. We need to understand shadows and types in the Bible. Often it is the pastors that only have two year degrees that can teach on that the best. Even if Moses knew nothing the entire plan of salvation is in just the letters of the Ancient Hebrew language. Now they are saying the entire plan of salvation is in our DNA if we only knew how to discern that information. Some people even say ALL Science Knowledge is contained in the books we received from Moses. I have said if you take the first word in the Bible: "Beginning" if you understood the meaning of this word you would understand all of the Bible and all of the knowledge contained in Science. Although Jesus would say all of the lesson of the Bible is summed up in the word: Love. God had zero tolerance for errors with the Hebrew people.

 

[dms1972]

St. Paul certainly, but I see no reason to reject the other Biblical writers particularly the evangelists. I don't believe God changes in his nature, but I accept there is a progress of revelation, in the Bible.

 

[dms1972]

The only theologian that ever knew all the truth and, therefore, the only one that was ever capable to speak the truth, was the apostle Paul. No one else has ever been a close second. Trust Paul. He's your only apostle and, therefore, is always the last word, whether in the Bible or out of the Bible.

Biblical knowledge is sort of like poker. You can study it all your life and never know much of anything.

St. Paul I agree, but I see no reason to reject the other Biblical writers particularly the evangelists, and pre-eminently Jesus of Nazareth (I suppose one could quibble about him being a theologian, certainly not one in a modern systematic sense) but pre-eminently the one who has knowledge of God and His Kingdom though He communicated it often in Parables. I don't believe God changes in his nature, but I accept there is a progress of revelation, in the Bible.

Your last sentence I don't understand at least your comparing it to Poker, what did you mean?

I'd say we know God through faith and obedience, we know about God through theology.

 

[ac28]

St. Paul I agree, but I see no reason to reject the other Biblical writers particularly the evangelists, and pre-eminently Jesus of Nazareth (I suppose one could quibble about him being a theologian, certainly not one in a modern systematic sense) but pre-eminently the one who has knowledge of God and His Kingdom though He communicated it often in Parables. I don't believe God changes in his nature, but I accept there is a progress of revelation, in the Bible.

Your last sentence I don't understand at least your comparing it to Poker, what did you mean?

I'd say we know God through faith and obedience, we know about God through theology.

Sorry. I meant to say that you can study the Bible all your life and still know nothing. With both the Bible and poker, if you start on the wrong path and continue on that wrong path, you will never know anything that is correct.
And, there are many, many, many wrong paths. There are supposedly 40,000 different denominations in the world and all but 1 (maybe) are on the wrong path. If God is not a liar and not the author of confusion, there can be no more than one correct answer to any question anyone could possibly ask.

All of this is proven every time you hear a mainstream denominational preacher (or, theologian), none of which know any more than 50% of the NT, with no exceptions. This is because they, without exception, fail to obey 2Tim 2:15 and RIGHTLY divide (Correctly cut) God's Word of Truth. As a result, they all falsely teach (and believe) that things given to Israel also belong to the Gentiles. The truth is, that, other than things like Christ, redemption, and salvation, the things belonging to Gentiles are found ONLY in Paul's 7 post-Acts books. Only one single correct cut is needed - at the very end of Acts. That Divides Paul's 7 Gentile books from the 59 all-Israel books. That allows the Gentile to see his real calling is the Highest Heaven where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God (Ephesians) and not the New Jerusalem (Gal, Heb), which certainly is not Heaven. He can also see that his Hope is the Appearing (Col 4:3) and not the rapture (Mt 24, 1Th 4, 1Cor 15) from the all-Israel Acts period. And, a jillion other things. The Acts period was 100% Israel, since every saved Gentile was grafted into Israel, the good olive tree (Jer 11:16).

Every word in the Bible is God-breathed and all the authors knew and wrote what they were inspired to know. Paul's final dispensation, found only in his 7 epistles written after Acts, fulfilled (filled full, completed), the Word of God, Col 1:25. Therefore, it is logical to assume that, since he also knew everything past (everything he taught was from the OT - Ac 26:22) and no one else received the continuous revelations Updates) directly from our Lord that Paul did, Paul had more knowledge than any other human in the Bible, excluding Christ, of course.

 

[dms1972]

I still find the analogy with poker a bit strange, but beginning right I agree with. However I would have some questions about what you are saying.

Mark's Gospel for instance is thought by some scholars to be aimed at Gentile readers, because Mark takes time to explain Jewish customs like hand washing before meals, and the day of preparation.

Sometime I have attempted to pick up the Bible as if I had not read it before, putting aside as much as possible of both religious and secular perceptions. Without questioning its status as the Word of God, in some church circles its more of a religious book, they perceive events in it happened in the religious zone which is kind of a bit removed from our ordinary world, being long ago, and are not even that sure it ever happened, so it becomes religiously true for them. What I am describing is a bit different from the notion of sacred space. But I agree with you even reading the Bible cover to cover doesn't mean we have come to know the LORD.

 

[ac28]

dms1972,

Also, many feel that John is for everyone, because of
Jn 20:31
"but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God ; and that believing ye might have life through his
name."

In any case, though, the only books in the Bible that tells us Gentiles what our specific future holds are Paul's after-Acts books - Eph, Phil, Col, 1&2Tim, Titus, and Phile. That information doesn't exist in the Gospels or in Paul's other 7 epistles.

All 66 books were written FOR us, FOR our edification, reproof, learning, etc., but ONLY Paul's 7 post-Acts epistles are written ABOUT us and directly TO us Gentiles living in this present 2000 year Gentile period, where God is collecting believing Gentiles and those few converted Jews to ultimately reside in the Highest Heaven, where Christ now sits at the right hand of God - compare:
Eph 1:20 (Where Christ ascended to)
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 2:6 (where we will be resurrected to in the Appearing - same place as Christ)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

There are no passages in the other 59 books that would indicate that anyone before Ephesians ever had a calling to this highest Heaven. In the other 59 books, including Paul's Acts epistles, the highest calling is the New Jerusalem, which is not Heaven. It comes down out of Heaven and docks on the New Earth, where I would assume it stays. The Heaven in Ephesians, etc., is the real thing.

The NJ seems to be both an abode and an in-between place for those with celestial bodies, who can travel in the starry heavens or be on earth, pretty much like the angels can. They won't be able to enter the Highest Heaven where we'll be. These will be the people like those in the Acts church, the 12, Abraham, Moses, faithful OT saints, etc. - all Israel or those grafted into Israel. The nation Israel will occupy and will be bound to the New Earth in terrestrial bodies - remember, they were promised the land. They will have eternal life from eating from the tree of life and drinking the pure water that flows from the New Jerusalem. The resurrection of the terrestrial and celestial is well-covered in 1Cor 15:38-48.

The resurrection of us Gentiles, that will occupy the Highest Heaven, is not covered in Corinthians or any of the other 59 all-Israel books, because EVERYTHING in Paul's after-Acts books was hid in God, since the world began until after the Acts period was finished. No where does it say what type body we will have or whether we will even have a body. Christ, in 1Cor 15:45, is said to be a quickening (revitalized; made alive) Spirit and since we, today's Gentiles, are more closely aligned with Christ than anyone else in the Bible (we are His ACTUAL BODY, Eph 5:30, "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones."), I don't think we'll have a body. I think we will be pure Spirit, as Christ is.

 

[dms1972]

I accept this is your view of the scriptures, and its an interesting if bizarre one, but its speculative. For instance who are these entities with celestial bodies like the angels, if not the angels? Believers will have bodies patterned on Christ's glorified body in the Resurrection is what I believe, that doesn't mean we'll be able to do everything. Your last two paragraphs I don't know where your getting that theology, if you want to share from what writer you can? But how did you learn this view? I don't agree with absolutizing any particular schema laid over of the Scriptures, each schema is relative, but the absolute can come to us through the relative. We just have to make sure we don't absolutise that which is relative (man's ideas about God), or relativise that which is absolute. When we make our schema/interpretative grid absolute and demand others adhere to it, it results in sects.

First and Second Corinthians are written by St. Paul (see Corinthians 1:1-2) and written to "all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - their Lord and ours"

But the end of your post about 'pure Spirit' why do you capitalise 'spirit' why not say pure spirits. I disagree in any case for believers will have resurrection bodies. Half the pagan religions affirm some sort of ghostly afterlife, Christianity differs from them in its doctrine of a bodily (but not a natural body) resurrection.

Please don't mind me challenging some of the things you have said, that way we help keep each other close to the scripture. Please search them yourself.

And beware of the leaven of Gnosticism. Neo-gnosticism is attempting to make inroads into Christian, and indeed other religions, because it has no scriptures, therefore it attaches itself to other religions but re-symbolises them. One sign of Gnosticism is it abhors matter, but God doesn't abhor matter, he invented it, God deigned to come to us through the womb of Mary.