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>>>“Blowhard” - a very boastful and talkative person, boaster, braggart, bragger, line-shooter, vaunter egoist, egotist, swellhead - a conceited and self-centered person.<<<

Boatbums, is that you? This is the evidence you refused to post that proves you were not being straight with everyone:

It began on this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3116855/posts

My first post was a criticism of Scofield's pretense that Jesus did not mean what he said:

Me: 228 [Scofield claimed] John the Baptist wasn't really Elijah, like Jesus said more than once. His words had a "dual meaning," or something like that. (I kid you not!)

Cynical bear responded with this:

CB: 239 So now you are into Eastern religious reincarnation as well? Or was it a resurrection? How preposterous to believe that it was either reincarnation or resurrection of Elijah. (I kid you not)

I have to admit, I was stunned. Shocked. That was so strange I played along.

Me: 244 Jesus seemed to think it was him

CB: 254 I already showed you that Jesus said “in the spirit of Elijah”.

Me: 279 Jesus said John the Baptist was Elijah. He was unambiguous

CB: 303 Philip, this conversation is over.

Note that in the entire conversation on that point, the only one who mentioned anything about reincarnation was CB. Note also that ALL I did was confirm the words of Jesus.

Then you entered the conversation, boatbums, with this historical lecture:

BB 336: I think you may be missing CB's point here. Let's make this real clear...Christians don't believe in RE-incarnation. Jesus grew up knowing His cousin John (John the Baptist). John was born as a baby to his parents Zechariah and Elisabeth. He came, just as Jesus said he did, in the spirit and power of Elijah. This does not mean THE Elijah's spirit was reborn in the body and person of John, either. Plus, remember at the Mount of Transfiguration, the Apostles saw Jesus with Moses and Elijah. Did Peter think he was seeing John the Baptist and not Elijah? Surely he knew what John looked like, right? I'm going to have to disagree with you PF. John the Baptist was NOT the prophet Elijah.

This was my response. Read carefully?

ME: 338: Who said anything about reincarnation?

Then you replied:

BB: 341: Uh...YOU did!

That was your first mischaracterizing. Then you tried to justify your mischaracterizing in a manner that is still baffling:

BB: 341: Other than through reincarnation, how can a man, who lived a thousand years before Jesus Christ's incarnation, come back to earth again in the form of a different man starting all over at conception and birth? You stated several times that Jesus "unambiguously" said John the Baptist was Elijah the Prophet. That is what I am trying to clear up.

In response to your first mischaracterizing, I isolated it, and I replied:

Me: 344: No, I did not! . . . I will post my entire conversation on the matter:

Which I did. You ignored it, and continued with your 2nd mischaracterizing, which was a denial of the 1st.

BB: 345: No one is accusing you of lying.

Then you quoted part of what I said, and part of what Scofield said, and attributed it all to me, and continued with another accusation, before moving on the 2nd paragraph below:

When you say things like, "John the Baptist wasn't really Elijah, like Jesus said more than once."; "Jesus seemed to think it was him:"; "Jesus said John the Baptist was Elijah. He was unambiguous:", you are stating that somehow, some way, John was literally Elijah and you insist Jesus knew it and said so. What I am "accusing" you of doing is exactly what I have already explained twice. This will be the third time.

Jesus KNEW the man called John the Baptist, do you agree? He was his cousin so it's a safe assumption that he met him more than a few times, knew who he was, knew his purpose, even. Jesus also knew, as any Jew would, that Elijah the Prophet was one of THE most honored and respected Prophets of God and that Elijah was "taken up" into the heavens in a fiery chariot and nobody saw him die or buried his body. Okay so far?

Then it was a thousand years later after this happened to Elijah that Jesus comes to earth. There were other Prophets of God that spoke of Elijah coming back and they pointed to the Messiah and His coming to earth. Now, Judaism as well as Christianity rejects the idea that souls are reincarnated which is why we can KNOW that John the Baptist was NOT Elijah the Prophet. How could he be since Elijah was a grown man when he was taken up and John was conceived by his parents (in their barren - up til then - old age) and born as a baby. He grew up and became a man. There is NO way Jesus would have declared that his cousin John was Elijah reborn - that would be against the tenets of the faith and a false doctrine. So what could Jesus have meant when he said John was coming in the "spirit and power" of Elijah? That John was really Elijah in a new and different body? Nope, can't be. That, my FRiend, is the point I was trying to make. Do you get it now?

---

I reminded you that you seemed to be calling me a liar, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt, without letting you off the hook completely:

ME: 347: You really had me fooled. I thought you were calling me a liar. I know I never even whispered a word about reincarnation, and that is why I thought you were calling me a liar. I do recall some unnamed someone claiming I was talking about reincarnation; but I usually ignore the conspiracy theorists."

Then I reminded you that part of what you wrote was not what I said. And that what you claimed I said in other areas was not what I said. But I took credit for saying this:

"Jesus said John the Baptist was Elijah. He was unambiguous"

I was not ambiguous, either. I said, "I definitely said that."

I denied saying this:

BB: "you are stating that somehow, some way, John was literally Elijah"

ME: I never said that. Only you and the other one said that. Would you please refrain from adding to my words?

BB: and you insist Jesus knew it and said so

ME: What I said is what I said; not what you said I said.

BB: What I am "accusing" you of doing is exactly what I have already explained twice. This will be the third time

ME: You have explained nothing, except that you have not read either my posts or the context of the scripture I posted. I quoted Jesus verbatim, out of the King James Version, to boot. One should not ignore some of the scriptures just because they don't happen to like them, or understand them.

I went tit for tat with your accusations until we got to the end where you said this:

BB: I will not engage with you on any more debate of Dispensationalism. This is not the time or place (thread) to do so.

I am still wondering why you did not tell me that in your first post to me? Is that your idea of asking me to start another thread: wait until you get in all your questions and digs, first? That is what CB did. In fact, he questioned me--even hounded me--asking at least six pointed questions that required lengthy answers, before HE decided I should start another thread. Your sense of timing--both of you--needs much improvement.

Well, there you have it, boatbums. All I did was stand up for Christ and his words, in every instance. All you did was smear, patronize, and pretend I said or meant things I did not. In all that, I never denied Christ.

BTW, boatbums. Why are you so adamant that the Elijah that Malachi prophesied about was the old testament Elijah? Malachi never said "his" Elijah would come down from heaven in a whirlwind, or anything like that? Who told you Malachi's Elijah MUST be the old Elijah?

Philip

I read through that entire thing. I have understood boatbums comments completely. She has been completely straight in everything she has said. It is NOT her that that has misunderstood. She has patiently tried to explain. It is you who doesn’t “get it”.

Let’s just look at the comment by you that you claim “started” this thing.

You said “Me: 228 [Scofield claimed] John the Baptist wasn't really Elijah, like Jesus said more than once. His words had a "dual meaning," or something like that. (I kid you not!)

You were scoffing at Scofield for saying that John the Baptist wasn’t really Elijah. Now that statement is indicative of your entire misunderstanding of scripture. You claimed that Jesus’ intent was that John the Baptist in fact was literally Elijah which is preposterous. From that statement you must either believe that John the Baptist was either Elijah reincarnated or that he was Elijah resurrected. Neither of those would be consistent with teaching from scripture. That means that there is something wrong with your understanding of Jesus words. And that is exactly what many here have been trying to tell you.

That one example of you misunderstanding of what scripture is teaching is indicative of most if not all of your understanding regarding scripture. You really need to, as redleghunter has said several times, get down on your knees and ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit in understanding.

As it would take much to much space here there are several places that explain what Jesus words mean regarding John the Baptist and Elijah one of which can be found here and another can be found here.

I pray that you will get down on your knees and sincerely ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit in your understanding of scripture before you continue.