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Gabriel: Good News is Coming

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags aphasia, Elizabeth, Gabriel, good news, Gospel, John the Baptist, Luke 1, Zechariah on May 12, 2020 by paulthepoke

Luke 1:19 “I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

Clearly, Zechariah is not sure what to make of all of this. Gabriel attempts to make it crystal clear. My word is good.

First is his name. Gabriel means “man of God” or “strong man of God”. The message to Zechariah is simple. He is listening to a “strong man of God”.

Second, Gabriel tells the priest his domain is the literal presence of God. The Greek word used is παρίστημι/paristémi. It means: to place beside, to present, stand by, appear. The idea is Gabriel is close to God. He is in the inner circle if you will.

…and I have been sent to speak to you… Third, God Himself sent Gabriel to personally talk to Zechariah.

…and to bring you this good news. This is the Greek word that is synonymous with “the gospel” message, εὐαγγελίζω/euaggelizó. Gabriel is personally bringing “good news” from God to you.

Luke 1:20 And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

Zechariah is no different than any of us. He did not believe God’s message. And Zechariah was a priest serving God in the Temple at the time of these events. None of us are completely obedient. We all have times when we question or neglect what God has to say.

Because of his lack of faith, Zechariah would be silenced and diagnosed with Expressive Aphasia. This is a type of aphasia characterized by partial loss of the ability to produce language (spoken, manual, or written), although comprehension generally remains intact. In Zechariah’s case, his loss was not partial. https://www.aphasia.org/aphasia-definitions/

Luke 1:18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

It would appear Elizabeth was not pregnant at this time based on Zechariah’s comments in Luke 1:18. There would be no whispering of sweet nothings in Elizabeth’s ear. John the Baptist was conceived by an old man with expressive aphasia and a sterile, old, geriatric woman. What seems impossible to humanity is God’s reality.

Notice, the length of time of Zechariah’s aphasia is open ended. Gabriel does not give a definitive time. He was mute for at least 9 months. Zechariah will not talk until Gabriel’s personal prophecy is fulfilled.

Zechariah ultimately regained his ability to speak. This is observed later in Luke 1. And when he recovers, he has a lot to say.

Luke 1:64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

See Zechariah’s song and prophecy in Luke 1:67-79.

Salvation is coming…

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Gabriel: Prophecy of John the Baptist

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags Elizabeth, Gabriel, Holy Spirit, John the Baptist, Nazarite vow, Zechariah on April 19, 2020 by paulthepoke

Luke 1:14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth…

Gabriel is revealing the promise of Zechariah’s son to him, John the Baptist. Zechariah is told his son will result in joy and gladness. In the Greek language, the root word for joy is a form of the word for grace or χαρά/chara. In other words, Zechariah will experience joy because of God’s grace. As a father, Zechariah would also experience “gladness” or ἀγαλλίασις/agalliasis. The translation of “gladness” does not fully define the term. Other translations could include wild joy, ecstatic delight, exultation, or exhilaration as noted by Strong’s Concordance.

and many will rejoice at his birth… The birth of John the Baptist will result in others to “rejoice”. This is the verb form of grace or χαίρω/chairó.

John the Baptist will be a source of God’s grace.

Luke 1:15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

…for he will be great before the Lord.

God’s view of John the Baptist is “great” or μέγας/megas. John will be large, great, in the widest sense. -Strong’s Concordance.

And he must not drink wine or strong drink…

Many take this charge to be a Nazarite vow. This concept has its origins in Numbers 6:1-21. John the Baptist is to set himself apart and dedicate himself to God for his entire life. John is one of three people in the Bible who were to devote their lives with a Nazarite vow to God. The other two were Samson and Samuel.

In general, there are three primary considerations when taking a Nazarite vow. One, a person is not to drink wine or any beverage product that comes from a grape. A person is not to eat grapes or raisins either. Two, no razor shall touch his head. In other words, no hair cuts or facial shaving allowed. Three, one is not to come in contact with a dead body.

and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit…

Keep in mind, this is before the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost. That event was yet future.

There were not many people who were blessed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit prior to John the Baptist. Aspects of the Spirit allowed Moses, Joshua, Saul, and Solomon to carry out various duties with God given insights.

King David particularly valued the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

…even from his mother’s womb.

This promise is confirmed later in the book of Luke.

Luke 1:41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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Gabriel: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags Elizabeth, Gabriel, Luke 1, Virgin Mary, Zechariah on February 23, 2020 by paulthepoke

Luke 1:36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

Gabriel knows that Elizabeth and Mary are related family. Imagine being Mary, this being knows a lot about her circumstances.

So what relation is Mary to Elizabeth? The Greek word for “relative” is συγγενής/suggenes. The term is defined or translated as a relation; a relative or kinsman by multiple concordances. The King James Version is the only translation that utilizes the term “cousin” which may not be accurate. All other translations and even the King James Version typically uses the term “relative” or “kinsman” in the 12 times the term συγγενής/suggenes is used in the New Testament. We don’t know specifically the exact relation of Elizabeth and Mary. But we do know they are related. The two women have a history and they know each other.

Luke 1:39-40 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is described as being in “old age” and “barren.”

She is γῆρας/géras or old. This is the only time the term is used in the New Testament. In English, we get the word geriatric from the Greek.

Elizabeth is also “barren” or στεῖρος/steiros. The translators are kind. The word sterile could also apply. In other words, Elizabeth is a sterile, old, geriatric woman.

Zechariah is no spring chicken himself. Zechariah knows he is old too.

Luke 1:18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

As a reminder, this is not the first time God oversees a geriatric woman getting pregnant and giving birth.

Genesis 17:15-19 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

Luke 1:38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Ultimately, Mary responds to the grace afforded to her by Gabriel. She believes God’s messenger. And she chooses to tell Gabriel…

Behold or ἰδού/idou. Mary has turned the tables on Gabriel. Now, she is telling Gabriel to pay attention to her! Gabriel, you listen to me!

Mary proclaims to be a “servant” or a δούλη/doule. This is a female slave or bond maid. She is submitting her will to God and His plan. She is choosing to be a slave to God.

Mary is asking for Gabriel’s message to become her reality; let it be to me according to your word.

Gabriel believes Mary. And the angel departed from her.

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Trend Update: Cloning Jesus, 2017

Posted in Gospel, Resurrection, Trend Update with tags blood, DNA, Elizabeth, Galatians 1, George Busby, Hebrews 12, Holy Spirit, James, James Ossuary, Jesus Christ, Jesus Strand, Joe Basile, John the Baptist, Luke 1, Matthew 1, Shroud of Turin, Sudarium Oviedo, type AB blood, Virgin Mary on May 5, 2017 by paulthepoke

An Oxford geneticist and a theologian are teaming up to find the DNA of Jesus Christ. The Oxford University geneticist is George Busby. The theologian is Pastor Joe Basile. The History Channel has completed a special on the topic called “The Jesus Strand”.

The team has looked at the Shroud of Turin, the Sudarium of Oviedo, and potentially the bones of John the Baptist. A goal is to obtain DNA from each of these samples to determine the DNA of Christ. The ultimate goal of scientists would be to clone Jesus Christ. And they are trying.

Separately from this project, other scientists are working on extracting DNA from the James Ossuary and the bones found.

https://worldtruth.tv/scientists-want-to-clone-jesus-the-search-for-the-messiahs-dna-has-begun/

http://www.history.com/specials/the-jesus-strand-a-search-for-dna

With all of these projects, there is a series of tremendous assumptions. One, the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo belong to the actual person who is the Jesus Christ. On the surface, it appears the Shroud and Sudarium are likely to belong to the same person. Blood stains correspond with both pieces of linen. Wounds are consistent with flogging and crucifixion. A specific pollen is found on both items which is indigenous to ancient Israel.

A rare blood type AB from a male is noted on both artifacts. As a side note, a person with blood type AB is a universal recipient. He can take any blood type into his body.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/434153/shroud-turin-jesus-christ-blood-relic-sudarium-oviedo

Other significant assumptions include the accurate identification of John the Baptist and James. Do the bones actually belong to the historical persons in the Bible?

So why Jesus, John the Baptist, and James? Specifically, scientists are looking at the family tree of the Virgin Mary. She is one half of the equation of Jesus.

John the Baptist is the cousin of Jesus. The mother of John the Baptist is Elizabeth. She is related to Mary. Luke 1:36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.” –Angel

See Luke 1 for complete details of Mary, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Jesus.

James is the half-brother of Jesus. Galatians 1:19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

As for the other half of Jesus’ genetic code, good luck with that. Matthew 1:20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

This is the fulfillment of the prophecy written at least 700 years before Mary from Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

There is only one Earthly example of DNA from the Father’s lineage, Jesus Himself. And He is not around. He is alive at the right of the Father in Heaven. There are no buried bones here on Earth, only His shed blood.

Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.