The CANON of SCRIPTURE: SECTION ONE, ARTICLE THREE

SECTION ONE – Article Three: Transitioning from the Old to the New Testament and Establishing the Verification Thereof

By James Fire

LOOKING BACK And LOOKING AHEAD -

Our journey is about two thirds complete, in our general examination of the canon of Scripture as far as Section One is concerned. Again, in Section Two we will return to this subject, but there we will examine certain specifics of various text, letting Biblical scholar F.F. Bruce be our guide. In the first two articles already published we looked at the Old Testament canon, showing how historically, the writings of Moses recorded not only the Word of God, but His miraculous acts as well; such actions as could not be typically accounted for by natural means (despite what the atheist and agnostic critics might say). 
Likewise, upon the opening of a new era as determined by God, miracles came in abundance (such as the time of Elijah, and the opening period of the OT prophets that endured until the time of John the Baptist). Then again, the greatest and most profound of multitudinous miracles occurred during the earthly ministry of Jesus Himself, which we will examine along with the treatment of canonicity of the New Testament writings. Indeed, the miraculous acts of God verify the truth of God, as the truth of God authenticates the miraculous acts. 
For more about miracles, and how they complement the canon of Scripture, see the following article 
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The MILLENNIUM: REIGN of the MESSIAH - Part Six

By James Fire

While we are nearly done with the book of Isaiah, we are hardly finished with all that the Scripture has to say about the Millennial Reign of the Messiah! And it seems that towards the end of this book, Isaiah’s intensity and frequency of mention of the Messiah increases, to the point where virtually every chapter and every verse references the King of Israel and His future kingdom there. Last time we covered chapter 61, but we hardly venture into the beginning of the next chapter when we are confronted with even more revelation!

While I made the point already (a few times), redundancy is important in this regard: Zionism in its biblical form is not only legitimate, it is destiny as outlined in prophetic Scripture! We see it everywhere in the written Word; prominently in PSALM 2 – as well as other places, like ISAIAH 62. 

That being said, there are other forms of Zionism which are to various degrees legitimate, or not, depending on their basis. Certainly occult Zionism as promoted by Rothschilds and other interested parties that have invested considerable finances to the establishment of the modern government of Israel is counter to the absolute and perfect will of God. The fact that it was to a majority degree, the money of such men that helped to bring things together for Israel matters not to God – He even uses Satan for His purposes, how much more the evil men who serve the fallen one? 

Ultimately, we understand that God is sovereign and that He holds all things in His hand; just as He declared that He would bring Israel back “the second time” (ISAIAH 11:11), He has also promised to restore the kingdom of Israel – the pure doctrine of Zionism – under His own rule as the rightful King of Israel.
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The GOSPEL of MATTHEW: Ch. 18 – The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE

By James Fire

  There are times as Christians that we believe we are not to aspire to any ambitions for greatness; that we should not seek to excel but rather remain where we are in a state of presumed piety, claiming nothing for ourselves but that we are sinners of low estate. And as for being humble, yes – never should we seek self-promotion or self-exaltation; that is the way of pride and is antithetical to true greatness and humility. In this chapter, the LORD explains what true greatness is, that we ought to aspire to such greatness, not in our own power or intentions, but according to the will and grace of God. 

When the disciples came to Jesus asking who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is, the answer was standing right in front of them! Yet the LORD in His humility did not point to Himself as the reply to their question. Instead, He calls for a “little child” to come to Him . . . we will examine this, and much more in Chapter 18 on The TRUTH Under FIRE!

MATTHEW 18:1-4
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

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STUDIES in the LIFE of PETER – A CALL to ALL SERVANTS of the LORD

By James Fire

These articles are based on the teachings given on FEB 27, 2016 at SHINE BRIGHT CHURCH formerly known as: The ETERNAL LIVING WORD Church: SERVANT-LEADERS Conference - STUDIES IN THE LIFE OF PETER.

WHY DOES GOD NEED SERVANTS? HE IS ALMIGHTY. HE DOESN'T NEED THEM, BUT HE WANTS SERVANTS. WHY?
HE ISN'T INTERESTED IN 'LORDING' OVER SERVANTS AS A TYRANNICAL GOD OF WRATH BUT RATHER, THE LORD DESIRES SERVANTS, WHO WHILE SERVING HIM, WILL LEARN OF THE LORD WHO IS HIMSELF The SERVANT! (the GOSPEL of MATTHEW reveals Christ Who is King; The GOSPEL of MARK reveals Christ Who is Servant. The KING Who is The SERVANT).

MATTHEW 26:40-41
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

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The GOSPEL of MATTHEW: Ch. 17 – The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE

~ By James Fire 

In the previous article, we looked at MATTHEW 16, and in the study we particularly noted verse 28 where He said:

MATTHEW 16:28
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Many have wrongly assumed that this meant that the LORD's Second Coming would be within the life time of some of those who heard Him make this declaration. But as we examine this passage in light of the parallel passages in the other Gospel accounts, we will, by the Spirit of God rightly discern what the LORD meant by this. We will also learn more about the ministry of John the Baptist; witness the deliverance of another demon possessed person and the rudiments of faith, the essence of salvation and the LORD's perspective on taxation. All that and more in this chapter of 27 verses. So let's get ready to partake!

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The CANON of SCRIPTURE: SECTION ONE, ARTICLE TWO

SECTION ONE – ARTICLE TWO: The JOURNEY CONTINUES, TRAVELING THE TORAH and BEYOND      

By James Fire

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION – 

Any building is only as firm as the foundation upon which it is built. From this observation, we consider that all of the books of the Bible are founded upon previous revelation. The authentication of the New Testament is based on that which was proposed, promised and prophesied in the Old Testament. Likewise the epistles of the New Testament are based on the Gospel accounts of the teachings of Christ Himself, Who is in fact, the very foundation and 'founder' of the Truth

We must affirm and emphasize that canon of Scripture was never determined by the church; rather, it was discovered by the church (and Israel before her) when God revealed His Word to His saints. How was the Word of God recognized as opposed to other writings which may have made such claims as being Divinely inspired?

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