Posted on 10/10/2001 5:20:52 AM PDT by sola gracia
I noticed that MOTR mentioned one of God's prophets and suggested that we go read it. So, I did.
Prophecy:
Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me. And the LORD, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in. Behold, He shall come," saith the LORD of hosts.Fulfulled:Malachi 4:5-6 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
Matthew 11:7-19 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.For this is he of whom it is written: `Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee.'
Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding, he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. "But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets and calling unto their fellows, and saying, `We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He hath a devil!' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."
Matthew 17:10-13 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?" And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things. But I say unto you that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they pleased. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer by them." Then the disciples understood that He spoke unto them of John the Baptist.
If you can only retort that I'm as dense as a tree stump, well then I can only wish you peace and hope that someday you might be open to a point of view that myself and millions of others share.
fwiw, in terms of debating or even conversing, I think punting on first down (which is what you have done) not only doesn't qualify as a victory but actually reveals more about your depth of thought than anything else.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.