Today’s Devotional – September 26th (The Ishmael Within, Part 2)
By admin On August 29th, 2014.
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Today’s Devotional – September 26th
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The Ishmael Within,
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Part 2
To read Part 1, click here…“September 25th (The Ishmael Within!)”
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So, just who are the true descendants of Ishmael? Are they those in Palestine? Or maybe they are in Egypt or Libya, or Iran? Or are they ALL of these nations?
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Well, the Bible is a spiritual book, and must be understood spiritually!
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Question Mark – at a loss – Wikimedia – Share-alike license
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THE TWO COVENANTS
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Listen to Paul as he unravels this great mystery concerning Ishmael, and the twelve princes, which came out of him… “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:22-26
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So Paul here reveals the truth about Ishmael and his mother, Hagar! God placed this story in the Bible to be an allegorical portrait of the Church, and the two factions within the Church: the apostate portion (Hagar & Ishmael), and the faithful Elect (Sarah & Isaac)!
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Thus, God makes a great revelation here in Galatians, that the Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael was really all about the Church!
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Sarah & Hagar – Foster Bible Pictures – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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TWO JERUSALEMS
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Now if all this revelation is not enough, it is multiplied by this allegory intertwining with the Two Jerusalems:
the Jerusalem which is now, and is in bondage with her children. And the Jerusalem above which is free, and is the mother of us all!
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So Paul here engages in some incredible, so-called, “Replacement Theology” (a non-biblical tag invented by today’s theologians), by assigning both portions of the Church to both portions of Jerusalem! Yes, this little passage from Galatians is perhaps the greatest spiritual revelation in the Bible, second only to the Cross! It is a spiritual intersection in which both the Old and New Testaments collide with such a great impact, which opens up our understanding of the true spiritual meaning of the Bible!
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SATAN CONCEALS THIS TRUTH
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Unfortunately, Satan wants to keep all this revelation bottled up, so that Christians do not realize that the Old Testament is really about Christ and His Church! He doesn’t want us to read all those Old Testament stories, and begin to apply them to, not only the Church, but also to our own personal relationship with God!
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(Yes, not only does Ishmael represent the apostate portion of the Church, but he represents the man of the flesh, which exists within all Believers who have yet to crucify the Old Man of the flesh.)
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And so, the Devil works through those who fall into the category which the Bible calls, “the natural man”, to war against those who begin to see the spiritual nature of the Bible. Therefore, anyone who dares to contradict the general consensus regarding how to interpret the allegories of the Bible is shouted down and is considered “heretical” (We see the same totalitarian bullying going on out there in the political arena.)
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ALLEGORIES FORBIDDEN
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The Bible speaks of these apostate ones in the following way… “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1st Corinthians 2:14
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This above verse pinpoints the reason for misinterpreting scripture as being the result of carnal men who scoff at the deeper, more veiled truths of the Bible. They have even invented a totally non-biblical rule of interpretation (The Grammatical, Historical Hermeneutical Method of Interpretation)
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This theologian-concocted hermeneutic demands that Scripture can only be understood literally, unless context absolutely demands an allegorical interpretation!
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Of course, they mostly ignore this phantom hermeneutic themselves, but conveniently pull it out when trying to squelch any attempt to see the spiritual nature of things concerning Israel.
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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GREAT WALL OF SILENCE
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And in order to further attack any efforts to define Israel as being a spiritual concept, they have invented a totally unbiblical term, “Replacement Theology”, which has become a type of “Scarlet Letter” to hang around the necks of those who teach about spiritual Israel.
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And in a very real sense, there has been constructed a great “wall of silence” within the Christian community concerning these things, for fear of being labelled an heretic!
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You will be shouted down if you dare suggest that Israel is a spiritual concept, representing both Jewish as well as Gentile Believers who are truly saved Christians!
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Berlin Wall – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share Alike License
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JUDGE NOT!
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Now, Christians are not to go around pointing the accusing finger at this or that individual. There may be, perhaps, many Bible teachers who are true sheep, but have simply been deceived by these errors, unknowingly. And eventually they will realize the great error, and repent, and leave the ranks of the apostasy.
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TWELVE PRINCES = TWELVE TRIBES
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And so, the Bible makes clear that Hagar and her children are representatives of the apostate ones in the Church. And thus, Ishmael’s twelve princes are actually speaking of 
the twelve tribes of Israel, which actually are representing the apostate people within the Church.
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For further confirmation of this idea, listen to James, in the New Testament… “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” James 1:1.
Here in this above verse, God is referring to the twelve tribes as the Elect and chosen ones. Yes, the twelve tribes can also be pointing to God’s elect, too!
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Yes, James was not written for Jews! James was written for the Church, made of both Jew and Gentile alike! And yet James addresses us as “The Twelve Tribes”! But why should we be surprised? After all, Paul says this same thing a number of times, in a number of ways!
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For instance, Paul calls us “The Commonwealth of Israel” in Ephesians, Chapter 2. He calls us “The Israel of God” in the closing verse of Galatians. He calls Believers the true Jews in the 2nd Chapter of Romans! And on and on it goes! Of course, nobody dares hang a scarlet letter on Paul! Nobody would ever dare to call the great Apostle, Paul, a “Replacement Theologian”!
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St Paul Preaching in Athens (Raphael, 1515) Wikipedia US public domain
Paul persecuted by Pharisees & Sadducees – www.thebiblerevival.com – US Public Domain
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BIBLE HAS MANY PARABLES!
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So what is the bottom line to all that has been discussed in this article? The bottom line is that we must cast off this false, unbiblical hermeneutic of “literal interpreting only”, and begin to
read the Bible with freshly opened eyes, looking for the hidden manna which God has concealed for his Church to search out!
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Listen… “And the Disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou unto them in parables? He (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them (those without) it is not given.” Matthew 3:10, 11, 13-15
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Yes, the Bible is full of types, and shadows, and symbols, and parables (allegories), and for any of us to be locked out from understanding them, is truly a sad situation!
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Jesus Disciples – James Tissot – Brooklyn Museum – US Public Domain
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GOOD NEWS
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But the Good News is this: there is time to turn things around! There is time to quit letting others tell us what 
to believe and what not to believe! Let’s begin to study the Bible ourselves, and reach teacher status, just as Hebrews 5:12 exhorts! And we need to cast away that non-biblical hermeneutic, and those non-biblical denunciatory names, which fallible humans try to hang around our necks! Yes, O Stranger and Pilgrim, standing for truth is sure to bring us under the condemnation of the status-quo, both in the world, and in the worldly church! So let’s stop following the crowd and, “be our own man”, as the saying goes!
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“But the Anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same Anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.” 1st John 2:27
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This above verse should be committed to memory, so that nobody from the apostate church-world demands that we be brought under their authority, nor attempts to hang that “scarlet letter” around our neck!
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May God give us great wisdom regarding these matters!
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Chaplain reads Bible – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me spiritual eyes, that I may receive the hidden manna found in Thy Word. Let me not be bullied by those who want to compel Christians to believe their own dogma…
Pray for Our Nation sign – Wikimedia – Share-alike-lic.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Crown of Revelation 12: What Is The Time of Jacob’s Trouble?” or you can also read… ” March 14th (Paul the Ultimate Replacement Theologian!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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THE HOLY GHOST RIDER CONSTELLATION
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This newest Signs Of Heaven Constellation (Fall, 2013) is by far the faintest of constellations, but is a very incredible and awesome in a number of ways (which this article will explain).
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Holy Ghost Rider (above western horizon)
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It is primarily comprised of the Camelopardalis Constellation (head and upper back), plus about 5 stars from the Cassiopeia Constellation (his leg), plus some random stars. It appears as an outline of a rider. Only the back of his head is detailed. And his back and the back of his legs are also detailed. Both sides of his arm are visible, and his hand is gripping the horses mane, and that is detailed by three stars (which are also part of the horse’s mane). The rider is in a position vaguely similar to a race-horse jockey. The two brightest stars in this constellation, are from the Cassiopeia Constellation, and are part of his leg. All the rest of the stars are very faint, and must be viewed on a very starry night.
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Since this constellation has just been revealed, there may be more to this constellation in the coming months. But if you can locate the Goodly Horse in Battle Constellation, then you shouldn’t have too much trouble locating this Rider Constellation, provided you have excellent star-watching conditions.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation” or you can also read… “Goodly Horse in Battle Constellation”
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TOMORROW:
September 27th (The Chrysalis Christian, Part 4: “From Sinner Into Virgin!”)
Five Wise Virgins – Matt 25 – www.thebiblerevival.com – Public Domain
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #267 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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Those using photos here, may click on the image credit link below each photo, for Wikimedia’s licensing names, details, and tags, etc….
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