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30 KiB
Plaintext
492 lines
30 KiB
Plaintext
Urantia Book Paper 166 Last Visit To Northern Perea
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SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
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of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
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Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
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Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
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Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
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Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
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The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
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Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
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The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
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In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
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Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
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Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
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Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
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Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
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Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
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Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
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Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
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Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
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Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
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To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ...
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Paper 166 Last Visit To Northern Perea
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Introduction
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FROM February 11 to 20, Jesus and the twelve made a tour of all the cities and
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villages of northern Perea where the associates of Abner and the members of the
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women's corps were working. They found these messengers of the gospel meeting
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with success, and Jesus repeatedly called the attention of his apostles to the
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fact that the gospel of the kingdom could spread without the accompaniment of
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miracles and wonders.
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This entire mission of three months in Perea was successfully carried on with
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little help from the twelve apostles, and the gospel from this time on
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reflected, not so much Jesus' personality, as his teachings. But his followers
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did not long follow his instructions, for soon after Jesus' death and
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resurrection they departed from his teachings and began to build the early
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church around the miraculous concepts and the glorified memories of his
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divine-human personality.
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1. THE PHARISEES AT RAGABA
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On Sabbath, February 18, Jesus was at Ragaba, where there lived a wealthy
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Pharisee named Nathaniel; and since quite a number of his fellow Pharisees were
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following Jesus and the twelve around the country, he made a breakfast on this
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Sabbath morning for all of them, about twenty in number, and invited Jesus as
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the guest of honor.
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By the time Jesus arrived at this breakfast, most of the Pharisees, with two or
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three lawyers, were already there and seated at the table. The Master
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immediately took his seat at the left of Nathaniel without going to the water
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basins to wash his hands. Many of the Pharisees, especially those favorable to
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Jesus' teachings, knew that he washed his hands only for purposes of
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cleanliness, that he abhorred these purely ceremonial performances; so they
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were not surprised at his coming directly to the table without having twice
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washed his hands. But Nathaniel was shocked by this failure of the Master to
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comply with the strict requirements of Pharisaic practice. Neither did Jesus
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wash his hands, as did the Pharisees, after each course of food nor at the end
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of the meal.
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After considerable whispering between Nathaniel and an unfriendly Pharisee on
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his right and after much lifting of eyebrows and sneering curling of lips by
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those who sat opposite the Master, Jesus finally said: "I had thought that you
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invited me to this house to break bread with you and perchance to inquire of me
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concerning the proclamation of the new gospel of the kingdom of God; but I
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perceive that you have brought me here to witness an exhibition of cere-
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top of page - 1826
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monial devotion to your own self-righteousness. That service you have now done
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me; what next will you honor me with as your guest on this occasion?"
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When the Master had thus spoken, they cast their eyes upon the table and
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remained silent. And since no one spoke, Jesus continued: "Many of you
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Pharisees are here with me as friends, some are even my disciples, but the
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majority of the Pharisees are persistent in their refusal to see the light and
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acknowledge the truth, even when the work of the gospel is brought before them
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in great power. How carefully you cleanse the outside of the cups and the
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platters while the spiritual-food vessels are filthy and polluted! You make
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sure to present a pious and holy appearance to the people, but your inner souls
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are filled with self-righteousness, covetousness, extortion, and all manner of
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spiritual wickedness. Your leaders even dare to plot and plan the murder of the
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Son of Man. Do not you foolish men understand that the God of heaven looks at
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the inner motives of the soul as well as on your outer pretenses and your pious
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professions? Think not that the giving of alms and the paying of tithes will
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cleanse you from unrighteousness and enable you to stand clean in the presence
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of the Judge of all men. Woe upon you Pharisees who have persisted in rejecting
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the light of life! You are meticulous in tithing and ostentatious in
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almsgiving, but you knowingly spurn the visitation of God and reject the
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revelation of his love. Though it is all right for you to give attention to
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these minor duties, you should not have left these weightier requirements
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undone. Woe upon all who shun justice, spurn mercy, and reject truth! Woe upon
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all those who despise the revelation of the Father while they seek the chief
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seats in the synagogue and crave flattering salutations in the market places!"
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When Jesus would have risen to depart, one of the lawyers who was at the table,
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addressing him, said: "But, Master, in some of your statements you reproach us
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also. Is there nothing good in the scribes, the Pharisees, or the lawyers?" And
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Jesus, standing, replied to the lawyer: "You, like the Pharisees, delight in
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the first places at the feasts and in wearing long robes while you put heavy
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burdens, grievous to be borne, on men's shoulders. And when the souls of men
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stagger under these heavy burdens, you will not so much as lift with one of
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your fingers. Woe upon you who take your greatest delight in building tombs for
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the prophets your fathers killed! And that you consent to what your fathers did
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is made manifest when you now plan to kill those who come in this day doing
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what the prophets did in their day--proclaiming the righteousness of God and
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revealing the mercy of the heavenly Father. But of all the generations that are
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past, the blood of the prophets and the apostles shall be required of this
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perverse and self-righteous generation. Woe upon all of you lawyers who have
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taken away the key of knowledge from the common people! You yourselves refuse
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to enter into the way of truth, and at the same time you would hinder all
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others who seek to enter therein. But you cannot thus shut up the doors of the
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kingdom of heaven; these we have opened to all who have the faith to enter, and
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these portals of mercy shall not be closed by the prejudice and arrogance of
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false teachers and untrue shepherds who are like whited sepulchres which, while
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outwardly they appear beautiful, are inwardly full of dead men's bones and all
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manner of spiritual uncleanness."
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And when Jesus had finished speaking at Nathaniel's table, he went out of the
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house without partaking of food. And of the Pharisees who heard these words,
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some became believers in his teaching and entered into the kingdom,
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top of page - 1827
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but the larger number persisted in the way of darkness, becoming all the more
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determined to lie in wait for him that they might catch some of his words which
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could be used to bring him to trial and judgment before the Sanhedrin at
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Jerusalem.
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There were just three things to which the Pharisees paid particular attention:
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1. The practice of strict tithing.
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2. Scrupulous observance of the laws of purification.
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3. Avoidance of association with all non-Pharisees.
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At this time Jesus sought to expose the spiritual barrenness of the first two
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practices, while he reserved his remarks designed to rebuke the Pharisees'
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refusal to engage in social intercourse with non-Pharisees for another and
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subsequent occasion when he would again be dining with many of these same men.
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2. THE TEN LEPERS
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The next day Jesus went with the twelve over to Amathus, near the border of
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Samaria, and as they approached the city, they encountered a group of ten
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lepers who sojourned near this place. Nine of this group were Jews, one a
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Samaritan. Ordinarily these Jews would have refrained from all association or
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contact with this Samaritan, but their common affliction was more than enough
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to overcome all religious prejudice. They had heard much of Jesus and his
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earlier miracles of healing, and since the seventy made a practice of
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announcing the time of Jesus' expected arrival when the Master was out with the
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twelve on these tours, the ten lepers had been made aware that he was expected
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to appear in this vicinity at about this time; and they were, accordingly,
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posted here on the outskirts of the city where they hoped to attract his
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attention and ask for healing. When the lepers saw Jesus drawing near them, not
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daring to approach him, they stood afar off and cried to him: "Master, have
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mercy on us; cleanse us from our affliction. Heal us as you have healed
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others."
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Jesus had just been explaining to the twelve why the gentiles of Perea,
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together with the less orthodox Jews, were more willing to believe the gospel
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preached by the seventy than were the more orthodox and tradition-bound Jews of
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Judea. He had called their attention to the fact that their message had
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likewise been more readily received by the Galileans, and even by the
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Samaritans. But the twelve apostles were hardly yet willing to entertain kind
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feelings for the long-despised Samaritans.
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Accordingly, when Simon Zelotes observed the Samaritan among the lepers, he
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sought to induce the Master to pass on into the city without even hesitating to
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exchange greetings with them. Said Jesus to Simon: "But what if the Samaritan
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loves God as well as the Jews? Should we sit in judgment on our fellow men? Who
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can tell? if we make these ten men whole, perhaps the Samaritan will prove more
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grateful even than the Jews. Do you feel certain about your opinions, Simon?"
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And Simon quickly replied, "If you cleanse them, you will soon find out." And
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Jesus replied: "So shall it be, Simon, and you will soon know the truth
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regarding the gratitude of men and the loving mercy of God."
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Jesus, going near the lepers, said: "If you would be made whole, go forthwith
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and show yourselves to the priests as required by the law of Moses." And
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top of page - 1828
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as they went, they were made whole. But when the Samaritan saw that he was
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being healed, he turned back and, going in quest of Jesus, began to glorify God
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with a loud voice. And when he had found the Master, he fell on his knees at
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his feet and gave thanks for his cleansing. The nine others, the Jews, had also
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discovered their healing, and while they also were grateful for their
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cleansing, they continued on their way to show themselves to the priests.
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As the Samaritan remained kneeling at Jesus' feet, the Master, looking about at
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the twelve, especially at Simon Zelotes, said: "Were not ten cleansed? Where,
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then, are the other nine, the Jews? Only one, this alien, has returned to give
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glory to God." And then he said to the Samaritan, "Arise and go your way; your
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faith has made you whole."
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Jesus looked again at his apostles as the stranger departed. And the apostles
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all looked at Jesus, save Simon Zelotes, whose eyes were downcast. The twelve
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said not a word. Neither did Jesus speak; it was not necessary that he should.
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Though all ten of these men really believed they had leprosy, only four were
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thus afflicted. The other six were cured of a skin disease which had been
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mistaken for leprosy. But the Samaritan really had leprosy.
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Jesus enjoined the twelve to say nothing about the cleansing of the lepers, and
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as they went on into Amathus, he remarked: "You see how it is that the children
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of the house, even when they are insubordinate to their Father's will, take
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their blessings for granted. They think it a small matter if they neglect to
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give thanks when the Father bestows healing upon them, but the strangers, when
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they receive gifts from the head of the house, are filled with wonder and are
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constrained to give thanks in recognition of the good things bestowed upon
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them." And still the apostles said nothing in reply to the Master's words.
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3. THE SERMON AT GERASA
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As Jesus and the twelve visited with the messengers of the kingdom at Gerasa,
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one of the Pharisees who believed in him asked this question: "Lord, will there
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be few or many really saved?" And Jesus, answering, said:
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"You have been taught that only the children of Abraham will be saved; that
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only the gentiles of adoption can hope for salvation. Some of you have reasoned
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that, since the Scriptures record that only Caleb and Joshua from among all the
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hosts that went out of Egypt lived to enter the promised land, only a
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comparatively few of those who seek the kingdom of heaven shall find entrance
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thereto.
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"You also have another saying among you, and one that contains much truth: That
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the way which leads to eternal life is straight and narrow, that the door which
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leads thereto is likewise narrow so that, of those who seek salvation, few can
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find entrance through this door. You also have a teaching that the way which
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leads to destruction is broad, that the entrance thereto is wide, and that
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there are many who choose to go this way. And this proverb is not without its
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meaning. But I declare that salvation is first a matter of your personal
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choosing. Even if the door to the way of life is narrow, it is wide enough to
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admit all who sincerely seek to enter, for I am that door. And the Son will
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never refuse entrance to any child of the universe who, by faith, seeks to find
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the Father through the Son.
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top of page - 1829
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"But herein is the danger to all who would postpone their entrance into the
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kingdom while they continue to pursue the pleasures of immaturity and indulge
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the satisfactions of selfishness: Having refused to enter the kingdom as a
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spiritual experience, they may subsequently seek entrance thereto when the
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glory of the better way becomes revealed in the age to come. And when,
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therefore, those who spurned the kingdom when I came in the likeness of
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humanity seek to find an entrance when it is revealed in the likeness of
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divinity, then will I say to all such selfish ones: I know not whence you are.
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You had your chance to prepare for this heavenly citizenship, but you refused
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all such proffers of mercy; you rejected all invitations to come while the door
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was open. Now, to you who have refused salvation, the door is shut. This door
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is not open to those who would enter the kingdom for selfish glory. Salvation
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is not for those who are unwilling to pay the price of wholehearted dedication
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to doing my Father's will. When in spirit and soul you have turned your backs
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upon the Father's kingdom, it is useless in mind and body to stand before this
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door and knock, saying, `Lord, open to us; we would also be great in the
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kingdom.' Then will I declare that you are not of my fold. I will not receive
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you to be among those who have fought the good fight of faith and won the
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reward of unselfish service in the kingdom on earth. And when you say, `Did we
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not eat and drink with you, and did you not teach in our streets?' then shall I
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again declare that you are spiritual strangers; that we were not fellow
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servants in the Father's ministry of mercy on earth; that I do not know you;
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and then shall the Judge of all the earth say to you: `Depart from us, all you
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who have taken delight in the works of iniquity.'
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"But fear not; every one who sincerely desires to find eternal life by entrance
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into the kingdom of God shall certainly find such everlasting salvation. But
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you who refuse this salvation will some day see the prophets of the seed of
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Abraham sit down with the believers of the gentile nations in this glorified
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kingdom to partake of the bread of life and to refresh themselves with the
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water thereof. And they who shall thus take the kingdom in spiritual power and
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by the persistent assaults of living faith will come from the north and the
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south and from the east and the west. And, behold, many who are first will be
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last, and those who are last will many times be first."
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This was indeed a new and strange version of the old and familiar proverb of
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the straight and narrow way.
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Slowly the apostles and many of the disciples were learning the meaning of
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Jesus' early declaration: "Unless you are born again, born of the spirit, you
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cannot enter the kingdom of God." Nevertheless, to all who are honest of heart
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and sincere in faith, it remains eternally true: "Behold, I stand at the doors
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of men's hearts and knock, and if any man will open to me, I will come in and
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sup with him and will feed him with the bread of life; we shall be one in
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spirit and purpose, and so shall we ever be brethren in the long and fruitful
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service of the search for the Paradise Father." And so, whether few or many are
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to be saved altogether depends on whether few or many will heed the invitation:
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"I am the door, I am the new and living way, and whosoever wills may enter to
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embark upon the endless truth-search for eternal life."
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Even the apostles were unable fully to comprehend his teaching as to the
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necessity for using spiritual force for the purpose of breaking through all
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material resistance and for surmounting every earthly obstacle which might
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chance to stand in the way of grasping the all-important spiritual values of
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the new life in the spirit as the liberated sons of God.
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top of page - 1830
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4. TEACHING ABOUT ACCIDENTS
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While most Palestinians ate only two meals a day, it was the custom of Jesus
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and the apostles, when on a journey, to pause at midday for rest and
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refreshment. And it was at such a noontide stop on the way to Philadelphia that
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Thomas asked Jesus: "Master, from hearing your remarks as we journeyed this
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morning, I would like to inquire whether spiritual beings are concerned in the
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production of strange and extraordinary events in the material world and,
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further, to ask whether the angels and other spirit beings are able to prevent
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accidents."
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In answer to Thomas's inquiry, Jesus said: "Have I been so long with you, and
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yet you continue to ask me such questions? Have you failed to observe how the
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Son of Man lives as one with you and consistently refuses to employ the forces
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of heaven for his personal sustenance? Do we not all live by the same means
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whereby all men exist? Do you see the power of the spiritual world manifested
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in the material life of this world, save for the revelation of the Father and
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the sometime healing of his afflicted children?
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"All too long have your fathers believed that prosperity was the token of
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divine approval; that adversity was the proof of God's displeasure. I declare
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that such beliefs are superstitions. Do you not observe that far greater
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numbers of the poor joyfully receive the gospel and immediately enter the
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kingdom? If riches evidence divine favor, why do the rich so many times refuse
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to believe this good news from heaven?
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"The Father causes his rain to fall on the just and the unjust; the sun
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likewise shines on the righteous and the unrighteous. You know about those
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Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices, but I tell you these
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Galileans were not in any manner sinners above all their fellows just because
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this happened to them. You also know about the eighteen men upon whom the tower
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of Siloam fell, killing them. Think not that these men who were thus destroyed
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were offenders above all their brethren in Jerusalem. These folks were simply
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innocent victims of one of the accidents of time.
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"There are three groups of events which may occur in your lives:
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"1. You may share in those normal happenings which are a part of the life you
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and your fellows live on the face of the earth.
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"2. You may chance to fall victim to one of the accidents of nature, one of the
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mischances of men, knowing full well that such occurrences are in no way
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prearranged or otherwise produced by the spiritual forces of the realm.
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"3. You may reap the harvest of your direct efforts to comply with the natural
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laws governing the world.
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"There was a certain man who planted a fig tree in his yard, and when he had
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many times sought fruit thereon and found none, he called the vinedressers
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before him and said: `Here have I come these three seasons looking for fruit on
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this fig tree and have found none. Cut down this barren tree; why should it
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encumber the ground?' But the head gardener answered his master: `Let it alone
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for one more year so that I may dig around it and put on fertilizer, and then,
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next year, if it bears no fruit, it shall be cut down.' And when they had thus
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complied with the laws of fruitfulness, since the tree was living and good,
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they were rewarded with an abundant yield.
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top of page - 1831
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"In the matter of sickness and health, you should know that these bodily states
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are the result of material causes; health is not the smile of heaven, neither
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is affliction the frown of God.
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"The Father's human children have equal capacity for the reception of material
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blessings; therefore does he bestow things physical upon the children of men
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without discrimination. When it comes to the bestowal of spiritual gifts, the
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Father is limited by man's capacity for receiving these divine endowments.
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Although the Father is no respecter of persons, in the bestowal of spiritual
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gifts he is limited by man's faith and by his willingness always to abide by
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the Father's will."
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As they journeyed on toward Philadelphia, Jesus continued to teach them and to
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answer their questions having to do with accidents, sickness, and miracles, but
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they were not able fully to comprehend this instruction. One hour of teaching
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will not wholly change the beliefs of a lifetime, and so Jesus found it
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necessary to reiterate his message, to tell again and again that which he
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wished them to understand; and even then they failed to grasp the meaning of
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his earth mission until after his death and resurrection.
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5. THE CONGREGATION AT PHILADELPHIA
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Jesus and the twelve were on their way to visit Abner and his associates, who
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were preaching and teaching in Philadelphia. Of all the cities of Perea, in
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Philadelphia the largest group of Jews and gentiles, rich and poor, learned and
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unlearned, embraced the teachings of the seventy, thereby entering into the
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kingdom of heaven. The synagogue of Philadelphia had never been subject to the
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supervision of the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem and therefore had never been closed
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to the teachings of Jesus and his associates. At this very time, Abner was
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teaching three times a day in the Philadelphia synagogue.
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This very synagogue later on became a Christian church and was the missionary
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headquarters for the promulgation of the gospel through the regions to the
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east. It was long a stronghold of the Master's teachings and stood alone in
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this region as a center of Christian learning for centuries.
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The Jews at Jerusalem had always had trouble with the Jews of Philadelphia. And
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after the death and resurrection of Jesus the Jerusalem church, of which James
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the Lord's brother was head, began to have serious difficulties with the
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Philadelphia congregation of believers. Abner became the head of the
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Philadelphia church, continuing as such until his death. And this estrangement
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|
with Jerusalem explains why nothing is heard of Abner and his work in the
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Gospel records of the New Testament. This feud between Jerusalem and
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Philadelphia lasted throughout the lifetimes of James and Abner and continued
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|
for some time after the destruction of Jerusalem. Philadelphia was really the
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headquarters of the early church in the south and east as Antioch was in the
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north and west.
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It was the apparent misfortune of Abner to be at variance with all of the
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leaders of the early Christian church. He fell out with Peter and James (Jesus'
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|
brother) over questions of administration and the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem
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church; he parted company with Paul over differences of philosophy and
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theology. Abner was more Babylonian than Hellenic in his philosophy, and he
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stubbornly resisted all attempts of Paul to remake the teachings of Jesus so as
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top of page - 1832
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to present less that was objectionable, first to the Jews, then to the
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Greco-Roman believers in the mysteries.
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Thus was Abner compelled to live a life of isolation. He was head of a church
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|
which was without standing at Jerusalem. He had dared to defy James the Lord's
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|
brother, who was subsequently supported by Peter. Such conduct effectively
|
|
separated him from all his former associates. Then he dared to withstand Paul.
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|
Although he was wholly sympathetic with Paul in his mission to the gentiles,
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|
and though he supported him in his contentions with the church at Jerusalem, he
|
|
bitterly opposed the version of Jesus' teachings which Paul elected to preach.
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|
In his last years Abner denounced Paul as the "clever corrupter of the life
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|
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the living God."
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During the later years of Abner and for some time thereafter, the believers at
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Philadelphia held more strictly to the religion of Jesus, as he lived and
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|
taught, than any other group on earth.
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Abner lived to be 89 years old, dying at Philadelphia on the 21st day of
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|
November, A.D. 74. And to the very end he was a faithful believer in, and
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teacher of, the gospel of the heavenly kingdom.
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top of page - 1833
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
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|
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
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Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
|
|
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
|
|
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
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|
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
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|
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
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|
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
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|
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
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In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
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|
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
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Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
|
|
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
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|
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
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|
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
|
|
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
|
|
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
|
|
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
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|
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
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To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem Tuesday Morning In The
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Temple The Last Temple Discourse Tuesday Evening On Mount Olivet Wednesday, The
|
|
Rest Day Last Day At The Camp The Last Supper The Farewell Discourse Final
|
|
Admonitions And Warnings In Gethsemane The Betrayal And Arrest Of Jesus Before
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|
The Sanhedrin Court The Trial Before Pilate Just Before The Crucifixion The
|
|
Crucifixion The Time Of The Tomb The Resurrection Morontia Appearances Of Jesus
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|
Appearances To The Apostles And Other Leaders Appearances In Galilee Final
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|
Appearances And Ascension Bestowal Of The Spirit Of Truth After Pentecost The
|
|
Faith Of Jesus
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