SNYDER BIBLE |
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It Is So Good That
We Are Here!
The Transfiguration & The Apocalypse of Peter
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Banias Update: 'Syrian forces deploy in Banias
arresting Sunnis' AMMAN - Syrian forces and gunmen loyal to President Bashar Assad moved on Tuesday into areas of Banias city center that has been under the control of pro-democracy demonstrators for weeks, a protest leader said. The coastal city has witnessed some of the most persistent protests challenging Assad's rule. "They moved into the main market area. The army has sealed the northern entrance and 'Amn' (security) the south. They armed Alawite villages in the hills overlooking Banias and we are now facing militias from the east," Anas al-Shughri told Reuters. Shughri said armed plainclothes security men deployed in the market street and began to arrest people according to their family names on identity cards. "They are targeting Sunnis. I regret to say that the propaganda that Assad is spreading that the Alawites will not survive if he is toppled is receiving an audience among our Alawite neighbors, although the demonstrations have been for freedom and unity, regardless of sect," Shughri said. Also on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that France wants the European Union to impose sanctions on Syrian leaders including Assad in response to the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests. "We are trying to act with our European partners," he told reporters. Asked if Assad should be included among targets of sanctions, he said: "That's what France wants."
It Is So Good That
We Are Here!
The Transfiguration and The Apocalypse of Peter New Translation! Mark 9:2. After six days Jesus takes Peter and James and John along and leads them upward onto a high mountain by themselves only and he transformed in front of them. 3. His clothing came to be white, sparkling intensely, such that no cleaner on earth is able to so whiten. 4. Elias with Moses appeared to them and they were talking with Jesus. 5. Answering, Peter says to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us to make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elias. 6. for he knew not what he was answering, for they spoke [became] out of fear. 7. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud: This is my son, the beloved. Hear of him. 8. [Then] suddenly, as they looked about, they no longer saw anyone, only Jesus with them. Moses Moses lived around
1500 BC, or 3500 years ago. He was an
adopted prince of You know the rest
of the story. Through a series of
pronouncements, plagues and prodigies, the descendents of In the course of
this time, Moses again scaled Now Moses is still hailed as Yahweh’s lawgiver. In the ensuing centuries, his law would transform the world.
Elijah Elijah lived during
the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, about 850 BC, or 2850 years ago, 650 years after
Moses. He was a prophet of Yahweh; in
fact, his name means “Almighty Yahweh.”
Elijah was called to confront secular authorities and organized
religion, challenging the professional priesthood to prove the power of their
gods (ba’al and asherah).
Up on After this
incredible demonstration of power, Elijah fled south from Mount Carmel (at the
“hook” of Galilee), into the wilderness of the Sinai desert, to the same place
that Moses led the children of
Moses and Elijah Moses and Elijah
both wandered the wilderness of Sin, both sought Although the Bible
says Moses died on Six DaysJesus spent this day just outside Caesarea Philippi, at Banias. He asked his boys, “Who do you say I AM.” This question is for anyone; the answer has a lot to do with whether the answerer will be saved or not when the day of wrath dawns on earth. It was Simon Peter who rightly confessed, “You are the Savior, the son of the Almighty.” How would you answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” I wonder how you would! If you look at your
Bible map titled “ The TransformationStill, it was on this famous mountain that Jesus transformed from flesh to spirit in the presence of his men. His clothes start to glisten. Soon, white light emanates from him at such intensity that his countenance becomes brighter than the sun -- only white. Imagine now the surprise and astonishment of those who witness his metamorphoses. This man changes into one like an angel right before them; but now there are three such light beings. Jesus, the son of the Almighty, Moses the Lawgiver and Elijah the prophet, conferring and brightly shining. All mighty in white light, sparkling, surreal – unintentionally frightening but intentionally displaying their common heavenly origin. These three are no longer mere men; now they see their god face-to-face. Now they know that their labors, toil and poverty on the earth in the flesh haven’t been in vain. As the three heavenly men confer, the three bodies of flesh, Simon Peter, James and John, try to look on, but the light’s too bright and they’re blinded, confused and scared. You see, Moses and Elijah were the measurement of what righteousness was all about for these simple men of faith. Moses and Elijah had fulfilled missions that lead the way for the salvation of these lesser men. Moses and Elijah were the point men that cut the ribbon of heavenly highway through the desert to make way for Messiah! Had their missions been failures, had they not recognized that one greater than themselves depended upon their faithfulness, then the Salvation of humanity might never have appeared. As a result of the
faithfulness of Moses and Elijah, this Jesus, the Word of the Almighty, he who
was there in the beginning, now comes forth as the new interpreter of
Yahweh’s law and the new Spirit of Prophecy, the Anointed One promised to both Yet while Moses and Elijah might have cheated death, the Beloved Son would not. He would die so that all who would believe and obey him might live on in him for eternity. Moses and Elijah came to show the proof in the promise. Simon SezAs Simon, James and John, three simple men, people like you and me, try to make sense of this ineffable vision, a majestic voice explodes from the sky – “This is my son, the beloved. Hear of him!” One of these little guys, Simon Peter, the same man who shared his house with the man Jesus, tells us about this experience many years later in these words: 2 Peter 1: 16-18 (SEV+) When we told you about the power and coming of Jesus the Messiah, our Master, we were not following clever myths. No, we saw his greatness! When the Voice came from majestic glory, Jesus received honor from Father Yahweh. Yes, we heard this Voice from the sky! We were with Jesus on the holy mountain. This Bible witness is an independent
admission to the truth of the transformation of Jesus on the mountain. And we believe Simon Peter’s words. His message has a direct effect on what we
trust we will become when we are likewise transformed in the
day of our resurrection. I’d like to
know more about this transformation, wouldn’t you? Then we’ll hear more, because there’s much
more to be told. In Akhmîm in Upper
Egypt in the year 1887 a tremendous discover was made that sheds even more
light Jesus’ and our future transformation as believers. A tomb of an unnamed Christian monk, sealed
up for many centuries, was opened that year.
When light poured in, two more testaments written by Simon Peter
were discovered on fragments of papyrus, including a detailed account of what
Simon Peter saw and felt that fateful day on Horeb. Let me read a little of one of these
testaments that Yahweh saved for the his end-time
people; Simon Peter writes (my paraphrase): (The Apocalypse Of Peter, The Akhmîm Fragment) 4. Our Master told us: Let us go up the mountain and pray. 5 And going, we asked him to show us our righteous siblings who had departed this world, that we might see what manner of people they had become, take courage, and encourage those who would hear us. 6 As we prayed, suddenly two men appeared, standing before our Master, upon whom we were not able to look. 7 For from their faces issued a sun ray, and their clothes were shining as the eye had never seen: for no mouth is able to describe nor heart conceive of the glory of their clothing and the beauty of their faces. 8 When we saw them we were astonished, for their bodies were whiter than snow and redder than roses. 9 And the redness of them was mingled with the whiteness. I am not able to declare their beauty. 10 Even their hair was curling and flowery and fell beautifully about their faces and shoulders like woven flower garlands or like a rainbow in the air: such was their exquisiteness. 12 I drew near to the Master and said: Who are these? 13 He told me: These are your righteous brothers and sisters who you wanted to see. 14 And I said: Where are they? What kind of world do they live in to possess such glory? 15 And the Master showed me a very great space outside this world exceedingly bright with white light, and the air there full of sunbeams, and the earth flowering with fadeless blossoms, with spices and plants, beautifully blooming and incorruptible, bearing blessed fruit. 16 So great was the blossoming that even we could smell the aroma. 17 And the people there were clothed as shining angels; their clothing was like their land. 18 And angels ran round about them there. 19 And the glory of all was equal, for with one voice they praised Yahweh Elohim. 20 Then the Master told us: Yes, this is the place of your priesthood, the righteous of all humanity. {The End.} Isn’t this a wonder vision of
transformation? Of
heavenly hope? Of
enduring faith? Wouldn’t you like
to hear more and more about such a holy place, such a dimension of
righteousness, where you too may inhabit one day very soon? Wouldn’t you like to smell the flowers there
in the promised land of Moses and Elijah, take home some of the glory for
yourself, keep it in a box and look at it once in a while to help increase your
faith? Wouldn’t you glory in the
affection of your Master Jesus, who might say to you, “Well done, you! All this is free and it is yours!” You Would Do Well To ...
But Simon Peter doesn’t stop by simply
describing what he saw, or glorying in his destiny, or boasting in his vision;
no, he admonishes us in these words; saying in 2 Peter 1:19. We have the prophetic message that is made sure (by our heavenly vision). You would do well to pay attention to it. It is like a lamp shining in a dark place until dawn, until the Morning Star rises in your hearts. Yes, you would do well to pay attention to the Commandments that Yahweh gave Moses as you try to live a life pleasing to Jesus. You would do well to attend to the prophecies of Elijah and the others concerning the times we live in and our only hope for survival. You would do more than well by following in the footsteps of Jesus on the narrow way that leads to life – and what a life! Give up your false vision of materialism and vainglory. Earth is not and never could be your home. Surrender to the words of life and thus live the lives of these men of Yahweh. Then, when your time comes, it won’t be one of simply smelling heavenly fragrances or seeing heavenly lights, but you’ll be there, with a mission of your own, important to the great promise world of eternal tomorrows. You will say with the saint, “Yes, it is so good that we are here.” February 28, 2003 |
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