Conversational Theology Podcast

Recognizing that God has a plan for the earth and a separate plan and hope for the heavenly place, yet there is a third hope, a heavenly city that will come down to earth. #clips

We take a look at the Lord's response to a question he received from his disciples on the Mount of Olives concerning the end of the age ("world" in some translations). We're centered on Matthew 24 in part. We use this backdrop concerning the plan for the Kingdom (the gospel of the kingdom being for Israel and involving the earthly plan) to set us up for a look at the hope of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, and its place in the plan of God.

We never want to take away from what God is able to do. We never want to discourage believers from seeking God's intervention in our lives. But when we visit passages for other callings, we have to be careful. We must discern those things which speak of God's abilities and God's attributes. But that is quit a different matter than claiming things for ourselves that are neither directly given to us nor are they for our calling and age. We have previously looked at passages in the the Psalms and in the Prophets, today we turn to Isaiah 61. #theology #christan #biblestudy Living in the Parenthesis https://youtu.be/de30tglTiKw

We look over Ephesians 5 and Paul's warning that we walk in the Light of the new nature lest we risk losing the inheritance. We distinguish between the sealed free gift by grace alone of resurrection life, secured by the perfect, finished, and pure sacrifice of Christ on our behalf versus the inheritance of rewards, crowns, and the prize based on our walk and service as believers. We start by stopping in on Paul's time before the Sanhedrin and the High Priest and note Paul's submission to the Law in that age. Never to either gain or maintain the free gift of salvation by grace, but in light of the promised Kingdom to be restored one day in Israel.

We chat about denominational systems and the pastor/priest system seriously clouds our responsibility as individual believers to "study to show [ourselves] approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth" (2 Tim 2:15). The system also creates an enormous entryway for error and heresy and even a denial of the foundational truths of the faith (including a denial of the finished work of Christ). Surrendering our individual responsibility before God has destroyed many believers and has destroyed the truths of the revelation of our Apostle for this age, Paul.

I used to have a list of doctrinal beliefs that I thought were biblical... then I started to compare scripture with scripture and interpretation with what I saw around me. So, I set out to compare what I said I believed and applied to all the Bible and to my own life. For example, if you think the red letters are for you, have you sold all you have? If you think you attend an "Acts Church," do you live communally? Do you separate Jewish believers from Gentile believers? This is called "comparing the things that differ" and studying to see why they differ. Finally, if we do discover discrepancies between what you say you believe and what you experience, we must be willing to change our interpretations. #theology #christian #christianity

You've got a sick child in the hospital, you're about to have your house foreclosed, your son just got drafted for World War III... you are going to be anxious. So, when Paul teaches us to be anxious for nothing (Phil 4:6) does he mean we're never to be worried or concerned? Absolutely not! Even our Lord expressed hos concerns to the Father in the Garden. But our Lord showed us the way. He put us ahead of his own interests and put his faith in the Father's plan for him. We show concern for others, but we need to learn to show less and less concern for ourselves. Contentment is our calling. After all, our blessings are indescribable and await us in the far above the heavens. Along the way we comment briefly on Pope Francis' appointment of a new Cardinal in Washington DC. Catholics Against Catholicism are hopping mad!

If one correctly sees Israel in the texts of the Psalms and the Prophets yet the same one goes on to teach that the "church" is somehow a "new" Israel or a different version of the same Israel, he has many problems on his hands. Conversely, the believer who believes either that he is Israel and is entitled to Israel's promises as laid out in the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets... this one then has to deal with the curses and punishments connected with eventual blessings. We can only start to get a clear understanding of scripture when we seek to rightly divide the plan, the people, and the promises in view.

We walk through Ezekiel 36 and look at God's plan for the earth and the land in that book. A very popular verse for evangelists to preach and for believers to claim is Ezekiel 36:26. We note how it badly manipulated by so many today and, further, how it distorts and clouds an understanding of God's plans for the future of Israel. God is a promise-keeping God. Israel is his Bride and he will cleanse Virgin Israel one day and fulfill his promises to a cleansed and believing Israel. #theology #gospel #salvation I also share a bit of my testimony and my journey in the faith. If we truly want to try to rightly divide the word of truth (interpret scripture correctly), we must keep testing our beliefs against the whole counsel of God and be willing to move as God reveals more and more. NOT for us today: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." -Ezek 36:26

We look at God's prophetic plans for the earth, the promised land, and for his earthly kingdom. We discuss the Lord's death, lack of decay, and resurrection and the importance these have in cleansing the multiple spheres in God's kingdom. We note that the overcomers of the Revelation, a cleansed Israel, is the Lord's Bride and will inhabit the blessing of the heavenly New Jerusalem which comes down to earth. #theology #israel #dispensationalism #prophecy