Ephesians 1-3

[wolfpurplemoon]

Those that are blessed were predestined to be saved, God chose them before the foundation of the world.

Everyone near and far has been preached to in peace and are therefore no longer foreign to each other as they are fellow citizens in God's household.

Paul had the divine secret made known to him by revelation, a secret not disclosed to any previous prophets, that everyone can be saved rather than just the chosen few (though they have to have been predestined as it said in the previous chapter). Paul's calling is to reveal this secret plan to everyone after it was hidden for ages.

The love of Christ surpasses all knowledge so you can be filled up to the fullness of God, you don't want knowledge filling up space that could be used for God.

Comments

Re: Zen

[liedownlovely.livejournal.com]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the religion of polytheism came first. It's believed the Hebrews took the belief of monotheism from the Egyptian pharaoh, Akhenaten, who was the first one to believe in such a thing. While we're talking pharaohs, let's not forget the Egyptians and their religions, who were way before Judaism.

Re: Zen

[blesserbeing.livejournal.com]

Yes, polytheism came first when the Genesis texts aren't considered. So this would just be a subject both of us would disagree on. Though I do find the history of religions interesting, I haven't looked into them much, but I plan on reading some more in the future. If you care, anyway.

Re: Zen

[liedownlovely.livejournal.com]

I guess it would be pointless to mention the scientific aspect of humanity's roots in Africa and their polytheism then - even if the descendants between Adam and Eve and Abraham turned their back on YHWH before he relocated them to the modern day Israel?

I mean, it seems perfectly plausible to me that not every single person since YHWH (YHWH being one of his names) believes in him, right? Imagine how pissed Adam and Eve must've been to been kicked out. They tell their children angry stories of this paradise lost. So it's not until Abraham comes along before the belief in YHWH spreads again.

But then... yeah. That's trying to mix religion and science.