There is nothing “minor” about the prophet Micah other than the length of the book. In Micah, we find a beautiful path to repentance, restoration, and a promise of the birth of Christ. We know when and where he prophesied, and the effect his prophecy continues to have on us today. His power as a prophet and call to turn away from sin and towards the Savior continue to bring us hope, and shape who we are as believers. His name itself becomes a meaningful, as he summarizes his prophecy in Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” Micah’s threats are directed against idolaters, those who oppress the little man, priests and prophets who use their profession for financial gain, and leaders who pervert equity and abhor justice. The promises emphasize the importance of Zion, where Yahweh or his royal regent reigns over a kingdom of peace, and of the return from exile for Israel as well as for Judah. The book’s central theme is a concept borrowed from preexilic prophets that salvation will come to Judah and Jerusalem only when the people turn to Yahweh. Then they will not only receive divine favour, but the land itself will become fertile. we can draw a few conclusions about Micah’s self‑understanding and his relation to his fellow countrymen. The outline of his profile is the sharpest where he confronts his opponents: “But as for me, I am filled with authority, justice, and courage to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8) What a testimony to fearless self‑assurance! Nothing in the other prophets comes close to it! One might suspect that this expresses the strained self‑glorification of a person obsessed with power. we are warned against such a misinterpretation by the commentary — like gloss which states that he possesses these gifts only along with “the Spirit of the Lord,” by virtue of the special divine authority which completely fills him. At the center of his gifts (between the gifts of “authority’ and “courage’) stands, according to his own statement, justice (that is, his view of justice).
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“Theme in genesis; Noah”
"If the heavens ever did speak, she's the last true mouth piece." 🎶 #ophelia #hoozier #liturgy #40daysoflent The gospel is a universal message of attaining UNDYING hope & Peace. There are many pathways to experience Gods PEACE. In christianity, Yahweh-Christ was the living way and example of service, acceptance, inclusion and unconditional love demonstrated by his teachings and #miracles. God(father)- In the manifested Jesus(son)- died and rose on Easter Sunday(7). The #7Th day represents perfect wholeness, completion, and fulfilled OT messaic prophecy🦋. God Yahweh is manifestation of flesh and spirit. The cross symbolizes #freedom of the Promise🌈land (place of peace 🕊️), the liberation from Metaphorical ⛓️ bondage of human 💔SUFFERAGE (darkness/separation). The Cross symbolizes hope in -New beginings- for everyone through the physical rise resurrection of the spirit. Let the church -spirit of humanity- always be a place of mercy and Hope where EVERYONE is welcomed, Loved and #forgiven. Gods LOVE is unbounded, it has NO limits and exceeds ALL human-understanding. For WE are ALL God’s masterpiece. He has created Us anew in CHRIST, so WE can do the good he planned for us. During #LENT, the Spirit drives us too, like Jesus, into the desert (40) Mk 1:12-15). Here, it is not a physical place but rather an existential dimension -spiritual realm. ..To bring us to the Light, peace, and hope. Christians recognize Christ in each human being, to see him crucified in the sufferings of the abandoned, lost and forgotten of our world, & metaphorically RISEN in Each who makes a New start. Salvation is not an ascent to glory, but a descent in a Reedemable Love that can't be earned, it's BEEN GIVEN and reconciled to ALL -through- the sacraficial saving grace of God #testified through his eyewhitness disciples. (Matt27:62; 28:1; Mark15:42; Luke23:54; John19:31, 42). TRUTH is eternal, everlasting, and for all! #Romans5:8 #Colossians1:12 #ephesians2:8 #Peter4:8 #popefrancis #symbolismrevealed Does the New Testament turn a mere man into God? This is what New Testament critic Rabbi Daniel Asor thinks: “The Bible rejects pagan idolatry that revolves around human-like gods, men as gods.” Correct. In the pagan cultures of the East, gurus climb up a religious ladder until they get to the highest step of becoming a god. This is idolatry without a doubt.
A INTRODUCTION on the book of Zechariah;
Israel is identified as God’s “firstborn Son” (Exod.4:22–23). In context, Yahweh calls Israel as his firstborn son. What follows in Exodus is competition to see who is God’s true son. In #delivering children of Abraham from #Egypt, God shows who is the true Son of God. Later revelation identifies exodus where God became father of Israel (Deut. 32:18; Psa. 80:15; Jer. 31:9; Hos. 11:1.) this identification explains how Israel is like Adam—Israel is a “corporate Adam.” What began with Adam is carried on in Israel until it comes to Christ. Matthew identifies Jesus as the True Israel (Hosea11:1, Matt2:13–15) “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” By applying isreals title to Jesus, he explains how Jesus is God’s Son. When Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days he repeats the events of Israel, signifying the son Jesus is- like Israel. But Jesus will not disobey his Father like Israel did; he will prove himself obedient unto death, thus becoming the firstborn -from- the dead. Jesus lived a sinless life, something incapable of humans. God promised a house (dynasty) for David and a son who would sit on an eternal throne and be the son of God- “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” In the immediate history of Israel, Solomon fulfilled this by ruling with wisdom and justice, bringing peace and blessing to the people by leading from #Zion. Solomon turned away from God to serve #idols... later, David’s heirs broke covenant with God and lost their right to sit on the throne. Still, the mold for a Davidic king who was the son of God was set, as the Prophets lamented the fall of David’s house, they promised a son of David whose #righteousness would #restore the “kingdom to Israel.” In the NT, Jesus is the #son of #David, whose #righteousness under the #law proves he is God’s true son, which brings all the #promises of the new covenant to #fruition. Its instructive that the gospel message is based on promises to David (Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8). Christ Messiah=delivery from bondage. Yahweh’s identity=in christ=Israel’s identity is redemption in christ=zion. (Yahweh begins in exodus and ends in redemption in christ messiah facilitation Zion).
Paul speaks of Christ receiving the title “Son of God” at his resurrection. Vrs3–4, “concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This passage is best understood of Christ’s exaltation in his resurrection. While Jesus is God the Son throughout his human life, his resurrection assigns him the title “Son of God.” (Acts 13:32–33, Hebrews 5:5–6). Jesus has proven to be God’s true son and worthy of an eternal throne. It is after Jesus’s humanity is “perfected” (through Israel’s unity with him) that he receives the title, “Son of God” (Heb. 5:5–6). This was necessary for the Son to learn obedience through #suffering- (Christ rose from the dead and ascended to the Father’s right hand (fulfilliPsa. 110:1), all creation was put under his feet). In his exaltation, Jesus received right to rule over heaven and earth as the son of David, who is the son of God. What Adam, Israel, and David failed to prove their sonship—Jesus has done. His resurrection proves to be his coronation. Paul identifies the core of the gospel message- God in Christ unites all things in heaven and earth(Eph. 1:10), as the eternal Son of God is recognized as the Son of God to whom redemptive history has been pointing. “When the time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5). When the divine Son took on humanity he came to fulfill the role marked out for him by Adam, Israel, and David. The #eternal #Word took on #flesh #dwelt among us (Yahweh holy spirit manifesting through Christ’s earthly mission) John identifies Jesus as “the only Son from the Father” and John 5:18 identifies the Son as “equal” with the Father, which led the Jewish leaders to desire Jesus’s death, they didn’t agree. In the Gospels, we find Jesus is not only the son of God, according to his humanity; he is the Son of God, according to his deity. #Jesus #is God’s Son, the one to whom all Scripture *leads, and the one -who is- God and man. “Ezra”
“Then I looked, and behold, a #lamb standing on Mount #Zion, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Rev-14.1 It is the same for we who are spiritual residents of the kingdom of heaven – the heavenly Jerusalem-#dwelling place of christ #messiah. (Rev14:1) Zion is where Yahweh, the God of Israel, dwells (Isaiah 8:18; Psalm 74:2), the place where he is king (Isaiah 24:23) and where he has installed his king, David (Psalm 2:6). In the Bible, the Land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem are both referred to as Zion. The name refers to both a hill in Jerusalem and to the city itself — also used to mean "holy place" or "kingdom of heaven." After Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, the Israelites could not forget Zion (Psalm 137), and, in the prophecy after the Babylonian Exile of the Jews, Zion is the scene of Yahweh’s -messianic- salvation. It is to Zion that the exiles will be restored (Jeremiah 3:14), and there they will find Yahweh (Jeremiah 31). After the crucifixion, the 2nd temple *falls to destruction from the pagan romans. This is when the same *context of OT scriptures in Judaism and christianity diverge interpretation. The collections of scriptures in the Hebrew cannons were -displaced- of chronological -order- of context and storyline. Because of the destruction of the temple- This Hebrew canon, though somewhat fluid up to the early 2nd century BC, was finally -fixed- by a council of rabbis at Jabneh (Jamnia), now in Israel, c. AD 100. The Oral Torah, transmitted orally, explains the Written Torah- untill written after 70AD. Though scripture is all of the above- because of the reordering and transmission it is only being *seen as being about people, god and land, which in its -entirety- and -order- depicts the unifying picture of *humanity, salvation and *redemption. The Prophets in the Protestant canon include Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel from the Hebrew Latter Prophets. The Minor Prophets (The Twelve) are treated as 12 separate books; thus the Protestant canon has 17 prophetic books. Here- Zion #symbolizes a longing by wandering or lost people for *returning to their safe *homeland -with- God.
Rabbi Tovia Singer says: “Anyone who thinks that God came down to us, manifested as anything, whether as cottage cheese or as Jesus, such person is going to the eternal fire of hell and will not enjoy Heaven.”
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