Originally posted by FMFJesus said:
The link in the OP is dead.
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (Matthew 10:34-35).
In another place He said this:
"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His glory. And all nations shall be gathered before Him. And He shall separate them from one another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats" (Matthew 25:31-32).
And the Lord said:
"Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather you together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matthew 13:30).
We are sent by Him to speak so that the wheat will be separated from the tares. Those who are the Lord's will hear His voice, and will come out from them. The tares are bundled together to go into the fire. Your reaction shows not only what you are, but also where you are. You speak and act in the unity of the tares, which God has ordained for purging. Are you not burning even now as you read this?
"Know you not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?" (1 Corinthians 6:3)
"Do not judge according to sight, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).
"Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all His saints. Praise ye the LORD" (Psalms 149:5-9).
"It is enough for the disciple that he is like his Master, and the servant like his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of His household?" (Matthew 10:25)
And:
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God service" (John 16:2).
I am wheat. What are you?
P.S. I also see myself as a worker and reaper in gathering the tares.
Originally posted by RJHindsI am not a Christian. Is this 'wheat and chaff' metaphor about spirituality in general and about how we lead our lives? Or is it just a Christian thing where some of its devotees pose and preen and insult those people with whom they differ online? Does the way you behave towards others in this community qualify you as 'wheat'?
Jesus said:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (Matthew 10:34-35).
In another place He said this:
"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all will think that he does God service" (John 16:2).
I am wheat. What are you?
18 Mar 12
Originally posted by FMFThe behavior you refer to is in my role as a worker and reaper in gathering the tares.
I am not a Christian. Is this 'wheat and chaff' metaphor about spirituality in general and about how we lead our lives? Or is it just a Christian thing where some of its devotees pose and preen and insult those people with whom they differ online? Does the way you behave towards others in this community qualify you as 'wheat'?
18 Mar 12
Originally posted by RJHindsNonsense. If you actually read the whole of Matthew chapter 13, you would have noticed where Jesus explains his parable and who the reapers are: "the reapers are angels" (Matt. 13:39).
The behavior you refer to is in my role as a worker and reaper in gathering the tares.
Originally posted by epiphinehasYes. These reapers are workers and messengers (angels) for Christ. That is what I am. 😏
Nonsense. If you actually read the whole of Matthew chapter 13, you would have noticed where Jesus explains his parable and who the reapers are: "the reapers are angels" (Matt. 13:39).
P.S. Angels as Messengers
A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a “messenger,” and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam. 11:3; Luke 7:24; 9:52), of prophets (Isa. 42:19; Hag. 1:13), of priests (Mal. 2:7), and ministers of the New Testament (Rev. 1:20). It is also applied to such impersonal agents as the pestilence (2 Sam. 24:16, 17; 2 Kings 19:35), the wind (Ps. 104:4). But its distinctive application is to certain heavenly intelligences whom God employs in carrying on his government of the world. The name does not denote their nature but their office as messengers. The appearances to Abraham at Mamre (Gen. 18:2, 22. Comp. 19:1), to Jacob at Peniel (Gen. 32:24, 30), to Joshua at Gilgal (Josh. 5:13, 15), of the Angel of the Lord, were doubtless manifestations of the Divine presence, “foreshadowings of the incarnation,” revelations before the “fulness of the time” of the Son of God.
18 Mar 12
Originally posted by RJHindsYes, an "angel" or "messenger" can be used to refer to a wide range of things and beings, as your cut and paste points out. The question is, how do we determine what sense of the word is being used in any given instance? The correct use of any particular word in the Bible is context-dependent. So let's take a look at the context of Matthew 13.
Yes. These reapers are workers and messengers (angels) for Christ. That is what I am. 😏
P.S. Angels as Messengers
A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a “messenger,” and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam. 11:3; Luke 7:24; 9:52), of prophets (Is ...[text shortened]... eshadowings of the incarnation,” revelations before the “fulness of the time” of the Son of God.
Jesus, in his explanation of the parable of the weeds, clearly delineates who is who: the "people of God"
(that includes you, RJHinds, provided we take your declaration of faith at face value)
are the "good seeds" (Matt. 13:38), and the "reapers" are "angels" (Matt. 13:39). In Christ's parable you have already been assigned a designation (a good seed), therefore the term "reaper" cannot -- and most assuredly does not -- refer to you.
Because the angel referred to in Christ's parable is not a member of the "people of God" and possesses the power to throw sinners into hell, it is safe to say that a reaper, in this instance, properly understood, is a being of supernatural origin, i.e., an actual angel (e.g., Gabriel, Michael, etc.).
Context, RJHinds, context.
18 Mar 12
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Originally posted by epiphinehasDo you have your doubts then? Sometimes, when I read his posts, they come across as those of a satirist whose aim is to bring his declared "faith" into disrepute, as divegeester has suggested several times.
[hidden](that includes you, RJHinds, provided we take your declaration of faith at face value)[/hidden]
18 Mar 12
Originally posted by RJHindsInteresting how this new level of retardation and trollism suddenly emerges as your already minuscule credibility account runs into the red and you see the horizon of your time here approaching like ground rush.
I guess this reply from a Christian cult to an unhappy subsriber says what I want to say best.
http://www.thepathoftruth.com/issuesoflife/dividingwheat.htm
P.S. I see myself as one of the reapers.
Time for another sock-puppet?
18 Mar 12
Originally posted by epiphinehasYes, your interpretation is exactly correcty as far as it goes. But you can't mean
Yes, an "angel" or "messenger" can be used to refer to a wide range of things and beings, as your cut and paste points out. The question is, how do we determine what sense of the word is being used in any given instance? The correct use of any particular word in the Bible is context-dependent. So let's take a look at the context of Matthew 13.
Jesus ...[text shortened]... al angel (e.g., Gabriel, Michael, etc.).
Context, RJHinds, context.
that all men are designated as seed and seed alone. Do you?