Nevertheless, when we declare the miracles which God has wrought, or yet work, and which we cannot bring under the very eyes of men, sceptics keep demanding that we shall explain these marvels to reason. And because we cannot do so, inasmuch as they are above human comprehension, they suppose we are speaking falsely. These persons themselves, therefore, ought to account for all these marvels which we either can or do see. And if they perceive that this is impossible for man to do, they should acknowledge that it cannot be concluded to reason, since there are things now in existence of which the same is true.

I will not, then, detail the multitude of marvels which are related in books, and which refer not to things that happened once and passed away, but that are permanent in certain places, where, if anyone has the desire and opportunity, he may ascertain their truth; but a few only I recount. The following are some of the marvels men tell us: The salt of Agrigentum in Sicily, when thrown into the fire, becomes fluid as if were in water, but in the water it crackles as if it were in the fire. The Garamante have a fountain so cold by day that no one can drink it, so hot by night no one can touch it. Alluded to by Moore in his melodies:

"The fount that played
In times of old through Ammon's shade,
Though ice cold by day it ran,
Yet still, like souls of mirth, began
To burn when night was near."

In Epirus, too, there is a fountain which like all others, quenches lighted torches, but, unlike all others, lights quenched torches. There is a stone found in Arcadia, and called asbestos, because once lit it cannot be put out. The wood of a certain kind of Egyptian fig-tree sinks in water, and does not float like other wood; and stranger still, when it has been sunk to the bottom for sometime, it rises again to the surface, though nature requires that when soaked in water it should be heavier than ever. Then there are the apples of Sodom, which grow indeed to an appearance of ripeness, but, when you touch them with hand or tooth, the peel cracks, and they crumble into dusts and ashes.

The Persian stone pyrites burns the hand when it is tightly held in it, and so gets its name from fire. In Persia, too, there is found another stone called selenite, because its interior brilliancy waxes and wanes with the moon. Then in Cappadocia the mares are impregnated by the wind, and their foals live only three years. Tilon, and Indian island, has this advantage over all other lands, that no tree which grows in it ever loses its foliage.

These and numberless other marvels recorded in the history, not of past events, but of permanent localities, I have no time to enlarge upon and diverge from my main object; but let those sceptics who refuse to credit the divine writings give me, if they can, a rational account of them. For their only ground of unbelief in the Sacred Scripture is, that they contain incredible things, just such as I have been recounting. For, say they, reason cannot admit that flesh burn and remain unconsumed, suffer without dying. Mighty reasoners, indeed, who are competent to give the reason of all the marvels that exist!

Let them then give us the reason of the few things we have cited, and which, if they did not know they existed, and were only assured by us they would at some future time occur, they would believe still less than that which they now refuse to credit on our word. For which of them would believe us if, instead of saying that the living bodies of men hereafter will be such as to endure everlasting pain and fire without ever dying, we were to say that in the world to come there will be salt which becomes liquid in fire as if it were in water, and crackles in water as if it were in fire; or that there will be a fountain whose water in the chill air of night is so hot that it cannot be touched, while in the heat of day it is so cold that it cannot be drunk; or that there will be a stone which by its own heat burns the hand when tightly held, or a stone which cannot be extinguished if it has been lit in any part; or any of those wonders I have cited, while omitting numberless others?

If we were to say that these things would be found in the world to come, and our sceptics were to reply, "If you wish us to believe these things, satisfy our reason about each of them" we should confess that we could not because the frail comprehension of man cannot master these and such-like wonders of God's working; and that yet our reason was thoroughly convinced that the Almighty does nothing without reason, though the frail mind of man cannot explain the reason; and that while we are in many instances uncertain what He intends, yet that it is always most certain that nothing which He intends is impossible to Him; and that when He declares His mind, we believe Him whom we cannot believe to be powerless or false. Nevertheless, these cavillers at faith and exactors of reason, how do they dispose of those things which a reason cannot be given, and which yet exist, though in apparent contrariety to the nature of things? If we had announced that these things were to be, these sceptics would have demanded from us the reason of them, as they do in the case of those things we are announcing as destined to be. And consequently, as these present marvels are not non-existent, though human reason and discourse are lost in such works of God, so those things we speak of are not impossible because inexplicable; for in this particular they are in the same predicament as the marvels of earth.

At this point they will perhaps reply, "These things have no existence; we don't believe one of them; they are travellers' tales and fictitious romances" and they may add what has the appearance of argument, and say, "If you believe such things as these, believe what is recorded in the same books, that there was or is a temple of Venus in which a candelabrum set in the open air holds a lamp, which burns so strongly that no storm or rain extinguishes it, and which is therefore called like the stone mentioned above, the asbestos or inextinguishable lamp."

They may say this with the intention of putting us into a dilemma: for if we say this is incredible, then we shall impugn the truth of the other recorded marvels; if, on the other hand, we admit that this is credible, we shall avouch the pagan deities. But, as I have already said in the eighteenth book of this work, we do not hold it necessary to believe that profane history contain, since, as Varro says, even historians themselves disagree on so many points, that one would think they intended and were at pains to do so; but we believe, if we are disposed, those things which are not contradicted by these books, which we do not hesitate to say we are bound to believe. But as to those permanent miracles of nature, whereby we wish to persuade the sceptical of the miracles of the world to come, those are quite sufficient for our purpose which we ourselves can observe, or of which it is not difficult to find trustworthy witness. Moreover, that temple of Venus, with its extinguishable lamp, so far from hemming us into a corner, opens an advantageous field to our argument. For to this inextinguishable lamp we add a host of marvels wrought by men, or by magic - that is, by men under the influence of devils, or by the devils directly - for such marvels we cannot deny without impugning the truth of the Sacred Scriptures we believe.

That lamp, therefore, was either by some mechanical and human device fitted with asbestos, or it was arranged by magical art in order that the worshippers might be astonished, or some devil under the name of Venus so signally manifested himself that this prodigy both began and became permanent. Now devils are attracted to dwell in certain temples by means of the creatures ( God's creatures, not theirs ) who present to them what suits their various tastes. They are attracted not by food like animals, but, like spirits, by such symbols as suit their taste, various kinds of stones, woods, plants, animals, songs, rites. And that men may provide these attractions, the devils first of all cunningly seduce them, either by imbuing their hearts with a secret poison, or by revealing themselves under a friendly guise, and thus make a few of them their disciples, who become the instructors of the multitude. For unless they first instructed men, it were impossible to know what each of them desires, what they shrink from, by what name they should be invoked or constrained to be present. Hence, the origin of magic and magicians. But, above all. they possess the hearts of men, and are chiefly proud of this possession when they transform themselves into angels of light. Very many things that occur, thus, are their doing; and these deeds of theirs we ought all the more carefully to shun as we acknowledge them to be very surprising. And yet these very deeds forward my present arguments. For if such marvels are wrought by unclean devils, how much mightier are the holy angels! and what cannot that God do who made the angels themselves capable of working miracles!

If, then, very many effects can be contrived by human art, or so surprising a kind that the uninitiated think them divine, as when, example, in a certain temple two magnets have been adjusted, one in the roof, another in the floor, so that an iron image is suspended in mid-air between them, one would suppose by the power of the divinity, were he ignorant of the magnets above and beneath; or as in the case of that lamp of Venus which we already mentioned as being a skillful adaption of asbestos; if, again, by the help of magicians, whom Scriptures calls sorcerer and enchanters, the devils could gain such power that the noble poet Virgil should consider himself justified in describing a very powerful magician in this lines:

Her charms can cure what souls she please,
Rob other hearts of healthful ease,
Turn rivers backward to their source,
And make the stars forget their course,
And call up ghosts from night;
The ground shall bellow 'neath your feet;
The mountain-ash shall quit its seat,
And travel down the height. -
If this be so, how much more able is God to do those things which to sceptics are incredible, but to His power easy, since it is He who has given to stones and all other things their virtue, and to men their skill to use them in wonderful ways; He who has given to the angels a nature more mighty than that of all that lives on earth; He whose power surpasses all marvels, and whose wisdom in working, ordaining and permitting is no less marvellous in its governance of all things than in its creation of all!

Why, then, cannot God effect both that the bodies of the dead shall rise, and that the bodies of that damned shall be tormented in everlasting fire - God, who made the world full of countless miracles in sky, earth, air, and waters, while itself is a miracle unquestionably greater and more admirable than all the marvels it is filled with? But those with whom or against whom we are arguing, who believe both that there is a God who made the world, and that there are gods created by Him who administer the world's laws as His vicegerents - our adversaries, I say, who, so far from denying emphatically, assert that there are powers in the world which effect marvellous results ( whether of their own accord, or because they are invoked by some rite or prayer, or in some magical way ) when we lay before them the wonderful properties of other things which are neither rational animals nor rational spirits, but such material objects as those we have just cited, are in the habit of replying. This is their natural property, their nature; these are the powers naturally belonging to them. 

Thus the whole reason why Agrigentine salt dissolves in fire and crackles in water is that this is its nature. Yet this seems rather contrary to nature, which has given not to fire but to water the power of melting salt, and the power of scorching it not to water but to fire. But this, they say, is the natural property of this salt, to show effects contrary to these. The same reason, therefore, is assigned to account for that Garamantian fountain, of which one and the same runlet is chill by day and boiling by night, so that in either extreme it cannot be touched. So also of that other fountain which though it is cold to the touch, and though it, like other fountains, extinguishes a lighted torch, yet, unlike other fountains, and in a surprising manner, kindles an extinguished torch. So of the asbestos stone, which though it has no heat of its own, yet when kindled by fire applied to it, cannot be extinguished. And so of the rest, which I am weary of reciting, and in which, though there seems to be an extraordinary property contrary to nature, yet no other reason is given for them than this, that this is their nature - a brief reason truly, and, I own, a satisfactory reply. But since God is the author of all natures, how is it that our adversaries, when they refuse to believe what we affirm, on the ground that it is impossible, are unwilling to accept from us a better explanation than their own, viz. that this is the will of Almighty God - for certainly He is called Almighty only because He is mighty to do all He will - He who was able to create so many marvels, not only unknown, but very well ascertained, as I have been showing, and which, were they not under our own observation, or reported by recent and credible witnesses, would certainly be pronounced impossible? For as those marvels which have no other testimony than the writers in whose books we read them, and who wrote without being divinely instructed, and are therefore, liable to human error, we cannot justly blame anyone who declines to believe them.

For my own part, I do not wish all the marvels I have cited to be rashly accepted, for I do not myself believe them implicitly, save those which have either come under my own observation, or which anyone can readily verify - such as the lime which is heated by water and cooled by oil; the magnet which by its mysterious and insensible suction attracts the iron, but has no effect on a straw; the peacock's flesh which triumphs over the corruption from which not the flesh of Plato is exempt; the chaff so chilling that it prevents snow from melting, so heating that it forces apples to ripen; the glowing fire, which, in accordance with its glowing appearance, it begrimes most things it burns ( just as dirty stains are made by oil, however pure it be, and as the lines drawn by white silver are black ) the charcoal, too, which by the action of fire is so completely changed from its original, that a finely marked piece of wood becomes hideous, the tough becomes brittle, the decaying incorruptible. Some of these things I know in common with many other persons, some of them in common with all men; and there are many others which I have not room to insert in this book. But of those which I have cited, though I have not myself seen, but only read about them. I have been unable to find trustworthy witnesses from whom I could ascertain whether they are facts, except in the case of that fountain in which burning torches are extinguished and extinguished torches lit, and of the apples of Sodom, which are ripe to appearance, but are filled with dust. 

And indeed, I have not met with any who said they had seen that fountain in Epirus, but with some who knew there was a similar fountain in Gaul not far from Grenoble. The fruit of the trees of Sodom, however, is not only spoken of in books worthy of credit, but so many persons say that they have seen it that I cannot doubt the fact. But the rest of the prodigies I receive without definitely affirming or denying them; and I have cited them because I read them in the authors of our adversaries, and that I might prove how many things many among themselves believe, because they are written in the works of their own literary men, though no rational explanation of them is given, and yet they scorn to believe us when assert that Almighty God will do what is beyond their experience and observation; and this they do even though we assign a reason for His work. For what better and stronger reason for such things can be given than to say that the Almighty God is able to bring them to pass, and will bring them to pass, having predicted them in those books which many other marvels which have already come to pass were predicted? Those things which are regarded as impossible will be accomplished according to the word, and by the power of that God who predicted and effected that the incredulous nations should believe incredible wonders.

                                                                       Page 2

Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

OF THE END RESERVED FOR THE CITY OF THE DEVIL, NAMELY, THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT OF THE DAMNED; AND OF THE ARGUMENTS WHICH UNBELIEF BRINGS AGAINST IT.

I, propose, with such ability as God may grant me, to discuss in this book ( The City Of God ) more thoroughly the nature of the punishment which shall be assigned to the devil and his retainers, when the two cities, the one of God, the other of the devil, shall have reached their proper ends through Jesus Christ our Lord, the Judge of quick and dead. And I have adopted this order, and preferred to speak, first of the punishment of the devils, and afterwards of the blessedness of the saints, because the body partakes of either destiny; and it seems to be more incredible that bodies endure in everlasting torments than that they continue to exist without any pain in everlasting felicity. Consequently, when I shall have demonstrated that punishment ought not to be incredible, this will materially aid me in proving that which is much more incredible, viz. the immortality of the bodies of the saints which are delivered from all pain. Neither is this order out of harmony with the divine writings, in which sometimes, indeed, the blessedness of the good is placed first, as in the words.

They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. - John 5:29 -

But sometimes also last, as "The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things which offend, and shall cast them a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of His Father." - Matt. 13:41-43 - and that, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." - Matt. 25:46 -

And though we have not room to cite instances, any one who examines the prophets will find that they adopt now the one arrangement and now the other. My own reason for following the latter order I have given.

What, then, can I adduce to convince those who refuse to believe that human bodies, animated and living, cannot only survive death, but also last in the torments of everlasting fires? They will not allow us to refer this simply to the power of the Almighty, but demand that we persuade them by some example. If, then, we reply to them, that there are animals which certainly are corruptible, because they are mortal, and which yet live in the midst of flames; and likewise, that in springs of water so hot that no one can put his hand in it with impunity a species of worm is found, which not only lives there, but cannot live elsewhere; they either refuse to believe these facts unless we can show them, or, if we are in circumstances to prove them by ocular demonstration or by adequate testimony, they contend, with the same scepticism, that these facts are not examples of what we seek to prove, inasmuch as these animals do not live for ever, and besides, they live in that blaze of heat without pain, the element of fire being congenial to their nature, and causing it to thrive and not to suffer - just as if it were not more incredible that it should thrive than it should suffer in such circumstances. It is strange that anything should suffer in fire and yet live, but stranger that it should live in fire and not suffer. If, then, the latter be believed, why not also the former?

But, say they, there is no body which can suffer and cannot also die. How do we know this? For we can say with certainty that the devils do not suffer in their bodies, when they own that they are grievously tormented? And if it is replied that there is no earthly body - that is to say, no solid and perceptible body, or in one word, no flesh - which can suffer and cannot die, is not this to tell us only what men have gathered from experience and their bodily senses? For they indeed have no acquaintance with any flesh but what which is mortal; and this is their whole argument, that what they have had no experience of they judge quite impossible.

For we cannot call it reasoning to make pain a presumption of death, while, in fact, it is rather a sign of life. For though it be a question whether that which suffers can continue to live for ever, yet it is certain that everything which suffers pain does live, and that pain can exist only in a living subject. It is necessary, therefore, that he who is pained be living, not necessary that pain kill him; for every pain does not kill even those mortal bodies of ours which are destined to die. And that any pain kills them is caused by the circumstance that the soul is so connected with the body that it succumbs to great pain and withdraws; for the structure of our members and vital parts is so infirm that it cannot bear up against that violence which causes great or extreme agony.

But in the life to come this connection of soul and body is of such a kind, that as it is dissolved by no lapse of time, so neither is it burst asunder by any pain. And so, although it be true that in this world there is no flesh which can suffer pain and yet cannot die, yet in the world to come there shall be flesh such as now there is not, as there will also be death such as now there is not. For death will not be abolished, but will be eternal, since the soul will neither be able to enjoy God and live, nor to die and escape the pains of the body. The first death drives the soul from the body against her will; the second death holds the soul in the body against he will. The two have this in common, that the soul suffers against her will what her own body inflicts.

Our opponents, too, make much of this, that in this world there is no flesh which can suffer pain and cannot die; while they make nothing of the fact that there is something which is greater than the body. For the spirit, whose presence animates and rules the body, can both suffer pain and cannot die. Here then is something which, though it can feel pain, is immortal. And this capacity, which we now see in the spirit of all, shall be hereafter in the bodies of the damned. Moreover, if we attend to the matter a little more closely, we see that what is called bodily pain is rather to be referred to the soul.

For it is the soul, not the body, which is pained, even when the pain originates with the body - the soul feeling pain at the point where the body is hurt. As then we speak of bodies feeling and living, though the feeling and life of the body are from the soul, so also we speak of bodies being pained, though no pain can be suffered by the body apart from the soul. ( The soul, then, is pained with the body in that part where something occurs to hurt it ) and it is pained alone, though it be in the body, when some invisible cause distresses it, while the body is safe and sound. Even when not associated with the body it is pained; for certainly that rich man was suffering in hell when he cried,

Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. "In his torment in Hades" he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus [the poor man] in his bosom. So he cried out, "Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flame." "My son," Abraham replied "remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad thing came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours." - Luke 16:22-26 -

But as for the body, it suffers no pain when it is soulless; and even when animate it can suffer only by the soul's suffering. If, therefore, we might draw a just presumption from the existence of pain to that of death, and conclude that where pain can be felt death can occur, death would rather be the property of the soul, for to it pain more peculiarly belongs. But, seeing that which suffers most cannot die, what ground is there for supposing that those bodies, because destined to suffer, are therefore destined to die? The Platonist indeed maintained that these earthly bodies and dying members gave rise to the fears, desires, griefs, and joys of the soul.

But in the fourteenth book of this work, we have proved that, according to the Platonists' own theory, souls, even when purged from all pollution of the body, are yet possessed by a monstrous desire to return again into their bodies. But where desire can exist, certainly pain also can exist; for desire frustrated, either by missing what it aims at or losing what it had attained, is turned into pain. And therefore, if the soul, which is either the only or the chief sufferer, has yet a kind of immortality of its own, it is inconsequent to say that because the bodies of the damned shall suffer, therefore they shall die. ( In fine, if the body causes the soul to suffer, why can the body not cause death as well as suffering, unless because it does not follow that what causes pain causes death as well? ) And why then is it incredible that these fires can cause pain but not death to those bodies we speak of, just as the bodies themselves cause pain, but not therefore death, to the souls? Pain is therefore no necessary presumption of death.

If, therefore, the salamander lives in fire, as naturalist - (Hist. anim. v. 19, Hist. nat. xxix. 23) (ii. 68)- SAISSET. have recorded, and if certain famous mountains of Sicily have been continually on fire from the remotest antiquity until now, and yet remain entire, these are sufficiently convincing examples that everything which burns is not consumed. As the soul, too, is a proof that not everything which can suffer pain can also die, why then do they yet demand that we produce real examples to prove that it is not incredible that the bodies of men condemned to everlasting punishment may retain their soul in the fire, may burn without being consumed, and may suffer without perishing? For suitable properties will be communicated to the substance of the flesh by Him who has endowed the things we see with so marvellous and diverse properties that their very multitude prevents our wonder.

For who but God the Creator of all things has given to the flesh of the peacock its antiseptic property? This property, when I first heard of it, seemed to me incredible; but it happened at Carthage that a bird of this kind was cooked and served up to me, and taking a suitable slice of flesh from its breast, I ordered it to be kept, and when it had been kept as many days as make any other flesh stinking, it was produced and set before me, and emitted no offensive smell. And after it had been laid by for thirty days and more, it was still in the same state; and a year after, the same still, except that it was a little more shrivelled; and drier. Who gave to chaff such power to freeze that it preserves snow buried under it, and such power to warm that it ripens green fruit?

But who can explain the strange properties of fire itself, which blackens everything it burns, though itself bright; and which, though of the most beautiful colours, discolours almost all it touches and feeds upon, and turns blazing fuel into grimy cinders? Still this is not laid down as an absolutely uniform law; for on the contrary, stones baked in glowing fire themselves also glow, and though the fire be rather of a red hue, and they white, yet white is congruous with light, and black with darkness. Thus, though the fire burns the wood in calcining the stones, these contrary effect do not result from the contrariety of the materials. For though wood and stone differ, they are not contraries, like black and white, the one of which colours is produced in the stones, while the other is produced in the wood by the same action of fire, which imparts its own brightness to the former, while it begrimes the latter, and which could have no effect on the one were it not fed by the other.

Then what wonderful properties do we find in charcoal, which is so brittle that a light tap breaks it and a slight pressure pulverizes it, and yet is so strong that no moisture rots it, nor any time causes it to decay. So enduring is it, that it is customary in laying down landmarks to put charcoal underneath them, so that if, after the longest interval, anyone raises an action, and pleads that there is no boundary stone, he may be convicted by the charcoal below. What then has enabled it to last so long without rotting, though buried in the damp earth in which [its original] wood rots, except this same fire which consumes all things?

Again, let us consider the wonders of time; for besides growing white in fire, which makes other things black, and of which I have already said enough, it has also a mysterious property of conceiving fire within it. Itself cold to the touch, it yet has a hidden store of fire, which is not at once apparent to our senses, but which experience teaches us, lies as it were slumbering within it even while unseen. And it is for this reason called "quick lime" as if the fire were the invisible soul quickening the visible substance or body. But the marvellous thing is, that this fire is kindled when it is extinguished. For to disengage the hidden fire the lime is moistened or drenched with water, and then, though it be cold before, it becomes hot by that very application which cools what is hot.

As if the fire were departing from the lime and breathing its last, it no longer lies hid, but appears; and then the lime lying in the coldness of death cannot be requickened, and what we before call "quick" we now call "slaked." What can be stranger than this? yet there is a greater marvel still. For if you treat the lime, not with water, but with oil, which is as fuel to fire, no amount of oil will heat it. Now if this marvel had been told of some Indian mineral which we had no opportunity of experimenting upon, we should either have forthwith pronounced it as falsehood, or certainly should have been greatly astonished. But things that daily present themselves to our own observation we despise, not because that are really less marvellous, but because they are common; so that even some products of India itself, remote as it is from ourselves, cease to excite our admiration as soon as we can admire them at our leisure.(So Lucretius, ii. 1025)

The diamond is a stone possessed by many among ourselves, especially by jewellers and lapidaries, and the stone is so hard that it can be wrought neither by iron nor fire, nor, they say, by anything at all except goat's blood. But do you suppose it is as much admired by those who own it and are familiar with its properties as by those to whom it is shown for the first time? Persons who have not seen it perhaps do not believe what is said of it, or if they do, they wonder as at a thing beyond their experience; and if they happen to see it, still they marvel because they unused to it, but gradually familiar experience [of it] dulls their admiration.

We know that the load stone has a wonderful power of attracting iron. When I first saw it I was thunderstruck, for I saw an iron ring attracted and suspended by the stone; and then, as if it had communicated its own property to the iron it attracted, and had made it a substance like itself, this ring was put near another, and lifted it up; and as the first ring clung to the magnet, so did the second ring to the first. A third and fourth were similarly added, so that there hung from the stone a kind of chain of rings, with their hoops connected, not interlinking, but attached together by their outer surface. Who would not be amazed at this virtue of the stone, subsisting as it does not only in itself, but transmitted through so many suspended rings, and binding them together by invisible links?

Yet far more astonishing is what I heard about this stone from my brother in the episcopate, Severus bishop of Milevis. He told me that Bathanarius, once count of Africa, when the bishop was dining with him, produced a magnet, and held it under a silver plate on which he placed a bit of iron; then as he moved his hand with the magnet underneath the plate, the iron upon the plate moved about accordingly. The intervening silver was not affected at all, but precisely as the magnet was moved backwards and forwards below it, no matter how quickly, so was the iron attracted above. I have related what I myself have witnessed; I have related what I was told by one whom I trust as I trust my own eyes. Let me further say that what I have read about this magnet. When a diamond is laid near it, it does not lift iron; or if it has already lifted it, as soon as the diamond approaches, it drops it. These stones come from India. But if we cease to admire them because they are now familiar, how much less must they admire them who procure them very easily and send them to us?

Perhaps, they are held as cheap as we hold lime, which, because it is common, we think nothing of, though it has the strange property of burning when water, which is wont to quench fire, is poured on it, and of remaining cool when mixed with oil, which ordinarily feeds fire.

                                                                     Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Hades is a Greek word for 'Hell.' Hell is the place of eternal punishment for the mortal sinners, the wicked and the evil one, taking God's name in vain [blasphemy] and the opposite of the righteous one. It is akin to 'All that is unfit for heaven will be throw into hell.' Whereas, the Hebrew people regarded Sheol as a place to which both the righteous and unrighteous go at death. Sheol is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Hades.

In the Old Testament thought, Sheol is 'the abode of the dead.' Sheol was regarded as an underground region, shadowy and gloomy, where disembodied souls had a conscious but dull and inactive existence. It is also a place where punishment is received and rewards are enjoyed. Sheol is pictured as having an insatiable appetite.

However, before God judgment pronounce, Hades, or Hell, or Sheol is open and known to Him. This suggests that in death God's people remain under His care, but the wicked and the evil one, the unrighteous one, the mortal sinners never escaped His judgment. Sheol gives meaning to - Psalm 16:9-10 - "So my heart exults, my very soul rejoices, my body, too, will rest securely, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor allow the one you love to see Pit." Saint Peter saw the fulfillment of this messianic psalm in Jesus' resurrection. "That you may not abandon my soul to Hades." - Acts 2:27

But if Yahweh does something utterly new, if the earth should open its mouth and swallow them, themselves and all that belongs to them, so that they go down alive to Sheol, then you will know that these men have rejected Yahweh. They went down alive to Sheol, they and all their possessions.  - Num. 16:30, 33 - Gen. 37:35 -

May the wicked return to Sheol,
all the nations forgetful of God. - Ps. 9:17 -

Whatever work you propose to do, do it while you can, for there is neither achievement, nor planning, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in Sheol where you are going. - Eccl. 9:10 - 2 Sam. 22:6 -

...Yes, Sheol opens wide his throats
and gapes with measurable jaw
to swallow up her thronging nobility
as they are shouting for joy. - Is. 5:14, 14:9-11 -

I said: In the noon of my life
I have to depart
for the gates of Sheol,
I am deprived of the rest of my years. - Is. 38:10 -

Wealth is indeed a treacherous thing.
Haughty and unable to rest is he
who is greedy as Sheol,
who is like death, insatiable,
who assembles all the nations for his own ends,
collects all the peoples to his own advantage. - Hab. 2:5 - Amos 9:2 -

Saint Peter saw the fulfillment of this messianic psalm in Jesus' resurrection. "That you may not abandon my soul to Hades." - Acts 2:27 -

The Lord Jesus Christ resurrection is clearly linked with the overcoming of the powers of evil and death. In the Old Testament, Sheol is the place of the rephaim, the Hebrew term for a weakened existence. - Is. 14:9-11 - These beings, however, are not souls without bodies. Thus, the psalmist expected that God would ransom his soul from the Sheol. - Ps. 49:15 - It was Israel's firm belief in the goodness of God that led the Jewish people to believe that the righteous dead would yet see God. - Job 19:26 -

This expectation was the foundation upon which the Jewish ideas concerning the resurrection were built. It is certain that the Pharisees [a religious and political party in Palestine in New Testament times] proclaimed a life after death that required a resurrection.

Israel's concepts of the resurrection were born out of her relationship to God in her tumultuous history. At first glance the prophet Isaiah seems to express a view that the resurrection is for the faithful and that the wicked and evil one may not arise. - Is. 26:10-19 - The Jewish loyalist of the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees apparently agreed that for some there will be no resurrection to life. But prophet Daniel announced: When that time comes, your own people will be spared, all those whose names are found written in the Book. Of those who lie sleeping in the dust of the earth many will awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace. - Dan. 12:2 -

The New Testament consistently teaches hope in the resurrection of the believer based upon the resurrection of Christ Jesus as the "firstborn from the dead." Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a central doctrine of Christianity that affirms that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. Without the resurrection, the apostle Paul declared, Christian preaching and belief are meaningless. The resurrection is the point at which God's intention for Jesus becomes clear and believers are assured that Jesus is the Christ.

So significant is the resurrection of Jesus that without it there would be no Church or Christianity, and we would still be in our sins.

From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scripture. This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagans nations in honour of his name. - Rom. 1:5 -

Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you - believing anything else will not lead to anything.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God's grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.

Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses who have committed to perjury before God, because we swore in evidence before God that he had raised Christ to life. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ.; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Though when it is said that everything is subjected, this clearly cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. And when everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subject in his turn to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.

If there were not true, what do people hope to gain by being baptised for the dead? If the dead are not ever going to be raised, why be baptised on their behalf? What about ourselves? Why are we living under a constant threat? I face death everyday, brothers, and I can swear it by the pride that I take in you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If my motives were only human ones, what good would it do me to fight the wild animals at Ephesus? You say: Let us eat and drink today; tomorrow we shall be dead. You must stop being led astray: "Bad friends ruin the noblest people." Come to your senses, behave properly, and leave sin alone; there are some of you who seem not to know God at all; you should be ashamed.

Someone may ask, 'How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come back? They are stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a bare grain, say of wheat or something like that, and then God gives it the sort of body that he has chosen: each sort of seed gets its own sort of body.

Everything that is flesh is not the same flesh: there is human flesh, animals' flesh, the flesh of birds and the flesh of fish. Then there are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the heavenly bodies have a beauty of their own and the earthly bodies a different one. The sun has its brightness, the moon a different brightness, and the stars a different brightness, and the stars differ from each other in brightness. It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is raised is imperishable; the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit.

If the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment. The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.

Or else, brothers, put it this way: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God: and the perishable cannot inherit what lasts for ever. I will tell you something that has been secret: that we are not all going to die, but we shall all be changed. This will be instantaneous, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. It will sound and the dead will be raised, imperishable, and we shall be changed as well, because our present perishable nature must put on imperishability and this mortal nature must put on immortality.

When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Never give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord's work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain. - 1 Cor. 15:1-58 - 1 Thess. 4:13-18 - 1 Peter 1:3-9 -

Now the Church is his body,
he is its head. - Col. 1:18 -

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Practicing Christian concentrated on the most lovable person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Practicing Christian studies, contemplates, prays, acknowledges, meditates, and enters His coming among mankind, His life, from His birth, His person, His work, His passion, death, and resurrection, His ascension, His ministry, His universal Church and His present vitality for every human being, and His glorious return [Second Coming] at the end of time.

In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower. - John 1:1-5 -

Thus, it becomes fitting that, indeed, Christ Jesus is fully human and fully divine. Having knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ are enormous assertions, and it is a great privilege to know God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christians are always worthy and conscious of it. As in accordance with Sacred Scripture, it is an historical fact, and it is the symbol of a perpetual and eternal reality. On the other hand, many do not want to know and do not know who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Perhaps, they based themselves solely on external and family data and did not go beyond his or her human nature.

As pastors, priests, laity, brothers, sisters in Christ, and clergy as a whole, you are at the service of Christ Jesus the "Teacher" and the "Lord." To preach and teach the true Christian message [Gospel, Good News of Christ Jesus] is an essential and extremely important part of your ministry. How meticulous, attentive, and careful be about our preaching and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ doctrine!, Gospel! It should be the continuation and consistent of our prayer, and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, with these practices, let people see, and it will leads people to God or bring peoples to God. We must have great faith, and love our vocation and mission. The Christian faith is ecclesial. The relation between theology and faith, founded and centered on Christ Jesus, fully connected that theology has with His Church.

Having this hope, we can be quite confident; not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not notice the ending of what had to fade. And anyway, their minds had been dulled; indeed, to this very day, that same veil is still there when the old covenant is being read, a veil never lifted, since Christ alone can remove it. Yes, even today, whenever Moses is read, the veil is over their minds. It will not be removed until they turn to the Lord. Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit. - 2 Cor. 3:12-18 -

Since we have by an act of mercy been entrusted with this work of administration, there is no weakening on our part. On the contrary, we will have none of the reticence of those who are ashamed, no deceitfulness or watering down the word of God; but the way we commend ourselves to every human being with a conscience is by stating the truth openly in the sight of God. If our gospel does not penetrate the veil, then the veil is on those who are not on the way to salvation; the unbelievers whose minds the god of the world has blinded to stop them seeing the light shed by the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For it is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. It is the same God that said, 'Let there be light shining out of darkness', who has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of God's glory, the glory on the face of Christ. - 2 Cor. 4:1-6 -

God's kingdom has its beginning in the history of creation together with man. It has a long history. At the summit of this history stands Christ Jesus. 'The time has come' he said 'and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.' - Mark 1:15 - He spoke of it from the beginning of His messianic teaching and perseverance, tirelessly, announced this Kingdom to be chosen people.

Conversion is necessary for being able to regain the full truth of the Kingdom of God. After all, He gave His life for that truth... Good Friday closed with a controversy over God's Kingdom. On the Day of the Resurrection the truth of Christ's words confirmed, the Truth that the Kingdom of God has come to us, the Truth of the whole of His messianic mission.

The struggle between the kingdom of evil, of the evil spirit, and the Kingdom of God has not ceased, however, it is not over. It has only entered upon a new stage, actually the definitive stage. In this stage the struggle goes on in ever new generations of human history.

Do we really have to demonstrate that this struggle goes on in our day as well? Yes. It certainly goes on. Indeed, it develops together with human history in single peoples and nations.

It goes on in each of us. And, by following the history, including our own contemporary history, we can also define in what way the kingdom of the malign spirit is not divided but seeks unity of action in the world and, by various paths, tries to have its effects upon man, on groups, on families, on society.

As at the beginning, so also now, it stakes its program on 'human liberty' on man's apparently unlimited liberty.

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Universal Church is "The Body of the Lord Jesus Christ" composed of the many millions of individuals who have been incorporated to it by Baptism and governed by the invisible head, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the visible head, the Vicar of Christ on earth. But a body and a head is not sufficient to constitute the "Mystical Christ" as the "Universal Church." The Universal Church must also have a soul as the principle of its life and its unity. That soul is the "Holy Spirit."

In order that we may properly understand the role of the Holy Spirit, the person of the Blessed Trinity, try to picture the apostles and the faithful on earth during the ten days after the "Ascension" of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. The Universal Church then existed in its raw material - its great arteries had been formed, its head had been named, its faithful were called, but it still lacked a soul.

The condition of the Church at this time may be imperfect likened to America before the drawing up of the Declaration of Independence. The Dutch, the English, the French, the Irish, the Scotch, and the other nationalities were scattered up and down the Atlantic seaboard, but there was no common bond or spirit holding them together. They needed unity - a soul to make them one. That spark came in the Declaration of Independence, which fired them with the spirit of free-born American people. The Universal Church was somewhat in this position. The apostles and disciples and the faithful were still separate individuals; they needed a soul to make them one. But here the analogy breaks down. The spirit which was to make the faithful of the Universal Church one was different from the spirit that made America one.

The condition of the Church can be represented better by the analogy of life. Its faithful were like the elements in a chemical laboratory, capable of being part of a body, and yet not a body because lacking a soul. We know up to one hundred percent the chemicals that enter into the constitution of a human body, and yet with all our superior knowledge of chemistry, we cannot make a body in our laboratories. Why? Because we lack the power to give a unifying principle, a soul, to those chemicals which will make them mutually coalesce into that new emergent we call life.

Now the apostles were like the chemicals in a laboratory; they were individuals, each with his own outlook on life, each with his doubts, his uncertainties, his points of view. They could not give themselves unity anymore than chemicals alone can make life. The permanent union of their minds was impossible without a certitude from on high, for life is not a push from below, but a gift from above. They needed a soul, a spirit - a vivifying, unifying principle which would make the cells of the Mystical Body cohere in the unity of a headship under the Lord Jesus Christ. And this vivifying, unifying spirit did not come until the day of "Pentecost."

The apostles knew the Holy Spirit would come to them. They would never forget the beautiful way in which our Lord Jesus Christ promised his spirit the night before he died:

I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth... And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever. This was only a promise of the Spirit that was to come. But our Lord Jesus Christ keeps his promises. Accordingly, ten days after the Ascension, the apostles with Peter as their head were in solitude in the Cenacle where the Savior had instituted the Eucharist and appeared to doubting Thomas.

And suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech. - Acts 2:2-4 -

In the fiery glow of that Pentecostal gift the individuals, the cells of the Mystical Body, like the bones in the vision of prophet Ezekiel, were drawn together into a living body, animated by the Eternal Spirit of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. The scattered rays now emerged into the light of the world. All they had dimly guessed at and faintly perceived now became absolute certainty in the glow of the Pentecostal fire, as they saw the continuity of Nazareth and the Cenacle: For as Christ Jesus had taken his physical body from the womb of the Virgin Mary overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, so now was Christ Jesus taking from the womb of humanity his Mystical Body overshadowed by the Pentecostal Spirit. The Universal Church was now created in the strictest sense of the term - it had its head, the Lord Jesus Christ, its soul, the Holy Spirit; and us, its body.

Organization has nothing to do with the marvelous vitality of the Church, nor is there any other human explanation. If the Church were to left to its human elements it would have perished long ago. The secret of her immortal life is her Eternal Spirit, which cannot be destroyed by the world anymore than the soul of an infant can be destroyed. Hence, in the face of the force of violence the Spirit manifests the immortality of her being; against the force of ideas the Spirit shows the immortality of her ideas; and against the force of passion the Spirit shows the immortality of her love.

If there is any picture that adequately describes the Church in time, it is that of a person living throughout cataclysms and revolutions, the progress and the unfolding of the centuries. A person who is fifty today is the same identical person as always, despite the changes in his bodily life and the historical upheavals of our time. He can say, "I saw mankind exalt itself to a god in the pre-war period; I saw that same humanity prove it was not a god but only a beast in the battlefields of the World War[s]; I saw it settle down to a false peace without ever learning the lesson that it cannot survive without God." In like manner, the Church is an abiding Person through all centuries. The only difference between the acorn and the oak, the mustard seed and the great tree. Her faithful have come and gone, like the cells in a human body, but her Spirit has remained one and the same.

And since it is the Spirit that makes the Body, the Church which is the Mystical Body of Christ Jesus has been contemporaneous with the centuries. When, therefore, we in the twenty first century wish to know about the Lord Jesus Christ, about his early Church, about history, we go not only the dusty records but to the living Church:

I have adapted myself to every form of government the world has ever known; I have lived with Caesars and kings, tyrants and dictators, parliaments and presidents, monarchies and republics. I have welcomed every advance of science, and were it not for me the great records of the pagan world would not have been preserved. It is true I have not changed my doctrine, but that is because "the doctrine is not mine but his that sent me."I change my garments, which belong to time, but not my Spirit, which belongs to eternity. In the course of my long life, I have seen so many modern ideas become out-dated, that I know I shall live to chant a requiem over the modern ideas of the last century.

I shall grow weak when my faithful become rich and cease to pray, but I shall never die. I shall be crucified as I was on Calvary, but I shall rise again, and finally when time shall be no more, and I shall have grown to full stature, then shall I be taken into heaven as the bride of my Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

BY  ARCHBISHOP  FULTON  J.  SHEEN  ( 1895 to 1979 )

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Heaven is the dwelling place of God. The word heaven is also used as a substitute for the name of God, especially to the pagans. God is the possessor of heaven. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are often spoken of interchangeably and it is because of the work of Christ Jesus on the Cross, heaven is, in part, present with believers on earth.

A man can lay claim only to what is given him from heaven. - John 3:27 -

I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you - Luke 15:18, 21 -

And now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven. - Rev. 12:7-8 -

At the end of time, a new heaven will be created to surround the new earth. This new heaven will be the place of God's perfect presence. Then, there will be a literal fulfillment of heaven on earth. Heavenly City - the city prepared and built by God, for those whom God's loves and who are faithful to Him. It is also known as the heavenly Jerusalem, this is the city that is to come. The New Jerusalem is illuminated by the glory of God. It serves as the dwelling place of God among His redeemed for ever and ever. New Heaven is a term which, when used with new earth refers to the perfected state of the created universe and the final dwelling place, for those whom God's loves and of the righteous one.

For now I create new heavens and new earth, and the past will not be remembered, and will come no more to men's minds. Be glad and rejoice for ever and ever for what I am creating - Is. 65:17

They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God; but in fact, they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them. - Heb. 11:10, 16 -

But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a 'first-born' and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with the spirits of the saints who have been made perfect - Heb. 12:22-23 - Rev. 14:1, 21:10 -

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bridge all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.' - Rev. 21:1-4 -

Rooted deep in Jewish thought was the dream of a new heaven and a new earth, a recreation of the universe that would occur following the Day of the Lord. - Is. 13:10-13; Joel 2:1-2, 30-31 - The concept of a recreated universe is closely related to the scriptural/biblical account of the Creation and the Fall. - Gen. 1:1 - and the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. - Gen. 3 - It is because of their sin, "the creation was subjected to futility and the bondage of corruption." The need for a new heaven and a new earth arises from man's sin and God judgment, not from some deficiency or evil in the universe.

I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God: but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free. For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved - our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were - but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet - it is something we must wait for with patience. - Rom. 8:18-25 -

Saint Paul referred to the Old Testament doctrine of the Day of the Lord and applied it to the events that will occur at the Second Coming of Christ Jesus. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, this present wicked, and evil age will give way to the age to come. The universe will be purified and cleansed by the power of God. This will be reminiscent of the purging of the earth in the days of Noah, but on a universal scale.

The Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then with a roar the sky will vanish, the elements will catch fire and fall apart, the earth and all that it contains will be burnt up. Since everything is coming to an end like this, you should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. - 2 Peter 3:10-13 -

Second Coming refers to Christ's future return to the earth at the end of the present age. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is filled with expectancy of the Lord Jesus Christ second coming, even as Christians should be today. A thorough study and examination of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, however, makes it clear that the Second Coming will be a climactic historical event. The Lord Jesus Christ would return in the same manner as they seen Him ascended into heaven. The date and time of the Second Coming is unknown, but the Lord Jesus Christ second coming will be personal, bodily, and visible.

I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you with me;
so that where I am
you may be too. - John 14:3 -

Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there. - Acts 1:11 -

Jesus replied, It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority - Acts 1:7; Matt. 24:35-36; 1 Thess. 5:1-3; 2 Peter 3:10 -

Therefore, most of the believers may ask, what about 'Eschatology'? Eschatology is a theological term that designates the study of what will happen at the end of history, particularly the event known as the "Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." The word comes from two Greek words, eschatos (last) and logos (study) - thus its definition as 'the study of last things.' It is also define as the part of theology concerned with death, Last Judgment: Heaven and Hell: and the ultimate destiny of the soul and of humankind. Eschatology reveals that Abraham's land, ultimately, is the new heaven and earth and that Abraham's lineage is the redeemed community in Christ Jesus.

Eschatology shows how God's Redeemer will establish His kingdom upon a rebellious earth. The long process through which God selected a righteous group (apostles, saints, righteous one, and those whom God's loves) to serve Him on earth came to a climax in the person of Christ Jesus.

The Lord Jesus Christ first coming was to save. His second coming will be primarily to judge. The Lord Jesus Christ return will also spell relief to His faithful remnant. Eschatology shows that God's presence for the redeemed will be fully realized at Jesus' second coming, when He will dwell among all the redeemed in the new heavens and earth.

For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. - Mark 10:45; Matt. 20:28; Luke 22:27 -

You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. Rev. 21:3 -

In the end times, a basic order of judgment will prevail as the conflict between God and Satan comes to an end. There will be a time of great 'Tribulation,' followed by the 'Second Coming' and the 'Judgment of all peoples.' Another judgment is portrayed in the Book of Revelation, is called the second death. Those who are judged will be thrown into the lake of fire if their names are not found in the Book of Life.

Above all, the Cross is the decisive eschatology event. In it the curse that brought God's wrath was reversed. Ever since, God has been progressively accomplishing His judgment against the forces of wickedness in heaven and earth.

Tell us, when is this going to happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered them, Take care that no one deceives you; because many will come using my name and saying, "I am the Christ" and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; do not be alarmed, for this is something that must happen, but the end will not be yet. For nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes here and there. All this is only the beginning of the birth-pangs.

Then they will hand you over to be tortured and put to death; and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name. And then many will fall away; men will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise; they will deceive many, and with the increase of lawlessness, love in most men will grow cold; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. This Good News of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the whole world as a witness to all the nations. And then the end will come.

So when you see the disastrous abomination, of which prophet Daniel spoke, set up in the Holy Place (let the reader understand) then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains; if a man is on the housetop, he must not come down to collect his belongings; if a man is in the fields, he must not turn back to fetch his cloak. Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come! Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great distress such as, until now, since the world began, there never has been, nor ever will be again. And if that time had not been shortened, no one would have survived; but shortened that time shall be, for the sake of those who are chosen.

If anyone says to you then, "Look, here is the Christ" or "He is there" do not believe it; for false Christs and false prophets will arise and produce great signs and portents, enough to deceive even the chosen, if that were possible.There; I have forewarned you.

If, then they say to you, "Look, he is in the desert" do not go there; "Look, he is in some hiding place" do not believe it; because the coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far into the west. Wherever the corpse is, there will the vultures gather.

Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; then too all the peoples of the earth will beat their breasts; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet to gather his chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. - Matt. 24:3-31 - Mark 13:4-37 - Luke 21:7-28 -

Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of his throne, while the book of life was opened, and other books opened which were the record of what they had done in their lives, by which the dead were judged.

The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake. - Rev. 20:11-15 -

The full and final revelation of God has occurred in Jesus Christ. "This is the revelation given by God to Jesus Christ." - Rev. 1:1 - The Book of Revelation depicts the end of the present age and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is a personal Spirit distinct from the world; He is absolutely holy and is invisible to the view of physical, finite, sinful minds. Although people, on their own, can never create truth about God, God has graciously unveiled and manifested Himself to mankind. God has made Himself known to all peoples everywhere in the marvels of nature and in the human conscience.

The central figure in the army of God the King is Jesus Christ. John's first vision is of the Lord Jesus Christ standing in the midst of His Church with eyes like fire (all-seeing) feet like fine brass (all-powerful) hair like wool, white as snow (eternal and all-knowing) and with a sharp two edged sword coming out of His mouth (the word of truth). Indeed, Christ Jesus is "the First and the Last", "the Alpha and the Omega", "the Beginning and the End." - Rev. 22:13 -

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Paul's, an apostle who does not owe his authority to men or his appointment to any human being but who has been appointed by Jesus Christ and by God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead.

The fact is, brothers, and I want you to realize this, the Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You must have heard of my career as a practicing Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews for my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors. - Gal. 1:2, 11-14 -

The first Christian martyr of the Universal Church was apostle Stephen, one of the most outspoken leaders. The Gospel According To Saint Luke told how Saint Paul publicly associated himself with Saint Stephen's executioners and then embarked on a campaign designed to suppress the Universal Church. At the height of Saul's / Paul's campaign of repression, he was confronted on the road to Damascus by the Lord Jesus Christ. In an instant his life was reoriented. The Jewish law was replaced as the central theme of Paul's life by the Lord Jesus Christ. He became the leading champion of the cause which he had tried to overthrow. The keeping or obeying the law alone had lost its validity.

Saint Paul learned that it was no longer by keeping or obeying the law alone that a person was justified in God's sight, but by faith, hope, love in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if faith and love in Christ provided acceptance with God, the Gentiles ( not Jewish ) might enjoy that acceptance as readily as Jews. This was the implication of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ which gripped Paul's mind. He was assured that he himself had received that revelation in order that he might proclaim Christ and His salvation to the Gentile world.

Writing epistles/letters to the faithful is another way of Saint Paul teaching, and proclaiming the kingdom of God to the faithful, believers, and followers.

Ephesians is one of four shorter epistles/letters written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison, the others being Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Ephesians shares many similarities in style and content with Colossians; it may have been written about the same time and delivered by the same person.

In the Epistle/Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul is transported to the limits of language in order to describe the enthroned Christ Jesus who is Lord of the Universal Church, the world, and the entire created order. As the ascended Lord, Christ Jesus is completing what He began in His earthly ministry, by means of His now "extended body, Holy Spirit" the Universal, One, Holy, and Apostolic Church. The Lord Jesus Christ mission is to fill all things with Himself and bring all things to Himself.

That will explain why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers.

This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at the right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body. The fullness of him who fills the whole creation. - Eph. 1:15-23 -

Saint Paul emphases that the Christian fellowship should pattern itself after the unity of the Godhead, and the example of Christ: as a new person in Christ and he or she should walk in love, joy, peace, light and wisdom. Saint Paul cites Christ's relationship with the Church as a model for wives and husbands, children and parents, servants and masters and an appeal to put the whole armor of God and to stand against the forces of evil and the wicked.

The marriage relationship between the husband and wife is a beautiful analogy for expressing the Lord Jesus Christ love, sacrifice, and the head of the Church. The enthroned Christ has reinvested Himself in the hearts of believers through faith so they can marvel at His love. The Lord Jesus Christ bond with His universal Church is also portrayed in the oneness of believers. Those who were once 'far off' and separated from God have been made near by the body and blood of Christ Jesus.

Rather than setting down laws and regulations, Saint Paul says, in effect, 'Let your life be a credit to the One who called you.' The Christian is set free by the Lord Jesus Christ; yet he and she is responsible to Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ has raised believers to the heavenly places with the assurance that the One in whom we hope is more powerful, real, and eternal than the forces of chaos and destruction which threaten our earth.

Finally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power. Put God's armor on so as to be able to resist the devil's tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens. That is why you must rely on God's armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground. - Eph. 6:10-13 -

Throughout Saint Paul's life the Philippians held a special place in his heart. Saint Paul writes to them with affection, and the epistle/letter breathes a note of joy throughout. When Paul first came to Philippi, he was thrown in jail. In the deep of the night, bound and beaten, he sang a hymn to God. A decade later Saint Paul was again in prison. Even though he is in prison, the Gospel/Good News is not confined; on the contrary, it is increasing. Whether Paul's lives or dies, "Christ Jesus is preached" and this results in salvation. Following these reflections, Saint Paul introduces a series of exhortations: to remain faithful in suffering; to remain considerate of others, as Jesus Christ was; and to avoid evil and live blamelessly.

There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, so that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people's interests instead. In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus: His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself - Phil. 2:3-6 -

The focus of Saint Paul's thoughts in this epistle/letter is the Christ-centered life ( Christology ) the hallmark which is love, joy, and peace. The Lord Jesus Christ has laid hold of Paul and Paul's passion is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, he shares in the power of Christ Jesus and "can do all things through Christ Jesus" who is his joy and strength.

Saint Paul exhorts the faithful, believers, followers to set their mind on the high calling of God in Jesus Christ and to meditate on whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. To have the mind of Christ Jesus is to see life from Christ's perspective and to act toward other people with the intentions of Christ.

Nowhere is the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ presented to the Christian more strongly that in Philippians. Appealing to the Philippians to be of "one mind" in pursuing humility, Saint Paul cites the example of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. "In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus." - 2:5 - This is the Lord Jesus Christ whose attitude and intention all faithful, believers must share. To be identified with the Lord Jesus Christ in humility and obedience is the noblest achievement which anyone can aspire.

Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honor, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will be with you. - 3:8-9 -

The Epistle/Letter to the Colossians focuses on the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It reaches heights of expression that rival anything said of Christ Jesus elsewhere in Sacred Scripture. Colossians shares many similarity in style and content with Ephesians. Colossians probably was written as a companion to the brief letter to Philemon. ( Col. 4:7-13 and Philem. 12, 24 )

Following the opening address, Saint Paul expresses his thankfulness for the faith, hope, love, and example of the Colossians. He, then develops a majestic hymn to Christ Jesus, emphasizing His role in both creation and redemption. In light of the surpassing worth of Jesus Christ and His work, Paul willingly accepts the obligation to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ and to suffer for Him. He also appeals to the Colossians to take root in Christ Jesus rather than in confusing speculations.

Saint Paul urges the Colossians Christians to mold their attitude and behavior to fit their beliefs. Since believers share in the Lord Jesus Christ resurrection. He also encourages them to continue living to please God by putting to death various vices and to put on the attitude and character of Christ Jesus.

Saint Paul unmasks the false teaching as empty deceit of men, that is, having the appearance of wisdom but useless in fact. He declared that the addition of such things dilutes rather than strengthens the faith and love of God.

You must live your whole life according to the Christ you have received - Jesus the Lord; you must be rooted in him and built on him and held firm by the faith you have been taught, and full of thanksgiving. Make sure that no one traps you and deprives you of your freedom by some secondhand, empty, rational philosophy based on the principles of this world instead of on Christ Jesus. - 2:6-8 -

Saint Paul does more than denounce false teaching. The best medicine is a firm grip on who Jesus Christ is and what He did for our salvation. In Christ Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom, understanding and knowledge, and "in Him all fullness" dwells. In fact, "The Lord Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God." He has stripped every power opposed to Him, wiped out every accusation against us, and actually reconciled all things to Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is not only head of the Universal Church, but He stands all time and above every power, and at the end of all history. The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of all creation.

He is the image of the unseen God
and the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth:
everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers -
all things were created through him and for him.

Before anything was created, he existed,
and he holds all things in unity.
Now the Church is his body,
he is its head.

As he is the Beginning,
he was first to be born from the dead,
so that he should be first in every way;
because God wanted all perfection
to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in heaven and everything on earth,
when he made peace
by his death on the cross. - 1:15-20 -

Philemon - the shortest and most personal of Saint Paul's epistles/letters. Philemon tells the story of the conversion of a runaway slave, Onesimus, and the appeal to his owner, Philemon, to accept him back. The epistle/letter is warm and masterful, reminding us that the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ drastically changes every relationship in life.

The Epistle/Letter to Philemon is a lesson in the art of Christian relationships. No finer example of 'speaking the truth in love' exists than this beautiful letter. While it was Philemon's legal right in the ancient world to punish or even kill a runaway slave, Paul hoped - indeed expected that Philemon would receive Onesimus back as a brother in the Lord, not as a slave.

From beginning to end Saint Paul addresses Philemon as a trusted friend than as an adversary; he appeals to the best in his character. In spite of Paul's subtle pressures for Philemon to restore Onesimus, he is careful not to force Philemon to do what is right; he helps him choose it for himself.

Although Saint Paul never, so far as we know, called for an end to slavery, the Epistle/Letter laid the axe at the root of that cruel and deformed institution - and to every way of treating individuals as property instead of persons. If there is "one God and Father of all" - Eph. 4:6 -and if all are debtors to Him - Rom. 3:21-26 - then no person can look on another person as something to be used for his own ends.

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -