Eclectic-Rant

https://www.youtube.com/live/REC2m2g82e0?si=X9WbH1l8UlIfrpmJ&t=27

Laying on of Hands

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit 

1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

Tongues: Controversial Subject because of over emphasis and because of neglect.

Acts 2:1–4 ESV

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 19:1–7 ESV

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”  And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.

Acts 10:12–15 ESV

In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

Acts 10:44–48 ESV

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Tongues and Prophecy were normal and regular signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Tongues were a common sign, but not a necessary sign. Pentecostalism has over-emphasized the gift, as a reaction, the mainline churches have resisted the gift and attacked it. 

Dispensationalists have called the gifts of the Holy Spirit demonic, saying irrationally that the supernatural is not for today; a doctrine that has no scriptural basis. 

Who are we to tell the Holy Spirit what he can and cannot do? God who is the same yesterday, today and forever… we can declare he cannot do what he did for the church? 

1  Corinthians gives us the ONLY picture of what early church worship was really like. It is the church in practice and the gifts were democratically distributed - Everyone was a participant. 

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They were NOT an audience!   

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So what did it look like? 

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 ESV

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

1 Corinthians 12:27–31 ESV

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

1 Corinthians 14:1–5 ESV

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.  The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

1 Corinthians 14:23–25 ESV

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

Been there done that! Pentecostal Church in Beaumont.

1 Corinthians 14:26–33 ESV

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.  Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 

1 Corinthians 14:39–40 ESV

So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.

John 14:12–14 ESV

Audio stopped at 8 minutes due to a software glitch. (Reprint from The Scholars Corner) 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 ESV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not…

reprint from The Scholars Corner Epistemology – The Study Of Knowledge…. OR  “How Do We Know That  We Know? There have been philosophical discussions  in recent years that question the nature of reality. Since everything we think we know, we know through our experiences, and since all our sensory experiences are subjective (i.e., we interpret our feelings with our own minds), perhaps there is…

Epistemology - the study of knowledge.... OR  “How Do We Know That  We Know?

There have been philosophical discussions  in recent years that question the nature of reality. Since everything we think we know, we know through our experiences, and since all our sensory experiences are subjective (i.e., we interpret our feelings with our own minds), perhaps there is no real world outside of our own minds. The thought is that we can never really know the outside world or know if that world is an objectively real because we only have the experience of our senses and interpret these feelings with our mind. The movie The Matrix is an example of this idea that the outside world is just a projection of our thoughts.  In the case of  The Matrix, it is a world created through stimulation of the receptors in the brain but that world is an illusion.   Elon Musk said he thinks there’s a “one in billions” chance that we’re not living in a computer simulation right now, meaning Musk is a believer in the hypothesis that a super intelligent artificial intelligence created the universe as we know it. To illustrate the problem of perception verses reality, my first day in my college philosophy class the teacher put an apple on the table and asked us what it was. It was clearly a beautiful, red delicious apple, and we all said so.  He then picked up the apple and bounced it on the table.  It was in fact a rubber apple. What we saw with our eyes and interpreted with our mind was not the reality we thought it was. We did not “know” what that thing really was. Now, the problem for our perception is that we based our conclusion on what we were seeing from past experiences. We were seeing a physical object, but we were deceived by our visual senses. But that is not the same thing as saying the red object was not there. And indeed, if we had held the object in our hands or tried to bite into it before making our declaration, we would have realized the ruse.  The fact that we can be deceived in our senses or in our interpretation of our experiences does not mean that there is not an objective reality. It only means that our subjective experience may not always be a reliable instrument for knowing that objective world outside ourselves. 

A Common Sense Theory of Knowledge. 

I assert that a coherent theory of knowledge actually requires the existence of an objectively real world outside ourselves, and that this world must exist in order for us to have any knowledge or even the ability to think at all.  Philosophers like Immanuel Kant have suggested that the mind has innate categorizing concepts through which we order our sensory input. These preexisting categories are concepts of time and space, cause and effect, and in terms of morals, justice and fairness. While I would agree that most people do have these concepts as part of their rational thought, I would argue that these concepts are developmental and are the result of our interaction with the objective, outside world, and not innate.  My wife was a child development major in college. When we had our first child, I could tell he was getting hungry or uncomfortable and needed a diaper change. I asked her why she waited until he cried before feeding him or changing his diaper. And she said, “if I don’t wait, he won’t learn that his voice has power.”  When we are born, we do not have a concept of self. It is only by our encounters with what is not us that we begin to distinguish ourselves from the world around us. I like to say that all knowledge is binary: A or not A.  When the infant’s foot encounters cold or warmth or resistance or pain, the body begins to recognize what we encounter can either cause us pleasure or pain. The mother’s breast brings milk to satisfy our hunger. The cry of discomfort causes a change of clothing and a wiping away of rash producing disgusting stuff. These experiences cause a “me” to recognize unconsciously that the world is not me. If I am A, they are not A.  If you put a baby on its back and push its foot up against its body, the baby will instinctively push back.  We don’t like to be controlled.  My point is this:  it is only by our encounter with the outside world that we develop the ability to become self aware. In other words, the outside world must objectively exist or we could not become sentient. We would float as an amorphous mob in a sea of nothingness. It would be like living from birth in a sensory deprivation tank. Our concepts of time, space, and cause and effect are the direct results of our encounters with an external, objective world. They are developmental concepts we then use to order our subsequent experiences in the world.  Therefore, that objective world must exist for us to develop both consciousness and rational thought.  Because of our experience of cause and effect in the natural world, like our foot being pushed and us pushing back, we can apply our experiences to understanding the way the world works. For example, consistently dropping a ball from a height verifies the effects of gravity. Only a fool would then decide that there is no such thing as cause and effect and step off a 15 story building and not expect to fall and die. The world, for the most part functions rationally, at least at the physical level. It can be argued that at the quantum level, the world is not rational, but we live and experience in the realm of the physical, and we can deduce from our experiences a rational explanation of the functions of the material world.  Through investigation and experimentation, we can learn much about this world. But this type of knowledge, which John Calvin called “common grace,” cannot tell us anything about metaphysics or the world beyond nature. Common grace allows us to develop medicines and machines, computer programs, and study biology, chemistry, and mathematics. But it does not by itself prove anything about the underlying nature of reality… i.e., if there is a creator God, a heaven, a devil, or a hell. In other words, we cannot assess the idea of religion through reason alone. 

Uncommon Knowledge 

He Was Born To Die Jefferis Peterson @ The Scholars Corner What is a Covenant of Blood?  Blood is Thicker Than Water A covenant made in blood in the biblical sense is a commitment of life and death. The only way out of it is by the death of one or the other partners. The marriage vow is unto death. It is a covenant historically sealed in blood when the virgin daughter’s hymen was broken, and…

We humans tend to think we are so important that we are the center of the Universe. The Chinese extol their Middle-Kingdom as the center of the Earth, to which we should all do obeisance. Islam believes they are commanded to establish the worldwide Caliphate, by force if necessary. England thought their empire was the means of teaching all the other colonies and “primitives” civilization and the…

https://rumble.com/v70ticc-battle-for-ai.html

The Battle for AI

Lies, Deception, & Corporate Sin

Mark 13:21–23 ESV

And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

UFO’s, Holograms, Nuclear Powered vehicles. Deceptions, preparations to deceive the elect. Facebook Reels and creator AI.

Covid, Lockdowns, and Control through Fear - State of Fear by Michael Crichton and “Global Warming” - How Governments control the masses.  

Use of AI to deceive in the future: political manipulation, false reels, and not being able to tell what is real! Facebook algorithms.

To be used against Christians? The false rumors of Christian cannibalism under Nero led to persecution.

What causes us to be defeated before our enemies?  Hidden Sin and Corporate Sin

Joshua 7:1 ESV

But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lordburned against the people of Israel.

Joshua 7:3–5 ESV

And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

Joshua asks WHY?

Joshua 7:6–7 ESV

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan!

Joshua 7:11–12 ESV

Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore, the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.

There is no such thing as a private sin. All sin affects the community. The tolerance of adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, pornography, fornication (sex outside of marriage), abortion - none of these are private sins or victimless crimes.

Romans 1:18 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Romans 1:26–32 ESV

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

God’s judgment is on a culture due to its rebellion, not just upon the individuals who commit sin, but upon a culture that tolerates and embraces it. 

BUT…. our role is not to execute judgment..

Romans 2:1 ESV

Therefore, you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

Our role is to rescue those under Satan’s dominion by preaching the good news of forgiveness of sins and the love of God in Jesus Christ. 

We discern right from wrong, and stand for righteousness, even though we will be persecuted for it.  We are not to endorse or condone sin, but are to expose it as such. 

The false physicians, the apostate church leaders believe themselves to be more tolerant than God. They embrace sin confusing it with compassion. But they are greasing the slide for those caught in sin to send them right into hell. They don’t bring healing but death.

Ezekiel 13:8–11 ESV

Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations…. Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash…

My Point is this, if we do not repent of our hidden sins, or worse, if we embrace and endorse sin, we, the corporate church, will suffer at the hands of our enemies.   Don’t think God does not know your hidden sins. He is calling you to repent today! 

Our only defense against AI and what is coming is holiness before the Lord. Else we will be trapped and plundered by those who hate Him!

Matthew 5:13 ESV

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

The Battle for AI https://www.scholarscorner.com/ai/ Lies, Deception, & Corporate Sin Mark 13:21–23 ESV And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. UFO’s,…

The Battle for AI Lies, Deception, & Corporate Sin Mark 13:21–23 ESV And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. UFO’s, Holograms, Nuclear Powered vehicles.…

We had an experience this week which rocked our faith and trust in Delta Airlines. We have used them for a long time and have a credit card with them as our favored airline. We were planning a trip to visit my son in Tennessee. My wife had looked up the prices last week, and it was about $309 per person. She didn’t buy right away. We came back this Wednesday to finalize the trip, but found that…

Our Sister Church in India is now facing increasing persecution and resistance to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Even signs and wonders bring conversions and rejection! It is like the situation when Jesus healed. How do we pray for those under the slavery of principalities and powers? How do we react to them when persecuted?

Reagan.com – An Email Service that Doesn’t Live Up to Its Namesake When I found out that Google scanned my emails, I wanted to find a service that would protect my political speech and communications.  At that time, I found one that was promising to be just that. Reagan.com promised to   Recapture Your Privacy Join in the movement to suppress Surveillance Capitalism. Take back your personal…

For an in-depth study on this issue, please visit The Scholars Corner. A New Covenant in My Blood Why was Jesus crucified on Passover and not Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement?  The Passover Seder was a Covenant Meal where the head of each household presided. It was not a Temple Sacrifice done by a Priest.  Jesus even told us that this Last Supper was a New Covenant in “my blood.”  As a…

There is an irony in atheism.  The atheist must posit the existence of God in order to not believe. In other words, atheism does not exist without the assumption of  someone or something to not believe in.  The formal definition of an atheist is “a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.”  To disbelieve or lack belief, an atheist must disbelieve or lack belief in…