Paul's Mystery

Fellow saints wherever you are, grace and peace to you!

Israel is the Gentile Church; and the Gentile Church is Israel.  They are one thing.  They are the same thing.  They are God's one and only people.  And their collective name is Israel.

This is a very important message.  Some people may know this, some will readily agree, some will find the idea discomforting, and some will be repulsed.  However, God has confirmed this message in a very real and public way, and I will discuss that in my next post.

I am a very detail-oriented person, and I intend to explain this in detail, but some people just want me to get to the point so I am going to do that first.

I was led to acquire this book many years ago, and once I got it I devoured it as quickly as I could.  It was an answer to prayer and to questions I had, and it led me to places I had never dreamed of going.

As I write this, the book is apparently still available, and the author's ministry is still active.  I have had no contact with them, other than reading the book.  I originally saw it advertised in the Christian magazine, World, back in 2001.

There are other resources that talk about this issue.  One of them is a website link in the sidebar of this blog, "Israel and the Church," and it covers some of the key points in the "Mystery" book.  In particular, it explains how the Bible shows that Gentiles are grafted into Israel.  This is contrary to many of the Gentile Church's historical and current teachings on the subject.

The "Mystery" book goes beyond that, however, and taught me several profound and critical concepts that are for all disciples of Jesus.  These things have been lost, although they are right there in the Bible.  Because they are lost, the saints have been snookered and left teetering on the edge of defeat for centuries.  It is only God's mercy and grace that have prevented complete darkness.  This is a big deal.

I am nobody; just a disciple of Jesus.  He has graced me with some understanding about these things, and I pray He will do the same for you.

It began for me one day as I was reading about the "armor of God" in Ephesians, and I noticed Paul concluded that discussion with a request for prayer that he would fearlessly proclaim the "mystery of the gospel" for which he was in chains.  Being the young, enthusiastic believer that I was, I prayed for that, too.  And I prayed for it again.  And again.  At church, I made my own prayer requests for the same thing.  I thought, "If it was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me."  Eventually, I saw the advertisement and obtained the book.

So, back to "getting to the point"...

Gentiles are grafted into Israel.

"Israel" is the family name of Jesus and his bride.

Identification with Israel is necessary for authority.  We may be able to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead by using spiritual power, but if we do not have appropriate authority we will be acting lawlessly.

Grace comes through preaching about Jesus according to the Mystery.

God is going to destroy every nation but Israel.  Our loyalty is important.

What is Paul's Mystery?

Paul was a Jew.  So were Jesus and all the early disciples at the time.  Jews were commanded not to have anything to do with non-Jews, although non-Jews were welcome to become Jews from the beginning (Exodus 12:43-51).  Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, but the Canaanite woman received grace (Matthew 15:21-28).  The Centurion was most likely a Gentile and he received grace (Matthew 8:5-13).  Cornelius the Gentile and his whole household were granted repentance that leads to life (Acts 10:1-11:18).  Jesus sent Paul to proclaim His name to the Gentiles and to the people of Israel (Acts 9:15).  In Paul's time, the mystery was the fact that God wanted Gentiles to be part of Israel.

The mystery is the same today, but most people now think the Jews are outside of the Gentile Church and must join them.  The Bible doesn't say that, however.  An enemy has done this.  Byers recognizes this conflict and does a good job of methodically explaining what the Bible actually does say in a loving and patient way, in my opinion.  I think it is revealing that this book is still available but essentially unknown.  I think the Darkness wants the Mystery to remain a mystery, and I think my future posts will reveal to you why.

Paul refers to a mystery in several of his letters.  According to Byers' assertions, he is referring to a single mystery, except for a couple of exceptions that I will not discuss here.  The following comes from Appendix A of his book...

1)  The Mystery was hidden in God from the beginning -- Romans 16:25-26; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 1:26-27.

2)  It is the Mystery of God -- Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 2:2; Colossians 4:3.

3)  We are called to be ministers of this Mystery -- 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:1-9; Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:3.

4)  This Mystery has been revealed to the saints, apostles, and prophets -- Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 1:9-10,18; Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 1:26-27.

5)  The Mystery is related to preaching to the Gentiles -- Ephesians 3:1-9; 1 Timothy 3:16.

6)  The Mystery is related to spiritual "riches" among the Gentiles -- Ephesians 1:9-10, 18; Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 1:26-27.

7)  It is the Mystery of the gospel and, therefore, it is the Mystery of our faith -- Galatians 3:8; Ephesians 6:19; 1 Timothy 3:9.

8)  It is a Mystery for which Paul was in prison -- Ephesians 3:1-9; Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3.  (Byers' chart seems to have missed the Ephesians 6:20 reference, but I have included it here.)

Byers also believes the following three references are the same Mystery, but he only gave a superficial explanation about them in his Appendix A (page 147) because they could potentially touch on doctrinal issues that would be outside the scope of the book and might distract readers enough to cause them to reject his explanation.

a)  "Behold, I tell you a mystery:  we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Cor. 15:51-52)

b)  "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  And so all Israel will be saved..." (Rom. 11:25-26a).

c)  "'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'  This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Eph. 5:31-32)

The Book

Here is a list of the book's chapters, to give you a flavor.  I enthusiastically encourage everyone to get a copy of the book and read it, like I did.

Chapter 1.  What a Seminar!  What a Question!
Chapter 2.  Who Is Israel?
Chapter 3.  Who Were the First Israelites?
Chapter 4.  God Chose to Save Only One Family.
Chapter 5.  "Salvation Is From the Jews."
Chapter 6.  The Jews Did Not Know They Had Been Rejected!
Chapter 7.  Who Are Israelites Today?
Chapter 8.  Are You a Citizen of the Right Nation?
Chapter 9.  Total Identification; Total Assimilation.
Chapter 10.  Mutiny in the Body!
Chapter 11.  From the Prisoner Comes the Emancipation Proclamation.
Chapter 12.  The Prisoner Reveals the Key to Victory.
Chapter 13.  The Victory Has Been Promised to the Jews.
Chapter 14.  Noah Found Grace In the Eyes of the Lord.
Chapter 15.  Every Kingdom But One Will Cease to Exist.
Chapter 16.  What Is the Answer for Us?
Chapter 17.  Are You a Monarch?


Holy Spirit will help you understand these things.  The Darkness will lie about it.


Grace to you.


Please continue to my next post on this topic by clicking here.

UPDATE, August 11, 2023...

The 15th of Nisan is a new and interesting concept for me.

Apparently, things seem to happen on this day, and they have been happening to me.  Amazing.

If you read the link, above, you will see that very significant events happened around the 15th of Nisan.  The Passover certainly happens around that time, and perhaps scholars have been able to make confident connections to the other events.  I will leave that to them.

I joined the Michigan Assembly as an American State National on April 6 of this year.  Afterwards, I realized it had been the 15th of Nisan.  I also seemed to move into a new chapter of my life on that day.  That was the day my spiritual sibling and her beau came to have supper at my house for the first time, and ever since then she has been confidently living her life and I have been able to give my attentions to others.  It was like she was a baby bird that flew from the nest.

Some people seem to think the 15th of Nisan has something to do with "moving to new timelines," or universes, or whatever.  Personally, I think those notions are "Gentile Teachings."  I have asked the Holy Spirit to help me understand and comprehend what it is really all about.

He tells me it is like a "plot point" in a movie script, or the beginning of a new chapter in a book.  God created the universe with order and organization, and many things in His Creation are beyond our comprehension.  I believe this may be something that borders on our abilities to keep up with Him.

In my opinion, anyone who thinks they know the answers to these things really doesn't.  It's like Paul's Mystery.  Some things seem so simple, yet they blow right past most people.  This is humbling, and exhilarating.

Hence, the name of my blog.

UPDATE, November 21, 2023...

In addition to the posts following this one about Paul's Mystery (Authority and Paul's Mystery for DUMMIES), I believe Who Are 'My People?' is also critical for people to comprehend, pray about, and ultimately embrace.  The initial part is rather cryptic because I was trying to apply Socratic questioning, but the updates speak more plainly.

Please consider that post prayerfully.

Training

My dear, beloved, fellow saints in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Grace and peace to you all!
 
It has been over a year since I added any posts to this blog.  The last thing I did was take this onion photograph, but my inspiration left me so I set the blog aside.  Holy Spirit told me I had to learn some things before I wrote any more, so that's what I've been doing.

Prior to going to Jacksonville in 2016, I had been quite interested in politics, until the person I had been backing for the US Presidency dropped out of the race.  At that point, I became disgusted with what was going on and walked away.  Holy Spirit had me avoid politics completely until it was time to vote.  On election day, I decided who to vote for and I did not listen to any of the results until my wife told me that Trump might win.

Like many people, I did not like Trump, but I ended up voting for him because I did not trust the other candidate.  Before Jacksonville, I considered myself to be a "conservative libertarian."  I still see myself that way, but am more empathetic about other views than I may have been before.  Most of what I knew about Trump came from other people.  That changed when I actually listened to him give his Inauguration Speech.  It turns out he was exactly what I had been looking for.

I do not intend this to be a discussion about politics.  One of the things I have learned in the past year is that politics is like fleas arguing about who owns the dog they live on.  If they were wise, they would be be more concerned about what the Owner of the dog will eventually do to alleviate His dog's incessant scratching.  But, politics is part of the world we were born into and live in, and God uses it to teach us many things about Him and His Kingdom.

My wife and I started to watch President Trump when he gave his Inauguration Speech.  We began to read his Twitter "tweets" and watched the daily White House Press Briefings for a while.  It has been very entertaining and eye-opening.  I have also gone back to paying attention to media sources I trust.  Although my opinion of popular media sources has been low for a long time, it has taken Trump to flush them out of their facades to reveal the liars that they are.  This caused me to finally realize how corrupt the world is, and how fallen people are.  Sinners sin.  It's heartbreaking.  It is only through God's grace that anyone is rescued from such futile and agonizing situations!

Why do so many people hate Donald Trump?  There are many practical and political reasons, but there is also a critical spiritual reason.  Donald Trump loves Israel.¹  His daughter married a Jew and became a Jew herself.  His grandchildren are Jews.  God told Abraham...

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  (Genesis 12:3 NIV)

The Jews are Abraham's natural descendants and God blesses those who bless His people "in the flesh," whether they accept their Messiah, Yeshua, or not.  There is something to learn here.

Enough about that.  The main thing Holy Spirit has had me working on is learning to follow Him minute-by-minute and working to "get my own house in order."  I have been working with my wife to further develop our relationship, and we have been doing things with our children to get closer to them.

So, what about the onion?  My wife cut it up for me.  She likes onions.  I don't know why because there are quite a number of foods she does not like, but onions add flavor to food for her without giving her discomfort, unless it's a particularly strong onion, of course.  I often come up behind her while she is cutting onions and give her a hug.  It seems I tend to do that when she has a big knife in her hand, and we laugh about it.  Often, she has tears in her eyes, and we chuckle about that, too.

I took the photo because I realized our sins are like layers of an onion.  The outside layers of an onion are big, and as we peel them away the layers get smaller.  Peeling an onion involves cutting, and tears!  So it is with our sin.

The first sins we deal with are the big and obvious ones.  Once those are gone, the remaining sins seem smaller and are harder to detect.  If we keep peeling the onion, eventually all the layers will be gone.  If we keep praying in the Spirit and talking to Jesus, Holy Spirit will continue to bring our sins to our mind so we can confess them and repent from them.  Eventually, the amount of sin in our lives will be very small or non-existent.  Then God can really use us!

What about the cutting and the tears?  Getting rid of our sin can be painful as we cut away things in our lives that we have perhaps enjoyed but are destructive to our faith and relationship to God.  This will often involve many tears.  A wise person will realize if there are no tears, we may not have cut enough to get rid of what is burdening us.  Jesus is faithful to help us do this.  The tears will come, if we are serious and truly want to be clean and useful to God.

By the way, repentance is not a one-time thing.  It is the essential first step to begin being a disciple of Jesus, but it is also an essential part of our continuing life as a saint.  Our initial repenting was probably about a particular sin, but we have many sins.  Repenting will be an ongoing process that will last until the last breath we take on this earth, if we stay faithful and true to our Master.

Later in the year, I was led to read a book about five battles that changed modern war (Margin of Victory by Douglas Macgregor).  In each case, the author points out that a few people realized some seemingly minor things that made a significant difference and gained them the margin of victory.  You can get the book and read it if you are so inclined, but what it led me to is this...

There was something Jesus said that I didn't understand, but I do now...

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”  (Luke 11:14-28 NIV)

The armor of the Darkness is lies.  Jesus took away that armor in this case by challenging and refuting the lie that He was driving out demons by Beelzebul.  He used logic.  If Satan drives out his own "troops," he will lose.  It doesn't make any sense for him to do that.

I realized that the margin of victory for us is to confront lies.  Once the lies are confronted, exposed and removed, the Darkness will lose its power and must leave.  Attacking head-on without removing the armor is not going to work.  Look at the picture of the tank on the cover of that book.  If you shoot at the front of the turret of that tank your round will glance off.  If the armor is gone, the target will be exposed and the occupants will be defeated.

Holy Spirit will help us see the lies, and give us the ability to refute and defeat the lies in each situation we encounter.  This is the margin of victory.

How are the onion and the armor related?  Much of the sin in our lives is based on lies.  If we recognize we have believed a lie, we can repent from the sin that results from the lie.

For example, if we are told by the culture that having sexual relations outside of marriage is the thing to do, we will go right ahead and do it.  Once we realize that we cannot "go to heaven" if we offend God, and that our fornication is what specifically offends God, we are more likely to want to repent from that sin.  If we continue to believe the lie, what motivation is there to give up our "good time?"

We must understand about the armor so we can deal with our own sin, and so we can help others recognize their sin so they can repent.  This is a key strategy we must learn to employ.  Jesus will help us.


May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of Holy Spirit be with you all!

 

------------------------

UPDATE, August 30, 2022...

Here are some examples of the armor of the Darkness (lies), with corresponding biblical rebuttals...

 

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  (Matthew 19:21 NIV)

 

 

 

“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—  (Ephesians 6:2 NIV)

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.  (1 Peter 3:1-6 NIV)

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  (Genesis 1:24-25 NIV)

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,...

...Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones...  (Romans 1:18,26 NIV)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  (Psalm 20:7 NIV)

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.  (Matthew 9:35 NIV)

“‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”  (Leviticus 17:10-12 NIV)

 

When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”  (Mark 10:10-12 NIV)

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. ...

[They] returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”  (Luke 10:2-12, 17 NIV)

 

UPDATE, October 14, 2022...

We should not directly challenge a stronghold.  We should simply bypass it.  Eventually, we can surround it, lay siege to it, and wait for it to capitulate.  Jesus will show us what to do.

 

[Photo:  Masada, Israel] 

UPDATE, October 16, 2022...

So, here's an example of my "non-linear thinking," how inspirations and thoughts cascade from one to the next, hopefully guided by the Holy Spirit...

About forty years after Pentecost, God took away any hope of redemption through the Old Covenant.  He allowed the Romans to destroy the second Temple in Jerusalem, which was the only place where people could make sacrifices for their sins.²  Jewish rebels left Jerusalem and some retreated to the stronghold known as Masada.

The Romans besieged Masada and eventually captured it.  The single account by Josephus is controversial for a number of reasons, but modern Jews herald his description of defiance as a national symbol.  Whatever happened, God the Father had closed the door on the Old Covenant, and the door to the New Covenant was the only one remaining open:  the sacrifice of His Son.

Why were the Jewish rebels destroyed?  Because they had the wrong gospel.  They were zealous and passionate and sincere, but they were wrong.  Tragically wrong.

So it is with each of us.  If we have the wrong gospel, we will die, too.  There are many wrong gospels, but only one right one.

Do we have the right gospel?  How do we know?  Are we sure?

Sounds like a good topic for discussion with Jesus. 😉

UPDATE, October 17, 2022...

Someone shared this meme on Facebook.  I think it is very true, ... unfortunately.

This is how it is with "gospels."  We hear a message, embrace it, and then build our faith and life around it.  That particular "gospel" becomes "armor," especially if we have confidently proclaimed it to others.

Is this why there are so many different churches, denominations, and religions?

Multiple-Guess Test

Which one has the right gospel?  Choose the single best answer.

a) Catholic Church.
b) Lutheran Church.
c) Reformed Church.
d) Baptist Church.
e) Pentecostal Church.
f) Episcopalian Church.
g) Presbyterian Church.
h) Methodist Church.
i) Non-Denominational Church.
j) (insert here) Church.
k) Church of Satan.
l) All of the above.
m) None of the above.

UPDATE, October 29, 2022...

² I just read this in Brent Allan Winters' Excellence of the Common Law, Section 4.3.1, ©2008, page 469-70...

Like all ceremonies God's Word mentions, animal sacrifices were voluntary acts of faith in response to God's promises, intended to confirm one's oath, promise, and loyalty.  These undertakings, if done by faith in God's promises of the coming Messiah, were outward evidences of God's inward justification, but were never the means of personal justification.  Participation in a ceremony never has justified anyone before God and never will.  Only God, by His graciousness, is able [to] justify a person and accept that person.¹¹³⁵

¹¹³⁵ See Genesis 15:6, Ephesians 2:8-9.  A person's acceptance of Christ is necessary to be sure.  The crucial ingredient to salvation, however, is not that person's acceptance of Christ, but rather, God's acceptance of that person.  Only God can make a person acceptable through His Son and has promised to do so for "the one willing."  See generally Revelations 22:17, for the phrase ὁ θέλων (o thelown).  The phrase is precise: not "Any who might will" but "the one willing."

Sacrifice of the Messiah has been The Plan all along.  What God established through Moses in the Wilderness was a foreshadowing of what was to come.  Those who acted on faith before the Cross were just as "willing" as those who have more knowledge afterwards.

Based on what I have read of Winters' book (I am about halfway through), he seems to have "faith alone" religious glasses, which comes from the teachings of many Protestant denominations.  I agree with what he says here, however.  Prior to the Cross, having faith meant following the instructions of Moses with a right heart.  After the Cross, having faith means following the example of Jesus and doing what He did, which includes baptism by immersion, receiving the Holy Spirit, and performing miracles under the Father's authority.  Doing those things does not earn us salvation.  They are evidence that our hearts are right and that we are "willing."

King David's heart was "willing," yet he broke many of the commandments.  He suffered loss because of those sins, but his heart always seemed to be right.  Jesus will be his judge, not me, but I think David is an Old Covenant example of being right with God.

UPDATE, November 19, 2024...

Updated footnote numbers to keep them in order in the main text.

¹ Mr. Trump seems to be loyal to Israel, but perhaps not the biblical one.  I have learned a lot since I wrote this post.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 led to the establishment of the modern State of Israel.  People have not been told the full story.  Please read the following articles and do further research using this tool on the AVR website.

Article 4830, International Public Notice: Israel, Another Incorporated Phantasm, May 18, 2024.

Article 5115, International Public Notice: There Is No Doubt, November 14, 2024.

Article 5116, International Public Notice: The Reason America is Hated, November 15, 2024.

Since the Balfour-Declaration-inspired 99-year lease expired, the "State of Israel, Inc." is now the 51st state of the Territorial "USA, Inc.," the corporation Mr. Donald J. Trump has been President of the past eight years.

That 51st state is destroying Gaza so they can claim the oil underneath the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.  Apparently, plans are to build another canal to the Red Sea in parallel to the Suez Canal.  This is all criminal activity, and Mr. Trump seems to be right in the middle of it.

My opinion of him has changed drastically.

Keys to the Kingdom

Fellow disciples of Jesus,

“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22 NIV)

Receiving the full Gospel and being delivered from unclean spirits is just the beginning.  Those things are necessary for entering the Kingdom, but not sufficient.

Jesus gave Peter the "keys" to the Kingdom, and we must use them.  The keys are only mentioned in Matthew, which is written to believers.  The specific verse is 16:19, and the Holy Spirit tells me the keys are described in the ensuing text, which you should reference as you read this post.

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens."  (Matthew 16:19, first part, DLNT)

Whoever has the keys to something has control over the access to it.  That person can choose to either use the keys or not use them.  They can also choose to provide or deny access to others.  It is up to us; we must act.

The first thing Jesus talked about after mentioning the keys was this:

"And whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in the heavens”.  (Matthew 16:19, second part, DLNT)

"Binding" and "loosing" are not the keys, but they are part of the keys.  A very similar statement shows up later in Matthew 18:18, and I will talk more about it later.  Here is a comparison of both:  Matthew 16:19, 18:18.  In the first quotation, "heavens" is plural, and in the second it is singular ("heaven").  The Greek words translated into "you" in 16:19 are are singular, which implies Jesus was speaking to Peter, and the ones in 18:18 are plural.  There is nothing in the text to explain these differences.

Jesus told his disciples he would be persecuted and killed, and then rise again.  He then told them they must experience the same thing.  This is the first "key."  As his disciples, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus.  We must lose our lives in this fallen world in order to gain true life.  We must give up what we want, and do what he wants.  That is a tough message, but one we must heed if we want to enter the Kingdom (Matthew 16:21-28).  Many people will turn away from this, but we must stick with Jesus because he is our only option for eternal life (John 6:68).  Key #1:  Follow Jesus and die.

To reassure the disciples, Jesus took three of them up a mountain and showed them something amazing -- the Transfiguration.  This was not a key, but a manifestation of the Kingdom, one that Peter would remember for the rest of his life.

Next, Jesus showed them we must have faith if we want to see the Kingdom.  The disciples could not drive a demon out of a boy because they lacked faith.  Jesus rebuked them for their deficiency and then drove the demon out.  He told them they must make efforts to increase their own faith when they doubt, in order to be successful (Matthew 17:21).  There seems to be some ambiguity and uncertainty about the text here, but this is the straightforward conclusion.  I have personally found I must pray to increase my faith and renounce my doubt, since my flesh is weak and the Darkness does not want me to be effective.  Key #2:  Pray for faith; renounce unbelief and doubt.

Next, Jesus reiterated he would be persecuted and killed, and then raised to life.  By repeating it, Jesus indicated this was going to be particularly important.

Jesus showed the next key only to Peter, but obviously Peter must have shared it with the others because Matthew wrote about it.  Jesus showed Peter we should submit to earthly authorities so we do not offend them, and he showed him God will provide for all of our needs, sometimes miraculously.  Key #3:  Submit to authorities and trust God to provide for our needs.

Next, Jesus told them we must be humble like little children.  In other words, we should be dependent and helpless before God, as a little child is before adults.  Key #4:  Be humble.

Jesus told them they should be terrified of causing a humble person to sin.  Key #5:  Do not cause others to stumble.

Jesus told them they should be terrified of sinning, and should do whatever is necessary to avoid sinning.  Key #6:  Run from all sin.

Jesus told them to not despise or disregard a humble person, or treat them with contempt.  Key #7:  Do not run over people.

Jesus told them to go find sheep that have wandered off and are lost.  He was talking about believers, not unbelievers.  If a brother or sister in Christ wanders off, go get them!  Find out what is wrong and help them.  Jesus died for them, so we must care for them.  Key #8:  Go get the wandering sheep.

Jesus gave them a protocol to follow for dealing with a brother or sister who sins.  First, we are to go to them privately.  If that does not work, we are to go to them with one or two others to try to persuade them.  If that does not work, then we are to make the issue public to all the brothers and sisters in the group.  Finally, if that does not work, we are to treat them as an unbeliever, which means we should tell them to repent and then walk away from them.  We need to give people a fair hearing and give them ample opportunity to come to their senses.  We also need to keep it private and get other opinions because we might be wrong.  We do not want to falsely accuse anyone.  If we follow this protocol, and if the sinning person does not repent, then we must not allow them to remain in our midst, for their sake and for the sake of the Body.

This is where the second "binding" and "loosing" statement appears.  The Holy Spirit tells me this is about asserting the authority of the name of Jesus.  It has divine power to advance the Kingdom both on earth and in heaven.  Peter confronted Ananias and Sapphira about their sin, and they died (Acts 5:1-11).  Peter confronted Simon the sorcerer's sin, and he repented (Acts  8:9-25).  Paul confronted Elymas the sorcerer, and dark mist fell on him (Acts 13:4-12).  And Paul drove a spirit of divination out of a girl (Acts 16:16-34).

"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven."  (Matthew 18:18 DLNT)

As I stated earlier, the Greek words translated into "you" in this statement are plural, which implies Jesus was speaking to all of the disciples here.  The text does not explain why this statement is different from what Jesus said to Peter, but the Holy Spirit is telling me the intent was to show Peter he should share the keys with the others.  I will look at what Peter actually did with the keys later in this post.

This is also where Jesus introduced the "prayer of agreement," which says we must work together.

"Again, truly I say to you that if two of you on earth agree concerning any matter which they may ask, it will be done for them by My Father in the heavens."  (Matthew 18:19 DLNT)

This is also where the statement came from that we often use to explain to people how meeting together anywhere is "doing church."  It says Jesus will be with us when we work together, and we do not need a big group to be effective.

"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”  (Matthew 18:20 NKJV; link=DLNT)

I think these three things are important tactics for fighting a major enemy of the ekklesia (church)¹, which is sin, so I have not viewed them as separate "keys" and have included them with the protocol.  I think the context supports that.  Sin will destroy us and the ekklesia, if we let it, and this protocol is probably the core "key" we must use as a corporate body.  All the other keys are things we mostly do individually.  We must realize that "doing church" is about fighting sin and supporting each other, not partying.  It is okay to do some celebrating, but we must take care of business, or we will perish.  It is that serious.

As I am writing this, the Holy Spirit tells me there are some sins we will not recognize by ourselves and we will need help from the Body of Christ to deal with them.  That is how he tests us as a Body.  Will we love one another and work together to gain victory, or will we just do our own thing?  Will we humble ourselves and let our brothers and sisters help us, or will we be proud and try to handle it ourselves?  This is why God established the ekklesia -- so he can make us work together.  When we are able to demonstrate we can handle small things, he will give us bigger things to deal with.  It is all intended to make us rely on him, and on each other.  It is how he builds us up and into One.  Key #9:  Follow the protocol for dealing with sin.

Finally, Jesus told them they must always forgive brothers and sisters and have mercy on them, provided they repent.  The bar is high when it comes to the brethren.  Jesus tells us elsewhere (Matthew 6:14-15) we should always forgive everyone so our Heavenly Father will forgive us, but when it comes to brothers and sisters, they must repent in order to remain in our company.  If we follow the Key #9 protocol, we will ultimately be able to forgive everyone and our conscience will always be clear.  Key #10:  Forgive.

After that, the Pharisees showed up, so the introduction of the keys was done.  Jesus would not have discussed the keys with them.  Subsequent teachings in Matthew reinforced what the disciples had learned about the keys:  blessing of children (humility), the rich young man (leave everything), the parable of the workers in the vineyard (follow Jesus; humility; don't sin), and rebuking of the two disciples who wanted to sit by him in his kingdom (humility; do not run over people), but no new "keys" were introduced.  Soon after that, Jesus entered Jerusalem, where he made final preparations to go to the Cross.

How I parsed the teachings into ten keys is not important.  I numbered them because I am going to refer to them again, below.  What is important is those teachings are necessary for entering the Kingdom, and they are about dealing with brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are all striving to enter the Kingdom at the end of the age, and we are all Jesus.  How we treat each other is how we treat Jesus.  If we love them, we love him.  If we mistreat them, we mistreat him.  These things will expose our hearts, and will be part of the basis for our "final exam."

If you doubt my assertions that the Holy Spirit is telling me all of these things are the "keys," please do not let it distract you.  What is important is these teachings of Jesus are all critical for the ekklesia, and we must heed them.  Don't just take my word for it.  Discuss these things with him and see if what I am saying resonates with your spirit.


So, was Peter still using these keys at the end of his life?  Did he pass them along to others?  Let's look at the two letters he wrote and see...

Key #1:  Follow Jesus and die.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ...  (1 Peter 1:6-7 NKJV)

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”  (1 Peter 3:14 NKJV)

For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.  (1 Peter 3:17 NKJV)

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.  (1 Peter 4:1-4 NKJV)

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  (1 Peter 4:12-14 NKJV)

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.  (1 Peter 4:16 NKJV)

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.  (1 Peter 4:19 NKJV)

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  (1 Peter 5:8-10 NKJV)

Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.  (2 Peter 1:13-15 NKJV)

Key #2:  Pray for faith; renounce unbelief and doubt.

The Bible records in Acts 9:40 that Peter restored Dorcas to life, and before he did so, he knelt down and prayed.  That prayer was for his own faith, and it was early in his walk.

These two letters were written near the end of Peter's life, and by that time his faith was surely very strong.  He exhorted his readers to go beyond simple faith to more advanced manifestations of the Holy Spirit...

...that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.  (1 Peter 1:7-9 NKJV)

...add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 1:5-8 NKJV)

Key #3:  Submit to authorities and trust God to provide for our needs.

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.  (1 Peter 2:13-17 NKJV)

Servants [Employees], be submissive to your masters [employers] with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.  (1 Peter 2:18 NKJV)

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands...  (1 Peter 3:1 NKJV)

Key #4:  Be humble.

...you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.  (1 Peter 5:5-7 NKJV)

Key #5:  Do not cause others to stumble.

...no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed.  (2 Peter 1:20 - 2:10 NKJV)

Key #6:  Run from all sin.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”  And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear...  (1 Peter 1:13-17 NKJV)

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.  (1 Peter 4:15 NKJV)

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 1:5-11 NKJV)

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.  You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 3:14-18 NKJV)

Key #7:  Do not run over people.

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them [your own wives] with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.  (1 Peter 3:7 NKJV)

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  (1 Peter 3:8-9 NKJV)

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.  (1 Peter 5:1-4 NKJV)

Key #8:  Go get the wandering sheep.

The elders [more experienced believers; not a position or office] who are among you ... shepherd the flock of God...  (1 Peter 5:1-2 NKJV)

Key #9:  Follow the protocol for dealing with sin.
In much of his second letter, Peter publicly told the believers about false teachers.  The subject was so important it warranted much of his attention.  He would not have dealt with the private conversations of the protocol in an open letter like this one.

Key #10:  Forgive.

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  (1 Peter 3:8-9 NKJV)

So, it looks like Peter took the "keys" from Jesus and applied them to his life, and he shared them with those he discipled.  The two letters are good evidence for this, even though they are a small sampling of his life.  Since Peter wrote them to disciples in general, I think we can conclude the keys are for everyone, not just Peter "the Rock."

People who claim Peter, the apostles, and persons of "special positions" are the only ones with the keys (i.e. authority) have missed the big picture and are making up human doctrines by taking things out of context.  We should not listen to them.  We must listen to what Jesus said, and what the Holy Spirit is telling us, if we do indeed have the Holy Spirit².  Jesus came to empower us all, not just a few.

Lord Jesus, help us use the keys in our daily lives so we might enter the Kingdom, and help us share them with others so they might do the same.

Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.


All glory to God!!!


-----------------------------------
¹ I use the Greek word ekklesia rather than the English word "church" because the English word can mean different things to different people.  Ekklesia means congregation or assembly, but it never refers to a building or institution in the New Testament.

² Knowing what the original writers put in the Hebrew and Greek texts is not enough, because there will always be gaps and uncertainties in what they wrote.  The Holy Spirit fills in those gaps and clarifies the original intent, things that cannot be discerned through the text alone.  This exercise I have done, along with others, has helped me learn to follow the Holy Spirit's leading as I seek to answer questions he is putting on my heart.  It has also helped me understand how easy it is to make wrong conclusions and be deceived when we are not being led by the Holy Spirit.  I encourage everyone to do the same as I am doing.  I am nobody special, just a disciple of Jesus.

 

UPDATE, January 23, 2023...

According to the Roman Catholic Church, the apostle Peter was the first pope because Jesus gave him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  See the list of popes in this Wikipedia article and what it says about "Pontiff number 1."

plaque commemorating the popes

Their teachings presume all successive popes hold those keys, and therefore exercise the authority of Jesus Christ and the Christian God on earth.  The world is currently organized based on that presumed authority, and I discussed those things in my Authority post, as well as elsewhere.

I do not agree that any pope has any legitimate authority over the people of the world, other than those who submit to that authority by identifying with that church.  I believe those notions are all based on Gentile Teachings.  But, the world currently operates the way it does, and I believe reclaiming my birthright political status as a Michiganian is the appropriate thing for me to do at this time, and puts me into the best position to follow Yehoshua in the work He has me doing.

We shall see where the Holy Spirit leads...

Eyes

Beloved Brothers and Sisters,

Are you sure what you have in your wallet is actually worth what you think?  Have you accepted something counterfeit?  Have you been deceived?

The Holy Spirit helps us to recognize counterfeits.  He helps us see lies, and discern truth.  Everyone who has the Holy Spirit can learn to hone their discernment skills.

God has given some members of the Body of Christ a strong ability to see things, so they can teach others in the Body how to do the same.  We might call them the "eyes" of the Body, but what we call them does not matter.  We need to love all of our brothers and sisters in Christ and submit to one another because together, we are Jesus here on earth.

If someone in the Body "sees something," we must take it seriously, test it to make sure it is true, and then take appropriate action to defend the Body from deception.  Everyone has blind spots.  We must humble ourselves and accept help to see what we do not see.  This is part of the Body's immune system, and is essential for its health.

Lydia

Years ago, the Holy Spirit taught me some things about this, and they have stuck with me ever since.  I was having a discussion with someone who claimed Lydia was the leader of a church.  I went home to check it out and got out my exhaustive concordance.  I only found her name in Acts 16...

From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.  (Acts 16:11-15 NIV)

Skipping the story about the jailer...

After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.  (Acts 16:40 NIV)

That is all I found about Lydia.  Her name appears nowhere else in the New Testament, including Paul's letter to the Philippians.

So, if she was the leader of a church, the evidence for her being a leader of the assembly of believers in Philippi looked slim.  Meeting in someone's house does not automatically make them a leader, especially if they are a new believer.  I thought perhaps she was a leader of the assembly of believers in the town where she came from, Thyatira, so I looked up the name of that city in my concordance and only found it in Acts 16:14, as discussed above, and Revelation.  I looked in Revelation and found this...

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."  (Revelation 2:18-29 NIV)

Now, that woman was certainly leading people, but not in a good way!  Suddenly, I realized Lydia was the "Jezebel" in Thyatira, and that the Holy Spirit had used the person I was conversing with to guide me into that revelation.  Today, I still believe Lydia was the Jezebel of Revelation, although the Bible does not explicitly say so and I have never heard anyone else make that connection.  You can believe what you like, but it caused me to wonder if Lydia was really converted.  Here is another look at the text in Acts 16... 

One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.  (Acts 16:14-15 NIV)

It says Paul and his companions were persuaded to believe something, but says nothing about her actual belief.  Compare this to what happened a short time later with the jailer...

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.  (Acts 16:25-34 NIV)

In the jailer's case, the text explicitly states he and his family believed.  They saw miracles and the jailer was terrified.  He repented.  Lydia only heard Paul's teachings, and Jesus said...

“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”  (John 4:48 NIV)

Paul later wrote to the Corinthians...

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.  (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NIV)

If we believe the book of Acts was inspired by the Holy Spirit and he speaks to us through the text, then he is telling us something here by making this comparison.  He is telling me Lydia did not really believe, and therefore did not repent, and she may have eventually taught error in her hometown.  This is the danger of just preaching words without demonstrating God's power -- people don't experience the fear of God, and they don't really repent.  Then, thinking they have something to share with others about God, they unwittingly become false prophets and lead them away from Jesus.  They are the blind leading the blind, and both will fall into a pit.  Is this what we want?  Of course not!  We must do things the way Jesus taught us.  Even the early disciples did not always get it right, as demonstrated here in the case of Paul.  This is very sobering, in my opinion.

Of course Jesus will ultimately judge who is actually converted and saved, but the Bible says we are supposed to make judgements about those who claim to be in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 5).  I believe Paul and his companions were deceived into believing Lydia was converted, and I think many Bible translators, church leaders and scholars have been deceived, as well.  She was not Paul's first convert in Europe; the jailer was, along with his family.  I believe this happened because Paul did not have all the help he needed when he got to Philippi, and he did not recognize what was going on.

John Mark

Before he left on his second missionary journey, Paul had an argument with Barnabas about John Mark.  Earlier, John Mark had been with them at the start of Paul's first missionary journey, when they were on the island of Cyprus, but he went back to Jerusalem for some reason after they returned to the mainland.

The first missionary journey started after Barnabas and Saul (Paul) returned from delivering a gift to brothers and sisters in Judea (Acts 11:27-30)...

When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission [to Judea], they returned from Jerusalem [to Antioch], taking with them John, also called Mark...  (Acts 12:25 NIV)

The text of Paul's first missionary journey starts here...

...The two of them [Saul and Barnabas], sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.  (Acts 13:4-13 NIV)

This seems to be the only time in the book of Acts, and in the whole Bible, where Paul directly confronted a false prophet.  The summary at this link seems to have a pretty good list of the false prophets in the Bible, and it only lists two in the New Testament:  Elymas and the Jezebel of Revelation.  John Mark was with them for only a short time, which happened to be when they encountered Elymas.  Here is where Paul's second missionary journey begins, and eventually reaches Philippi and Lydia...

Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus [perhaps to encourage Sergius Paulus¹], but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.  [This is apparently where Paul first met Timothy.] The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.  [It appears Troas is where the author of Acts joined Paul's party, presumably Luke.  This means the author had first-hand knowledge about the encounter with Lydia.]

From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.  (Acts 15:36-16:15 NIV)

So, were Paul and his companions deceived in the Lydia encounter because John Mark was not with them?  The Bible does not say directly, but years later, when Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, he asked him to send "Mark," because he needed his help.  This was after Paul had been to Rome (2 Timothy 1:16-17), and therefore was also after his three missionary journeys -- in other words, after Paul had been through many experiences, and had encountered many different people and situations...

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.

At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  (2 Timothy 4:9-18 NIV)

Is this the same "Mark" we have been discussing?  The Bible doesn't say, but I believe it is.  This Mark was helpful to Paul in some way, which implies he had capabilities that Paul did not have.  I also believe it is likely he was the cousin of Barnabas, and eventually got reconnected with Paul...

My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)  (Colossians 4:10 NIV)

I believe John Mark may have had a spiritual gift of discernment, or something similar, and God used it on Cyprus to help defeat Elymus the false prophet so the procounsul, Sergius Paulus would see the Power of God and believe.  The Bible doesn't say what John Mark did because the Book of Acts is mostly about Paul, but he may have been the one who recognized what Elymas was doing and warned Paul.  Whatever happened, The Darkness undoubtedly took note and did what it could to separate John Mark from Paul. We don't know why John Mark returned to Jerusalem after Cyprus, but we do know there was conflict within "the Family" of Christ that created division and caused a breakup before the second missionary journey.  This is nothing new, and I have seen it before.  In fact, it happened to me.

Personal Experience

Years ago, after I repented and was baptized in water and Spirit, my spiritual capabilities in the Body of Christ started to become apparent.  If you read some of my earlier posts, you know I had foreknowledge of some things that occurred, and in some cases prayed God's will for them to come about.  After the "big one" happened, which you can read about in Spirit of Elisha and Burned Toast, The Darkness put some resources directly on my case within a week.

I had left my job as a chemical engineer, and had begun using my time to learn about film-making and television production.  I had signed up to learn how to use broadcast-quality video equipment at the local cable TV public-access station, and it was a day-long class.  During the lunch break, two guys who were also taking the class asked me to go to lunch with them.  They made me uncomfortable, but my motto at the time was, "Give to those who ask," so I went.  It was an awkward meal, and I really did not like them at all, but I tried to be nice.  A few weeks later, the manager of the TV station told me one of them had checked out some equipment and did not return it, and the station had to take special steps to get it back.  That's pretty bad "fruit."  Last June, I learned I had "spiritual hitchhikers."  Did I acquire some of them during that lunchtime encounter back in 2001?  I do not know the answer to that, and it really doesn't matter, but I do think the question is quite intriguing.

We were members of a church at the time, and I ended up being marginalized and persecuted for no apparent reason.  I became very distraught and upset about it, and could not understand what was happening, but I have a very good understanding about it now.  Of course, I forgave them and have moved on, and I rejoice at being counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:41).

At home, all of the neighbors we knew moved away in a relatively short period of time, and most of those who replaced them showed little interest in getting to know us.  I realize now that the Holy Spirit was teaching me what it is really like to live as a disciple of Jesus in this fallen world.  It was a hard lesson, but one I cherish.  Several years later, God led us to sell our house and move across town to what has turned out to be a much better place.  We love it here.  God is good.

First Strike

In war, when attacking an enemy, the first thing to do is blind them so they are at a disadvantage.  When the U.S.²-led coalition of forces began their attack to "liberate Kuwait" in 1991, the air raids during the first night were targeted at "command and control."  They wanted to take out the enemy's eyes.  When the Babylonians captured Zedekiah, King of Judah, they put out his eyes before they took him to Babylon (2 Kings 25:7), and when the Philistines captured Samson, they gouged out his eyes, probably thinking it would neutralize him for good, although they were mistaken (Judges 16:21).

This is what Satan does when he deals with God's people -- he goes for the eyes.  Don't fall for it.  Love your brothers and sisters, and respect what you hear them say, and what they see.  Test it, of course, but trust them because they are Jesus, and they are his way of helping you.  More importantly, it is how he protects his Body from attack, and if you ignore the "military intelligence" he provides, you risk being cut off, overrun, and destroyed.

Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.


All glory to God!!!

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UPDATE, April 27, 2022...

¹Barnabas was from Cyprus, so he may have just gone home.

UPDATE, May 10, 2022...

²The "U.S." is/was an out-of-control government-services corporation, and the wars in Iraq had nothing to do with actual Americans or the actual American Government.  I discussed this in more recent posts.

There is a pyramid on the side of the Abrams tank (U.S.) in this picture.  That symbol shows who those soldiers were actually fighting for and who was really in control.  The soldiers and the public had no idea what that meant.  I certainly didn't, but I noticed it and wondered.

When I wrote this post in 2016, I was still under the belief that the government of my country always did what was right, and that the cause of that particular adventure was a just one, but it turns out I had been groomed by propaganda from the Media.  I think it is interesting that all three of the examples I gave of "first strikes" are associated with Satan in the subsequent paragraph.  Apparently, the Holy Spirit knew what I did not know when I wrote this post.  All glory to Him!!!

UPDATE, August 26, 2025...

What most people think of as the "dollar bill" is actually called a "Federal Reserve Note," or FRN.  People think of it as money, but it is not money.  It is a form of commercial paper with no actual value.  An FRN is simply an I.O.U ("I owe you").

It's a long story, and you can start learning about it by reading this article:  http://annavonreitz.com/qfscashseizursandbailins.pdf.

FRN's are going away, and they are evidence of crime.

So, it turns out when we think we have "the real thing," even "the real thing" can be fake.

The same is often true in spiritual matters, unfortunately.  Be careful of who and what you follow.