Tourists Flock to Bethlehem
A few thousand years ago, pregnant Mary and Joseph headed to Bethlehem because a census was being taken. In fact, the town was so full that they couldn't find anyplace to stay...and we all know the rest of the story.
With break in violence, tourists again flocking to Bethlehem for Christmas
Bethlehem used to attract tens of thousands of tourists from around the world for Christmas celebrations, but attendance dropped sharply after the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000.
As the fighting tapered off over the past five years, attendance steadily climbed. The town’s 2,750 hotel rooms were booked solid for Christmas week, and town officials say more hotels are under construction.
Israeli officials have said they expect about 90,000 visitors in Bethlehem during the current two-week holiday season, up from 70,000 last year. But visitors entering the town must cross through a massive security gate in the separation barrier Israel built between Jerusalem and Bethlehem during a wave of Palestinian attacks last decade.
See it here; http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2010/12/25/with_break_in_violence_tourists_again_flocking_to_bethlehem_for_christmas/
posted by dennis at
8:48 AM
19 Comments:
Only believers who overcome will rule and reign with Christ in His Kingdom, not all believers (cf. Rev.2-3; Matt.7:21-23; 22:12-14; 25:1-12). There is the salvation of the spirit (Acts 16:31) which includes all believers. There is the salvation of the soul. They are not one and the same thing. Scripture deals far more with the latter (e.g.,cf. 1 Peter 1:1:9; Heb. 10:38-39; Matt. 16:26)
It must be remembered that Scripture was written only to the saved. The unsaved cannot understand Scripture (cf. 1 Cor.2:13-14). Anyone, saved or unsaved, can see and understand the letter of Scripture, but only a saved person, who allows the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead him into all truth (cf. John 16:13-15) can possess the type spiritual perception which will allow him to move from the letter to the spirit of the Word, correctly viewing that which is spiritual.
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. (Luke 23:33 KJV) And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom [he didn't ask the Lord to save him, as is erroneously taught in Christendom; he called Him Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 12:3), he knew Who He was]. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise. (Luke 23:42-43 KJV) He was going there anyway. Jesus really didn't answer this man. He just told him a fact. This man had wasted his life and would not be a part of the Lord's kingdom.
When Spirit and Soul are used we can't assume that they are separate. It could be that when the terms are used together that it is for emphasis. Spirit and Soul could be the same thing just using different words. (Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.) We are a soul, we have a body. Some believe tricodomy and some dicodomy. For me Spirit and Soul is the same thing. It's the real me. I just have a body that I dwell in. This is a debate that I hear often.
I will need to let these comments percolate in me for a while. I have never heard the idea that spirit and soul were separate things....as Myrna is stating.
I will look up the scripture references.
Thanks for the discussion Myrna and April. Good stuff!
There are actually three aspects of salvation in Scripture: (1) the salvation of the spirit, (2) the salvation of the soul, (3) the salvation of the body.
There is no dispute regarding the salvation of the body. The salvation of the spirit, to some extent, has been corrupted with the Lordship-Salvation teaching brought into it, but the one pertaining to the salvation of the soul has all but disappeared. It is not taught, even though specifically mentioned in such passages as, for example, 1 Peter 1:9 and Heb. 10:39. Today, Christendom, as a whole, does not see a division between soul and spirit as Scripture plainly teaches (cf. Heb. 4:12; 1 Thess. 5:23); they have combined the two (even though two very different words are used in the Greek. The Greek for spirit is pneuma; the Greek for soul is psuche).
Spirit/Soul
These terms may not describe two separate entities (any more than “thoughts and “intents” do) but may be used as one might say “heart and soul” to express fullness. (Luk 10:27, acts 4:23) Elsewhere these two terms are used interchangeably to describe the real person, the “real me”, the eternal part.
As the terms are used together it makes the term more emphatic. By using spirit and soul, Paul was not indicating that the real us could be divided into two. (Heb 4:12, 10:39, 1 Peter 2:11, 2 Peter 2:8). They are used as other texts use multiple terms for emphasis. (Deut 6:5, Matt 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). Paul was not a believer in a three-part human (Rom 8:10, 1Cor 2:11, 5:3-5, 7:34, 2 Cor 7:1, Gal 6:18, Tim 4:22) but rather two part (dichotomy).
Luke 1:46
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
Why didn't she say: My soul and spirit magnifies the Lord
If Spirit and Soul where separate wouldn't her spirit also magnify the Lord.
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...
I still think that it the terms are used to express fullness.
Man was created in the image of the triune, God [Father, Son, Holy Spirit](cf. Gen. 1:26) as a tripartite, trichotomous being [spirit, soul, body](cf. 1 Thess. 5:23).
Heb. 4:12 states that God Himself divides between soul and spirit. There are words that are used interchangeably in Scripture [soul & life] but never spirit [pneuma] & soul [psuche].
The spirit of a believer has been saved and is his current possession that he can never lose. The soul of a believer is in the process of being saved, consisting of how he lives his life here on this earth with the results being shown at the Judgment Seat of Christ, as to whether he will or will not receive his inheritance (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). The believer will be in eternity forever, but may not be found worthy to rule and to reign with Christ in His 1,000 year Millennial reign in His Kingdom.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (paying special attention to v8 and v9)
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ---> For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. <---- For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
A few things…
Luke 23:46 (New King James Version)
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
(Amplified)
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit! And with these words, He expired.
(Contemp. English version)
Jesus shouted, "Father, I put myself in your hands!" Then he died.
Why didn’t Jesus say: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit and soul.
Also…
Matt 11:29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
So then is there no rest for your spirit if we take His yoke then according to Matt 11:29???
John 4:24
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
If man where made with 3 parts as you are saying then shouldn’t it say: God is Spirit, and Soul and Body…
Seems to me that spirit and soul are interchangeable.
If I read my bible thru the lens of a 3 part person then I would apply the verses that say soul to just my soul and apply the verses that say spirit to just my spirit then the verses that say body to just my body. ??????
Sounds like we will need to agree to disagree in love.
When Christ died, His "spirit" went into the presence of the Father in heaven, His "soul" went into Sheol, and his "body" was later taken down from the Cross and placed in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb (cf. Luke 23:46-53; Eccl. 12:7; Psa. 16:10).
Again, two very different words are used in the Greek [most precise of languages] for spirit and soul, so they are not used interchangeably.
When born again, a person becomes spiritually alive. When born as a human, he operates through his soul and body, not his spirit because he is spiritually dead, until he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ at which time he because spiritually alive.
Matt.11:29 "rest for your souls" is talking about the "rest" of the 7th Day [the Millennium] and has nothing to do with the spirit. Your spirit has been saved. It is your present possession. God does not deal with you about that which His Son accomplished at Calvary, which was the salvation of your spirit. Now He deals with you in regard to your soul, which has not yet been saved. The salvation of the soul is what is dealt with at the Judgment Seat of Christ, not the salvation of the spirit.
Dennis, in your Berean quest (Acts 17:10-11), remember we are living in the times of the Laodicean church (Rev.3:17). The leaven will continue its work until the whole of the Word of God has been corrupted (Matt. 13:33). The Greek in Luke 18:8 demands a NO answer. Faith is articular in the Greek, referring to "the faith" = "the faith" deals specifically with everything that relates to the Word of the Kingdom, i.e., the gospel of the glory of Christ [not the gospel of the grace of God for the unsaved], the salvation of the soul [not the salvation of the spirit, which you already possess], the hope set before you, the goal of your calling [regal], a heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1), your inheritance, etc. Christ is NOT going to find "the faith" being taught in Christendom, as a whole, when He returns. Satan has been all too successful in blinding Christians, believers, the saved, to the gospel of the glory of Christ [for the saving of the soul]. Having an open mind, the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth (John 16:13-15) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32) from the traditions of men and the teaching of false teachers (2 Peter 2:1).
Myrna- Sounds like you are saying that salvation of the soul is the same as sanctification??? If yes then are salvation and sanctification different words in the Greek??? Wouldn’t the spirit need to be sanctified or does the spirit only go thru one step – justification-? After you're spirit is made alive then the attention turns to the soul beacuse the spirit it taken care of???
(sorry Dennis)
April, you are correct, sanctification is the same as the salvation of the soul. The spirit does not need to be sanctified, it the gift of God (Eph.2:8-9).You cannot add anything to the salvation of your spirit. It is totally the work of Christ. You cannot do anything to be saved. You cannot do anything to keep yourself saved. You cannot do anything to show that you have been saved [as that would be adding works to a realm where your works cannot exist]. Once saved, God never deals with you in regard to your spirit ever again. Because you are spiritually alive you will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor.5:10 referring only to believers) in ref. to your works. The saved and unsaved are never judged together. Because the unsaved are spiritually dead, they will appear at the Great White Throne (Rev.20:11-12)
Genesis 5:1-3
1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
2Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
3And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:
-----
v3."he had a son in his own likeness"
In my study notes of my Bible it says "As God created man in his own image, so now sinful Adam has a son in his own image"
Back to Genesis 2:7
7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (King James Version)
So...Adam was created in the image of God and then he and Eve sinned and thus You and I are in the image/likeness of Adam.
Seems to me that we can't use Genesis 1:26 to describe humans now but can only apply to Adam and Eve.
Makes sense to me that we are in the image of Adam being a soul in a body (soul and dust). 2-parts not 3.
So then the Holy Spirit makes us (soul) alive and connects us back to God thru Jesus. At that point we are justified before God (covered in the blood of Jesus as a gift and not of our doing). Now that we have been made alive and justified, the sanctification process begins and then finally at the resurrection both soul and body are glorified.
Just thinking out ~
April
April, in answer to you [1] Gen.1:26,28 gives the purpose for the creation of man: to rule, which will be fulfilled in the Millennium and until then Satan holds the scepter. [2] we are in the image of Adam being a soul in a body. You said: 2-parts not 3. April, you are forgetting the spirit, which makes 3 parts. [3] When you are born you have a body, soul and dead spirit.The Holy Spirit makes you spiritually alive when you believe on Jesus. The whole you will be glorified, if found worthy (Rom.8:17-18).
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