Mindonfire
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The Illusions of Assumptions
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples a very simple question, (Matthew 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?) Strangely, only Peter was able to correctly identify him. Today we want to explore the similarities between Christs first coming and his second coming.
We can see that believers around the world have made some very important mistakes regarding Messias arrival. We must always remember that the Bible is a book of patterns. God does not change, and man has only changed for the worse. If you have studied Christs first arrival, it would not be hard to notice that Israel had no idea who he was or is . Even his closest disciples only considered him to be a prophet, or one of the old-time prophets. Only Peter through the Holy Spirit when asked was able to correctly identify him.
This is where the biggest questions arises; Why and How? Why only Peter? Why didnt they know and how could they have missed Him? Why were they not able to identify him? After all they ate with him, drank with him, slept with him, and talked with him. They watched him heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the hungry, and cast out demons, yet they missed it. Previously in I See Therefore I Know we presented to you the factors which are involved when it comes to receiving revelation from God. Today we shall present to you the biggest factor in Israels past and current blindness.
We present to you that even though the disciples were a witness to all of these great events, they were under the Illusions of Assumptions. Lets take a look at the definitions for Illusion and Assumption.
1. Illusion: (n) 1 a obsolete: the action of deceiving b (1): the state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled: MISAPPREHENSION (2): an instance of such deception 2 a (1): a misleading image presented to the vision (2): something that deceives or misleads intellectually b (1): perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature
2. Assumption: (n) 4 : ARROGANCE, PRETENSION 5 a: an assuming that something is true b: a fact or statement (as a proposition, axiom, postulate, or notion) taken for granted
We must understand that over the years, the Jewish people had built up their own images of how the Messias first coming would unfold. Let me remind you that all of these images were built up by assumptions, unsound doctrines and fables. Lets take a close look at some of these assumptions.
A. They had assumed that the Messias would not come from Galilee. John 7:40-41 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? John 7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. They were all wrong. The Pharisees who were in positions of power, were either purposely lying to discredit Jesus, or they were not as learned as they claimed to be. If the people would have studied, they would have seen that Jonah the prophet came from Galilee. Also they had overlooked the fact that God has the right to raise up prophets from wherever He chooses. They did not understand just as many dont understand today that God does not discriminate because of ones region.
B. The second assumption that contributed to Israels blindness can be found in Matthew 17:10-13 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. You see the people and the disciples had assumed that there would be a physical reappearing of Elijah to mark the coming of the Lord. They did not grasp that the second coming of Elijah was spiritual and that it was fulfilled by John the Baptist. John had the same spiritual make-up as Elijah so he in essence was Elijah. This is not what they were taught. Everyone was expecting to see Elijah coming down from the sky in the fiery chariot before Messias arrival. Since they did not see this they assumed that this could not have possibly been the Messias.
C. The third assumption that contributed to their blindness can be found in (Mark 8:31-32 and Acts 1:6 )And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and [of] the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
Acts 1:6: When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?) Jewish doctrine had taught them that the Messias was coming to restore the kingdom of Israel, but it failed to teach them that this process would be completed in two stages. They had no idea that his arrival was part of a two part fulfillment. They were never taught that Messias was to first be rejected, suffer, and then be crucified. This is why Peter began to rebuke Messias in Mark 8:32. Since Christ did not come in and grab power in the way they had assumed, they discredited him.
These three doctrines which were formed and based on false assumptions, helped to shape and distort Israels mental image of the Messias. They also helped to shape and distort their worldview. Once these mental images or assumptions were impressed into the minds of the people, they were hard to remove. Those who were in power used these powerful assumptions to control and provoke the people.
The same thing has happened today. These same assumptions have been impressed into the mind of Believers. They assume that Messias will come riding on a white vaporous cloud. They assume that they will not be on the earth during the times of trouble. They assume that they are the only ones who will escape. They assume that the Man of Sin must come from the middle east. While they are blinded by the illusions created by these assumptions, the Man of Sin is here, the tribulation has already started, they are still here unprepared, and Messias has come.
The Truth can be a bitter pill to swallow, but its healing powers are immeasurable
You have the right to remain ignorant and refuse to gain knowledge.
Everything that you have assumed can and has been used against you in the court of Life
The Two Books Are One
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples a very simple question, (Matthew 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?) Strangely, only Peter was able to correctly identify him. Today we want to explore the similarities between Christs first coming and his second coming.
We can see that believers around the world have made some very important mistakes regarding Messias arrival. We must always remember that the Bible is a book of patterns. God does not change, and man has only changed for the worse. If you have studied Christs first arrival, it would not be hard to notice that Israel had no idea who he was or is . Even his closest disciples only considered him to be a prophet, or one of the old-time prophets. Only Peter through the Holy Spirit when asked was able to correctly identify him.
This is where the biggest questions arises; Why and How? Why only Peter? Why didnt they know and how could they have missed Him? Why were they not able to identify him? After all they ate with him, drank with him, slept with him, and talked with him. They watched him heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the hungry, and cast out demons, yet they missed it. Previously in I See Therefore I Know we presented to you the factors which are involved when it comes to receiving revelation from God. Today we shall present to you the biggest factor in Israels past and current blindness.
We present to you that even though the disciples were a witness to all of these great events, they were under the Illusions of Assumptions. Lets take a look at the definitions for Illusion and Assumption.
1. Illusion: (n) 1 a obsolete: the action of deceiving b (1): the state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled: MISAPPREHENSION (2): an instance of such deception 2 a (1): a misleading image presented to the vision (2): something that deceives or misleads intellectually b (1): perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature
2. Assumption: (n) 4 : ARROGANCE, PRETENSION 5 a: an assuming that something is true b: a fact or statement (as a proposition, axiom, postulate, or notion) taken for granted
We must understand that over the years, the Jewish people had built up their own images of how the Messias first coming would unfold. Let me remind you that all of these images were built up by assumptions, unsound doctrines and fables. Lets take a close look at some of these assumptions.
A. They had assumed that the Messias would not come from Galilee. John 7:40-41 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? John 7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. They were all wrong. The Pharisees who were in positions of power, were either purposely lying to discredit Jesus, or they were not as learned as they claimed to be. If the people would have studied, they would have seen that Jonah the prophet came from Galilee. Also they had overlooked the fact that God has the right to raise up prophets from wherever He chooses. They did not understand just as many dont understand today that God does not discriminate because of ones region.
B. The second assumption that contributed to Israels blindness can be found in Matthew 17:10-13 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. You see the people and the disciples had assumed that there would be a physical reappearing of Elijah to mark the coming of the Lord. They did not grasp that the second coming of Elijah was spiritual and that it was fulfilled by John the Baptist. John had the same spiritual make-up as Elijah so he in essence was Elijah. This is not what they were taught. Everyone was expecting to see Elijah coming down from the sky in the fiery chariot before Messias arrival. Since they did not see this they assumed that this could not have possibly been the Messias.
C. The third assumption that contributed to their blindness can be found in (Mark 8:31-32 and Acts 1:6 )And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and [of] the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
Acts 1:6: When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?) Jewish doctrine had taught them that the Messias was coming to restore the kingdom of Israel, but it failed to teach them that this process would be completed in two stages. They had no idea that his arrival was part of a two part fulfillment. They were never taught that Messias was to first be rejected, suffer, and then be crucified. This is why Peter began to rebuke Messias in Mark 8:32. Since Christ did not come in and grab power in the way they had assumed, they discredited him.
These three doctrines which were formed and based on false assumptions, helped to shape and distort Israels mental image of the Messias. They also helped to shape and distort their worldview. Once these mental images or assumptions were impressed into the minds of the people, they were hard to remove. Those who were in power used these powerful assumptions to control and provoke the people.
The same thing has happened today. These same assumptions have been impressed into the mind of Believers. They assume that Messias will come riding on a white vaporous cloud. They assume that they will not be on the earth during the times of trouble. They assume that they are the only ones who will escape. They assume that the Man of Sin must come from the middle east. While they are blinded by the illusions created by these assumptions, the Man of Sin is here, the tribulation has already started, they are still here unprepared, and Messias has come.
The Truth can be a bitter pill to swallow, but its healing powers are immeasurable
You have the right to remain ignorant and refuse to gain knowledge.
Everything that you have assumed can and has been used against you in the court of Life
The Two Books Are One
