First when you look at the Greek this woman translates as a married woman! So why did the English translation say just woman instead of married woman? Because the translators use just one English word to translate from the Hebrew or Greek to best represent the meaning! From verse two she is pregnant so we can assume she is married however the woman riding the beast in Revelation chapter 17 represents Satan! She is also married but to Satan! In verse one here heaven is translated as God’s dwelling place which includes the sun, moon and the stars! So heaven is inclusive of God’s creation including us! This woman in her brilliancy is clothed with the sun, moon and stars! The word crown means a conqueror rather than a crown just worn on her head! So who is this woman married to? The number twelve is significant! Who represents the twelve stars? We have twelve apostles! We have twelve patriarch’s in the Old Testament! We have the twelve tribes of Israel. Many believe the woman represents the church for we are the bride of Christ! However some believe the woman represents Israel. Some others believe the woman represents the virgin Mary! She gives birth to the church though Israel. I have no problem with all three interpretations! If you make the church exclusive and end up with replacement theology church history has shown us you can become anti-Semitic then much harm can come to the Jews and God’s Kingdom through the church! Israel is included in the Book of Revelation with the 144000 Jews out of 12 tribes redeemed during the 7 year tribulation period! Studying the Book of Revelation is challenging but there is a special blessing for reading and studying this Book! (Revelation 1:3) Scholars say that there are more references to the Old Testament in this Book of Revelation than any other New Testament Book! Problem is the Apostle John does not directly quote these but weaves them into the Book! Many referrals to Book of Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah and the Psalms! The most important point here is what is God telling you about the prophetic Book of Revelation? You have to read it and study it yourself if you want the answer! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: bride
Christmas and Family! Matthew 1:18-20
Many fascinating things can be learned from the Christmas story! One thing cannot be denied! God always wanted a family! He started off creating one man and one woman! Not two men or two women but one man and one woman! The challenge got bigger when God wanted a son born of human parents! He looked over His creation to find the right parents. They had to be Jew for salvation comes by the Jew! The new millennium had just begun and the signs in the Heaven and earth were just right! The virgin birth predicted hundreds of years before by the Prophets was ripe for fulfillment! God found a young Jewish couple from Nazareth that were about to be engaged. Their names were Joseph and Mary. Then Joseph found his espoused bride pregnant? Joseph minded to put her away privately! Then an Angel appeared unto Joseph and told him his bride Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit! So Joseph became the step-father of Jesus! Years later Jesus told us that pure religion was taking care of widows and orphans! God always wanted children to have both parents! My Bible says God hates divorce! He wants to come to the aid of the victims! It seems American culture today does not hold the values God has established for the well being of the family? Jesus God’s son could not increase the size of His family until He went to the Cross! Today Jesus Father is your Father! Christmas means many things but most important you are now in God’s family now and forever! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Prayer 1 John 5:11-15
Our relationship with God involves prayer! How would you describe your prayer life? Here are some possible answers to this question. 1. Unashamed begging-desperate 2. Loud and lengthy-convicted 3. Terrified whispers-uncertain 4. Sterile and formal-religious, distant and impersonal 5. Speechless-do not know what to say, wordless 6. Confident prayers. Some say prayer is just a conversation with God. No! First you need to know who God is and then teach our children who God is! If we know who God is we can pray confidently! If you do not know who God is then you will pray amiss! If you do not trust God then you will trust in the wrong things. How would you describe God? God is love! He has given us eternal life through His Son! What is eternal life? Eternal life includes past, present and future. He cleans all your files past, present and future! Life means an existence without end. Jesus gave us a sample when He raised the dead! He has promised to raise you one day from the dead! He has prepared a place for you! When I came to Christ a new life began in me! All things were made new! A new reality struck me like lightning! Born again! A blessed assurance of confidence entered my life! Fear and anger and hate were replaced by love, peace and joy! Now I know He loves me and it changed everything! He is more precious than silver and more costly than gold! When we find out who God is we can pray with confidence! The world will wear you down with it’s troubles and religion! We are talking about relationship here! When you come before the creator and ruler of the world and ask anything according to His will and purpose for your life you got it! God is unique in that He can hear all our prayers all at once! Like a mother who can hear all her screaming kids at once. God’s faithfulness is like a money back guarantee! After 25 years of marriage I have learned about non-verbal communication. With eye to eye contact I know the answer before I ask her! When we are intimate with God we know the answer before we ask Him! I know of some schools that give the students the answers before the test but that is cheating! With God you ask in prayer and He will give you an answer! Either yes, no or wait. We can approach God with confidence and know He is listening! He respects you and hears your prayers. Through the Holy Spirit it is like eye to eye contact with God! God is leaning into you! He is paying attention to you! He also wants your attention! We should ask for things He wants to give us! Revelation; Pray His promises to you! Reading and studying the Bible will lead to proper conversation and prayers to God! We already know the answers to our prayers if we pray His promises! God will bring good people into your life and lonely people to minister too! Just as in marriage intimate relationship with God leads to success! That is why Satan works overtime to break up relationships and marriages. We are going to tackle next year with a strong foundation for our families as provided to us in the Gospel of John Chapters 14, 15,16 and 17. Jesus said, “Ask in my name and I will do it!” If we remain in Him we will ask the right things! Marriage should be a picture of our relationship with God! We His church are His bride! In regards to prayer we can ask from those we know very well! Our promises from God are guaranteed! They are sure! Good as gold! Here is a sample of His promises to us from the Bible. 1. He gives us peace. John 14:27. 2. He wants to give us rest. Matthew 11:28. 3. He wants to give us courage. John 16:33. 4. He wants to give us wisdom. Luke 21:15. 5. He wants to give us a family. Psalm 68:5-6. The Bible says you have not because you ask not! Do you take time to ask or try to go it on your own? Pray God’s promises! It is so exciting to give God the Glory when He comes through! God loves to hear from you as you remind Him who He is! A father likes to hear from his children that he is their father! Prayer changes circumstances! One of the Greek words for prayer in the New Testament means to invert in a good sense! From poor to rich! From sad to joy! From lonely to relationships! From purposeless to purpose! From weakness to power! From hate to love! From hell to heaven! Try God and see He is good! Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Happy Easter! 2014
God raised His Son Jesus Christ from the dead and gave us a spouse for the wedding of His Bride, “The Church!” If you are a Bride of the Church of Jesus Christ you have a spouse that will never leave you or forsake you from yesterday, today and forever! In Christ’s Love. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Jesus Was Married!
Jesus is married to His Bride, “The Church” !
Was Jesus Married?
This subject has come up alot since about the 4th Century! The novel, Da Vinci Code was our most recent until a Harvard scholar says she has found evidence? This writing is out of the 4th Century. The 4th Century is a long way out from the Gospel’s that were written a few years after Jesus life in the 1st Century! Keep in mind what was going on in the 4th Century! One of the greatest challenges to Christianity came from the Coptic Church in Egypt! You had a non-trinitarian theology system rising and with that the rise of Arianism! Arianism said Jesus did not pre-exist His birth. All these forces lead to the Nicene Council in 325 A.D. This lead to the Nicene Creed which millions of churches around the world hold in their theology. There were many forces in the 4th Century trying to remove Christ’s Divinity and reduce Him to a mere man. The same goes for today! This letter from Harvard came out of the 4th Century. The Gospel’s of the New Testament mention all of Jesus family which includes mother, father, sisters, brothers, cousins, ect. Also the Gospel’s take Jesus lineage all the way back to Adam and Eve! If Jesus was married it would not have been left out by all these writers of Biblical and Non-Biblical Historians during the 1st Century! His disciples died promoting the truth and reality of who Christ is and would not have died for a fake! Sometimes I joke and say Jesus did not get married because He was too smart! Think about the plan God had for His Son Jesus and what it required of Him! The Cross and all that lead up to it and then after the Cross! When would He have time for a wife and kids? Then you would have generations living after Christ who would claim they are His relatives and claim special rights! Jesus is married to His Church! We are His Bride! Jesus said you must be born again! This birth is a Spiritual Birth that transforms your life and prepares you to receive the Holy Spirit! Are you married to Jesus or are you trying to live without God? The choice is yours. Love demands a choice! You either serve God or Satan! Choose the one who has created you, died for you, saved you, rose from the grave for you and is in Heaven preparing a place for you! No one else in history can do this or would do this for you! Thankyou. James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com