I listened Sunday evening to a ‘mid-Acts-hyper-dispensational’ preacher ‘dividing away’ John 14, where Jesus told about His ‘Father’s house’ (which the preacher said was the temple) .... and .... lots of ‘mansions’ (which the preacher called apartments) there. That gave me a ‘daily’ thought.
I think this man tells impressionable people things they do not normally get from reading the verse .... and quite frankly, things that are NOT IN the verse. Rather than question HIS opinion, they are easily influenced to believe everything he says.
We will hold the context in John 14 as we reference other verses. Jesus assured His disciples so they would not be worried about the future. He wanted them to have an inner calmness of mind, without anxiety as they faced death for His sake (Matt 24:9, Mark 13:11-12, Luke 12:4, John 16:2, Acts 26:10, 1 Cor 4:9, 2 Cor 4:11, Phil 1:20, 3:10; James 5:6, Rev 2:10, 12:11):
John 14:1a Let not your heart be troubled:
Jesus guaranteed them of His peace:
John 14:27a Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Paul also taught the saints that they had the peace of God (Rom 5:1, 14:17, 15:13; Eph 2:14-15,17, 6:15; Phil 4:7; Col 3:15):
2 Thess 3:16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
Back in John 14, the disciples were reminded not to be fearful (Matt 10:26-31; Luke 12:4,7,32):
John 14:27b Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Believers, in general, have always been encouraged to be brave in the face of adversity (Psa 118:6, 2 Thess 1:4-10, 2 Tim 1:7, Heb 13:5-6):
1 Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye:
and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
Go back in John 14. Faith in the God of the Old Testament .... had to be transferred over ....
to faith in the Christ of the New Testament:
John 14:1b ye believe in God,
believe also in me.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ change the words in the hymn ‘When We All Get to Heaven’ from being what the VERSE actually says:
"In the mansions bright and blessed, He’ll prepare for us a place" ....
to be "In the heavens bright and blessed, Oh to see His loving face,"
because they think they’re going to heaven .... but not to any mansions there. Although God broke down the middle wall of partition here on earth (Eph 2:14) .... ‘mid-Acts-ers’ stay outside the great wall surrounding the city up in heaven .... so that the saints from what-they-call ‘Israel’s prophecy program’ .... will not get INFILTRATED by or MIXED up with .... who-they-think is ‘the body of Christ’. They do not acknowledge that ‘Jerusalem, which is above, is the mother of us all (Gal 4:26), even though PAUL wrote it (for God). They think they have no part in the new Jerusalem, which has a wall great and high (Rev 21:12). That’s enough for them to keep the Gentiles divided OUT! One ‘mid-Acts’ preacher told me the (deceased) body of Christ was up in, like, the ‘SKY’ of heaven .... on a ‘higher plane’ .... higher than those ‘Israel-prophecy-program saints’ .... who could look out the windows of their heavenly mansions .... way up higher .... to see the body of Christ up there higher. How absurd!
Back in John 14, Jesus told His disciples:
John 14:2a In my Father's house are many mansions [mone]:
When a preacher tells you that you don’t need to look at the Greek .... consider that he may be slighting you to trust whatever he says.
When I researched the Greek word for ‘mansions’ .... I found that is was used in one other verse, and translated ‘our abode’. We could understand that Jesus and His Father come unto those that love Him, and make their ‘mansions’ with them. Hmmmmm:
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode [mone] with him.
Why .... even our apostle PAUL taught that same truth .... and to beat all .... he got it from the OLD testament (a ‘mid-Acts’ horror!):
2 Cor 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Yes, BELIEVERS are God’s spiritual house now:
1 Cor 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry,
ye are God's building.
Was Peter teaching that, too? He sure was:
1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
The preacher I heard Sunday also said that when Jesus spoke of preparing ‘a place’ ....
He was really talking about a position of ruling.
That is not what I get from reading the verse, back in John 14:
John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
That sounds more like a ‘location’ to me .... not a ‘position’:
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am (LOCATION), there ye may be also.
Paul explained that when Jesus comes back, His saints will rise to ‘gather .... assemble .... congregate’ in the sky (where the clouds are --- location). Wherever Christ goes .... we will go with Him.
In fact, whereever He IS .... we will be WITH Him forever.
If He rules in God’s kingdom on the earth without end .... so shall we ever be with the Lord. What a comfort from trouble and fear:
1 Thess 4:16-18 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Back in John 14, Jesus gave His followers directions to their heavenly mansions. The ‘mid-Acts’ preacher said "a chart is a map, so you’d better get yourself a chart." Jesus reminded Thomas of ‘the way’ to mansions in glory. He didn’t give him a chart, nor a map .... it was belief in Him:
John 14:4-6 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Now that I’m no longer a ‘mid-Acts-er’ ....
I’ll sing joy what they disdain and change:
"I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we’ll never grow old
And some day yonder we will never more wander
But walk on streets that are purest gold!"
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
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