And from that city many believed in him, of the Samaritans, because of the word of the woman testifying, `He told me all things, as many as I did.'

And he who is reaping doth receive a reward, and doth gather fruit to life age-during, that both he who is sowing and he who is reaping may rejoice together;  for in this the saying is the true one, that one is the sower and another the reaper.

               I sent you to reap that on which ye have not laboured; others laboured, and ye into their labour have entered.

do not say that it is yet four months, and the harvest cometh; lo, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and see the fields, that they are white unto harvest already.

Jesus saith to them, `My food is, that I may do the will of Him who sent me, and may finish His work;

The disciples then said one to another, `Did any one bring him anything to eat?'

And in the meanwhile his disciples were asking him, saying, `Rabbi, eat;' and he said to them, `I have food to eat that ye have not known.'

They went forth therefore out of the city, and were coming unto him.

 The woman then left her water-jug, and went away to the city, and saith to the men,

           Come, see a man, who told me all things as many as I did; is this the Christ?'

 And upon this came his disciples, and were wondering that with a woman he was speaking, no one, however, said, `What seekest thou?' or `Why speakest thou with her?'

The woman saith to him, `I have known that Messiah doth come, who is called Christ, when that one may come, he will tell us all things;'

 

Jesus saith to her, `I am [he], who am speaking to thee.'

but, there cometh an hour, and it now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also doth seek such to worship him; God [is] a Spirit, and those worshipping Him, in spirit and truth it doth behove to worship.'

 Jesus saith to her, `Woman, believe me, that there doth come an hour, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father; ye worship what ye have not known; we worship what we have known, because the salvation is of the Jews;

The woman saith to him, `Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet;  our fathers in this mountain did worship, and ye -- ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where it behoveth to worship.'

Jesus saith to her, `Go, call thy husband, and come hither;' the woman answered and said, `I have not a husband.' Jesus saith to her, `Well didst thou say a husband I have not; for five husbands thou hast had, and, now, he whom thou hast is not thy husband; this hast thou said truly.'

The woman saith unto him, `Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.'

 Jesus answered and said to her, `Every one who is drinking of this water shall thirst again; but whoever may drink of the water that I will give him, may not thirst to the age; and the water that I will give him shall become in him a well of water, springing up to life age-during.'

 The woman saith to him, `Sir, thou hast not even a vessel to draw with, and the well is deep; whence, then, hast thou the living water?

 

             Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who did give us the well, and himself out of it did drink, and his sons, and his cattle?'

Jesus answered and said to her, `If thou hadst known the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked him, and he would have given thee living water.'

there cometh a woman out of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to her, `Give me to drink;' for his disciples were gone away to the city, that they may buy victuals; the Samaritan woman therefore saith to him, `How dost thou, being a Jew, ask drink from me, being a Samaritan woman?' for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans.

and there was there a well of Jacob. Jesus therefore having been weary from the journeying, was sitting thus on the well; it was as it were the sixth hour;

he left Judea and went away again to Galilee,

and it was behoving him to go through Samaria.

          He cometh, therefore, to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the place that Jacob gave to Joseph his son;

(though indeed Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples,)

When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees heard that Jesus more disciples doth make and baptize than John,

the Father doth love the Son, and all things hath given into his hand; he who is believing in the Son, hath life age-during; and he who is not believing the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God doth remain upon him.

 he who is receiving his testimony did seal that God is true; for he whom God sent, the sayings of God he speaketh; for not by measure doth God give the Spirit;

And what he hath seen and heard this he doth testify, and his testimony none receiveth;

Him it behoveth to increase, and me to become less; he who from above is coming is above all; he who is from the earth, from the earth he is, and from the earth he speaketh; he who from the heaven is coming is above all.

he who is having the bride is bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom, who is standing and hearing him, with joy doth rejoice because of the voice of the bridegroom; this, then, my joy hath been fulfilled.

John answered and said, `A man is not able to receive anything, if it may not have been given him from the heaven; ye yourselves do testify to me that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am having been sent before him;

there arose then a question from the disciples of John with [some] Jews about purifying, and they came unto John, and said to him, `Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou didst testify, lo, this one is baptizing, and all are coming unto him.'

and John was also baptizing in Aenon, nigh to Salem, because there were many waters there, and they were coming and were being baptized,

for John was not yet cast into the prison.

After these things came Jesus and his disciples to the land of Judea, and there he did tarry with them, and was baptizing;

but he who is doing the truth doth come to the light, that his works may be manifested, that in God they are having been wrought.

for every one who is doing wicked things hateth the light, and doth not come unto the light, that his works may not be detected;

And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;

For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him;

 

              he who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.

And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up,  that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,

 and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down, the Son of Man who is in the heaven.

`Verily, verily, I say to thee, What we have known we speak, and what we have seen we testify, and our testimony ye do not receive; if the earthly things I said to you, and ye do not believe, how, if I shall say to you the heavenly things, will ye believe?

Jesus answered and said to him, `Thou art the teacher of Israel and these things thou dost not know!

Nicodemus answered and said to him, `How are these things able to happen?'

`Thou mayest not wonder that I said to thee, It behoveth you to be born from above; the Spirit where he willeth doth blow, and his voice thou dost hear, but thou hast not known whence he cometh, and whither he goeth; thus is every one who hath been born of the Spirit.'

Jesus answered, `Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born of water, and the Spirit, he is not able to enter into the reign of God;

        that which hath been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the Spirit is spirit.

 Nicodemus saith unto him, `How is a man able to be born, being old? is he able into the womb of his mother a second time to enter, and to be born?'

Jesus answered and said to him, `Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God;'

 And there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus his name, a ruler of the Jews, this one came unto him by night, and said to him, `Rabbi, we have known that from God thou hast come -- a teacher, for no one these signs is able to do that thou dost, if God may not be with him.'

and because he had no need that any should testify concerning man, for he himself was knowing what was in man.

and Jesus himself was not trusting himself to them, because of his knowing all [men],

And as he was in Jerusalem, in the passover, in the feast, many believed in his name, beholding his signs that he was doing;

 when, then, he was raised out of the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this to them, and they believed the Writing, and the word that Jesus said.

The Jews, therefore, said, `Forty and six years was this sanctuary building, and wilt thou in three days raise it up?'
 but he spake concerning the sanctuary of his body;

Jesus answered and said to them, `Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.'

the Jews then answered and said to him, `What sign dost thou shew to us that thou dost these things?'

And his disciples remembered that it is written, `The zeal of Thy house did eat me up;'

and to those selling the doves he said, `Take these things hence; make not the house of my Father a house of merchandise.'

 and having made a whip of small cords, he put all forth out of the temple, also the sheep, and the oxen; and of the money-changers he poured out the coins, and the tables he overthrew,

And the passover of the Jews was nigh, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,  and he found in the temple those selling oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the money-changers sitting,

after this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples; and there they remained not many days.

This beginning of the signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him;

and saith to him, `Every man, at first, the good wine doth set forth; and when they may have drunk freely, then the inferior; thou didst keep the good wine till now.'

And as the director of the apartment tasted the water become wine, and knew not whence it is, (but the ministrants knew, who have drawn the water,) the director of the feast doth call the bridegroom,

and he saith to them, `Draw out, now, and bear to the director of the apartment;' and they bare.

Jesus saith to them, `Fill the water-jugs with water;' and they filled them unto the brim;

And there were there six water-jugs of stone,
placed according to the purifying of the Jews,
holding each two or three measures

His mother saith to the ministrants, `Whatever he may say to you, do.'

and wine having failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, `Wine they have not;'

          Jesus saith to her, `What to me and to thee, woman? not yet is mine hour come.'

 

                  His mother saith to the ministrants, `Whatever he may say to you, do.'

And there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus his name, a ruler of the Jews, this one came unto him by night, and said to him, `Rabbi, we have known that from God thou hast come  a teacher, for no one these signs is able to do that thou dost, if God may not be with him.'

and because he had no need that any should testify concerning man, for he himself was knowing what
was in man.

and Jesus himself was not trusting himself to them, because of his knowing all [men],

And as he was in Jerusalem, in the Passover, in the feast, many believed in his name, beholding his signs that he was doing;

when, then, he was raised out of the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this to them, and they believed the Writing, and the word that Jesus said.

but he spake concerning the sanctuary of his body;

The Jews, therefore, said, 'Forty and six years was this sanctuary building, and wilt thou in three days raise it up?'

Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.'

the Jews then answered and said to him, 'What sign dost thou shew to us, that thou dost these things?'

And his disciples remembered that it is written, The zeal of Thy house did eat me up;

and to those selling the doves he said, 'Take these things hence; make not the house of my Father a house of merchandise.'

 and having made a whip of small cords,
he put all forth out of the temple,
also the sheep, and the oxen; and of the
money-changers he poured out the coins,
and the tables he overthrew,

And the Passover of the Jews was nigh,

and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

and he found in the temple those selling oxen,

and sheep, and doves, and the money-changers

sitting.

 after this he went down to Capernaum,
he, and his mother, and his brethren, and
his disciples; and there they remained not
many days.

 This beginning of the signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him;

and saith to him, 'Every man, at first,
the good wine doth set forth; and
when they may have drunk freely,
then the inferior; thou didst keep the
good wine till now.'

And as the director of the apartment tasted the water become wine, and knew not whence it is, (but the ministrants knew, who have drawn the water,) the director of the feast doth call the bridegroom,

and he saith to them, 'Draw out, now,
and bear to the director of the apartment;'
and they bare.

Jesus saith to them, 'Fill the water-jugs
with water;' and they filled them unto the brim;

 And there were there six water-jugs of stone,
placed according to the purifying of the Jews,
holding each two or three measures.

Never forget 911

His mother saith to the ministrants,
'Whatever he may say to you, do.'

Jesus saith to her,  'What, to me and to thee, woman? not yet is mine hour come.'

and wine having failed, the mother
of Jesus saith unto him, 'Wine they have not;'

and also Jesus was called, and his disciple,
to the marriage;

And the third day a marriage happened
in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of
Jesus was there,

and he [Jesus] said to him [Nathanael],
'Verily, verily, I say to you, henceforth ye
shall see the heaven opened, and the
messengers of God going up and coming
down upon the Son of Man.

Jesus answered and said to him [Nathanael],
'Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the
fig-tree, thou dost believe; greater things than
these thou shalt see;'

Nathanael answered and saith to him,
'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.'

Nathanael saith to him, 'Whence me dost thou know?'
Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip's calling thee thou being under the fig tree I saw thee.'

 Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto him, and he saith concerning him, 'Lo, truly and Isaraelite, in whom guile is not;'

and Nathanael said to him, 'Out of Nazareth is any good thing able to be?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'

Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him,
'Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law,
and the prophets, we have found,
Jesus the son of Joseph, who [is] from Nazareth;'

And Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter;

On the morrow, he willed to go forth to Galilee,
and he findeth Philip, and saith to him,
'Be following me.'

 and he brought him unto Jesus:
and having looked upon him, Jesus saith,
'Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas,
thou shalt be called Cephas.'
(which is interpreted, A rock.)

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard from John, and followed him;

this one doth first find his own brother Simon, and saith to him, `We have found the Messiah,' (which is, being interpreted, The Anointed,)

He [Jesus] saith to them, 'Come and see;'
they came, and saw where he doth remain,
and with him they remained that day and
the hour was about the tenth.

And Jesus having turned, and having beheld
them following, saith to them, 'What seek ye?'
and they said to them, 'Rabbi, (which is, being
interpreted, Teacher,) where remainest thou?'

On the morrow, again, John was standing,

and two of his disciples, and having looked

on Jesus walking, he saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God;'

and the two disciples heard him speaking, and

they followed Jesus.

 

and I have see, and have testified, that this is the Son of God.

and I did not know him,
but he who sent me to baptize with water,
He said to me, On whomsoever thou mayest see
the Spirit coming down, and remaining on him,
this is he who is baptizing with the Holy Spirit;

And John testified, saying, 'I have seen the Spirit coming down, as a dove, out of heaven, and it remained on him;

and I knew him not, but that he might be manifested to Israel, because of this I came with the water baptizing.

this is he concerning whom I said,
After me doth come a man,
who hath come before me,
because he was before me:

on the morrow John seeth Jesus coming
unto him, and saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God,
who is taking away the sin of the world;

These things came to pass in Bethabara,
beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing,

John answered them, saying,
'I baptize with water,
but in midst of you he hath stood whom
ye have not known,
this one it is who is coming after me,
who hath been before me,
of whom I am not worthy that I may
loose the cord of his sandal.'

 And those sent were of the Pharisees,

and they questioned him and said to him,

"Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"

He said, 'I [am] a voice of one
crying in the wilderness:
Make straight the way of the Lord,
as said Isaiah the prophet.

They said then to him, 'Who art thou,
that we may give an answer to those sending us?
what dost thou say concerning thyself?'

 And they questioned him [John the Baptist],
'What then? Elijah art thou?'
and he saith, 'I am not.'
'The prophet art thou?'
and he answered, 'No.'

and he, John the Baptist, confessed
and did not deny, and confessed,
"I am not the Christ."

And this is the testimony of John,
when the Jews sent out of Jerusalem
priests and Levites,
that they might question him,
'Who art thou?'

God no one hath ever seen;
the only begotten Son,
who is on the bosom of the Father
he did declare.

 for the law through Moses was given,
the grace and the truth through Jesus Christ
did come;

 and out of his fullness did we all receive,
and grace over-against grace;

John doth testify concerning him,
and hath cried, saying,
'This was he of whom I said,
He who after me is coming,
hath come before me,
for he was before me;'

And the Word became flesh,
and did tabernacle among us,
and we beheld his glory,
glory as of an only begotten of a father,
full of grace and truth.

who, not of blood nor of a will of flesh,
nor of a will of man,
but of God were begotten.

but as many as did receive him
       to them he gave authority
       to become sons of God 
       to those believing in his name,

to his own things he came,
and his own people did not receive him;

in the world he [Jesus] was,
and the world through him was made,
and the world did not know him:

 He [Jesus] was the true Light,
which doth enlighten every man,
coming to the world;

that one [John] was not the Light,
       but that he might testify about the Light.

 this, one John, came for testimony, that he might testify about the Light, that all might believe through him [Jesus];

 There came a man,
       having been sent from God,
            whose name is John;

In him was life, and the life was the light of men,

and the light in the darkness did shine,

and the darkness did not perceive it.

all things through him did happen,
and without him happened not even
one thing that hath happened.

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God;

this one was in the beginning with God;

Christians are going to wear clothes  throughout eternity.

                    We are going to have actual robes of righteousness made out of something like white linen that shines.

         No one in heaven will go around naked.

Adam and Eve's nakedness was so important to them because God wasn't naked.

         God was clothed, He wears garments.

                  Neither God or angels are ever referred to as naked.

We are going to wear clothes throughout eternity, Revelation 19:8.

Man was created to be so God conscious that they didn't even notice themselves. There was no self-consciousness, just totally God consciousness.

            But according to the Bible, nakedness, was the only thing Adam and Eve noticed that made them run and hide from God.

The only thing the Bible says that they knew when they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was that they were naked.

       They didn't have any clothes on before they sinned or after they sinned; but their perception of it had changed. They were never conscious of it before.

People in the Old Testament who live to be hundreds of years old didn't know they were to die, except through battles.

       They didn't know about sickness and diseases or aging for centuries until Satan got all this knowledge across to them.

People in the beginning lived to be up to 969 years old because it took a while for Satan to get them convinced that they were suppose to die.

         Like one pastor said, they didn't know how to
        die.

                  They had never seen anybody do that
                  before.

Abraham, who was born after Noah, lived to be 175 years old, and Moses lived to be 120 years old.

             "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."   Genesis 6:3

      It is obvious that sin was diminishing people's life spans.

In the days of Adam people lived to be 969 years old.

           Two thousand years later, in Noah's day, Noah lived only to be over 600 years old.

Although God wasn't bringing judgment upon sin, sin still allowed Satan to come in and destroy people's lives, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 6:16

 

          The Word of God shows us that every times people commit sin, they give Satan access to their lives.

Sin has both vertical and horizontal effects.

       Sin's vertical effect is a transgression against
      God.

                 Sin's horizontal effect is that it allows
                 Satan access to our lives in some form.

                          Even though God wasn't bringing judgment upon sin before the Law, sin was still destroying the human race.

Even though God wasn't holding man's sins against him, it took a while for people to figure out that sin had devastating effects on them from the very beginning.

          Sin wasn't only against God, but it also created an opening for Satan to come into their lives.

"And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden."
Genesis 3:7-8

              They were ashamed of what they had done, so they hid themselves.

                        It doesn't say that when Adam and Eve ate of the Tree that they received total revelation of the depth of sin. It took man thousands of years to discover it.

                                        Even after they sinned, they were still so pure that it would have blown most of us away.

It is contrary to popular religious beliefs that God didn't approve of the sin, but He protected the first murder.

               Yet under the Old Testament Law, if a man went out and picked up sticks on the Sabbath Day, God commanded the man to be stoned to death, Numbers 15:35.

       This looks very inconsistent; because until the Law came, God was not holding man's sin against him. He was overlooking sin as it pertained to man's fellowship with Him.

God showed His disapproval of Cain's killing Abel and let him know what the consequences would be in Genesis 4:11-12.

         God put a mark upon Cain and protected him, instead of bringing judgment upon him, Genesis 4:15.

Cain had to be used to talking to God or he wouldn't have answered, "I don't know where he is. Am I my brother's keeper?"

        God wasn't holding their sins against them at that time.
        God was operating in love, mercy and forgiveness.

When God respected Abel's sacrifice over Cain's, Cain became jealous and killed Abel in anger.

      The Bible shows that God spoke to Cain about it.
               Genesis 4:9

Most people thought God had to separate man from His presence because man was unholy and God was so holy, there could be no fellowship.

          That's the concept most people have developed, but it's not proven or taught by the Word of God.

In Genesis 4:6 God is speaking in an audible voice to Cain just the same as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

            God was talking to Cain and Abel face to face.

As born-again Christians, we have a witness of God in our spirits.

           Cain and Abel weren't born-again Christians, so they didn't have God inside them. So it's evident God was talking to them.

           Genesis 4:6 says, "The Lord said unto Cain."

Genesis 4:5 says, "But unto Cain and to his offering He [God]  had not respect".

           God didn't respect Cain's offering. How did they know that God didn't respect Cain's offering unless they had a way to know Him.

We know God continued to fellowship with Adam and Eve outside the Garden of Eden because they understood about sacrifices and how to approach Him.

Cain and Abel offered their sacrifices to God in Genesis 4:5.

For those of us who know God and accept His promises, we are looking forward to a glorified body that won't be subject to the things our earthly body is subject to here in this life.

It would be terrible to have to live forever in bodies that were filled with sickness, disease and pain. And couldn't die if wanting to.

        It was the mercy and love of God that sent man out of the Garden and away from the Tree of Life.

The reason God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden was because He loved them so much, He didn't want them to eat of the Tree of Life and live forever in bodies that were corrupt by sin.

            Sin gave Satan the opportunity to put sickness, disease and all kinds of curses on man.

After Adam and Eve sinned and left the Garden, God was still walking and talking with them in the cool of the evening.

          He was still fellowshipping with them.

                        Contrary to what most of us have thought, God was still fellowshipping and present with sinful mankind.

Happy Mother's Day 2013

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and He expelled them from the Garden, but God didn't expel them from His presence.

                      God presence went with them and their descendants outside the Garden of Eden.

Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve fell into the temptation of the serpent [satan] in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:22-23.

       God didn't want them to eat of the Tree of Life, which would mean all of mankind would live forever in their sinful state.

               God didn't send them out because He couldn't tolerate them.

God is holy and man is sinful, but God's love is so great that He didn't just expel them from His presence, but He dealt in mercy toward them, and He didn't hold their sins against them until the days of Moses, when the Law was given.

There was a period of time from Adam until Moses when God dealt with people out of love, mercy and forgiveness instead of wrath and judgment.

Most people think of God as that the moment sin entered the Garden of Eden, God's wrath was released upon mankind.

          People believe that God was holy and that man was unholy; so God separated man from Himself and drove Adam and Eve from His presence because His holiness could not stand to look upon sinful man.

Romans 5:13 shows us that before the Law [the Law of Moses] was given, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no Law.

          The word 'impute' means to take what has been done and apply it to one's account or to hold transgressions against them.

                   Sin was not held against people until God gave the Law of Moses.

"For until the law, sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law."
Romans 5:13

         Law refers to all the Old Testament, but more specific here, refers to the Mosaic Law, which includes the Ten Commandments, punishments, and all of the ordinances and ceremonial observances.

The love, mercy and forgiveness God offers to us in the New Testament, through Jesus, were always available to man, even in the Old Testament.

        But mans response to Him in the Old Testament forced God to deal with him more harshly than He cared to.

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:"
Hebrews 1:3
                In Hebrews 1:3, it says Jesus is the brightness of God's glory and the express image of His person.

        Jesus is an exact representation of God the Father, revealing His true nature.

Most of us don't really understand the greatness of the love, mercy and compassion God has toward us.

           That mistaken impression of God keeps us distant from Him. So it is important that we know both the New Testament character as well as the Old Testament character of God, it will give us His true nature.

When Jesus came, He brought the true revelation of the Father to man and He operated in a very different way.

            If Jesus had come to earth in human form in the Old Testament times, He would have rebuked Elijah and Moses.

                     The Bible is clear that it never was God's desire to deal with man so harshly; that never was His real character.

                                    Because we haven't know this, we have a mixed impression of God.

We, Christians, misunderstand and are confused about who God really is and the relationship He wants with us, because we see Him according to the Old Testament.

             In the Old Testament, He had to deal with man and sin in a different way.

Jesus is the walking, living Word, and when we see Him, we see the Father.

              The problem so many of us Christians are facing is that we are seeing God through the Old Testament instead of through Jesus.

Elijah's actions in obedience to God were not the complete representation of the nature of God.

          The Old Testament cannot give us a total revelation of God by itself.

                   We need the New Testament to understand the fullness of God.

God's nature is not judgment; He does judge, and He is just and holy; but the Bible reveals to us in
1 John 4:8 that "God is love."

            Love is God's real nature.
            He doesn't just have love or operate in love.
            He Is Love, it's His true character.

When we don't look at the whole Word of God, by examining the Old Testament in light of the New Testament, we usually get an Old Testament picture of God as a God of wrath, judgment and punishment.

        That is a truth about God, and those who don't accept the love and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ will one day experience a terrible day of His judgment.

               But wrath and judgment are not the main nature of God.

We have to come to a place where we really know God and have a very close relationship with Him.

       Religious ideas that come from a misunderstanding of the Bible blocks us from entering into a close relationship with Him.

               Many people are really afraid to come to God because they have been taught or have gotten the impression that He is going strike them with something [like sickness, disease, poverty, disasters,  or death etc]; but that's not the relationship God desires or that His Word teaches.

Under the Old Testament some things were done in the Elijah manner, but that is not the whole nature of God.

      It is important to know who we are really dealing with.

              If we don't know God's nature or really understand Him, then we will never walk in His blessings and His power.

Young believers who think they are prophets believe they are God's lightning rod in the earth. The are going to attract all of the judgment and wrath of God and smite people if they get out of line.

           But that's not a full understanding of the ministry of the prophet, and certainly not the nature of God.

There are some who are examples of true prophets who were not hard and cruel.

       But when people think of the typical prophet they think of the ones like Elijah.

Many Christians, wanting to be great men of God, go back and begin to act like those in the Old Testament.

        Any time certain people are prophets or have the anointing of a prophet, they begin to get harsh and even cruel.

               They think they are acting like Elijah and get into the face of others and rebuke them.

God was operating in the way He had to during the times in the Old Testament.

       What God did throughtout the Old Testament wasn't His true and complete nature, neither was it whom He has revealed Himself to be in the New Testament.

                 But still people have the impression that God is a God of wrath who would wipe out anyone who gets in His way.

The Old Testament is only a partial picture of the nature of God.

                It is not a perfect representation of Him.

        Unless we understand the New Testament and able to harmonize it with the Old Testament, we are going to end up misunderstanding His love and complete nature.

John 11:40

In the Old Testament we see a picture of God that is incomplete.

     It isn't incorrect; it's just incomplete.

              Those who create their understanding of the nature of God based only on the Old Testament usually don't end up with an accurate picture of Him.