Friday 29 April 2016

Why the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden away by Scholars





Robert Feather has made a discovery, and it's an unforgettable one. He has found out why the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden away by scholars for so long. William Henry explores the secret in careful detail, with unforgettable results. A powerful and fascinating in-depth interview of a kind that is available nowhere else but on Dreamland. Then Linda Moulton Howe interviews a woman whose father was at White Sands, and told her of UFO interference with their radars.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank. They were found in caves about a mile inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name. The texts are of great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the earliest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible canon, along with extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism.

The texts are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Nabataean, mostly on parchment but with some written on papyrus and bronze. The manuscripts have been dated to various ranges between 408 BCE and 318 CE. Bronze coins found on the site form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus (135-104 BCE) and continuing until the First Jewish-Roman War (66--73 CE).

The scrolls have traditionally been identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although some recent interpretations have challenged this association and argue that the scrolls were penned by priests in Jerusalem, Zadokites, or other unknown Jewish groups.

Due to the poor condition of some of the Scrolls, not all of them have been identified. Those that have been identified can be divided into three general groups: some 40% of them are copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible, approximately another 30% of them are texts from the Second Temple Period and which ultimately were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible, like the Book of Enoch, Jubilees, the Book of Tobit, the Wisdom of Sirach, Psalms 152--155, etc., and the remaining roughly 30% of them are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism, like the Community Rule, the War Scroll, the Pesher on Habakkuk and The Rule of the Blessing.
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"THE PARABLES OF JESUS" about Heaven!!!! 

Image result for description Yeshua of heaven






               Defining The Kingdom Of Heaven (Mt 13:11)








INTRODUCTION


1. In our introductory lesson, we observed that the general "theme" of




   Jesus' parables was "the kingdom of heaven"



   a. Many of the parables start with "The kingdom of heaven is



      like..." - Mt 13:24,31,33,44,45,47



   b. In explaining why He spoke in parables, Jesus made reference to



      "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" - Mt 13:11




2. We also noted that "the kingdom of heaven" was the theme of...



   a. Jesus' itinerant ministry - Mt 4:17,23



   b. His sermon on the mount - Mt 5:3,10,19-20; 6:10,33; 7:21




3. Because "the kingdom of heaven" is such a prominent subject in the

   parables of Jesus (as well as His overall preaching)...


      the parables with a careful look at what "the kingdom of heaven"

   a. I thought it might serve a good purpose to preface our study of
      means


      minds, we are more likely to benefit from our Lord's teaching on

   b. With a proper definition of "the kingdom of heaven" fresh in our
      this wonderful subject!



[Let's begin our effort to define "the kingdom of heaven" by comparing



it with "the kingdom of God"...]






I. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN vs. THE KINGDOM OF GOD


   A. IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?






      1. Some try to make a distinction (e.g. Scofield Reference Bible)


         refer to the same thing

      2. But a quick comparison of the gospels indicate that the terms


         a. Cf. Mt 4:17 with Mk 1:14-15



         b. Cf. Mt 5:3 with Lk 6:20



         c. Cf. Mt 13:31 with Mk 4:30-31




   B. WHY THE DIFFERENT EXPRESSIONS?



      1. We find that Matthew used the expression "kingdom of heaven"



         almost exclusively, while the other gospel writers used the



         phrase "kingdom of God"



      2. It may be that since Matthew wrote his gospel to the Jews, he

         chose to used the phrase "kingdom of heaven"...


         a. Because of the Jews' reluctance to use the name of God (out

            of reverence)
         b. Because of the Jews' misconception of the coming kingdom


               emphasize a spiritual kingdom

            1) Many anticipated a physical kingdom
            2) The expression "heaven" (literally, "heavens") would



Let's now consider what Jesus meant when He spoke of the "kingdom of

[So our first observation is that any effort to distinguish between the
"kingdom of heaven" and the "kingdom of God" is really without warrant.

heaven"...]





II. IT INVOLVES FOUR INTER-RELATED CONCEPTS


   A. THE REIGN OF GOD...






      1. The term "kingdom" as used by the Jews often stressed the 


         abstract idea of "reign" or "dominion", not some geographical

         area surrounded by physical boundaries


         a. Possibly used this way by Jesus in Lk 17:21



         b. It is used this way by Jesus in Mt 6:10 ("Thy kingdom 



            come; thy WILL be done")



      2. Thus, the "kingdom of heaven" (or "kingdom of God") is 



         wherever the REIGN or DOMINION of God (who is in heaven) is 

         manifested

         a. In one sense, the kingdom of God has always existed - cf.




         b. But in a special way was the rule or reign of God to be 


            1) As foretold in the time of Daniel (ca. 500 B.C.) - Dan 

            manifested with the coming of Christ




               2:44-45


            2) As proclaimed by John the Baptist - Mt 3:1-3



            3) As preached by Jesus - Mt 4:17; Mk 1:14-15



      3. Indeed, it is in the Person of Jesus Christ that the "reign of



         God" is being expressly manifest today - cf. 1Co 15:23-26; 





   B. SPIRITUAL IN NATURE...



      1. The kingdom (or reign of God) would not be found in the form 



         of a physical kingdom - Jn 18:36



      2. It would manifest itself in spiritual ways - Ro 14:17




   C. VISIBLY MANIFESTED TODAY IN THE LORD'S CHURCH...



      1. What is the Lord's church?



         a. It is a community of souls



         b. In whose hearts God is recognized as Sovereign     



         -- Thus the church can properly be referred to as the kingdom

            of God today


      2. That the terms "church" and "kingdom" can be used 



         interchangeably, consider:



         a. How "church" and "kingdom" were used by Jesus - Mt 16:18



         b. Comments made to those who were in the church - Col 1:13;




         c. The description of those in the churches of Asia - Re 1:4,



            6,9




   D. BOTH PRESENT AND FUTURE...



      1. The "kingdom of heaven" has a future element as well as a 

         present one


      2. Its future aspect is spoken of by:



         a. Jesus in Mt 25:34



         b. Paul in 1Co 15:50; 2Ti 4:18



         c. Peter in 2Pe 1:10-11



      3. Peter described the coming of its future state in 2Pe 3:10-13



      -- Therefore the kingdom of heaven involves the "new heavens and



         new earth"




[These four concepts or elements must be kept in mind whenever we think

of the "kingdom of heaven".  Failure to remember all four can easily 


In an effort to clarify this subject even further, consider...]

lead to misconceptions about the nature of the kingdom.






III. A SUMMARY DEFINITION OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN


   A. IN THE "PRESENT" SENSE...






      1. It is found wherever the SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD is accepted in the


      2. It is a SPIRITUAL KINGDOM, for God rules in the hearts of men

         hearts of men
      3. Its outward manifestation today is the LORD'S CHURCH


         recorded in Acts 2 - cf. Ac 2:36

      4. The kingdom was "INAUGURATED" on the Day of Pentecost as







   B. IN THE "FUTURE" SENSE...



      1. The kingdom will be "CULMINATED" with the coming of the Lord



         a. When Jesus "delivers the kingdom to God the Father" - 1Co 




         b. "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the 



            kingdom of their Father." - Mt 13:43



      2. It will be that "NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH" described by Peter

         and John


         a. "In which righteousness dwells" - 2Pe 3:13



         b. In which "the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will

            dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God 


            Himself will be with them and be their God." - Re 21:3



      3. It will be experienced only by those in the church who are 

          submitting to God's will


         a. Those who do "the will of My Father in heaven" - Mt 7:21-23



         b. Those who are "diligent to be found by Him in peace" - 2 Pe







CONCLUSION


1. As we get into the parables of Jesus, we will find many references




   to the "kingdom of heaven"



   a. Sometimes it appears Jesus refers to the "present" aspect of the

      kingdom


   b. But then, at other times He has reference to the "future" aspect



      of the kingdom




2. Hopefully, this effort to define "the kingdom of heaven" will help



   us appreciate more what Jesus has to say concerning "the mysteries



   of the kingdom of heaven"!




One principle concerning entering kingdom that was a mystery to



Nicodemus at first was the need to be born again (Jn 3:3-4).  But then



Jesus explained that the new birth was one of water and the Spirit (Jn



3:5).




Is that still a mystery to you?  Then consider Acts 2:38 and Titus



3:5...


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