Barnes and Noble at their Nook Press website also carries the book (www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/browse.asp) but does not list the Chapters.

I hope to have it available at Apple’s iBookstore soon.

When future Posts are added at this website, Amazon has indicated that all who purchase the present Ebook will be notified and any future Posts can be downloaded as additional Chapters to the book at no extra charge to you.

Barnes and Noble at Nook Press has also advised me that any future Posts from here turned into Chapters for the Ebook can be downloaded at no extra charge to your mobile unit.

UPDATE 06/09/2013: The Ebook is now available in paperback from Amazon.com. The price has risen to $4.74 because of the obvious costs of labor and materials to make a paperback. Free shipping is available if you are a ‘Prime’ member.

All the best in Christ,

Fred

I want to use this seemingly minor mistranslation as an example and then caution that other mistranslations can actually cause MUCH, MUCH GREATER harm, as set forth in the last paragraph of this Post. Wonderful truths can remain hidden and horrible, unscriptural doctrines can emerge from careless translations. Here is this example:

In Ephesians 1:17 Paul writes: ” the Father of glory, may be giving you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the REALIZATION of Him” (emphasis mine). (Concordant Literal New Testament). Sadly, though, the versions mentioned below and others used the WEAKER word “knowledge” instead of “realization”. Concordant was the only one that was right on the money out of numerous translations.

The Greek word used here is “epignosis” and the meaning differs CONSIDERABLE from “gnosis”, which merely means “knowledge”. It is VERY important to distinguish the two! The following is an excerpt from http://biblefocus.net/living-word/knowledge/index.html:

“The two words generally translated as ‘knowledge’ are ‘gnosis’ and ‘epignosis’. Whereas ‘gnosis’ conveys the idea of just ‘knowing’, ‘epignosis’ is a knowledge that involves a ‘full discernment’, which is ‘to become fully acquainted with’ or to have a full understanding of something.” (End of excerpt)

And yet, all the major translations I reviewed (New American Standard, Revised Standard Version, King James, New King James, Good News Translation, Holman Christian Standard and others) simply used the INFERIOR word “knowledge”, or similar.

These versions used the same rendering of this word at Ephesians 4:13, which really WEAKENED what the Scripture is telling us. You don’t have to grow and seek to attain”knowledge” of Christ, that was given to us at our conversion….you grow and seek to attain to a “realization” of what that “knowledge” represents!!!  The Concordant Literal New Testament had it absolutely correct, again.

This verse , properly translated, is to teach us there is something far beyond just having “knowledge” of a truth….we can go on and actually EXPERIENCE the “realization” of that truth. When not properly translated, this lesson from this verse is not seen and is lost.

Don’t get me wrong….the above mentioned Bibles do a very good job and service overall. You can go to http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-versions and have access to a large number of versions and see how they rendered this verse….a few came close to a proper translation. Rotherham’s has “personal knowledge”. Bullinger’s Companion Bible has “further knowledge” but goes on to get it right with his footnote referring the reader to his Appendix 132.

Actually, this is “small potatoes” compared to the ENORMOUS DAMAGE done by the vast majority of Bible versions that do not translate “aion” (New Testament) and “olam” (Old Testament) properly and consistently. Please reference the Post on “Eon vs Forever” for further information on how these mistranslations have hidden WONDERFUL truths, such as set forth in the Posts “God’s Eonian Plan and The Present Secret Administration” and “All Creation Will Be Saved”. GOD HAS A GLORIOUS PLAN FOR HIS ENTIRE CREATION, which can easily be seen if there is accurate translation of His Word.

The 3 best Bibles I have found for consistent accuracy in properly translating God’s Word are:

ROTHERHAM’S EMPHASIZED BIBLE [
http://qbible.com/ebr-rotherhams-emphasized-bible-1902/
], CONCORDANT LITERAL NEW TESTAMENT and CONCORDANT LITERAL OLD TESTAMENT [
http://www.concordant.org/version/index.html%5D
  and YOUNG’S LITERAL TRANSLATION [
http://www.biblestudytools.com/ylt/
]

They can also be purchased at Amazon.com. I bought the MODERN YOUNG’S LITERAL TRANSLATION from Amazon because it eliminates the use of the old English “saith”  “thee”, “thou”, etc. and uses the modern language “you”, etc., instead. However, it is available only for the New Testament. The complete Bible is available with the regular Young’s Literal translation.

The Concordant Literal Old Testament can be seen at the above website and is not available at Amazon, yet.

All the best, in Him,

Fred

Paul was so looking forward to his passing on from this life because to him (and to every true believer/Christian) it is “gain” as we access to the presence of Christ Jesus and God the Father when we die. (Philippians 1:21….Rotherham’s). However, this statement needs the clarification that follows.

As brought out in the Post “Death”, the dying of all humans is equivalent to a peaceful sleep. No one, not even believers, ascends directly into heaven after dying (John 3:13). But rather, the Post brings out how the Scriptures constantly refer to death as a “sleep”, and it will seem like mere moments (as it is with any good sleep we get as humans) before we awake to be in our consciousness again.

With this renewed consciousness, for the believer, it will seem almost like a mere instant between our demise and our subsequent awakening again to be found in our new, glorious and transfigured Christ-life celestial bodies….meeting our Savior in the air! (Philippians 3:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:17….Rotherham’s)

Truly, all real Christians can joyously look forward to death as a “gain”, as did Paul.

Take care, in Christ,

Fred

(Unless otherwise noted, all the Bible verses listed are verified or quoted from Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible [http://studybible.info/version/Rotherham], Concordant Literal New and  Old Testaments [http://www.concordant.org/version/index.html] or Young’s Literal Translation [http://www.biblestudytools.com/ylt/])

In Ephesians 3:2-3, Paul writes that a “secret”  was personally revealed to him by a “revelation”, and it involved a dispensation or administration concerning “the grace of God” towards the Gentile nations, as well some select Jews. He also called it the “secret of Christ” in verse 4 and referred to it as the “secret of the evangel” in Ephesians 6:19.

He goes on to say that this “secret” was NOT, and was NEVER, made known in past generations….until it was divinely revealed to him. Quite simply, the “secret” proclaimed that called believers from the Gentile nations (you and me) were to become “JOINT PARTAKERS” and “FELLOW HEIRS”  with the Israelites, and ON EQUAL FOOTING! In times past, a gentile could only hope for proselyte status with the Jewish nation, and a far subordinate role and inheritance.

Now, however, there was to be a “joint body” (Body of Christ) whereby the Gentile “nations” enjoyed FULL inheritance status with the Israelites (Ephesians 3:5-6), although each one’s allotment of the inheritance WOULD BE DIFFERENT. (See Numbers 2 and 3 below)

He continues that this “administration of the secret”, having  been “hid from the ages in God” (verse 9) was also a display of the “many kinds of wisdom of God” to the “principalities and authorities in the heavenly places”….and, was in accord with God’s “purpose of the ages (eons)” (verse 11).

You can read the two above mentioned Posts to further see, by clearly quoted Bible verses, how:

1. Those called under Paul’s “secret administration” did NOT have to observe any elements of Jewish tradition and law except (1) keep from things sacrificed to idols (2) from blood and from things strangled (3) from fornication. However, Paul, even later, stated that it was okay to eat of meat offered in idol sacrifices, under certain circumstances.

The Jewish believers (Peter, John, James, et al), on the other hand, were instructed by Jesus to keep the Law, Holy Days and traditions until He returns.

2. The Nation’s (we Gentile believers) inheritance is to be among the celestials whereas the Israelites inherit New Jerusalem on the “new earth”.

3. The believers/saints of the Nations will be judging angels (messengers) and reconciling those in the celestials while the Israeli believers will be reconciling those on earth.

4. Believers called under Paul’s “administration of the secret” will NOT have to go through the “Day of the Lord” (“Jacob’s Trouble”) but will be resurrected and/or transfigured just before that Tribulation time begins. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 1:10: “Jesus, our Rescuer out of the coming indignation”. (Concordant Literal New Testament)

Jewish believers living at that time will have to go through the Day of the Lord, as illustrated in Revelation. The book of Revelation does NOT concern those called under Paul’s “secret administration”….we will be long gone among the celestials when these events take place.

Later, in Christ,

Fred

(Unless otherwise noted, all the Bible verses listed are verified or quoted from ROTHERHAM’S EMPHASIZED BIBLE [ http://qbible.com/ebr-rotherhams-emphasized-bible-1902/ ], CONCORDANT LITERAL NEW TESTAMENT and CONCORDANT LITERAL OLD TESTAMENT [ http://www.concordant.org/version/index.html%5D , YOUNG’S LITERAL TRANSLATION [ http://www.biblestudytools.com/ylt/ ] or the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD [http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/])

- Jesus, in His human form, was Himself crucified out of “weakness” (2 Corinthians 13:4)….yet, look how strong He was and what He accomplished by the power of God, and is also now living by this same power.

- Paul says in the same verse that we are also “weak” with Him, but God’s power is likewise for us. Thank goodness God calls the “weak” and “foolish”!! (1 Corinthians 1:27)

- Paul is also an excellent example of how God and Christ choose the weakest and the “less than the least of all saints” to become powerful and fruitful by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 3:8)

The transliterated Greek word “astheneo” in this verse literally means: powerless, weak, sick, feeble and  needy. It not only refers to physical weaknesses (such as Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”, his bodily presence being “weak” and his speech “contemptible”….2 Corinthians 10:10) but to mental handicaps as well as emotional ones (for example, Peter’s fear from peer pressure at Antioch when he had to be confronted by Paul….Galatians 2:11-14).

- Paul recounts in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 how after asking God to remove his “thorn in the flesh” three times, God responded with “Sufficient for you is My grace, for My power is perfected in infirmity.”

Paul then goes on to say how he will not only delight in his physical infirmity but ” I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

- Paul was made powerful and fruitful by God and Christ while he had his”infirmity” (weakness) in the flesh in Galatia. Galatians 4:13

- Paul was made powerful and fruitful by God and Christ among the Corinthians even though “in weakness and fear and much trembling”. 1 Corinthians 2:3

- 1 Corinthians 15:43 clearly indicates that our bodies are sown in weakness, and this we will have to contend with until  “it is raised in power” (same verse).

- Romans 8:26 says that we are weak even in our ability to pray properly, but also reveals how God, once again, steps in and provides for us: “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness ; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Please also reference the POST: “Dry Prayer And Monkey Chatter”)

I really like Galatians 4:27 as it pretty much sums up how God and Christ delight in enabling us to be powerful and fruitful in our weaknesses, disadvantages, infirmities, being desolate, lacking  in personal abilities, etc., etc. and etc.:

`Rejoice, O barren, who are not bearing; break forth and cry, you who are not travailing, because many [are] the children of the desolate — more than of her having the husband.’

Please reference the Post “Feel The POWER” to balance out this discussion concerning our weaknesses.

See you later,

Fred

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FIRST RESURRECTION

The above Post explains how this resurrection will occur JUST BEFORE “Jacob’s Trouble” or “Day of the Lord” begins and includes those called under the gospel taught by Paul to the Nations and select Israelites.

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 1:10: “Jesus, our Rescuer out of the coming indignation” and in verse 5:9 “for God did not appoint us to indignation but the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”.(Concordant Literal New Testament)

Those resurrected at this time and those living at the time of this event (you and me) will inherit bodies of a celestial nature (JUST LIKE  Christ Jesus!!….Philippians 3:21). In other words, the “fabric” of our visible bodies will be of celestial material, and I have no clue how to describe it….we will find out when we get there!!

Whereas now, our earthly,decaying physical bodies are dominated by the “soul” (i.e., we are pretty much governed by our fleshly wants and desires), our celestial bodies will be dominated and controlled by the Holy Spirit….1 Corinthians 15:44-46!

We will be fitted to travel among the celestials where God, Christ and the messengers reside now, performing our respective functions….the “third heaven” spoken of by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:2. This is the realm that we inherit….Philippians 3:20.

SECOND RESURRECTION

This is the resurrection of the Israeli saints and includes Abraham, Moses, Peter, James, et al. It is described as the “former resurrection” in Revelations 20:5 because it is being compared to the resurrection that follows the 1000 year Millennium reign.  Daniel 12:2 also denotes this resurrection. Of course, those Israeli saints living at this time and who survived “Jacob’s Trouble” will have their existing mortal bodies transfigured.

These believers have their inheritance on the earth, as promised by God to Abraham. Their final glorious phase of this inheritance begins when the New Jerusalem descends at the beginning of the “new heaven and new earth”, after the Great White Throne Judgment.

Their resurrected/transfigured bodies will be properly fitted for this inheritance during the Millennium reign and eventually on the “new earth”, where they will dwell in New Jerusalem. Whether they will be able to travel among the celestials (as we do), the scriptures do not say.

Those of us called under Paul’s gospel have no inheritance nor dwelling place in  New Jerusalem, but rather, ours is among the celestials, where our “citizenship” resides….Philippians 3:20-21

THIRD RESURRECTION

This is the resurrection of Revelations 20:5 and John 5:29 and involves everyone who has ever lived, EXCLUDING believers. They will all appear before the Great White Throne Judgment. You can reference Number 6 under the Post ” “God’s Eonian Plan and The Present Secret Administration” for more details on this event. There are obviously NO believers/saints at this resurrection….ONLY unbelievers and those who have never even heard of God or Christ Jesus, as well as babies and infants.

FOURTH RESURRECTION

This obviously occurs at the end of the ages when “death” is finally abolished and death holds absolutely NO ONE any longer. It is at this time that God will be All in all….1 Corinthians 15:22-28.

WHAT A GLORIOUS CONCLUSION….AND BEGINNING!!!

Later, in Christ,

Fred

(If you wish to leave a comment rest assured your email information is never shared)

(Unless otherwise noted, all the Bible verses listed are verified or quoted from Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible [http://studybible.info/version/Rotherham], Concordant Literal New and  Old Testaments [http://www.concordant.org/version/index.html] or Young’s Literal Translation [http://www.biblestudytools.com/ylt/]

The “seat” mentioned in both the verses above comes from the Greek word “bema” and it merely denotes a raised platform. More importantly, at this particular judgment there are ONLY saved believers present! This is the time, after we saints have either been resurrected or transformed to our new bodies, that each one of us will have our works/behavior as Christians judged.

No acts BEFORE we were called and saved will be considered….those previous acts  were totally done away with and paid for at our conversion because of Christ’s sacrifice!

This is the occasion when each Christian will either be rewarded in some fashion or lose some reward(s) in some fashion. THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION FOR ANY OF US AT THIS TIME! We will be in our overwhelmingly joyous and glorified state with our Christ-like celestial bodies (Philippians 3:21) and it is just a time when we are evaluated in TOTAL LOVE by God and Christ to either lose or receive rewards accordingly. We will wholeheartedly agree with the outcome and accept any gain or loss with gratitude.

Conversely, a true believer/saint will NEVER appear before the Great White Throne Judgment….we will have already inherited our glorified bodies. Only non-believers (those who have never heard of Christ as well as infants and babies) and unbelievers appear before the White Throne. (Please reference Number 6 under the Post: “God’s Eonian Plan and The Present Secret Administration” for more information about the Great White Throne Judgment.)

See you later,

Fred

(If you wish to leave a comment rest assured your email information is never shared)

If we are persistent in a faithful walk, these problems will be taken care of by the Holy Spirit….not only in time, but at the present:

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness ; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”. Romans 8:26

Even if we struggle often in prayer, rest assured that what is necessary and has to be said to the Father and Christ Jesus on our behalf is ALWAYS automatically taken care of by the Holy Spirit within us!! Never feel as though you have to “perform” in any prescribed manner when praying formally or informally.

And, Christ Jesus, Himself,  is ALWAYS there making intercession (“pleading”….Concordant Literal New Testament) on our behalf on every front. Romans 8:34

Sometimes, as brought out in the Post on “God’s Silent Treatment”, it is good that we just come to Them in silence. If monkey chatter persists, usually repeating in our minds or verbally “Lord”, “Lord God”, “Father”, “Jesus” or similar words will keep the intrusive thoughts at bay. This also applies to what is brought out on the Post: “Pray On The Potty”.

And, your position in formal prayer should not be an issue: my favorite is lying in bed where I am very comfortable. (You might want to reference the Post “Pray On The Potty”)

The most important consideration is that we are coming to Them, giving Them our attention….as such, They and the Spirit within us will take care of the rest!

Later, in Christ,

Fred

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May 28, 2011

Why Not Be A Mystic?

Perhaps it was the several years of religious hell I went through, or the overload of information from every side telling me what to believe, how to live, and how to approach God. Perhaps it was the deep longing in my soul to touch the face of God and to simply know Him as real, but I decided to choose the path of the mystic.

First things first, I will say that the only authentic mystic is the Christian, as you cannot know God as He is in His deep mysteries without Christ. If we cannot accept Christ, His sacrifice in His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection, we cannot know God. I would caution anyone strongly against the mysticism of the rest of the world in the plethora of its religions.

Many acknowledge Jesus in a form, but most refuse to accept His deity and His work of salvation as done on the cross. Such people I say stay away from as they are no different than the Gnostics.

So what is a mystic? My humble attempt to define a mystic is one who directly through experience, thought, meditation, emotion and contemplation actively receives and hears from God. The mystic’s religion is not stuff of Sunday rituals and preaching, or the obligatory Bible reading and good works as is expected in Christianity. Rather his/her religion so consumes them in such a way that their whole life is spent saturated in it, living in and out of it. It is all encompassing to the point where there is little room for anything else.

A mystic, in my view, is not one who spends hours practicing ascetics and spiritual disciplines in monasteries, cloistered away from the world, although for a short season I recommend that the seeker would take part in these things. The reason is that it is impossible to know God without living in the rest of the world actively loving and engaging people where they live.

For me, it began in the darkest times of my life. St John of the Cross calls it the dark night of the soul. I have been through several as they guided my unwilling soul into a place of complete abandonment of all things in this world with a deep need and hunger to know my God.

That is what drives me. A hunger. It is a deep, relentless desire and longing to know the presence of my God, to be filled to the point of overflowing with Jesus and His spirit so that, in the end, He is all that I have. It is a realized poverty of the soul, or as Jesus put it, being poor in spirit and hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

I came to this point out of need. Nothing man had to offer in his church institutions satisfied me. If anything, they nearly destroyed me. I escaped only with my life and my sanity. Even still, my soul aches with a longing only Christ can satisfy when I occasionally force myself to sit through a church sermon for whatever reason.

It was the realization that I am loved, filled with His love, and the need to love others with a realization of the passion of God Himself for His church which launched me on this path. When I could no longer find those things in the traditional or mainstream Christian churches of our country, I had to leave and spend my time in the wilderness where God had to speak to me directly.

My time in the wilderness has created within me this hungering and thirsting for God. I remember one church I attended many years ago, a pastor once stated that the church of America is not hungry. It is bloated, overfed, and obese. This was true of me. I was overstuffed with the religious knowledge of various sects and denominations. I wasn’t hungry for God. I was filled. I was filled not with God though, but the junk food of the ramblings of religious men. It was when I left all of that and was starving for three years that I learned how to drink deeply and dine from the water and bread of life within me.

The problem with being a mystic is that most people don’t understand the one who chooses this path. But then again, perhaps God chooses me for this and I just hang on for dear life and my own sanity. The thing is, a mystic is so wrapped up in the Holy Spirit that no man can control them.

One of my favorite teachings of Jesus is “He who is born of the spirit is like the wind. No one knows from where it came or where it goes.”

The life of the mystic is the life chosen to follow hard and persistently after the Spirit. Consequentially, no one can control the mystic any more than they can control the Holy Spirit or the wind itself!

It is in this journey that I see no longer the need to follow teachings and lectures, rather, the need to become a physical embodiment of Jesus Himself. This cannot be taught adequately. This cannot be lectured or written about. Yes, I have heard many sermons and read quite a few riveting books about the subject, but it cannot be understood or fully realized in practical living until one embraces this for themselves.

The mystic acknowledges that it is no longer possible to tell where we end and Christ begins, as He is interwoven into the very fabric of who we are. One can no more separate me from Christ as one could separate the food I ate and processed from the cells it nourished and fused with to strengthen or even create new living tissue. If Christ is food, and we digest Him, He then becomes our very cellular makeup and spiritual DNA. We are inseparable.

It is here, my starving soul found the fountain that Christ spoke of which wells up from within unto eternal life. True mysticism is the ability to drink from Christ, the living water in such a way that we will never thirst again. We will never run dry. We will never be hungry again as He is always within us.

Most American Christians I meet are in a perpetual state of starvation. They go to church meetings every week, retreats for mountain top experiences, or whatever they can find to refill and refresh. It is always outside of them and they always worry about running dry. Many seem to think that they cannot function spiritually without the church meetings feeding them. I find many of them leave their “feeding” times for Sundays, and the rest of their week is there for them to do as they please, only to find themselves hungry once again.

I find it funny when people tell me that I needed to attend church meetings so I could be “fed.” I laugh inwardly and reply “I am fed, perpetually from the Bread of Life who is in me. I will never hunger again.” The bread learned educated church men offer will not satisfy forever. I often hear people tell me that they need to go to church for another dose of the Holy Spirit because they feel hungry. If only they knew.

If only we knew the deep riches of God’s Spirit and His treasure that lay dormant inside of us! If only we knew the mysteries that His Spirit constantly speaks to our souls, feeding us with life. If only we could tap into that and live fully and completely!

This search for that fulness and wholeness of life is the path of the mystic as it takes us ever deeper into the heart of God, drinking deeply, eating fully, and then turning around to feed our fellow man in such a way that it whets their appetite for more. Manna in the wilderness sustains, but one does hunger. If one is courageous, we leave the manna that feeds us temporarily, and brave the battles and the giants which threaten to keep us from the land flowing with milk and honey. The path of the mystic is an invitation to dine at the table with the Father forever, as sons, as family, as a part of the Bride of Christ, forever living in His love.

by David Backus

End of article. There are several points on which I disagree with the author, but overall, there is a lot of truth here, and I am grateful he has shared his experience with us.

See you later.

Fred

Can you imagine how much more awesomely glorious is the “third heaven” spoken of by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:2, where the Father and Christ Jesus now dwell, and which will be our future home!!! ( At the time when Paul penned this, the “first” heaven was considered what a person saw when they would look up to the sky. The “second” heaven was the universe beyond what the naked eye could see, or these pictures from Hubble. The “third” heaven was the unseen or “other dimensional” realm where the Father, Christ Jesus, angels [messengers] and other celestial beings reside.)

To get to the pictures just point the arrow on your mouse to the website address below and left click. To return to this website just click your “back” arrow, which should be in the upper left corner of your screen.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hubble+pictures&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Tvx&tbo=u&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=VssLUaGHAemOygGh1ICIDQ&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=960&bih=607

Actually, you can purchase calendars exhibiting pictures taken from Hubble at Amazon.com. I have one in my kitchen and just about every time I glance at it I am reminded of how blessed we are to have God as our Father and Christ Jesus as our Savior.

Later, in Christ,

Fred

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