Advanced Christian Salvation Theory

The resurrected Jesus speaks seven times besides in 1:11 for John to write.

"To the messenger of the church in Ephesus WRITE; These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, he who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: (Rev. 2:1)

And to the messenger of the church in Smyrna WRITE: these things says the First and the Last , who became dead and lived again: (2:8)

And to the church in Pergamos WRITE: These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: (2:12)

And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira WRITE: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze: (2:18)

And to the messenger of the church in Sardis WRITE: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: (3:1)

And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia WRITE: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens: (3:7)

And to the messenger of the church in Laodicea WRITE: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning if the creation of God: (3:14)

One time Christ's angel conducting John through the visions of Revelation instructs him to not write something that he heard:

"And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of heaven, saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders spoke, and do not write them." (Rev. 10:4)

@moonbus said
Thanks for that 'confession'. An honest statement from an honest seeker.

Here's why I am not a Christian:

1. Nothing in the Gospels suggests that Jesus thought of himself as founding a new religion, separate from Judaism. When he said 'I am come not to break the law, but to fulfill it,' the law he meant was the Torah, no other. Nor is there any suggestion that Jesus exp ...[text shortened]... r Protestant, and especially the intellectualized posturing (e.g., sonship), is so not Jesus.

@fmf said
1. Nothing in the Gospels suggests that Jesus thought of himself as founding a new religion, separate from Judaism. When he said 'I am come not to break the law, but to fulfill it,' the law he meant was the Torah, no other. Nor is there any suggestion that Jesus expected his teaching to be carried on in written form. 'Go forth and make disciples of all men,' cannot have meant ...[text shortened]... ly the intellectualized posturing (e.g., sonship), is so not Jesus.

Excellent analysis

I guess people around here think Jesus believed the Pharisees would find the road to salvation.

@BigDogg

One thing perhaps missing is the 'apocalyptic' stuff - about the Kingdom coming.

And I see no definite command from Jesus to the twelve NOT to write anything.

You can say as easily that He didn't teach them to wear seat belts.
You can say as easily that He didn't teach them to travel by jeep or mini van.
You can say He didn't teach them per se to use computers.

It is bogus I think to try to insist that Jesus didn't want anything to be written about Him. He said He would send scribes. Scribes write.

"Serpents! Brood of vipers! How shall you escape the judgment of Gehenna?
Therefore, behold, I send to you
prophets
and wise men
and SCRIBES.

Some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city." (Matt. 23:33,34)

Notice that He also expected the ones He sent, furthering His teaching, to be rejected in the synagogues. . That is because those in the synagogues of Judaism would REGARD His teaching with Him as a new religion, and unwanted.

Jesus taught no doctrine, no intellectualized claptrap. None. Nada. Nix da. Jesus came to rustics, whores, illiterate peasants, the poor in spirit; he did not expect them to know any doctrines about transubstantiation or the trinity or homoousios or Apostolic Succession or whatever, nor did he teach any such things. He said to love God and love your neighbor as yourself; that's it. The whole edifce of Christianity, whether Catholic or Protestant, and especially the intellectualized posturing (e.g., sonship), is so not Jesus.

Poor in spirit I believe means a few things:

Not self satisfied but hungry to receive something from the Spirit of God.
Not self righteous.
Not filled up and pre-occupied with self appreciation but realizing one's neediness. And this neediness is not restricted to financial need.

Poor in spirit is hungry and open to allow God to impart something to you.

Poor in spirit is recognizing you would be RICHER with coming to God.
Poor in spirit is the opposite of feeling you have no need, especially no
need for God.

The first qualification to become one of the people of the kingdom of the heavens is to be poor in spirit. I think it is akin to what Mary said in her song -

" The hungry He has filled with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty." (Luke 1:53)

Come to Jesus Christ "poor in spirit" and not felling rich in yourself. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Luke account of the virtually the same message only says "Blessed are the poor" ( Luke 6:20 ) . Matthew has "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matt. 5:3)

I think the right attitude is to take all the help you can get from Jesus.
Poor in spirit - good.
Poor - that's good too.

Jesus ministered to both throughout the Gospels.
And He also ministered to those of high respectable standing and those of low respect - teachers and lepers, widows and rich women who became His disciples.

Watch for any revisionism which tries to put Jesus in a box - ie. "He only cared for THESE kinds of folks" as BigDogg seems to want to teach.

@bigdogg said
One thing perhaps missing is the 'apocalyptic' stuff - about the Kingdom coming.

@moonbus

In sum: the kingdom is not coming later, it is here now, spread out upon the Earth, but men do not see it. Those who understand Jesus's meaning achieve the kingdom of God now, here, in this Earthly life. There is no talk of an afterlife or a resurrection. Those who say it is coming later will be the last to arrive there; those who say it is in the sky, will be preceded by birds. Lovely, powerful metaphors. Of course, the Roman bishops condemned this gospel and tried to suppress it, but one copy survived and was discovered only in 1945.

Those who understand Jesus's meaning achieve the kingdom of God now, here, in this Earthly life. There is no talk of an afterlife or a resurrection. Those who say it is coming later will be the last to arrive there; those who say it is in the sky, will be preceded by birds. Lovely, powerful metaphors. Of course, the Roman bishops condemned this gospel and tried to suppress it, but one copy survived and was discovered only in 1945.

As the years progress expect many more complaints that "THIS was left out of the Bible".

The enemy of God, the Devil, knew God had spoken in the Bible. He could not stop that. He could send a huge amount of other religious writing which is GOOD and claim it was kept out along with God's words.

Whenever you mention the Devil or Satan some people immediately assume only BAD things. Peter was rebuked and called Satan when Peter offered the "GOOD" advice that Jesus should spare Himself from being executed.

Man expressing his opinion can be a hiding place for the insidious Devil utilizing the "good" side of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Interesting things may be read in apocryphal writings.
Interesting historical insights may be found there.
Even some spiritual teaching not bad may be located in these writings.

Nor everything written about Jesus was intended by God to form the New Testament document. Not everything pious, religious, about Jesus, good, apparently "about" the Christian message was meant in the New Testament.

Satan's cunning, man's good heart, man's opinion floods into the world along with the speaking of God. Master Matthew through Revelation - 27 books. To know counterfeit money, FNI agents handle REAL money so that when they get a fake they can detect it immediately.

To know what is of God and what is close, good stuff, mere human opinion, or the Devil's subtlety . . . handle the real product until you are very familiar with it. Even how it TASTES to your spirit counts.

Then you won't be fooled by the piety of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas putting out the agenda of someone trying to "improve" on God's word.

@eladar said
I guess people around here think Jesus believed the Pharisees would find the road to salvation.

@moonbus said
On this topic, the Gospel of Thomas is most enlightening. Available in the Hag Hammadi Library (amazon, if you're not boycotting them).

In sum: the kingdom is not coming later, it is here now, spread out upon the Earth, but men do not see it. Those who understand Jesus's meaning achieve the kingdom of God now, here, in this Earthly life. There is no talk of an afterlife or ...[text shortened]... ndemned this gospel and tried to suppress it, but one copy survived and was discovered only in 1945.