Teach One Another – BT2
Peter knew that “The Promise” wasn’t any other teaching than prophetic
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The real problem warned about in every New Testament letter is of “teachers of the Law” or other religions, or just self-ambitious men anxious to be teachers in the Church. Christians were listening to them instead of putting their trusting-relying-faith (a) in the Holy Spirit of Christ to be their “One Teacher” (b)! The real “promise” about the dissemination of the knowledge of God under the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:34 cited in Hebrews 8:11 is that now ALL of God’s children shall actually be “taught by God” (c) so that “they shall actually absolutely no more in fact or in possibility teach (d) each one his neighbor nor each his brethren (g) to experientially, relationally know (e) the Lord, for they shall ALL eido mentally ‘see’ to perceive/know (f) me – [but this time] from the least to the greatest.” This is a key verse about the completely different-in-kind New Covenant Way! <Notes> a) pistis: relational conviction of trusting reliance, b) Matthew 23:8 – see Teach One Another – BT10, c) Isaiah 54:13; John 6:45; presently/ongoingly: 1 Thessalonians 4:9, d) lamad, didasko, e) yada, ginosko, f) eido is a word used typically of prophetic visions and dreams, g) that covered their Levitical responsibilities of teaching fellow Jews in synagogues and in the Temple, but also family members at home.
The exact problem of the old covenant was human teachers disseminating the knowledge of God through scripture down a hierarchy of “leadership” (see Coaches & Facilitators) from “the greatest to the least” (Jonah 3:5), just as in every worldly organization, from Moses to Aaron and his sons, to the Levite priests, to the men of every other tribe, to their women, to the children, and finally to the Gentiles and servant/slaves. This introduces a lot of error, for much is lost in translation and transmission! Anyone saying that’s not true is trying to sell you property in the Florida everglades! I’ve had at least a 1000 books and online resources to piece together a more accurate view of the actual text and the meanings of the words, and 100s of scholars all disagree – they make it their living to disagree! See the Bible Info page.
Instead, the apostle Peter citing Joel 2:28-32 in Acts 2:17-18 at the beginning of the Church Age, declared that the method that God will teach by in the “last days” is clearly through prophesy: “In the last days it shall actually be . . . that I will pour out My Spirit . . . your sons and your daughters shall actually prophesy . . . gaze in awe with wide-open eyes upon (a) visions . . . dream dreams . . . on my male and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall actually prophesy.” This is a perfect case of English bibles obscuring the truth of the original languages – see Bible Info. “Seeing visions” is a gross under-statement! This Greek word is used for seeing a transfigured Christ, angels, and things of heaven! See Prophetic-Rhema – BT9 and Least Among You – BT7. <Notes> a) optanomai: Matthew 5:8; Luke 3:6; John 19:37; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Revelation 22:4.
Actually, there is no mention in the NT about traditionally learning from God through OT scripture or even NT writings! This concept came into the Catholic Church around 200 AD from “apologetic” theologians arguing against the Jews, panicking that Christians didn’t have authoritative writings like the Jews did. Early Church history shows that this gave rise to the development of “dogma” or official Church teachings that they could then judge people by, determining if they were “heretics” to then excommunicate, persecute, and even kill! This evil was all started by going down the slippery slope of “borrowing” from OT ideas and moving this into the NT Church, what God showed me was the foundation of The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit in the Church. As soon as the Church embraced the idea of “New Testament scripture” around 200 AD, it then could go on a quest to determine the “canon of New Testament scripture,” which then gave them the right to question and persecute all the grace-gifts of the Spirit, particularly prophecy – the very thing that the NT teaches the most. But by then the bible was in Latin so nobody but the people in control knew this! That was the “censuring media black-out” of their time!
However, Peter finishes by saying, “Repent and be water-baptized . . . and you will receive the grace-gift of the Holy Spirit, for this promise is for you and your children and for ALL who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself” (a). “The Promise” of the New Covenant Way is clearly not teaching old scripture or writing “New scripture” as too many have erroneously taught, but the grace-gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us into ALL truth (b). See the New Covenant Way, Prophetic-Rhema, Spirit-Baptism, and Grace-Gifts pages. <Notes> a) Acts 2:38-39, b) Ezekiel 11:19-21, 36:25-27; Luke 24:49; John 14:26, 16:13; Acts 1:4, 2:17-19 citing Joel 2:28, Acts 2:33, 38-39; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:13.
As Christian musicians, have you noticed it’s the “leaders” and “teachers” that tell everybody else it’s God’s will that you respect their authority and follow their teaching? The problem of the early Church is the same today – those wanting to be leaders and teachers! The NT writers keep warning us about them and pointing us back to the One Teacher of Christ, now as His Holy Spirit, “so that you have absolutely in fact no need of any other teacher” as John said in 1 John 2:27. The New Covenant promise wasn’t more teachers but God to teach us through, even thru every member of the Body-of-Christ, but especially through prophecy! Those who have turned their back on this have had to borrow Old Testament ways and worldly ways to disseminate the knowledge of God, but all of this creates The Great Wall quenching the Spirit.