There was a certain King who gave a great feast upon the occasion of his son’s wedding. And he sent out his servants to bring in those that had been invited, but they would not come. Then he sent forth other servants, saying, “Tell them which were bidden, ‘Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come unto the feast.'” But they made light of the message and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his warehouse; others took the servants and slew them.
When the King heard what had been done, he was very angry, and sent out his army to destroy the murderers, and burn up their city. Then said he to the servants, “The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and all ye shall find, bid them come to the marriage.” So they gathered together as many as they could find. And upon each one, as he entered the house, was put a beautiful marriage garment, which the King had prepared. But when the people were all seated, and the King had entered the house, he saw there a man that had not on a wedding garment, and he said unto him, “Friend, how camest thou in hither without a wedding garment?” And the man was speechless, for the garment had been offered to him at first, but he had refused it. Then said the King to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, and take him away and cast him into outer darkness.”
In this parable, the King means God, who gave the feast for His Son, Jesus Christ. Those who were first asked were the Jews, who refused to believe in Christ. Those who were afterwards brought in, signify the people who have since listened to His Word, and believed in Him. The one without the wedding garment is anyone that pretends to accept the invitation to be one of God’s people, but in his heart does not believe in Christ.
It is important to know what you believe and why you believe it. If you don’t know why you believe what you believe, it is impossible to give an answer about what you believe.
2 Timothy 4:2 (amp)
preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect.
Here are some important Christian Beliefs with an explanation for the belief. More will be added soon. If you have a genuine question about a Christian Belief, leave the question in the comments. I will write an answer and post it as soon as possible.
“Goody, goody, it’s snowing!” This is what I heard early yesterday morning. I think there were many other homes in which this shout of joy ushered in the day. It being Saturday the day was mostly free for playing in the snow. What did you do? You made a snow man. You built a snow fort or house. You had a snowball battle. You slid down hill. You played fox and geese, tracking one another across white fields and through the woods. You had a happy, wonderful day, I know you did.
Have you ever thought how snow is made, and whence it comes? It is formed high in the air, from vapor, and comes down from the clouds, just like rain. Snowdrops are like people in one respect, no two are alike. If you will look at the snowflakes through a magnifying glass you will see a great variety of shapes. And all of them are beautiful. We talk about the sparkling beauty of diamonds and other precious gems; crystal snowflakes are more beautiful by far. If only we could keep them from melting what a necklace or a setting for a ring a collection of snowflakes would make!
God’s love is shown to us in the snow. For a fall of snow is like a great blanket, covering the tender roots and seeds, keeping them from freezing, assuring us of another harvest. As to-day you walk home through the snow let it speak to you of your Father’s love.
MEMORY VERSE, Job 38: 22
“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?”
Why Did Jesus have to died? Why is the blood of Jesus so important?
In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. He created the animals and the plants. He then created man.
Genesis 2:15-17
So the Lord God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden;
but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].”
Later Adam and Eve disobeyed.
Genesis 3:6-7
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
The wages or consequences of sin is death.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The life is in the blood.
Genesis 9:3-5
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; I give you everything, as I gave you the green plants and vegetables.
But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood.
For your lifeblood I will most certainly require an accounting; from every animal [that kills a person] I will require it. And from man, from every man’s brother [that is, anyone who murders] I will require the life of man.
Our blood started dying when Adam sinned. Look back at Genesis 2:17. The phrase “certainly die” refers to both spiritually and physically, physical death in the sense of becoming mortal; they were created immortal. Jesus’ blood is still pure. We needed a blood transfusion. Our blood was corrupted.
The blood of animals was only a temporary solution.
Hebrews 9:12-14
He went once for all into the Holy Place [the Holy of Holies of heaven, into the presence of God], and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having obtained and secured eternal redemption [that is, the salvation of all who personally believe in Him as Savior].
For if the sprinkling of [ceremonially] defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a [burnt] heifer is sufficient for the cleansing of the body,
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal [Holy] Spirit willingly offered Himself unblemished [that is, without moral or spiritual imperfection as a sacrifice] to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the ever living God?
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
Hebrews 9:22
In fact under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [neither release from sin and its guilt, nor cancellation of the merited punishment].
Jesus died and shed His blood once for all.
Romans 5:12-14
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned.
Sin was [committed] in the world before the Law [was given], but sin is not charged [against anyone] when there is no law [against it]. Yet death ruled [over mankind] from Adam to Moses [the Lawgiver], even over those who had not sinned as Adam did. Adam is a type of Him (Christ) who was to come [but in reverse—Adam brought destruction, Christ brought salvation].
Jesus died in our place. His blood now covers us so that we can have forgiveness of sin. That forgiveness is our cancellation of the punishment that would be our wages or just reward.
Who was Ishtar and What does She have to do with Cross Dressing?: Ishtar was an ancient pagan goddess associated with Venus, embodying both love and war, thus representing duality. She was depicted as both a seductive woman and a fierce warrior. Her worship was accompanied by figures like the Assinnu, Kurgarru, Kalu, and Gala, who personified gender complexities (homosexuality) and roles in ancient Mesopotamian society.
One day when the priests and elders of the Temple were asking questions of Jesus, He told them this parable.
There was a certain man who had a vineyard which was hedged or walled round, and had a tower. But he was going away into a country far off, so he let the vineyard to a number of husbandmen, or labourers, who were to give him part of the fruit of the vines. When the time had come that the fruit was ripe, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that he might receive his share. But the wicked husbandmen took his servants, and slew one, and beat another, and stoned the third. Then he sent other servants, more than before, but the husbandmen served them as they had done the others. Last of all he sent his own son, saying, “They will reverence my son.” But when those wicked men saw him coming, they said among themselves, “This is the heir to all the vineyard; come, let us kill him and seize on his inheritance.” So they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
Then Jesus said to the priests and elders, “When the Lord of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto these husbandmen?” And they answered, “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to others, who shall render him the fruits in their season.”
In this parable the owner of the vineyard means God; the vineyard Canaan, and the husbandmen are the Jews, who had promised to obey Him, but had not done so. He had sent His prophets among them, to warn them, but these had been killed. At last, He sent His only Son, but they would not own Him as such, and soon they would kill Him. When the priests heard this, they knew it referred to them, and they were very angry and would have taken Him and killed Him, but they were afraid of the people, who took Jesus to be a prophet.
When most people think of the Armor of God, they think of Ephesians 6:11-18 where Paul tells us to put on the armor of God. Did you know that the Old Testament speaks about the armor of God? It is not as laid out as Paul puts it in Ephesians, but it is there.
Here are the different pieces of armor found throughout the Old Testament:
Belt of Truth
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Psalms 18:32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Psalms 18:39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
Breastplate of Righteousness
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Psalms 132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
Isaiah 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
Shoes of Peace
Remember the function of shoes is to protection the feet and to help keep your feet from slipping.
Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Psalms 18:36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
Psalms 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Psalms 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
Psalms 119:59 I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Shield of Faith
Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Psalms 3:3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Helmet of Salvation
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Isaiah 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
Remember to take the Whole Armor of God.
Ephesians 6:12-13 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
The Old Serpent, or the Devil, cast down from Heaven.
Each of the three great books concludes with this same foreshowing of Apocalyptic truth. The same great enemy is referred to in all these pictures. He is the Serpent; he is the Dragon; “the great dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan” (Rev. xii. 9). The Serpent represents him as the Deceiver; the Dragon, as the Destroyer.
This First Book concludes with the Dragon being cast down from heaven.
The Second Book concludes with Cetus, the Sea Monster, Leviathan, bound.
The Third Book concludes with Hydra, the Old Serpent, destroyed.
Here, at the close of the First Book, we see not merely a dragon, but the Dragon cast down! That is the point of this great star-picture.
No one has ever seen a dragon; but among all nations (especially in China and Japan), and in all ages, we find it described and depicted in legend and in art. Both Old and New Testaments refer to it, and all unite in connecting with it one and the same great enemy of God and man.
It is against him that the God-Man— “the Son of God—goes forth to war.” It is for him that the eternal fires are prepared. It is he who shall shortly be cast down from the heavens preparatory to his completed judgment. It is of him we read, “The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out and his angels with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down” (Rev. xii. 9, 10).
It is of him that David sings: —
“God is my king of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth …
Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces.”
(Ps. lxxiv. 12-14.)
Of him also the Spirit causes Isaiah to say, “In that day, shall this song be sung in the land of Judah”; —
“In that day the Lord, with his sore, and great, and strong sword,
Shall punish leviathan the piercing (r.v. swift) serpent,
Even leviathan that crooked serpent;
And he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
(Isa. xxvi. 1; xxvii. 1.)
This is exactly what is foreshadowed by this constellation of Draco. Its name is from the Greek, and means trodden on, as in the Septuagint of Ps. xci. 13: “The dragon shalt thou trample under feet,” from the Hebrew דָּרַךְ, Dahrach, to tread.
Plate 15: DRACO (the Dragon Cast down)
In the Zodiac of Denderah it is shown as a serpent under the fore-feet of Sagittarius, and is named Her-fent, which means the serpent accursed!
There are 80 stars in the constellation; four of the 2nd magnitude, seven of the 3rd magnitude, ten of the 4th, etc.
The brightest star, α (in one of the latter coils), is named Thuban (Heb.), the subtle. Some 4,620 years ago it was the Polar Star. It is manifest, therefore, that the Greeks could not have invented this constellation, as is confessed by all modern astronomers. It is still a very important star in nautical reckonings, guiding the commerce of the seas, and thus “the god of this world” is represented as winding in his contortions round the pole of the world, as if to indicate his subtle influence in all worldly affairs.
The next star, β (in the head), is called by the Hebrew name Rastaban, and means the head of the subtle (serpent). In the Arabic it is still called Al Waid, which means who is to be destroyed.
The next star, γ (also in the head), is called Ethanin, i.e., the long serpent, or dragon.
The Hebrew names of other stars, not identified, are Grumian, the subtle; Giansar, the punished enemy. Other (Arabic) names are Al Dib, the reptile; El Athik, the fraudful; El Asieh, the bowed down.
And thus the combined testimony of every star (without a single exception) of each constellation, and the constellations of each sign, accords with the testimony of the Word of God concerning the coming Seed of the woman, the bruising of His heel, the crushing of the serpent’s head, “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory which should follow.”
In the morning, when Jesus had left Bethany and was coming towards Jerusalem, He was hungry. Seeing a fig-tree afar off, covered with leaves, He came to it, hoping to find some fruit on it. But the tree was a young one, and had not yet commenced to bear fruit. And He found thereon nothing but leaves. Then He said unto it, “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.” And the fig-tree withered away and was dead from the roots. When the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, “How soon the fig-tree is withered away!”
Jesus answered, and said unto them, “Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do as I have done to this fig-tree, but, also, if ye shall say unto this mountain, ‘Be thou removed and be cast into the sea,’ it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believe that ye will receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye are praying, forgive any that have injured you, that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses against Him. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
How strange it seems that Jesus, who was gentle and kind, should pronounce a curse on this fig-tree, and cause it to wither away. Why did He do so? Because He wished to impress upon His disciples the terrible danger of unfruitfulness. If we are the disciples of Jesus, we must bear good fruit; we must be loving, kind, and gentle, and try, like Him, to be always doing good.
The penny, or denarius, was a silver coin, stamped with the image of the Roman Emperor, and worth about 16 cents of our money. It was a full ordinary day’s wage at that time.
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