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Jesus Prepares His Table Just For You

Jesus Shares His Life & Love With You

Grace, Grace and Grace Replacing Grace By Grace Through Grace

3/31/2015

1 Comment

 
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Zechariah 4:7 
"What are you, mighty mountain? 
Before Zerubbabel And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!"

Before Zerubabel (Zarab + Babel) = Born in Babylon

From the Hebrew this means:
You were born in a waterless, burned-out, dry world of sin and confusion

The "Top Stone" is Jesus who settles upon the top of corruption and brings about the miracle of new birth! He is the key stone, the chief of the corner, the stone which the builders rejected. The Cap Stone comes from a word "banah" which literally means: "begin to build, obtain children, make, repair, set up, surely" 

Until Jesus becomes our 'hat', until we put on Jesus Christ - we are living in a desert of sin and confusion. But once we ask Him to come into our life as our personal Savior and Lord then we become His children and he begins to build a new life for us! By His grace we are saved through faith. We have nothing to do with it or else we would be tempted to boast about it. It is the gift of God. 

Jesus came to us amid shouts of Grace, grace to you! Why? Because when we call on His name and believe in our heart He brings us into a realization of His divine grace and we are born again! 

Then He baptizes those who ask in the Holy Ghost and fire! From then on He says, "Come let us reason together, though yours sins are crimson red when mixed with my blood they will becomes white as snow." 

He says, "Come to Me... to a Table I have prepared for you... eat bread and drink wine and at My Table you will be eating My Flesh and drinking My Blood. You will be feeding on the life and love I have come to share with you. And all things will be made new. You will be transformed to become a new creation in Me. I will reside in you to give you hope and to continually feed you on all the blessings of eternal life!"
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Romans 11:6 
And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works

James 4:6 
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says ...

Hebrews 4:16 
Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. ... 

1 Corinthians 15:10 
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.  

John 1:16  
from His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

Ephesians 4:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,…

Luke 15:24
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

Acts 15:11
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

Ephesians 2:1
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

Colossians 2:13
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
John 1:15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.…

Revelation 1:12
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

Revelation 1:20
The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God

Psalm 84:7
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

Ephesians 1:23
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 3:19
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 4:13
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Colossians 1:19
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

Colossians 2:9
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

Ezra 3:10
When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel.

Ezra 3:11
With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: "He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

Psalm 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Psalm 114:4
the mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs.

Psalm 114:6
Why, mountains, did you leap like rams, you hills, like lambs?

Isaiah 40:4
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

Jeremiah 51:25
"I am against you, you destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth," declares the LORD. "I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.

Nahum 1:5
The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it.

Zechariah 4:8
Then the word of the LORD came to me:

Zechariah 14:4
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

Zechariah 14:5
You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
CommunionFire Where We Feed on Eternal Life Filled with Grace and Truth

If we have a grain of faith we are delivered, healed, saved, brought in and experience a new birth in Christ! The first of an eternal weight of promises that never run out. We are partakers when we have the physical, real meal of the Flesh and Blood of Jesus  at His Table in Communion. We are partakers of His divine nature! We feed on Him and then we feed on His presence! Just as the bread and wine are real and through his blessing becomes the real food and drink of His Flesh and Blood so too are we partaking of his physical nature that brings us into His Spirit and fills us with His presence. The new birth leads to an eternity of feasting on the great, innumerable, precious promises that comes with eternal life. 

2 Peter 1:3-6 
Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Zechariah 4
And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, 

“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

“These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.” Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lamp stand?” And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?”He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

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Paul's example of how we should greet one another: 
Grace to you! Grace to you! Grace to you! Grace to you! Grace to you!


Philemon 1:3 
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:2 
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:2 
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:3 
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

2 Corinthians 1:2 
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:3 
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Hebrews 13:25 
May God's grace be with you all.

2 Timothy 1:2
To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 22

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”
7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The Final Verse in Scripture
21 The Grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. 

Amen.
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1 Comment

Work in Progress "The Alter is The Table & The Table is The Meal"

3/18/2015

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The Table of the Lord before the Throne

Is the same as The Alter

Tables/Alters:  Brazen Alter, Table of Shewbread, Table of Incense, Ark of the Covenant

Golden Alter before the Throne 

Table in the houses on Passover, Table in the Upper Room of the Last Passover

The Alter = The Table = The Meal where they reclined as they ate (Psalm 23)

The Alter/Table/Meal is the center of our faith and worship. It is the Presence of the Lord. It is where He communicates with us. Communicate = Communion and the only basis of any eternal fellowship with one another.

AMAZING SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, 24; John 6, 13-17; Revelation 8:3, 9:13;  Hebrews 10, 2 Corinthians 4:18, 3:18;
Ezekiel 41:22; Psalm 78:19, Ezekiel 40:38-43
  
Ezekiel 41:22

There was a wooden altar three cubits high and two cubits square; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD."

7979. shulchan (used 71 times)

Strong's Concordance

shulchan: a table

Original Word: שֻׁלְחָן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: shulchan
Phonetic Spelling: (shool-khawn')
Short Definition: table

From shalach; a table (as spread out); by implication, a meal -- table. To send

Same word in Psalm 23

The Lord is My Shepherd
…
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

GOLDEN “THUSIASTERION” ALTER

Revelation 8:3  Revelation 9:13
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.


2379. thusiastérion

Strong's Concordance

thusiastérion: an altar

Original Word: θυσιαστήριον, ου, τό
Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: thusiastérion
Phonetic Spelling: (thoo-see-as-tay'-ree-on)
Short Definition: an altar
Definition: an altar (for sacrifice).

2379 thysiastḗrion – altar; (figuratively) 

the meeting place between God and the true worshiper; (figuratively) 

the "place" of consecration, where the Lord meets and communes with the sincere believer.

2379 /thysiastḗrion ("a sacred altar") is formed (present) anywhere the believer hears from God and does what they hear (lives in faith). 

Accordingly, 2379 (thysiastḗrion) and faith (4102 /pístis, "the Lord's inbirthed persuasion") are directly connected (Js 2:21-24).

FROM

thusia: a sacrifice

Original Word: θυσία, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: thusia
Phonetic Spelling: (thoo-see'-ah)
Short Definition: a sacrifice
Definition: abstr. and concr: sacrifice; a sacrifice, offering.

2378 thysía – properly, an offering (sacrifice); an official sacrifice prescribed by God; hence an offering the Lord accepts because offered on His terms.

2378 /thysía ("sacrifice") refers to various forms of OT blood sacrifices ("types") – all awaiting their fulfillment in their antitype, Jesus Christ (Heb 10:5-12).

FROM

thuó: to offer, sacrifice

Original Word: θύω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: thuó
Phonetic Spelling: (thoo'-o)
Short Definition: I sacrifice, kill
Definition: I sacrifice, generally an animal; hence: I kill.

HELPS Word-studies

2380 thýō – to kill as a sacrifice and offer on an altar. 2380 /thýō("sacrifice") means more than "kill" as it also suggests offering something as a spiritual sacrifice.

From thuo; 

sacrifice (the act or the victim, literally or figuratively) sacrifice.

see GREEK thuo

kill, sacrifice, slay.

A primary verb; properly, to rush (breathe hard, blow, smoke), i.e. (by implication) to sacrifice (properly, by fire, but genitive case); by extension to immolate (slaughter for any purpose) -- kill, (do) sacrifice, slay.

Matthew 26:20 “Table”

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. (PSALM 23!)

anakeimai: to be laid up, to recline

Original Word: ἀνάκειμαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: anakeimai
Phonetic Spelling: (an-ak-i'-mahee)
Short Definition: I recline, especially at a dinner-table
Definition: I recline, especially at a dinner-table.

Word Origin
from
 ana and keimai
Definition
to be laid up, to recline


lean or recline at the table.

From ana and keimai; to recline (as a corpse or at a meal) -- guest, lean, lie, sit (down, at meat), at the table. (prostrate)

see GREEK ana: up upwards

see GREEK keimai Appointed to lie down, “He makes me to lie down” in green pastures.

FROM

tithémi: to place, lay, set

Original Word: τίθημι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: tithémi
Phonetic Spelling: (tith'-ay-mee)
Short Definition: I put, place
Definition: I put, place, lay, set, fix, establish.

Luke 22:21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.

trapeza: a table, dining table

Original Word: τράπεζα, ης, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: trapeza
Phonetic Spelling: (trap'-ed-zah)
Short Definition: a table for food or business
Definition: a table, (a) for food or banqueting, (b) for money-changing or business.

Word Origin
from modified forms of
 tessares: four (the number four) 

and pezos: Foot (as if on foot by land)

Definition a table, dining table

Hebrews 9:2

Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. 2For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.3Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies

trapeza: a table, dining table

4 legged table – for food, food=table (they came to the table/they came for the food) for feasting, or for doing business as in exchanging money
1.
a. a table on which food is placed, an eating-table: Matthew 15:27;Mark 7:28; Luke 16:21; Luke 19:23; Luke 22:21, 30; the table in the temple at Jerusalem on which the consecrated loaves were placed (see πρόθεσις, 1), Hebrews 9:2.

b. equivalent to the food placed upon the table (cf. Fritzsche on Additions to ): παρατιθέναι πραπεζαν (like the Latinmensam apponere (cf. our 'to set a good table')), to set a table, i. e., food,before one (Thucydides 1, 130; Aelian v. h. 2, 17), Acts 16:34;διακονεῖν, ταῖς τραπέζαις (see διακονέω, 3), Acts 6:2.


c. a banquet, feast (from Herodotus down): Romans 11:9 (fromPsalm 68:23 ()); μετέχειν τραπέζης δαιμονίων, to partake of a feast prepared by ((?) see below) demons (the idea is this: the sacrifices of the Gentiles inure to the service of demons who employ them in preparing feasts for their worshippers; accordingly one who participates in those feasts, enters into communion and fellowship with the demons); κυρίου, to partake of a feast prepared by ((?) see below) the Lord (just as when he first instituted the supper), 1 Corinthians 10:21 (but it seems more natural to take the genitivesδαιμονίων and κυρίου simply as possessive (cf. Winers Grammar, 189 (178); Buttmann, § 127, 27), and to modify the above interpretation accordingly).

JUDAS IDEA OF THE TABLE was for BUSINESS not FELLOWSHIP with JESUS and the others
2. the table or stand of a money-changer, where he sits, exchanging different kinds of money for a fee (agio), and paying back with interest loans or deposits (Lysias, Isocrates, Demosthenes,Aristotle, Josephus, Plutarch, others): Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:15;John 2:15; τό ἀργύριον διδόναι ἐπί (τήν) τράπεζαν, to put the money into a (the) bank at interest, Luke 19:23. 

table


Probably contracted from tessares and peze; a table or stool (as being four-legged), usually for food (figuratively, a meal); also a counter for money (figuratively, a broker's office for loans at interest) -- bank, meat, table.

see GREEK tessares see GREEK peze

And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. Exodus 40:4

Matthew 26:17
Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

"Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?" Psalm 78:19

Verses  from Psalm 78

we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.


He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors

He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night


but can he also give us bread?

he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
24he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.


They ate till they were gorged--
he had given them what they craved.


23 Occurrences

θυσιαστήριά — 1 Occ.
θυσιαστηρίῳ — 5 Occ.
θυσιαστήριον — 6 Occ.
θυσιαστηρίου — 11 Occ.

Matthew 5:23
 N-ANS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον κἀκεῖ μνησθῇς
NAS: your offering at the altar, and there
KJV: to the altar, and there
INT: at the altar and there shall remember

Matthew 5:24 N-GNS
GRK:
 ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίουκαὶ ὕπαγε
NAS:
 there before the altar and go; first
KJV:
 gift before the altar, and go thy way;
INT:
 before the altar and go away

Matthew 23:18 N-DNS
GRK:
 ἐν τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ οὐδέν ἐστιν
NAS:
 swears by the altar, [that] is nothing,
KJV:
 by the altar, it is
INT:
 by the altar nothing it is

Matthew 23:19 N-NNS
GRK:
 ἢ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ ἁγιάζον
NAS:
 or the altar that sanctifies
KJV:
 or the altar that sanctifieth
INT:
 or the altar which sanctifies

Matthew 23:20 N-DNS
GRK:
 ἐν τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ ὀμνύει ἐν
NAS:
 swears by the altar, swears
KJV:
 shall swear by the altar, sweareth by
INT:
 by the altar swears by

Matthew 23:35 N-GNS
GRK:
 καὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου 
NAS:
 between the temple and the altar.
KJV:
 the temple and the altar.
INT:
 and the altar

Luke 1:11 N-GNS
GRK:
 δεξιῶν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τοῦ θυμιάματος
NAS:
 to the right of the altar of incense.
KJV:
 the right side of the altar of incense.
INT:
 [the] right of the altar of the incense

Luke 11:51 N-GNS
GRK:
 μεταξὺ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ τοῦ
NAS:
 between the altar and the house
KJV:
 between the altar and
INT:
 between the altar and the

Romans 11:3 N-ANP
GRK:
 ἀπέκτειναν τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου κατέσκαψαν
NAS:
 THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE
KJV:
 thine altars; and I
INT:
 they killed the altars of you they tore down

1 Corinthians 9:13 N-DNS
GRK:
 οἱ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳπαρεδρεύοντες τῷ
NAS:
 who attend regularly to the altar have their share
KJV:
 and they which wait at the altar are partakers
INT:
 those at the altar attending with the

1 Corinthians 9:13 N-DNS
GRK:
 παρεδρεύοντες τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳσυμμερίζονται 
NAS:
 have their share from the altar?
KJV:
 are partakers with the altar?
INT:
 attending with the altar partake

1 Corinthians 10:18 N-GNS
GRK:
 κοινωνοὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου εἰσίν
NAS:
 the sacrifices sharers in the altar?
KJV:
 partakers of the altar?
INT:
 fellow-partakers with the altar are

Hebrews 7:13 N-DNS
GRK:
 προσέσχηκεν τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ 
NAS:
 no one has officiated at the altar.
KJV:
 no man gave attendance at the altar.
INT:
 has attended to at the altar

Hebrews 13:10 N-ANS
GRK:
 ἔχομεν θυσιαστήριον ἐξ οὗ
NAS:
 We have an altar from which those
KJV:
 We have an altar, whereof they have
INT:
 We have an altar of which

James 2:21 N-ANS
GRK:
 ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον 
NAS:
 up Isaac his son on the altar?
KJV:
 son upon the altar?
INT:
 upon the altar

Revelation 6:9 N-GNS
GRK:
 ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τὰς ψυχὰς
NAS:
 underneath the altar the souls
KJV:
 under the altar the souls
INT:
 under the altar the souls

Revelation 8:3 N-GNS
GRK:
 ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἔχων λιβανωτὸν
NAS:
 and stood at the altar, holding
KJV:
 stood at the altar, having a golden
INT:
 at the altar having a altar of incense

Revelation 8:3 N-ANS
GRK:
 ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ χρυσοῦν
NAS:
 on the golden altar which was before
KJV:
 upon the golden altar which was before
INT:
 upon the altar golden

Revelation 8:5 N-GNS
GRK:
 πυρὸς τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ ἔβαλεν
NAS:
 it with the fire of the altar, and threw
KJV:
 with fire of the altar, and cast
INT:
 fire of the altar and cast [it]

Revelation 9:13 N-GNS
GRK:
 κεράτων τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τοῦ χρυσοῦ
NAS:
 of the golden altar which is before
KJV:
 of the golden altar which
INT:
 horns of the altar golden

Revelation 11:1 N-ANS
GRK:
 καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ τοὺς
NAS:
 of God and the altar, and those
KJV:
 and the altar, and
INT:
 and the altar and those who

Revelation 14:18 N-GNS
GRK:
 ἐκ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ὁ ἔχων
NAS:
 came out from the altar; and he called
KJV:
 out from the altar, which had
INT:
 out of the altar having

Revelation 16:7 N-GNS
GRK:
 ἤκουσα τοῦ θυσιαστηρίουλέγοντος Ναί
NAS:
 And I heard the altar saying, Yes,
KJV:
 another out of the altar say, Even so,
INT:
 I heard the altar saying Yes

29 Occurrences

θυσία — 3 Occ.
θυσίαι — 1 Occ.
θυσίαις — 3 Occ.
θυσίαν — 11 Occ.
θυσίας — 9 Occ.
θυσιῶν — 2 Occ.

Matthew 9:13
 N-AFS
GRK: καὶ οὐ θυσίαν οὐ γὰρ
NAS: COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,'for I did not come
KJV: and not sacrifice: for I am
INT: and not sacrifice not for

Matthew 12:7 N-AFS
GRK:
 καὶ οὐ θυσίαν οὐκ ἂν
NAS:
 COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,'you would not have condemned
KJV:
 and not sacrifice, ye would not
INT:
 and not sacrifice not anyhow

Mark 9:49 Noun-NFS
GRK:
 καὶ πᾶσα θυσία ἀλὶ ἁλισθήσεται
KJV:
 every sacrifice shall be salted
INT:
 and every sacrifice with salt shall be salted

Mark 12:33 N-GFP
GRK:
 ὁλοκαυτωμάτων καὶ θυσιῶν 
NAS:
 burnt offerings and sacrifices.
KJV:
 whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
INT:
 burnt offerings and sacrifices

Luke 2:24 N-AFS
GRK:
 τοῦ δοῦναι θυσίαν κατὰ τὸ
NAS:
 and to offer a sacrifice according
KJV:
 to offer a sacrifice according
INT:
 to offer a sacrifice according to that which

Luke 13:1 N-GFP
GRK:
 μετὰ τῶν θυσιῶν αὐτῶν 
NAS:
 had mixed with their sacrifices.
KJV:
 with their sacrifices.
INT:
 with the sacrifices of them

Acts 7:41 N-AFS
GRK:
 καὶ ἀνήγαγον θυσίαν τῷ εἰδώλῳ
NAS:
 and brought a sacrifice to the idol,
KJV:
 offered sacrifice unto the idol,
INT:
 and offered sacrifice to the idol

Acts 7:42 N-AFP
GRK:
 σφάγια καὶ θυσίαςπροσηνέγκατέ μοι
NAS:
 VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FORTY
KJV:
 and sacrifices [by the space of] forty
INT:
 Slain beasts and sacrifices did you offer to me

Romans 12:1 N-AFS
GRK:
 σώματα ὑμῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν ἁγίαν
NAS:
 and holy sacrifice, acceptable
KJV:
 a living sacrifice, holy,
INT:
 bodies of you a sacrifice living holy

1 Corinthians 10:18 N-AFP
GRK:
 ἐσθίοντες τὰς θυσίας κοινωνοὶ τοῦ
NAS:
 who eat the sacrifices sharers
KJV:
 which eat of the sacrifices partakers
INT:
 eating the sacrifices fellow-partakers with the

Ephesians 5:2 N-AFS
GRK:
 προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν τῷ θεῷ
NAS:
 up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God
KJV:
 an offering and a sacrifice to God for
INT:
 an offering and a sacrifice to God

Philippians 2:17 N-DFS
GRK:
 ἐπὶ τῇ θυσίᾳ καὶ λειτουργίᾳ
NAS:
 I am being poured out as a drink offeringupon the sacrifice and service
KJV:
 upon the sacrifice and
INT:
 on the sacrifice and ministry

Philippians 4:18 N-AFS
GRK:
 ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας θυσίαν δεκτήν εὐάρεστον
NAS:
 an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing
KJV:
 of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable,
INT:
 an odor of a sweet smell a sacrificeacceptable well-pleasing

Hebrews 5:1 N-AFP
GRK:
 τε καὶ θυσίας ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν
NAS:
 both gifts and sacrifices for sins;
KJV:
 gifts and sacrifices for sins:
INT:
 both and sacrifices for sins

Hebrews 7:27 N-AFP
GRK:
 ἰδίων ἁμαρτιῶν θυσίαςἀναφέρειν ἔπειτα
NAS:
 to offer up sacrifices, first
KJV:
 to offer up sacrifice, first
INT:
 own sins sacrifices to offer up then

Hebrews 8:3 N-AFP
GRK:
 τε καὶ θυσίας καθίσταται ὅθεν
NAS:
 gifts and sacrifices; so
KJV:
 and sacrifices: wherefore
INT:
 both and sacrifices is appointed from where [it is]

Hebrews 9:9 N-NFP
GRK:
 τε καὶ θυσίαι προσφέρονται μὴ
NAS:
 gifts and sacrifices are offered
KJV:
 gifts and sacrifices, that could not
INT:
 both and sacrifices are offered not

Hebrews 9:23 N-DFP
GRK:
 ἐπουράνια κρείττοσιν θυσίαιςπαρὰ ταύτας
NAS:
 with better sacrifices than
KJV:
 with better sacrifices than
INT:
 heavenly places with better sacrifices than these

Hebrews 9:26 N-GFS
GRK:
 διὰ τῆς θυσίας αὐτοῦ πεφανέρωται
NAS:
 sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
KJV:
 sin by the sacrifice of himself.
INT:
 by the sacrifice of himself he has been revealed

Hebrews 10:1 N-DFP
GRK:
 ταῖς αὐταῖς θυσίαις ἃς προσφέρουσιν
NAS:
 by the same sacrifices which
KJV:
 with those sacrifices which
INT:
 with the same sacrifices which they offer

Hebrews 10:5 N-AFS
GRK:
 κόσμον λέγει Θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν
NAS:
 He says, SACRIFICE AND OFFERING
KJV:
 he saith, Sacrifice and
INT:
 world he says Sacrifice and offering

Hebrews 10:8 N-AFP
GRK:
 λέγων ὅτι Θυσίας καὶ προσφορὰς
NAS:
 above, SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS
KJV:
 when he said, Sacrifice and offering
INT:
 saying Sacrifice and offering

Hebrews 10:11 N-AFP
GRK:
 πολλάκις προσφέρων θυσίαςαἵτινες οὐδέποτε
NAS:
 the same sacrifices, which
KJV:
 the same sacrifices, which
INT:
 often offering sacrifices which never

Hebrews 10:12 N-AFS
GRK:
 ἁμαρτιῶν προσενέγκας θυσίανεἰς τὸ
NAS:
 one sacrifice for sins
KJV:
 one sacrifice for
INT:
 sins having offered sacrifice in

Hebrews 10:26 N-NFS
GRK:
 ἁμαρτιῶν ἀπολείπεται θυσία 
NAS:
 remains a sacrifice for sins,
KJV:
 no more sacrifice for
INT:
 sins remains a sacrifice

Cross References

Luke 7:46
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.

Psalm 16:5
LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.

Psalm 31:19
How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.

Psalm 73:10
Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.

Psalm 78:19
They spoke against God; they said, "Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?

Psalm 92:10
You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me.

Psalm 104:15
wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.

Psalm 141:5
Let a righteous man strike me--that is a kindness; let him rebuke me--that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.

Proverbs 27:9
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.

Ecclesiastes 9:8
Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.

Isaiah 61:3
and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.


The Inner Temple
…
21The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. 22The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD." 23The nave and the sanctuary each had a double door.…

Cross References

Revelation 8:3
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.

Exodus 25:23
"Make a table of acacia wood--two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.

Exodus 25:30
Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.

Exodus 30:1
"Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense.

Leviticus 24:6
Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold before the LORD.

1 Kings 6:20
The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.

Ezekiel 23:41
You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and olive oil that belonged to me.

Ezekiel 44:16
They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and serve me as guards.

Malachi 1:7
"By offering defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible.

Malachi 1:12
"But you profane it by saying, 'The Lord's table is defiled,' and, 'Its food is contemptible.'


 
Revelation 8:3

Parallel Verses

New International Version
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.

New Living Translation
Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.

English Standard Version
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,

New American Standard Bible 
Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

King James Bible
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Another angel, with a gold incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne.

International Standard Version
Another angel came with a gold censer and stood at the altar. He was given a large quantity of incense to offer on the gold altar before the throne, along with the prayers of all the saints. 

NET Bible
Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And another Angel came and stood over the altar and had a golden censor, and much incense was given to him to offer with the prayers of all The Holy on the altar which was before the throne.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Another angel came with a gold incense burner and stood at the altar. He was given a lot of incense to offer on the gold altar in front of the throne. He offered it with the prayers of all of God's people.

Jubilee Bible 2000
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense of the prayers of all the saints, that he should offer upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

King James 2000 Bible
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

American King James Version
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

American Standard Version
And another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God. 

Darby Bible Translation
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might give [efficacy] to the prayers of all saints at the golden altar which [was] before the throne.

English Revised Version
And another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

Webster's Bible Translation
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

Weymouth New Testament
And another angel came and stood close to the altar, carrying a censer of gold; and abundance of incense was given to him that he might place it with the prayers of all God's people upon the golden altar which was in front of the throne.

World English Bible
Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

Young's Literal Translation
and another messenger did come, and he stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given to him much perfume, that he may give it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar that is before the throne,


Parallel Commentaries

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:1-6 The seventh seal is opened. There was profound silence in heaven for a space; all was quiet in the church, for whenever the church on earth cries through oppression, that cry reaches up to heaven; or it is a silence of expectation. Trumpets were given to the angels, who were to sound them. The Lord Jesus is the High Priest of the church, having a golden censer, and much incense, fulness of merit in his own glorious person. Would that men studied to know the fulness that is in Christ, and endeavoured to be acquainted with his excellency. Would that they were truly persuaded that Christ has such an office as that of Intercessor, which he now performs with deep sympathy. No prayers, thus recommended, was ever denied hearing and acceptance. These prayers, thus accepted in heaven, produced great changes upon earth. The Christian worship and religion, pure and heavenly in its origin and nature, when sent down to earth and conflicting with the passions and worldly projects of sinful men, produced remarkable tumults, here set forth in prophetical language, as our Lord himself declared, Lu 12:49.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 3. - And another angel came. No particular angel is specified. Some writers, unable to accept the passage as meaning that the Church's prayers are offered by means of an angel, prefer to believe that Christ himself is indicated. (Thus Bede, Elliott, Primasius, Vitringa.) But, besides that the difficulty has no real existence, the same expression occurs in Revelation 7:2, where there is no doubt of its meaning. Moreover, in no passage of the book is our Lord represented under the form of an angel. With regard to the office of the angels, Alford remarks (while supporting the view that the word here bears the ordinary signification), "They are simply λειτουργικὰ ππνεύματα, and the action here described is a portion of that their ministry. Through whom the prayers are offered, we all know. He is our only Mediator and channel of grace." So also Wordsworth, "The angel is not here represented as giving efficacy to the prayers of all saints, but as taking part in them. There is a communication of prayer between allsaints (namely, the saints departed, and the saints on earth), and theholy angels in heaven." And stood at the altar. The Revisers, accepting the reading of א, B, C, Andreas, adopt over the altar. The Authorized reading follows A, P, 1, 17, 36. Alford remarks, "Απί with genitive, not simply juxta, not ante, but super; so that his form appeared above it." The altar has been already mentioned (Revelation 6:9). If the view there taken be correct, and the brazen altar of sacrifice intended, the two altars mentioned in this verse are not identical; the second represents the golden altar of incense which stood before the veil (Exodus 30:6), but which now stands before the throne of God, the veil having disappeared. This view seems to be the correct one. The second altar is distinguished from the first by the addition of the qualification, "which was before the throne," as well as by the epithet "golden" - facts which are not mentioned in connection with the throne alluded to in Revelation 6:9. The order of events followed here, though not given in minute detail, resembles the ceremony of the Jewish worship. In the temple, the priest took burning coals from off the brazen altar, and proceeded to the altar of incense, on which to burn incense (Leviticus 16:12, 13). There appears to be a kind of progression in the insight which the seer affords us of the heavenly worship. In Revelation 4:1 a door is opened, and St. John sees into heaven; he is, as it were, without the sanctuary. In this place he is permitted to advance in his vision within the sanctuary, and to observe the golden altar. In Revelation 11:19 and Revelation 15:5 the most holy place is disclosed, and the ark of the covenant is seen. Alford and Dusterdieck believe only one altar is here mentioned, and identify it with that of Revelation 6:9. De Wette, Hengstenberg, Wordsworth, think one altar only is intended, and that it is the altar of incense. Bengel, Ebrard, Vitringa, support the view given above. Bossuct says the altar is Christ, to whom the angel brings incense, that is, the prayers of the saints. Having a golden censer. The wordλιβανωτός is found only here and in 1 Chronicles 9:29 (LXX.). In the latter place it is rightly rendered "frankincense;" but the meaning here evidently requires "censer." It is described as of gold, in the same way that all the furniture of the heavenly realms is described in the Apocalypse. And there was given unto him much incense. Apparently following the analogy of the temple service, the first angel brings in hisgolden censer fire from the brazen altar of sacrifice, and now there is "given unto him," by another angel, incense to burn at the golden altarof incense. (For incense, see on Revelation 5:8.) That he should offer it with the prayers of all saints; add it unto the prayers of all the saints (Revised Version). The prayers are to be incensed, so as to (typically) render them pure and acceptable to God. Upon the golden altar which was before the throne. That is, probably, the altar of incense, distinct from the altar mentioned earlier in this verse (see above). 

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And another angel came,.... The Ethiopic version adds, "from the east", as in Revelation 7:2; pointing to the same angel, and who is intended: for not a created angel, as Gabriel, or any other, is meant; nor any mere man, at least not Pope Damasus, who lived in Constantine's time, as Lyra thought; nor Constantine himself, which is the opinion of Brightman, who thinks that his, and the desires of other good men to make peace, and compose the differences occasioned by the Arian heresy, are designed by the incense and prayers; and this being brought about at the counsel of Nice, when the Arian blasphemy was condemned, and truth confirmed, is intended by the ascent of the smoke of the incense with the prayers, out of the angels hands; when there followed upon this great contentions, heart burnings, and persecutions, signified by fire, voices, thunderings, &c. and others, have been of opinion that the Emperor Theodosius is designed, and that respect is had to his prayer both in the church, and at the head of his army, before the battle with Eugenius, the saints in the mean while putting up united prayers to God for success, and which was obtained; and this victory was attended with a miraculous tempest, and gave a deadly blow to the Pagan religion. Yet neither of those, but Christ himself, the Angel of the covenant, and of God's presence, is here intended, who appeared in an angelic form; so the high priest in the day of atonement was called (r), "an angel", or messenger, to which the allusion is; 

and stood at the altar; either of burnt offerings, and may be rendered "stood upon it"; and so may represent his sacrifice, which had been lately offered up for the sins of his people, he being both altar, sacrifice, and priest; or rather the altar of incense, since mention is made of a censer and of incense, and the smoke of it; and seeing this altar is a golden one, as that was, and is before the throne, as that was before the vail by the ark of the testimony; Exodus 30:1; and so Christ is here introduced as the high priest, advocate, and intercessor for his people, though both altars may be respected in this verse: "the altar" may design the altar of burnt offering from whence the coals were taken in the censer; and the "golden altar" the altar of incense where the coals being brought the incense was put upon them, and offered; and here he "stood" as everyone concerned in the service of the sanctuary did (s): 

having a golden censer; the Ethiopic version adds, "of fire": for this was a vessel in which were put burning coals of fire taken from off the altar before the Lord Leviticus 16:12, and which may denote the sufferings of Christ, he pains he endured in his body the sorrows of his soul, and the wrath of God which was poured like fire upon him; the altar from which they were taken off was typical of Christ: in his divine nature which is the altar that sanctifies the gift, and gave virtue to his blood and sacrifice; and all this being before the Lord may show that Christ's sufferings were according to the will of God, were grateful to him, and always before him; for these burning coals in the censer were also carried within the vail, representing heaven, where Christ entered by his own blood and where he is as a Lamb that had been slain, the efficacy of whose death always continues; and this being a golden censer shows the excellency and perpetuity of Christ's sacrifice and intercession. In the daily service the priest used a silver censer, but on the day of atonement a golden one (t); though at the daily sacrifice there was a vessel used, called like to a large golden bushel, in which was a smaller vessel full of incense (u), and may be what is here designed: 

and there was given unto him much incense; the intercession of Christ is meant by "the incense", which, like that, is sweet and fragrant, very grateful and acceptable to God and also pure and holy; for though it is made for transgressors, yet in a way of righteousness, and consistent with the holiness and justice of God; nor is there any like it, nor should there be any besides it; the intercession of angels, and saints departed, ought to be rejected: and it is perpetual, or will be for ever; see Exodus 30:7; and whereas it is said to be "much", this is an allusion either to the many spices used in the composition of the incense, see Exodus 30:34; the Jews say (w), that eleven sorts of spices were ordered to Moses, and the wise men have added three more, in all fourteen; or to the priest's handfuls of incense, which he took and brought within the vail on the day of atonement, Leviticus 16:12; and which were added to, and were over and above the quantity used every day (x); and even in the daily service the pot of incense was not only filled, but "heaped up" (y); now this may denote the fulness of Christ's intercession, which is for all his elect, called and uncalled, greater or lesser believers, and for all things for them, as their cases be; for conversion, discoveries of pardon, preservation, perseverance, and glorification; and to support this, he has a fulness of merit, which makes his intercession efficacious; for incense was put upon the burning coals in the censer, or upon the fire before the Lord,Leviticus 16:13, signifying that Christ's intercession proceeds upon his sufferings and death: his blood and sacrifice, from whence all his pleas and arguments are taken in favour of his people, and which always prevail: and this is said to be given him, as his whole work and office as Mediator, and every branch of it is; he is appointed to this work, is allowed to do it, and is accepted in it, by him that sits upon the throne: in the daily offering of the incense, one took the incense and gave it into the hand of his friend, or the priest that was next him; and if he wanted instruction how to offer it, he taught him, nor might anyone offer incense until the president bid him (z); to which there seems to be an allusion here: now the end of this was, 

that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne; the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions add, "of God"; the prayers of the saints, rightly performed, are themselves compared to incense, being very grateful and acceptable to God, Psalm 141:2; and the Arabic version here renders it in connection with the preceding clause, and explanative of that, "and there was given unto him much incense and much spice, which are the prayers of the saints", as in Revelation 5:8; and at the time of incense the people prayed; see Luke 1:10; and these are spiritual sacrifices, which Christ the high priest presents for the saints, perfumes with the incense of his mediation, and makes acceptable to God, being offered upon, and coming up from that altar which is before him, and which gives value to everything that is put upon it: and they are the prayers of saints, who are set apart by God the Father, whose sins are expiated by the blood of Christ, and who are sanctified by the Spirit of God; who draw nigh to God with a true heart, and call upon him out of a pure heart, and in sincerity and truth; the prayers of such righteous ones, through faith in Christ, avail much with God; and the prayers of all saints are regarded by Christ, and presented by him, whether they be rich or poor, high or low, greater or lesser believers. The Jews often speak of an angel, whose name is Sandalphon, who is appointed over the prayers of the righteous, and takes them and presents them to God (a): so Raphael in the Apocrypha: 

"I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.'' (Tobit 12:15) 

says he was one of the seven holy angels that carry up the prayers of the saints; and the heretic Elxai, who was originally a Jew, talked of the holy angels of prayer (b): so the Jews say, that God "by", or "through his Word", receives the prayers of Israel, and has mercy on them (c). In the Greek text it is, "that he should give", &c. that is, the "incense", agreeably to the Hebrew phrase in Numbers 16:47, and elsewhere. 

(r) Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 5. (s) Maimon. Biath. Hamikdash, c. 5. sect. 17. (t) Yoma, c. 4. sect. 4. (u) Misn. Tamid. c. 5. sect. 4. (w) Maimon. Cele Hamikdash, c. 2. sect. 1, 2.((x) Yoma, c. 5. sect. 1. & T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 47. 1.((y) Misn. Tamid. c. 5. sect. 4. (z) Misn. Tamid. c. 6. sect. 3. Maimon. Tamidin, c. 3. sect. 8, 9. (a) Zohar in Gen. fol. 97. 2. & in Exod. fol. 99. 1. Shemot Rabba, sect. 21. fol. 106. 2.((b) Epiphan. Contr. Haeres. l. 1. Haeres. 19. (c) Targum in Hosea 14.8. 

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. another angel—not Christ, as many think; for He, in Revelation, is always designated by one of His proper titles; though, doubtless, He is the only true High Priest, the Angel of the Covenant, standing before the golden altar of incense, and there, as Mediator, offering up His people's prayers, rendered acceptable before God through the incense of His merit. Here the angel acts merely as a ministering spirit (Heb 1:4), just as the twenty-four elders have vials full of odors, or incense, which are the prayers of saints (Re 5:8), and which they present before the Lamb. How precisely their ministry, in perfuming the prayers of the saints and offering them on the altar of incense, is exercised, we know not, but we do know they are not to be prayed TO. If we send an offering of tribute to the king, the king's messenger is not allowed to appropriate what is due to the king alone.

there was given unto him—The angel does not provide the incense; it is given to him by Christ, whose meritorious obedience and death are the incense, rendering the saints' prayers well pleasing to God. It is not the saints who give the angel the incense; nor are their prayers identified with the incense; nor do they offer their prayers to him. Christ alone is the Mediator through whom, and to whom, prayer is to be offered.

offer it with the prayers—rather as Greek, "give it TO the prayers," so rendering them efficacious as a sweet-smelling savor to God. Christ's merits alone can thus incense our prayers, though the angelic ministry be employed to attach this incense to the prayers. The saints' praying on earth, and the angel's incensing in heaven, are simultaneous.

all saints—The prayers both of the saints in the heavenly rest, and of those militant on earth. The martyrs' cry is the foremost, and brings down the ensuing judgments.

golden altar—antitype to the earthly.

Revelation 8:3 Additional Commentaries


Context

The Seventh Seal
…
2And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand.…

Cross References

Exodus 30:1
"Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense.

Exodus 30:3
Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it.

Numbers 4:11
"Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.

Numbers 7:62
one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Psalm 141:2
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Isaiah 6:6
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

Ezekiel 41:22
There was a wooden altar three cubits high and two cubits square; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD."

Amos 9:1
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: "Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape.

Hebrews 9:4
which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

Revelation 5:8
And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people.

Revelation 6:9
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.

Revelation 7:2
Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:

Revelation 8:5
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

Revelation 9:13
The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God.

Revelation 14:18
Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."


The Table is before The Throne

Revelation 4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who ...

... They lay their crowns before the throne and say: .... ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/4-10.htm - 19k

Revelation 7:15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and ...

Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his
temple; and he who sits on the
 throne will shelter them with his presence. ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/7-15.htm - 19k

Revelation 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and ...

And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures
and the elders. No one could learn the song except
 ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/14-3.htm - 20k

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing ...

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were
opened.
 ... I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/20-12.htm - 20k

Revelation 4:6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked ...

... and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. ... Something
like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also
 before the throne. ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/4-6.htm - 19k

Revelation 7:11 All the angels were standing around the throne and ...

... They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, .... ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/7-11.htm - 19k

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a ...

... looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from
every nation, tribe, people and language, standing
 before the throne and before ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/7-9.htm - 20k

Revelation 4:5 From the throne came flashes of lightning ...

... From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and
before
 the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/4-5.htm - 19k

Revelation 1:4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia ...

... seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is,
and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits
 before his throne, ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/1-4.htm - 19k

Revelation 8:3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and ...

... And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's
people as an offering on the gold altar
 before the throne. ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/8-3.htm - 20k

Revelation 14:5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are ...

... And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are
without fault
 before the throne of God. ... 
//biblehub.com/revelation/14-5.htm - 17k

2 Samuel 7:16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever ...

Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me;
your
 throne will be established forever.'" ... 
//biblehub.com/2_samuel/7-16.htm - 19k

Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your ...

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your
throne; love and faithfulness go
 before you. ... 
//biblehub.com/psalms/89-14.htm - 17k

1 Kings 2:45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne ...

But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne
will remain secure
 before the LORD forever." ... 
//biblehub.com/1_kings/2-45.htm - 18k

Psalm 89:36 that his line will continue forever and his throne ...

that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; ...
"His descendants shall endure forever And his
 throne as the sun before Me. ... 
//biblehub.com/psalms/89-36.htm - 16k

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

preparest

Psalm 22:26,29 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that …

Psalm 31:19,20 Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for them that fear you…

Psalm 104:15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face …

Job 36:16 Even so would he have removed you out of the strait into a broad …

Isaiah 25:6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make to all people a …

John 6:53-56 Then Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except you eat …

John 10:9,10 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and …

John 16:22 And you now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and …

thou anointest [heb.] makest fat

Psalm 45:7 You love righteousness, and hate wickedness: therefore God, your …

Psalm 92:10 But my horn shall you exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall …

Amos 6:6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: …

Matthew 6:17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;

2 Corinthians 1:21 Now he which establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God;

1 John 2:20,27 But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things…

my cup

Psalm 16:5 The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: you maintain my lot.

Psalm 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the LORD.

1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the …

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that …

◄ Ezekiel 40 ►

New International Version

The Temple Area Restored

1In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me and he took me there. 2In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. 3He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. 4The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

The East Gate to the Outer Court

5I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits,a each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.

6Then he went to the east gate. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep.7The alcoves for the guards were one rod long and one rod wide, and the projecting walls between the alcoves were five cubitsb thick. And the threshold of the gate next to the portico facing the temple was one rod deep.

8Then he measured the portico of the gateway; 9itc was eight cubitsd deep and its jambs were two cubitse thick. The portico of the gateway faced the temple.

10Inside the east gate were three alcoves on each side; the three had the same measurements, and the faces of the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements. 11Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway; it was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits.f 12In front of each alcove was a wall one cubit high, and the alcoves were six cubits square. 13Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubitsg from one parapet opening to the opposite one. 14He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway—sixty cubits.h The measurement was up to the porticoi facing the courtyard.j 15The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its portico was fifty cubits.k 16The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all around, as was the portico; the openings all around faced inward. The faces of the projecting walls were decorated with palm trees.

The Outer Court

17Then he brought me into the outer court. There I saw some rooms and a pavement that had been constructed all around the court; there were thirty rooms along the pavement. 18It abutted the sides of the gateways and was as wide as they were long; this was the lower pavement. 19Then he measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court; it was a hundred cubitsl on the east side as well as on the north.

The North Gate

20Then he measured the length and width of the north gate, leading into the outer court. 21Its alcoves—three on each side—its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 22Its openings, its portico and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them. 23There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured from one gate to the opposite one; it was a hundred cubits.

The South Gate

24Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurements as the others. 25The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 26Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them; it had palm tree decorations on the faces of the projecting walls on each side. 27The inner court also had a gate facing south, and he measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side; it was a hundred cubits.

The Gates to the Inner Court

28Then he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it had the same measurements as the others. 29Its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30(The porticoes of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep.) 31Its portico faced the outer court; palm trees decorated its jambs, and eight steps led up to it.

32Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements as the others. 33Its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34Its portico faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.

35Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others, 36as did its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico, and it had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 37Its porticom faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.

The Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

8 Tables of Sacrific, 4 Stone Tables for the FLESH of the offerings

38A room with a doorway was by the portico in each of the inner gateways, where the burnt offerings were washed.39In the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offeringsn and guilt offerings were slaughtered. 40By the outside wall of the portico of the gateway, near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway were two tables, and on the other side of the steps were two tables. 41So there were four tables on one side of the gateway and four on the other--eight tables in all—on which the sacrifices were slaughtered. 42There were also four tables of dressed stone for the burnt offerings, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and a cubit high.o On them were placed the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. 43And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadthp long, were attached to the wall all around. The tables were for the flesh of the offerings.

The Rooms for the Priests

44Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two rooms, oneq at the side of the north gate and facing south, and another at the side of the southr gate and facing north. 45He said to me, “The room facing south is for the priests who guard the temple, 46and the room facing north is for the priests who guard the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who are the only Levites who may draw near to the Lord to minister before him.”

47Then he measured the court: It was square—a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.

The New Temple

48He brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the jambs of the portico; they were five cubits wide on either side. The width of the entrance was fourteen cubitss and its projecting walls weret three cubitsu wide on either side. 49The portico was twenty cubitsv wide, and twelvew cubitsx from front to back. It was reached by a flight of stairs,y and there were pillars on each side of the jambs.


◄ Ezekiel 41 ►

New International Version

1Then the man brought me to the main hall and measured the jambs; the width of the jambs was six cubitsa on each side.b 2The entrance was ten cubitsc wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were five cubitsd wide. He also measured the main hall; it was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.e

3Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance; each was two cubitsf wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were seven cubitsg wide. 4And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the main hall. He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

5Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was six cubits thick, and each side room around the temple was four cubitsh wide. 6The side rooms were on three levels, one above another, thirty on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports were not inserted into the wall of the temple. 7The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor.

8I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the length of the rod, six long cubits. 9The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick. The open area between the side rooms of the temple 10and the priests’ rooms was twenty cubits wide all around the temple. 11There were entrances to the side rooms from the open area, one on the north and another on the south; and the base adjoining the open area was five cubits wide all around.

12The building facing the temple courtyard on the west side was seventy cubitsi wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.j

13Then he measured the temple; it was a hundred cubitsk long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long. 14The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits.

15Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits.

The main hall, the inner sanctuary and the portico facing the court, 16as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows and galleries around the three of them—everything beyond and including the threshold was covered with wood. The floor, the wall up to the windows, and the windows were covered. 17In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary and on the walls at regular intervals all around the inner and outer sanctuary 18were carved cherubim and palm trees. Palm trees alternated with cherubim. Each cherub had two faces: 19the face of a human being toward the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion toward the palm tree on the other. They were carved all around the whole temple. 20From the floor to the area above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the main hall.

21The main hall had a rectangular doorframe, and the one at the front of the Most Holy Place was similar. 22There was a wooden altar three cubitsl high and two cubits squarem ; its corners, its basen and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 23Both the main hall and the Most Holy Place had double doors. 24Each door had two leaves—two hinged leaves for each door. 25And on the doors of the main hall were carved cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls, and there was a wooden overhang on the front of the portico.26On the sidewalls of the portico were narrow windows with palm trees carved on each side. The side rooms of the temple also had overhangs.



BASIC: CommunionPosted on November 12, 2012 by sonsofcovenant
Photo Credit: Tim Flach

Tony did an awesome job leading us through a study on communion! Take a look at a walk through of the study below:

If you’re interested in The Lord’s Supper, or communion, it’s found in Luke, Mark, and Matthew.

Matthew 26:26-29: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

Body = Bread

Blood = Wine

These symbolize the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, but the bread and wine have greater significance to the story of God as a whole.

 Bread = Provision / Sustenance

 John 6:35 – Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

  •     Jesus is providing people and opportunity to receive eternal life
  •     When believing that Jesus is the bread of life, it’s an implication that Jesus is providing nourishment to our Spirit. Jesus makes us wholly satisfied in him, as he continually provides for our needs. Jesus is revealing his divinity by referencing Exodus 16:4 and God’s miracle of raining down manna from heaven. When the crowd heard Jesus associate himself to bread, their immediate thought would have been God’s provision to the Israelites in the desert.
 Exodus 16:4a – Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.”

  •     Through this provision, God provided for Israel’s physical needs. It’s also an example of God providing for us when we call out to Him.
 Wine = Restoration & Purification

John 2: Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine. Jesus fulfilled the Jewish way of purification and sacrifices for absolving of sins, by changing their “holy” water into wine. Jesus communicates that there is a new way for purification and restoration, and that is through the belief and blood of Jesus. By using wine, Jesus is once again attaching himself to God and expressing his divinity, as wine in the Old Testament signified a restoration of Israel in the days of the New Zion / New Jerusalem

 Amos 9:13 –14 “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.”

God is the plowman and Satan is the reaper in the world. When Satan is overthrown once and for all, God will call back all of His people into this new world. God will restore his nation and the people within it. An abundance of wine is a characteristic of this restoration of God’s people.

After looking at these scriptures, communion is not only a remembrance of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, but a call to worship God for his provision and restoration of his people.

Acts 2:46 – Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts

Early church communion was accompanied with dinners and usually performed after everyone ate. (Reference 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, 27-32)

Communion should be a discipline done daily, as in prayer and reading scripture. Francis Chan even states that communion was performed in people’s homes, and doesn’t need to specifically be done inside the church. Communion is also a time for believers to come together, and is meant to be taken in community.

Check out these scriptures for more guidance on taking communion:

  • Matthew 26:26-30
  • Mark 14:22-26
  • Luke 22:13-21
  • Hebrews 10:19-25
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The Sign Of The Cross, The 21 Martyrs & Power of CommunionFire

3/9/2015

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The Coptic Orthodox Church Recognized the Martyrdom of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians - REUTERS
21/02/2015 12:54

SHARE: The Coptic Orthodox Church has announced that the murder of the 21 Egyptian Christians killed by the so-called Islamic State in Libya will be commemorated in its Church calendar. Pope Tawadros II announced that the names of the martyrs will be inserted into the Coptic Synaxarium, the Oriental Church’s equivalent to the Roman Martyrology. This procedure is also equivalent to canonization in the Latin Church.

Listen to Junno Arocho's report: According to terrasanta.net, the martyrdom of the 21 Christians will be commemorated on the 8th Amshir of the Coptic calendar, or February 15th of the Gregorian calendar. The commemoration falls on the feast day of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

Militants of the Islamic State released a gruesome video entitled “A Message Signed in Blood to the Nation of the Cross” in which they released a warning saying they were “south of Rome.” They then proceeded to behead the Christian men, some of whom were seen mouthing the words “Lord Jesus Christ” moments before their death.

While the killings have stirred fears of the Islamic State’s close proximity to Europe, they have also strengthened many in their faith.

In an interview with Christian channel SAT-7 ARABIC on Wednesday, Beshir Kamel, brother of two of the Coptic martyrs, even thanked the Islamic State for including their declaration of faith in the videos before killing them.
“ISIS gave us more than we asked when they didn’t edit out the part where they declared their faith and called upon Jesus Christ. ISIS helped us strengthen our faith,” he said. Beshir said that he was proud of his brothers Bishoy and Samuel, saying that their martyrdom was “a badge of honor to Christianity.”

Kamel’s interview with SAT 7-ARABIC went viral, receiving over 100,000 views within hours of its posting online. When asked what his reaction would be if he saw an Islamic State militant, Kamel recalled his mother’s response.
"My mother, an uneducated woman in her sixties, said she would ask [him] to enter her house and ask God to open his eyes because he was the reason her son entered the kingdom of heaven,” Beshir said.
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Below, please find the most recent list of names of the 21 New Martyrs of Libya for use in prayers and publications.
Milad Makeen Zaky
Abanub Ayad Atiya
Maged Soliman Shehata 
Youssef Shukry Younan
Kirollos Boshra Fawzy
Bishoy Astafanous Kamel
Samuel Astafanous Kamel
Malak Ibrahim Sinyout
Tawadros Youssef Tawadros
Gerges Milad Sinyout
Mina Fayez Aziz
Hany Abdel Mesih Salib
Samuel Alham Wilson
Ezzat Boshra Naseef
Luka Nagaty Anis
Gaber Mounir Adly
Essam Baddar Samir
Malak Farag Abrahim
Sameh Salah Farouk
Gerges Samir Megally
Mathew Ayairga (from Ghana)


(Updated List of the Names of the New Martyrs of Libya was last modified: February 25th, 2015 by Fr. Moses Samaan)

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Copts form the largest Christian minority in the country, with an estimated 60,000 living there, but their status is increasingly precarious. The country's descent into civil war and chaos following the collapse of Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi’s dictatorship has seen the nation riven by rival extremist factions, with the government having little cotrol. Italy recently pulled their embassy staff out - the last EU power to do so.

Prior to the latest atrocity, in February of last year seven Copts were dragged from their homes in the middle of the night and shot in the streets east of Benghazi. There have been a number of other reported incidences – involving other extremist groups such as Ansar al-Sharia – of violence against Copts in the country.

After ISIS released a video on Sunday purporting to show the horrific execution of 21 Coptic Christians on the Libyan coast, prayers and condolences have poured in for the victims, their families and the Coptic church, with many on social media using the hashtag #CopticLivesMatter.

I'm Palestinian Muslim & Middle Eastern Christians are my brothers and sisters. No one should be persecuted for beliefs! #CopticLivesMatter

— نوران (@levantina_) February 15, 2015

Shocked by the mass killing, world leaders and religious figures have expressed their solidarity with Copts, already a persecuted minority before the killings.

In a statement, the Coptic church said that its leadership had "confidence that their great nation won’t rest without retribution for the evil criminals." During a speech on Monday to members of the Church of Scotland, Pope Francis decried the deaths. "The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out be heard. It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants," he said. "They are Christians!"

Sophia Jones Become a fansophia.jones@huffingtonpost.com
ISIS Boasted Of These Christians' Deaths. Here Are The Lives They Lived.Posted: 02/18/2015 4:56 pm EST Updated: 02/19/2015 4:59 pm EST


AL AOUR, Egypt -- Death is everywhere in Al Aour. When a video surfaced late Sunday showing Islamic State fighters beheading 21 men in Libya, it seemed no family here was spared. Thirteen of the victims hailed from this dusty Egyptian town, roughly three hours south of Cairo.

The men were laborers, gone for months on end, who sent home hard-earned money to feed entire families. They left their impoverished home in Egypt to work in Libya for a better future, despite the dangers. What they found instead was a militant group hell-bent on humiliating and harming them because they were Christian. While most of the people killed by the Islamic State have been Muslim, the group's recent propaganda video made a point to threaten Christianity as a religion. The fact that the 21 men were Egyptian made them even more sought-out targets: citizens of a country cracking down on Islamists both within its own borders and inside Libya.

On Jan. 3 at around 2:30 a.m. in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte, masked gunmen began knocking on doors, according to survivors. They were looking for Christians marked with traditional tattoos on their hands that identified them as Copts, an ancient Christian sect in Egypt. Some men were pulled from their beds at gunpoint. Others hid and prayed, only to later see their captured friends and family members decapitated in a widely circulated and highly produced Islamic State video.

But in this tight-knit village, these men will not be remembered for their brutal murders. They are remembered as beloved husbands, sons, brothers, cousins and friends. In death, their lives are celebrated.

Here are the lives of 4 as they lived, as told by family members.

Hani Abdel Messihah, 32
Magda Aziz, 29, holds the photo of her late husband, killed by ISIS, as she sits in her home in Al Aour, Egypt, on Tuesday.

Hani Abdel Messihah, 32, killed by ISIS in Libya, smiles with his young son in a worn photograph.

Hani loved his four children -- three girls and a boy, the youngest -- more than anything in the world, his family says. He was gentle and kind, always making a joke whenever he could. His wife Magda Aziz, 29, will forever remember his laugh.

"I felt like he was an angel," Magda said of her deeply devout husband. "There was a prayer in anything he said."

Hani desperately wanted to come home after eight months laboring in Libya. He was sick and tired of the relentless violence and the constant threat of kidnapping. But leaving was a difficult choice. There was money in Libya, unlike in Al Aour, money that he needed to support Magda and his children. But he finally decided to come home to his family, she said. He was killed before he ever got a chance to leave.

"He took care of all of us," Magda explains, weakly. The women around her nod in unison, passing around a faded photograph of the smiling father with his little boy.

"He was so kind," Magda says. "He gave us hugs and kisses."

Magda will never forget the last conversation she had with her husband. He called on New Year's wanting to speak with each of his children. The couple exchanged tender words. He asked if she wanted or needed anything -- he would try to get it to her, whatever it was. She remembers saying, "I want you safe." And he asked her to pray for him. She never heard from Hani again.

When she saw the video of his beheading on Egyptian television, her family cried so hard that she says neighbors called an ambulance. She doesn't talk much about how she feels now, apart from the fact that she's still in shock.

"I miss him," she says with a whisper.

Her three daughters sit around her, clinging to their mother. The oldest girl begins to weep as the younger two stare off, unable to comprehend the grief around them.

"Your dad is in the sky," a relative says, hoping to console the little girl. "He's in the heavens."

Yousef Shoukry, 24
Shenouda Shoukry holds up a photo of his brother of Yousef Shoukry (pictured right), a 24-year-old Coptic Christian beheaded by the Islamic State.

A mother and son mourn the loss of Yousef Shoukry.

Yousef was a quiet young man with the heart of a child, his family says. All he wanted to do was find a job and start a family.

But after leaving the army after high school, there were few job prospects. He couldn't live the life he wanted, his mother, Theresa, recalls, sitting in her home surrounded by family.

But the Libyan border wasn't too far, and many men before Yousef had gone to work there already. He decided to leave Egypt. His mother begged him not to go, but he wouldn't listen. She says that his faith gave him the courage to go to Libya in the face of danger. "I have one God, he's the same here and there," she remembers Yousef saying.

A steady stream of women walk into the room, all dressed in black. They reach out to comfort the grieving mother.

"He's a martyr," she says, holding her cross close to her heart. "I know he's in a better place."

Everyone in the family looked up to Yousef. His sister says he was curious and always in good spirits, despite the family's hard circumstances.

His older brother, Shenouda, 27, the middle brother of four, says he was always proud of him.

"He lived according to the book," he said, holding a photo of Yousef as a young soldier. "I can't remember something he did wrong."

Yousef always joked with Shenouda to hurry up and get married so it could be his turn. He was saving up to support a family.

The last time the family spoke with Yousef was when he called on New Year's. "I told him I'd pray for him," she remembers. "I said: 'May God make your life easier.'"

Theresa refused to watch the video showing her son beheaded. But her other son says he made himself watch it.

"I saw that he had strength in his last moments," the 27-year-old man said, insisting that there was a heavenly light shining on his brother's face, even after he was decapitated. "And that consoled me."

Towadros Yousef, 42
A Coptic Christian man holds up the ID of his brother, Towadros Yousef, who was murdered by the Islamic State.

Bebawi Yousef sits in a pew at the church in Al Aour, Egypt, on Tuesday during a ceremony mourning the loss of 21 Coptic Christians, including his older brother, who were murdered by ISIS.

Long before he was murdered by extremists, Towadros was sacrificing so that his family could live better lives. A year and a half ago, he traveled from his village of Al Aour to Libya. Far from the comfort and safety of home, the 42-year-old father of three -- two boys and a girl -- labored away to provide for his family.

He was an introvert, the quiet one in the room. "He wasn't one to make a lot of noise about anything," his brother remembers, smiling. But he was a fighter, determined to give his children a better life than he had.

"He was a really hard worker," his older brother, Bebawi Yousef, 34, says, sitting in the pew of a small church in Al Aour. "He loved working."

Life in Libya was difficult, to say the least, but it was worth it for Towadros to put food on his family's table. He was a family man, above all else.

"He was happiest being with his family and kids," Bebawi says fondly. "He was a kind person."

Bebawi remembers his last conversation with his brother with regret. Towadros called to see how everyone was and he said he wanted to come home, finally. He was ready. The doting father was worried that something bad would happen to him and he wouldn't be able to support his family anymore.

"We told him to wait," Bebawi recalls. "Because they were targeting Christians. We said, 'If you come now at New Year's, it's dangerous.'" The family thought he was safer staying put than traveling on the dangerous roads back to Egypt.

Up until the last moment, Bebawi was ready to do anything to help save his brother. He traveled from Al-Aour to Cairo to talk on an Egyptian television show to raise awareness about the case of the kidnapped Copts. Five minutes before going on air, he received the fateful call from his local priest.

"My condolences," Bebawi remembers him saying. "It's over. They've passed."

He can't believe that Towadros is gone. "I was trying to hold onto the last bit of hope," he says somberly. 

Maged Suleiman Shahata, 40
The brother of Maged Suleiman Shahata, a Coptic Christian killed by ISIS, shows a photo of his brother's ID card at a church in Al Aour, Egypt, on Tuesday.

Emat Suleiman Shahta mourns the loss of his brother who was beheaded by ISIS.

Maged was born into poverty and so were his children. But the father of three was determined to change their futures.

"My brother, the way they lived," he said, shaking his head at the family's poverty. "It was him and his wife and three children in one room together."

"That's how hard life is here," he said, sitting in a Coptic Church surrounded by mourners. "That's how hard he worked. He was fed up with having no money. There is no work in the south."

Maged ventured to Libya, like many others from his village, hoping to earn enough money to change his family's life. Maged was proud that despite their poor financial situation, his oldest daughter was in college. It made the long, hard, dangerous work in Libya worth everything.

Emad spoke with his brother just hours before he was kidnapped. He asked Maged about another group of Christians who had just been snatched up by ISIS, worried that it could happen to him, too. Maged's last words to him, he painfully remembers, were that his phone credit was out. "I didn't know what that would mean," he said, upset that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye or tell him how much he meant to him.

"He was a very sweet man," Emad said. "Easily embarrassed."

Emad mourns his brother's death, but he isn't consumed with hatred. Instead, he looks past the senseless killing and finds hope in his belief that Maged and the other 20 men are now in a safe place where no one can hurt them.

"We are proud that they went to the father in the sky," he said with a warm smile.

A banner showing the faces of Coptic Christians killed by ISIS hangs from the painted ceiling of the Coptic Church in Al Aour, Egypt, on Tuesday.
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One week earlier… “A child shall lead them…
”Katherine Sobhy" the angelic girl who was martyred in Libya along with her parents.
The Coptic Orthodox family was martyred in Libya just a few weeks before 21 New Martyrs, because of their 15-year-old daughter’s unwillingness to wear the hijab at her school. Extremists stormed their home by night, killed her parents, and kidnapped the girl. When she resisted their advances, she was killed and left by the side of the road. They are truly worthy to be commemorated alongside the 21 New Martyrs. 

Their names are:
Magdy Sobhy Tawfeek
Sahar Talaat Rezk
Katherine Magdy Sobhy

Egypt Christians Murdered In Libya Tuesday, December 30, 2014 (2:45 pm)
By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos

CAIRO/TRIPOLI (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Libya have been plunged into mourning after a young Egyptian couple and their teenage daughter were reportedly killed for their Christian faith by suspected Islamic militants.

Magdy Sobhy Tawfiq, 
Sahar Talaat Rizk were married in 2000 and martyred along with their 13 year old daughter, Catherine December 2014.

Magdy Sobhy Tawfiq, Sahar Talaat Rizk, and 13-year-old Catherine died last week in the Libyan city of Sirte -- halfway between the capital Tripoli and Benghazi -- where they lived since 2001, according to family members.

Their human remains were expected in their home country Egypt on Tuesday, December 30, where a special prayer service was to be held in Mar Girgis Church in the Abu Naga area of Tanta city.

Magdy and Sahar were reportedly killed in the early morning hours of Tuesday, December 23 at the doctor's housing complex in Sirte where the Coptic Christian family stayed with Catherine and two younger daughters, aged 10 and nine. Catherine was taken from the family's home and her body was found in the desert outside the city on Christmas Day, December 25, added Christians familiar with the situation.

Rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) quoted Sahar Talaat Rizk's brother as saying that the Coptic Christian couple moved from Egypt to Libya in 2001, just shortly after they were married on July 20, 2000. "Magdy worked for two years at a Diabetes Clinic in Sirte before transferring to the Jarf Health Center" explained the brother, Tamer Talaat Rizk.

SAFETY CONCERNS

Though local people appreciated their medical work and free lectures given to students, militant Muslims threatened the family, added Michael Talaat Rizk, another of Sahar's brothers.

The couple was increasingly concerned about their safety "especially after their oldest daughter Catherine was threatened with death if she did not wear a veil," he added in published remarks.

"Some Islamic militants belonging to the Ansar Al-Sharia extremist group demanded that Catherine not go out from her home without wearing the veil and threatened her that they are going to kill her if she did not wear a veil," Michael Talaat Rizk claimed.

Despite the dangers, managers and local authorities allegedly declined to give Magdy Sobhy Tawfiq his passport and other necessary travel papers to leave Libya as his contract was not yet finished.

Soon it was too late to leave. "At 4:00 am on Tuesday, December 23, Doctor Magdy woke up to the knock on the door of the housing building," Samir Sobhy Tawfiq, Magdy's brother recalled. "He likely thought that there was a patient with an urgent case and was in need his help, but after opening the door, he found some armed masked men. The men attacked him and handcuffed him and put him into a chair."

YOUNG DAUGHTERS 

He said he had traveled to Sirte to care for the two youngest daughters who witnessed the incident.

"Sahar pleaded with the men to take the family's money (6,000 Libyan dinar or $4,500 USD) and jewelry and leave them alive, but money was not the reason they had come. Sahar then ran into the room to protect the three girls."

However, "They then entered the children's room and shot and killed Sahar there. Then they abducted Catherine, leaving the other two children behind. They also dragged Magdy outside and shot and killed him in front of the door of the Health Unit. They put Catherine into their car and fled,"

Samir said in comments published by ICC.

Magdy Sobhy Tawfiq bloodied body was found still handcuffed after he'd been shot and killed, according to a photo seen by BosNewsLife.

Daughter Catherine was found in the Libyan desert on Thursday, December 25, Samir added. "She was shot three times, twice in the head and once in the chest."

JESUS CHRIST

He said militants killed them "because they are Christians, they killed them because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ".

However, "My sister, her husband, and their daughter Catherine were martyred on the Name of Jesus Christ and that is the only thing that comforts us. We are sure that they are in the heaven now because they kept the faith and didn't deny the Lord Jesus Christ."

The attack was clearly not a robbery and was likely motivated by religion, confirmed local council chairman Yussef Tebeiqa in separate remarks to reporters. "Money left on the table and the wife's jewelry left at the crime scene were not touched."

The latest incident underscores growing extremism across Libya with Christians often being targeted by Islamist groups, according to rights investigators.

While the Christian family was attacked, a new United Nations report expressed concern over human rights abuses and the volatile security situation in Libya. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya condemned the attacks.

FOREIGN GUESTS

"These heinous murders, apparently committed for religious motives by unidentified gunmen, are totally rejected by the Libyan people and are alien to their tradition of tolerance towards religious minorities and hospitality extended to foreign guests," the Mission said in a statement issued Wednesday, December 24.

Coptic officials also condemned the violence and urged Egypt's government to improve protection of Christians. Fady Youssef, founder of Coalition of Coptic Egypt, said the Egypt's government had shown "passiveness, inaction, indifference and disregard for the rights of Egyptians abroad, particularly in Libya."

Tamer, Sahar's brother, also urged for government officials to apprehend those responsible, but also was encouraged by his faith. "I urge the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to demand the Libyan authorities to quickly investigate into this brutal crime and arrest the killers quickly and bring them to the justice," he said. "But I ask God to bring the rights of the martyrs. I trust Him, He is a just God."

As Libya, continues to be torn apart by militant Islamist groups fighting, "it is not just about claims of power, but also imposing their religious ideology and driving out or killing those who do not conform to their dictates," ICC commented.

Amazing Call In
channel SAT-7 ARABIC English sub-titles

The brother of two men who were executed by ISIS in an video that was released Sunday has suggested in an interview that he would forgive the killers.

Beshir Kamel, who said he is the brother Bishoy Astafanus Kamel and Samuel Astafanus Kamel, two of the 21 victims, called in to Christian channel SAT-7 ARABIC with the surprising message.

Translated into English by SAT-7 ARABIC, the man described his brothers and the 19 victims as martyrs. "Since the Roman era, Christians have been martyred and have learned to handle everything that comes our way. This only makes us stronger in our faith because the Bible told us to love our enemies and bless those who curse us," he said.

Grief and outrage has spread quickly in response to the deaths, giving rise to the hashtag  #CopticLivesMatter. In Al Aour, Egypt, HuffPost reporter Sophia Jones recently documented the sorrow of many victims' family members.

Kamel, too, is in mourning, but when program host Maher Fayez asked if he would be able to forgive the militants, he relayed an earlier conversation he had with his mother.

"My mother, an uneducated woman in her sixties, said she would ask [the killer] to enter her house and ask God to open his eyes because he was the reason her sons entered the kingdom of heaven."

"Dear God," Kamel prayed, "please open their eyes to be saved and to quit their ignorance and the wrong teachings they were taught."

h/t Christian Today

They were looking for Christians marked with traditional tattoos on their hands that identified them as Coptic Christians, an ancient Christian sect in Egypt. 


Death is everywhere in Al Aour. When a video surfaced late Sunday showing Islamic State fighters beheading 21 men in Libya, it seemed no family here was spared. Thirteen of the victims hailed from this dusty Egyptian town, roughly three hours south of Cairo.

The men were laborers, gone for months on end, who sent home hard-earned money to feed entire families. They left their impoverished home in Egypt to work in Libya for a better future, despite the dangers. What they found instead was a militant group hell-bent on humiliating and harming them because they were Christian. 

While most of the people killed by the Islamic State have been Muslim, the group’s recent propaganda video made a point to threaten Christianity as a religion. The fact that the 21 men were Egyptian made them even more sought-out targets: citizens of a country cracking down on Islamists both within its own borders and inside Libya.

On Jan. 3 at around 2:30 a.m. in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte, masked gunmen began knocking on doors, according to survivors. 

They were looking for Christians marked with traditional tattoos on their hands that identified them as Coptic Christians, an ancient Christian sect in Egypt. 

Some men were pulled from their beds at gunpoint. Others hid and prayed, only to later see their captured friends and family members decapitated in a widely circulated and highly produced Islamic State video.

But in this tight-knit village, these men will not be remembered for their brutal murders. They are remembered as beloved husbands, sons, brothers, cousins and friends. In death, their lives are celebrated.

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2015/03/the-lives-they-lived-meet-the-coptic-martyrs/#ixzz3Ts19wBun
How do the Orthodox Coptic Churches Worship? The center of the worship is the Table of the Lord. It is here that we enter through the curtain of Christ's Blood. The veil is opened by the word of the Cross. Begin in lowliness from repentance "Lord have mercy upon us" to transformation through partaking of the Eucharist. Coptic Christians sing the prayers! It looks formal and is taken seriously. 

Why are the Coptic Christians and Syrian Orthodox Christians so ready to lay down their life for the Lord Jesus? The rest of Christendom can learn much from this part of the Holy Body of Christ. From tattoos (the Mark of Christ vs. The Mark of the Beast) to the Qurbana and meanings symbolized throughout the divine liturgy creates the lifestyle of these believers. Worship is not an option. It is the reason for getting up to live for the Lord Jesus.  

The first video gives you a quick 10 minute glimpse.

The second video is a wonderful explanation of the Divine Liturgy. When you hear and see there is so much that lines up for those of us experiencing CommunionFire! From the "Need for the Creed" to the Table to the Flesh and Blood.  
This is very well done. "We give Him our whole self and He gives us His whole self." Close your eyes in reverence to Him who stands in our midst and feed upon His glorious presence!
Rev. Franklin Graham’s Warning About ISIS Killing 21 Christians Is CHILLING 
  By TPIWriter 

Reverend Franklin Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham, wasn’t pleased with President Barack Obama’s response to 21 Coptic Christians being slaughtered by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists. He believes a “the storm is coming,” and took his message to Facebook:

Here it what his eerie post said:

The militant Islamic terrorist group ISIS has released a video called A MESSAGE SIGNED WITH BLOOD TO THE NATION OF THE CROSS showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped in Libya. Can you imagine the outcry if 21 Muslims had been beheaded by Christians? Where is the universal condemnation by Muslim leaders around the world? As we mourn with the families of those 21 martyrs, we’d better take this warning seriously as these acts of terror will only spread throughout Europe and the United States. If this concerns you like it does me, share this. The storm is coming.

As one person said in the comments section of his post, “Please tell me what the difference is between what these terrorists are doing in the name of Islam and what Hitler did to the Jews? Then tell me why the world is standing by and allowing this to happen and doing nothing! Have we not learned anything from the 1930’s and 1940’s?”

And another popular comment echoes the fear caused by ISIS’s evil deeds: “Seeing prophecy unfold before our very eyes. God help us!”

It is true that there is a double standard between Christianity and Islam. While Christianity is a religion of peace and is responsible for the intellectual growth of the civilized West, the “politically correct” crowd is quick to dismiss the inherently violent nature Islam shows itself to have. And Rev. Graham is sounding the alarms.

Read more: http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/rev-franklin-grahams-warning-about-isis-killing-21-christians-is-chilling/#ixzz3Tojr9gj6

WARNING: The following video is gruesome, graphic and not for everyone. 

Please pray first and ask the Lord to give you His eyes and heart before you watch. It will change your life forever. This is not for the skittish. This is the video produced by ISIS. it shows the march to the shoreline, the resolution of the executioners and the leader of the executioners. There is one executioner per Christian. they are all decapitated at the same time. Heads are then placed on the shoulders. my description should be enough. It took me weeks to process the strength and faith to watch this. Needless to say I had a sleepless night. It is important for all of us to understand what our faith in Jesus involves. Sometimes there is the grace given to be martyred for Christ's sake, the Church and the world. When we see the love and peacefulness of the martyrs we see heaven's light upon them. St. Paul describes it as the ultimate Communion with Christ. "That I may know Him in the power of the resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering conformed to the image of His death."  Perhaps before considering watching true martyrdom from this year's headlines have a look at the stories of the first martyrs of the Church: 

http://www.communionfire.com/communionfire-blog-notes/martyrdom-of-the-first-apostles
ISIS Warning: Message Signed In Blood Coming Soon To ‘Nation Of The Cross’ Speculation as to who is the ‘nation of the cross’ spans from Denmark (flag with cross) to ‘community of Christendom' (all Christian nations). This announcement came after the Denmark attacks..

In August of last year, the leader of ISIS, al-Baghdadi, called the U.S. the ‘Defenders of the Cross’. That might seem a truly ironic designation to us, but the U.S., and the Western coalition in general, is usually referred to as “Crusaders” by ISIS.  

Denmark had received threats after the Paris attacks and before the attacks yesterday.

Yesterday they released a nine minute video named “A Message to France”, threatening France and Belgium, claiming ISIS-linked elements are stationed throughout the two European countries awaiting instructions to launch attacks.

ISIS also makes the direct threat to fly its flag over the Vatican.
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" The Jesus Prayer

These all died willingly for the glory of Jesus Christ because they all shared the Creed of Our Faith. In CommunionFire we now make a common proclamation of the Apostle's Creed before we sit down at the Table of the Lord. It is our personal declaration of faith; our spiritual 'tattoo' so to speak. 

Jesus died, rose and revived to bring us to His Table. Have the 'daily bread' (qurbana is the Coptic name) and drink from the cup of the new and everlasting covenant. We need revival every day is we want to have His life inside us. Jesus said, "If you do not eat my Flesh and drink my Blood, you have no life in you." To live for Jesus we are totally dependent on having His life in us, for without Him, we are as nothing.

There is no alternative to Communion the way Jesus told us. We sit with Him by His invitation to feed on Him, His Flesh and Blood, so that we might feed on His presence where He shares His love and life in new and fresh ways every day and shares His daily message with you. What He shares with you is the Living Bread and the Spirit of Life and it is personal. Then we can share with each other what He shares with us. That is where we experience true Communion with Him and by him with one another.


Eye has not seen nor ear heard what Jesus has prepared for those who love Him. Give all our heart and all your life to Jesus. He gave all He had because of His great love for you. His arms are open and ready to embrace you.
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St. Ephraim, Eric Clapton & Pavarotti?

3/5/2015

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In our ongoing look at the inspired St. Ephraim - "The Harp of the Holy Spirit" one would think to what might we compare the influence of his teachings songs for a thousand years? I came across the following and thought... "Ephraim would love these guys!" So as you listen consider how the Holy Spirit inflames our spirit with revelation in the "Qurbana", Communion that can attach itself to our gifts talents and abilities (also charisms - gifts). Perhaps you will write, sing, produce, play or sing back-up, paint, teach,, preach... whatever your gift, talent or ability - CommunionFire at His Table or in the fellowship of sufferings will set your spirit, heart and mind, gifts, talents and abilities on fire so that you too can declare the glory of God that is upon you and exploding inside you to a waiting world lost in darkness, slavery, fear, hunger, disease and thirst. 

Jesus said, "If you only knew who it is who is speaking to you, out of your belly would flow rivers of living water!"

ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT 
FEBRUARY 28, 2015
Video: Eric Clapton Sings Song He Wrote for Blessed Mother with Pavarotti


In this benefit concert for Bosnia in 1996, Eric Clapton performed a song he wrote for the Blessed Mother along with the renowned Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti and a terrific Gospel choir. The words of the song are a real prayer for Clapton. In his memoir,
Clapton: The Autobiography, the musician writes about a rock-bottom moment he had in rehab in 1987:

“I was in complete despair,” wrote Clapton. “In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether . . .  and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that . . . I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety.”

Just as Jesus is "God the Word" made flesh (and still is) so also is His Mother, the Mother of the Church, Your Mother in Heaven. Just as you are the object of Jesus love, She loves you too and wants to embrace you. Think about that for just a moment... Holy Mother of the Church, your Mother in the faith wants to embrace you as does all of heaven!

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Holy mother, where are you?
Tonight I feel broken in two
I've seen the stars fall from the sky
Holy mother, can't keep from crying

Oh I need your help this time
Get me through this lonely night
Tell me please which way to turn
To find myself again

Holy mother, hear my prayer
Somehow I know you're still there
Send me please some peace of mind
Take away this pain

I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait any longer
I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait for you

Holy mother, hear my cry
I've cursed ("called"~Pavarotti) your name a thousand times
I've felt the anger running through my soul
All I need is a hand to hold

Oh I feel the end has come
No longer my legs will run
You know I would rather be
In your arms tonight

When my hands no longer play
My voice is still, I fade away
Holy mother, then I'll be
Lying in, safe within your arms

Songwriters
CLAPTON, ERIC   PATRICK/BISHOP, STEPHEN
Published by
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

Read more: Eric Clapton - Holy Mother Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Jesus Loves You, The Father and The Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, St. Joseph, all the Saints and Angels! If you know heaven's love for you others will know it too! When they do they too will meet Jesus and encounter heaven's love!
Lyrics
Sailing down behind the sun,
Waiting for my prince to come.
Praying for the healing rain
To restore my soul again.

Just a toerag on the run.
How did I get here?
What have I done?
When will all my hopes arise?
How will I know him?
When I look in my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
When I look in my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

Then the light begins to shine
And I hear those ancient lullabies.
And as I watch this seedling grow,
Feel my heart start to overflow.

Where do I find the words to say?
How do I teach him?
What do we play?
Bit by bit, I've realized
That's when I need them,
That's when I need my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
That's when I need my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

Then the jagged edge appears
Through the distant clouds of tears.
I'm like a bridge that was washed away;
My foundations were made of clay.

As my soul slides down to die.
How could I lose him?
What did I try?
Bit by bit, I've realized
That he was here with me;
I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

My father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

Latin Text 
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. 
Benedicta tu in mulieribus, 
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. 
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, 
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, 
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.


English Translation
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and in the hour of our death. Amen.
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