Bob Wardrop

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. II Tim. 3: 16-17.

Lesson 5: The Revelation is not a loyal book. Its writer hates the Roman government and denounces its wickedness in persecuting thre church in unmeasured terms which every Christian of the day must have understood. From a Roman point of view, a seditious and incendiary pamphlet. But so symbolic and enigmatical is its language that few outside of Jewish or Chnristian circles can have understood its meaning. So if you and I are having difficult, we shouoldn't feel bad. Even Martin Luther stated that the book should not have been included in the Bible. Q1: Both titles are Jewish titles referring to prophecies from the OT that predicted that there would be one from the tribe of Judah and from the family of David who would at last rule over the earth and solve its problems. The title refers to the King of the Jews. Pilot must have had help to understand that prophecy. Q2. Lamb-Jesus//Slain Lamb standing-signifies that Jesus has ceased to be merely an earthly event, he has now become a cosmic event. Symbols-tie together the earthly promises of Israel and the heavenly calling of the church//Horns-in scripture they speak of power while seven is considered the number of fullness//Eyes- speak of full intelligence, discernment, by means of the Holy Spirit. These seven eyes are the seven spirits of God.// Seven- Usually means fullness or completeness as in seven days of the week. God rested on the seventh day. Q3. The great deed of Jesus (dying for us) gave freedom to those who were slaves. The Cross became the creative deed which remade the ways of human life. In reading vss 3-4 (KJV) I have to ask-where was Jesus? Q4: As Christians, it is understood that we who are redeemed also contribute to the role of redemption. To do so, we have to be a part of the reign of good will. As Christians, we are considered priests because as such we should be reverant in our reign upon god's earth. Q5. With John Calvin, Martin Luther and others having difficulty with this book, I do not feel bad that I cannot answer this question. To me, it implies two entities. Still searching. Shalom, Bob

LESSON # 4: Ques. 1: The killing of the lambs or kids not only gave the Israelites the source to mark their doorways so they will not meet the destroyer, it also gave them a meal that would help to sustain them until they had a chance to prepare for the next meal. This feast commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt and established Israel as a nation. Ques 2: Traditionally, Jews remained after a Passover meal for many hours talking about God. Although Christians may remain for a time after the meal, I doubt that the main topic of conversation is about God or Jesus. For the Jew, eating of the Passover is cconsidered a reliving, not a memorial. For the Christian, they think of the Last Supper as more of a symbolic communion eucharist than a full festal meal. Ques. 3:This allory has had immeasurable consequences for good and for evil. It also alienatged many who had been drawn to Jesus and seriously thinned the ranks of His followers. As an allegory, the saying lays down what is precisely and exactly the plain tgruth. In order for us to receive what Jesus the Christ has tgo give us, in order to truly have experience of Jesus; saving power, we must feed on Him. I don't believe there is another word that expresses it with accuracy--we must absorb His teaching, His ways, His mind, etc., until His mind becomes our mind--a very radical thought. Ques. 4: Just the words "The Lord's Supper" should in itself answer the questions. It is His table. It is His table because He alone can give the gifts of redemption-only He can forgive.for forgiveness is of God. We have been told in Scriptures that to receive forgiveness, we must forgive; if we don't forgive, we won't be forgiven. When we are ready to forgive we are opening the door to God who always waits ready to forgive. Ques. 5: Actually, Jesus' words in Mt. 26:28 should not fill us with sorrow in our time. His declarations were symbolizing that He was giving Himself to death for His people. The sorrowful aspect of all of this is that God had to give Jesus up to the cross in the first place. It only tells us that mankind-you and I- were incapable of obeying the Creator. The joy has to come to us when we realize that the love of God has given us a way to become a child of His. Ques. 6: Jesus' words here are not only a farewell but a pledge that the kingdom will be established. Shalom, Bob

Lesson 3: Ques. 1 & 2: All humans who will enter into fellowship with Jesus are freed or better, are "emanicapted." It is the life of Jesus, His life of holiness and service, which emancipates our souls. As a Christian, we should be aware of the price paid and if we are aware, our service to life will reflect this fact. Ques: 3: All who don't believe as well as those who claim to believe but fail in their belief are the slaves. One can be enslaved by a multitude of things. It was Jesus' self-sacrifice which will save His followers-if they accept His offering. We really don't knowwhy the slave-ransom isn't spelled out for us in Scripture. However, there are many other concepts that are also not spelled out. God, when we are ready, will spell out for us just what He knows that we can handle. Ques 4: Actually we are not set free or released from slavery until we believe and accept Jesus as our Redeemer. When we do accept, then we are free but only as long as we continue to believe in Him. We need the Holy Spirit to help us keep this freedom because it is via tghe Holy Spirit that we are talking with God (Gen. 1:2). In Acts 5: 1-4, we find that the apostle Peter made it clear that Ananias did not lie to man, but to God. The person he lied to was the Holy Spirit; conclusion is obvious: the Holy Spirit is God! Shalom.

#2 Ques 1-5:I find it difficult to give the answer that the majority of you are giving. The reasoning follows: I question that the verses being studied are pertaining to Jesus the Christ. Most modern interpretors deny that the passages are referring to an individual. I agree. According to the Bible, true prophets were recognized by: 1: signs (Ex. 4:8; Isa. 7: 11, 14), although signs alone were not sufficient. 2: by the fullment of his predictions (Deut. 18: 21,22). 3: by his teaching (Deut. 13: 1-5; Isa. 8:20) Verse 22 in number 2 above raises this query: If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message that the Lord has not spoken, that the prophet has spoken presumptuously. The question that bothers me about prophecies is: how long a period of time is allowed for the prophecy to be fulfilled? If there is no time limit, then I submit that there has never been a false prophet unless the prophet placed a time restriction upon his or her prophecy. Hebrew prophecies, however predictive in character, were always related to the concerns and issues of the time in which the prophet was living. I apologize for digressing, but I could not answer the questions as they were worded without explaining why. SHALOM, Bob

Ques 5 & 6: Although costly and bloody, God designed this concept to teach some very important lessons, to wit: Result of disobedience (sin) is death: the death of each animal being a reminder. The process of purging sin is a costly and bloody affair. Access to God's presence without being purged of sin is impossible. A repentant sinner would be forgiven his sin, if he had faith in the Most High and presented the prescribed offering. God Himself would-at the appointed time-pay the price of salvation by shedding His own blood in the person of Jesus the Christ. Animal sacrifices, in my opinion, were at best, a spiritual object lesson to teach about salvation. Actually, the blood of the animals was totally incapable of saving mankind-what was a better solution was that God decided to pay the price Himself. Shalom, Bob

Lamb of God-Ques 3 and 4. 3: I'm not sure if so called modern people are repulsive to animal sacrifice. I think that if it wasn't against the law, we would see and hear of it more often. I don't think that the city vs the farm life has much to do with the concept. I do believe that city life probably has a greater disregard for animal life than those living on farms. 4: Basic elements: no blemishes; must be a female lamb; hand on the head of the animal; slay the animal; place blood upon horns of the altar by the priest; the priest is to pour out all the blood at bottom of the altar; take the fat away; burn the fat on the altar; then the priest shall make an atonement for the sin; the sinner confesses and brings a trespass offering. Those necessary are confession and atonement. The rest are not necessary because God has given mankind the Sacrifice--our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Shalom: My name is Bob Wardrop from Inverness, FL. I have been actively involved in whatever church I attended. I have taught Bible classes for the past 35 years that included youth as well as adults(different classes). I have also taught confirmation classes for the past 6 years. If I had to lay a claim as to the type of a Christian that I am, I would have to say that I am a moderate. I am not afraid of what I will find in my studies. Only those who are of a weak resolve and have secret fears are usually the ones who will scream the loudest when they see or hear something that is not what they learned. Ques. 1: In actuality, we do not know what was on the Baptist's mind when he spoke the words of Jn. 1: 29. Many theories have evolved-some not wise nor helpful to every mind. What we have to be careful of is that we do not get lost in theorizing. The explanation of how Jesus the Christ takes away the sin of the world may satisfy one mind, but may leave other minds unimpressed. As Christians, the word from our mouth should be, "the fact that He does take it away is certain, even though it may be a slow business." Ques. 2: Rev. I'm somewhat lost due to your posit of anger as an appropriate response to sin. My question for you and others is: how does this relate to what Jesus said in Mt. 5: 21-22? I am looking forward to the study.