What is the meaning of blameless as related to deacons?

What is the meaning of blameless as related to deacons?

While our AV reads "blameless" in the requirements for both the overseers (1 Timothy 3:2)" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 3:2) and the deacons (verse 10), the words are slightly different. For overseers, being blameless means that no one can sustain an accusation against their character. Deacons are blameless in a different sense. They have experience in their spiritual work before being entrusted with deacon responsibility. Having proven themselves by doing that work in a way that no one could even raise an accusation against their conduct, they then serve as deacons. Deacons need moral characteristics for their work, but "being found blameless" seems to emphasize the way they handle lesser responsibilities, as their conduct and capability gain the confidence of their fellow-believers. "And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless."

D. Oliver

Other pages in this section

About this site

How can an assembly deal with damaging rumors about an assembly believer?

How can an assembly deal with damaging rumors about an assembly believer?

Apart from a personal confession, the Old Testament principle of "two or three witnesses" (Deuteronomy 17:6)" TARGET="_blank">Deuteronomy 17:6) applies in all assembly matters. An assembly can't act on rumors.

"Two or three witnesses" does not include two or three stories about similar incidents. Each incident must have "two or three witness" to receive consideration. In the case of drunkenness, for instance, elders would need to verify sufficient incidences of this kind before guiding the assembly to put away the individual.

In the case of serious but unsupported rumors, the assembly can take no action. The overseers would help the individual by visiting him and helping him to understand that he is responsible for the appearance of wrongdoing in his life (Romans 12:17" TARGET="_blank">Romans 12:17b). If anything he is doing contributes to these rumors, even though the rumors are not accurate, he would be wise, safe, and godly to make changes so that no one would even consider repeating such obvious lies.

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

Why did God the Father, rather than Jesus, deliver the Book of Revelation to John?

Why was the Revelation given by the Father rather than by Jesus Christ Himself (Revelation 1:1)" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 1:1)?

The Revelation is given by God, Who, of course, we understand in this passage, is the Father.

The defining portrait of the Lord Jesus in the Revelation is "One like unto the Son of Man" (1:13; 14:14). As such, He has authority to execute judgment (Joh 5:27)" TARGET="_blank">Joh 5:27) and to extend God’s rule throughout God’s creation (Heb 2:6-8)." TARGET="_blank">Heb 2:6-8). The Revelation gives us the course of events leading to this fulfillment, when the word comes from the throne, "It is done" (Rev 21:6)." TARGET="_blank">Rev 21:6).

In His role as the Son of God and as the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus always moves in subjection to His Father and in dependence on His God, respectively. Because He is God, the Lord had full knowledge of all these events and He did not lack the ability to communicate them. We cannot but worship when we see Him always acting within the role entrusted to Him.

When it was God’s purpose to strengthen His people and enable them to be true to the soon-coming Sovereign, He committed that communication to Jesus Christ, the ascended Man. His role, as Son of God and Son of Man is to communicate. As His God and Father, God’s role is to determine what, when, and how to communicate.

D. Oliver

Other pages in this section

About this site

Can an overseer withdraw from the oversight?

Can an overseer withdraw from the oversight?

Genesis 2" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 2 and 3 indicate that God has invested us with the power to choose. He allows us to choose, whether our choice is right or wrong, and deals with us on the basis of our choices. A brother may therefore choose to withdraw from his responsibility as an overseer. Either the Lord entrusted him with that responsibility (Acts 20:28)" TARGET="_blank">Acts 20:28) or he assumed it himself. In either case, he will answer to his Lord for the state of the flock (Heb 13:17" TARGET="_blank">Heb 13:17b).

The Lord has promised to give sufficient spiritual strength (1Co 12:9)" TARGET="_blank">1Co 12:9) and physical endurance (1Ti 4:10," TARGET="_blank">1Ti 4:10, "the Preserver of all men," JND) for the work He entrusts. He intends to refine him by means of every trial (Heb 12:9-11)" TARGET="_blank">Heb 12:9-11) He allows. These truths seem to remove most reasons a man could give for withdrawing.

On the other hand, a man’s fellow elders may discern that he is discouraged because of his own failings, family or assembly difficulties, or disappointments regarding assembly practices or even principles. In this case, he needs care and encouragement from the other elders. Shepherds should shepherd shepherds.

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

Did Matthew misquote Jeremiah and Zechariah?

In Matthew 27:9-10," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 27:9-10, the writer ascribed to Jeremiah the well known prophecy of Zechariah 11:12-13." TARGET="_blank">Zechariah 11:12-13.
Please explain why he did so.

Was Matthew as a pious Jew, long in the companionship and service of our Lord, and a man of apostolic gifts, likely, quite apart from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to confuse the prophets Jeremiah and Zechariah? Here he was engaged under the direct guidance of the Spirit, in writing a book which was to live down the ages, and which he, as a mere man, was perfectly incapable of producing. Infidels have foolishly boasted sometimes that they could write as good a book as the Bible. They ought to do it then, for it would pay them well. It would be a “best seller” for years. Matthew plainly was familiar with Zechariah, as his quotation in Matthew 21:4-5" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 21:4-5 shews, and could not have confused the books, even with his own intelligence alone.

The probable explanation is the one cited by Lightfoot, that Jeremiah, as considerably the longest of the prophets, had the first place among them, and so his name came to be used for the volume of the prophetical writings. He quotes the learned David Kimchi as his authority. We often speak of the Psalms ofDavid, without affirming he wrote them all. There is another explanation which may also be the true one. The expression, “spoken by Jeremy the prophet,” may refer to some well known word of the prophet, just as Paul in Acts xx refers to words of our Lord: “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” which are not recorded in the Gospels. The quotation of Matthew does not agree exactly either with the Hebrew or LXX of Zechariah 11." TARGET="_blank">Zechariah 11. Sometimes the prophets did receive messages as to the same events in almost identical language. Supposing, for instance, some New Testament writer had quoted Micah 4:1-3," TARGET="_blank">Micah 4:1-3, and it had not been recorded that Isaiah had said the same words in chapter 11:2-4 of his prophecy, and we had read that the well-known words of Micah “were spoken by Isaiah the prophet,” how eagerly critics would have seized upon it as a mistake! Of one thing we may be sure, Matthew, an inspired apostle, chosen of God for this wonderful ministry, did not make a mistake.
W.H.

Other pages in this section

About this site

Is John the Baptist the same as Elijah?

What was the Lord saying about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:14" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 11:14?

The Lord pointed to the past and present when He said, "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." From the past, He combined two prophecies, both in Malachi. In verse 10, He quotes His promise that He will send His messenger to prepare the way before Him (Malachi 3:1)." TARGET="_blank">Malachi 3:1). Now in verse 14, He informs us that the prophet Elijah whom the Lord of Hosts would send "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord" (4:5) is His messenger mentioned in the previous prophecy. As to the present, the Lord states the one condition which determines if John fulfills these two prophecies: literally, "if ye will receive." The context indicates what they were to receive. The Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah reached their terminus in John (Mat 11:13)." TARGET="_blank">Mat 11:13). If they recognized who John was, they would receive His message. That is why the Lord immediately refers to their responsibility to heed what they heard ("He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" v 15). Yet they were like the children who heard the mourning, but didn’t lament (v 16). By not recognizing John’s authority, they wouldn’t and couldn’t recognize Christ’s (21:24-27).

Gabriel had told Zecharias that John would go before the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elias"; he then referred to Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah (Mal 4:5, 6)." TARGET="_blank">Mal 4:5, 6). John was not a reappearance of Elijah, but was a prophet whose might and mission was the same as Elijah’s. In Matthew 17," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 17, the disciples understood that the Lord was speaking about John (v 13) when He said two seemingly contradictory things about Elijah. The Lord said, "Elias indeed comes first and will restore all things" (v 11); that is the prescribed order of Malachi’s prophecy, but John is now dead and the restoration must await a future "Elias." "The crooked" had not been "made straight" (Luke 3:5;" TARGET="_blank">Luke 3:5; Isaiah 40:4)," TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 40:4), nor had John’s ministry restored "all things." Why? "Elias is come already, and they knew him not" (v 12). On God’s part - and John’s - John had fulfilled the prophecies. On the nation’s part, they had rejected him and his message of repentance. In the future, God will yet fulfill the prophecy of sending "My messenger," the Elijah to come. Then, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power" (Psa 110:3), and the future prophet ("in the spirit and power of Elijah," see Revelation 11:3-7)" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 11:3-7) will present a people restored to Him "before that . . . day of the Lord."

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

How large did Jacob's family grow in Egypt?

If Jacob's family "increased abundantly" (Exodus 1:7)" TARGET="_blank">Exodus 1:7) in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40)," TARGET="_blank">Exodus 12:40), wouldn't their population have been much more than 2 million?

When they arrived in Egypt, the descendants of Jacob numbered 70 (Exodus 1:5)," TARGET="_blank">Exodus 1:5), not counting Joseph and his two sons, or the family's marriage partners. The "population growth rate" from the time Jacob received his wives was at least 7%. With only a 5% rate of growth, the population after 430 years would be almost 200 million.

This is one reason to take another look at the 430 year figure in Exodus 12:40." TARGET="_blank">Exodus 12:40. This figure and the 400 years of sojourning and persecution in Genesis 15:13" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 15:13 must be understood with Paul's figure of 430 years from the promise of blessing through Abram's Seed until the giving of the law (Galatians 3:17)." TARGET="_blank">Galatians 3:17).

If we identify the beginning point of this period with Genesis 12:1-7," TARGET="_blank">Genesis 12:1-7, Abram was 75. 25 years takes us to the birth of Isaac (21:5), 60 more years to the birth of Jacob (25:26), and an additional 130 years to Jacob's arrival in Egypt (47:9). That's 215 years (25 + 60 + 130).

A 5% growth rate for the remaining 215 years of the total 430 years comes to around 2.5 million, a more reasonable figure. The following figures lend support to this.

According to Exodus 6:16-20," TARGET="_blank">Exodus 6:16-20, 4 generations (see Genesis 15:16)" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 15:16) span the time from Jacob's entering Egypt until the Exodus: Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses. Since Moses was 80 at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 7:7)," TARGET="_blank">Exodus 7:7), that brings the total years to 295.

When Jacob entered Egypt at 130, Joseph was 39. He had become governor at 30 (Genesis 41:46)," TARGET="_blank">Genesis 41:46), and after 7 years of plenty, his brothers came for corn in the second year of famine (45:6). Joseph was born, therefore, when Jacob was 91 (130 minus 39), at the end of Jacob's 14 years of service for Rachel and Leah (30:25; 31:38). At the time of Joseph's birth, Jacob had been married to Leah 7 years (29:21-22,25); he was 84 when married. Levi was Leah's third son, so Jacob would have been about 87 at Levi's birth. Levi, then, was 43 years old (130 minus 87) when he moved down to Egypt. Kohath had been born already (46:11), but would not likely have been 23 - likely closer to 3. His son Amrarn was born sometime in the next 110 years, since Kohath died at 133 (Exodus 6:18)." TARGET="_blank">Exodus 6:18). Amram died at 137 (6:20), so the time between entering Egypt and the birth of Moses must have been less than 243 years (110 plus 133).

If, instead, we make the reasonable assumption that Levi, Kohath, and Amram were, on average, 46 when their sons were born, then the total from Genesis 12" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 12 to Exodus 12" TARGET="_blank">Exodus 12 is 430" TARGET="_blank">is 430 years. The sojourning in Exodus 12" TARGET="_blank">Exodus 12: 40 began when Abraham entered Canaan as a sojourner. The 400 years of being strangers and being persecuted by the Egyptians (Genesis 15:13)" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 15:13) began with Ishmael's mocking Isaac (Gen 21:9)." TARGET="_blank">Gen 21:9).

D. Oliver
Other pages in this section

About this site

Who are the beheaded saints of Revelation 20?

Question: I have a question re- the beheading reference in rev 20:4." TARGET="_blank">rev 20:4.

I am new to bible study, I had read the bible 4 times before but since June the words have different meaning to me. I do not now know if my new interpretations are in the correct direction or indicative of a misunderstanding. Or each person interprets the word differently, based on their experiences and stage in life.

I was studying Ephesians 1" TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 1 and was then drawn to the letters addressed to the churches in Revelation 2 and Revelation 3" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 3 the letters seem to represent a systematic progression towards the kingdom of God while on earth.
then i was led to read Revelation 20:4" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 20:4

I have quietly approached people during conversation at my church to gauge their abilities or interests in bible interpretation, but it is hard to ask in-depth questions to people of differing backgrounds, everyone has their own opinion.

rev 20:4" TARGET="_blank">rev 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Here are my questions -

“beheaded because of their testimony” - is this the when a person surrenders completely to God and have died in the flesh, to be reborn in the spirit. the word (sword) of God has severed the spiritual head from the physical body. the person has passed through the inner door to the kingdom that exists within. The person then arrives at the realization that the kingdom inside, outside and the kingdom of heaven are one and the same.
“They had not worshiped the beast” - is the beast our "flesh body" that the holy spirit lives within. We die in the flesh , meaning give up wants, desires, defects, …
“They came to life” - a person dies to the body of flesh and awakens to the spirit within. we still walk the earth but our perspective has changed. like when the blind are given sight, it is the people blind to the kingdom of God are given sight and not blind to the kingdom of Gd
“This is the first resurrection” - is this a reference that some people enter the kingdom of God while alive as they have surrendered fully without reservation to the will of Gd. the 2nd resurrection is for others who remain blind spiritually to the kingdom of Gd. These blind people do not enter the kingdom until they die physically and are buried.
“they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years” - a person that has entered the kingdom while alive in the physical body. This person while dead in the flesh but alive in the spirit is given tasks to perform. Tasks/functions/callings (refer to Ep 4:11) while completing the will of Gd. while some people remain blind to the kingdom. The thousand years refers to the rest of the physical life which will be a period of time.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
al

Answer:

The questions you pose appear can be answered with another question:

"How does one interpret the Bible, especially in regards to prophetic writings like Revelation? Literally? figuratively? Alegorically? Contextually? Culturally?

The best answer to the question of how to interpret the Bible is to view how the New Testament interprets the Old Testament.

OT prophecies and events were taken literally unless there were specific, clear, obvious reasons to do otherwise.
For example, in the Book of Daniel, there are dreams which carried figurative meanings (tall statue, tall tree cut down), yet actual supernatural events (fiery furnace, lion's den). Daniel 3," TARGET="_blank">Daniel 3, Daniel 4," TARGET="_blank">Daniel 4, Daniel 5" TARGET="_blank">Daniel 5

The King had actual dreams and Daniel was thrown to real lions, the three friends walked in literal fire.
It is not as if the fire represented a trial and the Lions were a figure of Daniel battling Satan.
In the same way, your questions about the saints who were beheaded are literal believers who John sees in the future.
The beast is the world leader - known as the antichrist.
They are real people.

In Revelation, however, there is a lot of figurative language. Fortunately, we can tell when John is describing these images because he uses the words "like" or "as". Revelation 9" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 9: 7 "And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men."

I would recommend that you start your quest by determining how you should interpret the Bible. A good book to read on the subject is "Things to Come" by J. Dwight Pentecost. It's become a standard, comprehensive reference book on Bible prophecy. However, it is different from many other prophetic books in that the first 65 pages deal with the issue of how to interpret the Bible.

Specifically, the answers to your questions:

There is no indication in the chapter to say these bodies, resurrections and people are not real. What they experience is a miracle. While the "beast" is a name given to indicate a person's beastly character, he is a real human.

“beheaded because of their testimony” - is this the when a person surrenders completely to God and have died in the flesh, to be reborn in the spirit. the word (sword) of God has severed the spiritual head from the physical body. The person has passed through the inner door to the kingdom that exists within. The person then arrives at the realization that the kingdom inside, outside and the kingdom of heaven are one and the same.

This means there will be believers in the Tribulation that will be executed for disobeying the antichrist's decree to worship his idol.
There is nothing in the context of Revelation about surrendering oneself to God.
This teaching is taught quite straightforwardly in Romans 12:1" TARGET="_blank">Romans 12:1

“They had not worshiped the beast” - is the beast our "flesh body" that the Holy Spirit lives within. We die in the flesh, meaning give up wants, desires, defects, …

This beast is a real person, a world leader who demands worship as a god.
Again, read the context of the chapter.

“They came to life” - a person dies to the body of flesh and awakens to the spirit within. We still walk the earth but our perspective has changed. like when the blind are given sight, it is the people blind to the kingdom of God are given sight and not blind to the kingdom of God

These believers are raised back to by physically alive again.

“This is the first resurrection” - is this a reference that some people enter the kingdom of God while alive as they have surrendered fully without reservation to the will of Gd. the 2nd resurrection is for others who remain blind spiritually to the kingdom of Gd. These blind people do not enter the kingdom until they die physically and are buried.

There are two literal resurrections - firstly for believers who will live in heaven.
They are saved eternally. The second resurrection is described Revelation 21" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 21 where the eternally lost are given a just sentence for their sins and condemned to a literal Lake of Fire.

“they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years” - a person that has entered the kingdom while alive in the physical body. This person while dead in the flesh but alive in the spirit is given tasks to perform. Tasks/functions/callings (refer to Ep 4:11) while completing the will of Gd. while some people remain blind to the kingdom. The thousand years refers to the rest of the physical life which will be a period of time.

There will be a literal throne, a literal calendar that can mark of a literal thousand years and a literal group of people who will participate in the administration of the earth with Christ.

Shad Sluiter

Other pages in this section

About this site

Sell Your Christian or Bible Website WTB

WTB - Want to Buy - Christian Website or your website based on the Bible, Sunday school, prayer, Bible study or related topic.

If you have a website that has been useful for sharing the Bible with the Internet audience but now find it difficult to maintain, please contact us at using the Contact link on the left.

Information we would like to know about your site:

1) Costs. How much are you asking to sell your site for?

2) Value. A website is valuable not for it's design, but for it's traffic. We are interested in buying a site that has some value in its assets such: established time online (more than one year), has some traffic (100 or more visits per day), some quality inbound links from other internet sites (such as dmoz or yahoo directory), some subscribers in a mailing list, and some search keywords that are in the first 10 results of Google, Yahoo or Bing (MSN).

3) History. Tell us about your site. Why and when did you create it? What makes you decide to no longer operate it?

GospelHall.org is a Christian website whose mission is to share the message of the Bible as God's Word. Any websites that we aquire are operated on this understanding.

Shad Sluiter

Other pages in this section

About this site

Books of the Bible Games

Using a special deck of Bible game cards that you can download from this site , you can help your Bible class students learn the Books of the Bible through games. Seven card Games for learning the names of the books of the Bible.

1. Memory print two sets of these cards. Turn them face down and find the pairs. Use only New Testament cards for a shorter game.

2. Go Fish or Old Maid Print two sets of Bible cards. Shuffle and deal. Use the traditional rules. Use only New Testament cards for a shorter game.

3. Lay them straight. Sequence race Shuffle the deck and give each team (or player) 10 cards. When the dealer says “go”, lay them out in order. The first team to put them in order wins.

4. Uno or SkipBo inspired game - similar to the popular card game except with fewer rules and different cards from books of the Bible.

5. Phase 10 inspired game - similar to the popular card game, but with Bible cards and different phase goals.

6. Solitaire - adapted from the classic single player game, but with Bible books.

Check out the other 200+ games, puzzles and Bible lessons in the Sunday school seciton of this site.

Other pages in this section

About this site

Main Menu