Tuesday, January 31, 2017

We Are The Lord’s – A Prose Poem by the Apostle Paul

For none of us lives to himself,
And none of us dies to himself.

If we live,
We live to the Lord.

If we die,
We die to the Lord.

Whether we live,
Or whether we die,
We are the Lord’s.

For to this end Christ died and lived again,
That he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Paraphrase Romans 14:7-9


J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament

Monday, January 30, 2017

The Apostle Paul left us a To Do List



1. Let love be genuine.
2. Hate what is evil.
3. Cling to what is good.
4. Be devoted to one another.
5. Outdo one another in showing honor.
6. Never be lacking in zeal.
7. Be fervent in spirit.
8. Rejoice in your hope.
9. Be patient in tribulation.
10. Be faithful in prayer.
11. Contribute to the needs of the saints.
12. Practice hospitality.
13. Bless those who persecute [you].
14. Rejoice with those who rejoice.
15. Weep with those who weep.
16. Live in harmony with one another.
17. Repay no one evil for evil.
18. Live peaceably with all.
19. Do not avenge yourselves.
20. If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
21. If he is thirsty, give him drink.
22. Do not be overcome by evil.
23. Overcome evil with good!

Paraphrase of Romans 12:9-21


J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? – A Prose Poem by the Apostle Paul

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation,
or distress,
or persecution,
or famine,
or nakedness,
or peril,
or sword?

NO!

Neither death
nor life,
nor angels,
nor principalities,
nor things present,
nor things to come,
nor powers,
nor height,
nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,

Will be able to separate us from the love of Christ!

Paraphrase of Romans 8:35-39


J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Who can be against us? – A Prose Poem by the Apostle Paul

Those whom he predestined,
he also called…

Those whom he called,
he also justified…

Those whom he justified,
he also glorified…  

Those whom he is for,
who can be against!

Paraphrase of Romans 8:30-31


J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament

Friday, January 27, 2017

We Rejoice – A Prose Poem by the Apostle Paul

We rejoice in our sufferings,
Knowing that suffering produces perseverance,
And perseverance, character,
And character, hope
And hope does not disappoint us -

Because God has poured out his love into our hearts!

Romans 5:3-5


J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Do You Walk the Talk? – A Prose Poem by the Apostle Paul

If you are sure that you are a guide to the blind,
A light to those who are in darkness,
An instructor of the foolish,
A teacher of infants,

You who teach others -
Do you not teach yourself?

You who preach against stealing -
Do you steal?

You who say that one must not commit adultery -
Do you commit adultery?

You who abhor idols -
Do you rob temples?

You who boast in the law -
Do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

Paraphase of Romans 2:19-23


J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

The Servants of God – A Poem by the Apostle Paul

True,
Yet regarded as impostors;

Unknown,
Yet well known;

Dying,
Yet we live;

Punished,
Yet not killed;

Sorrowful,
Yet always rejoicing;

Poor,
Yet making many rich;

Having nothing,
Yet possessing everything!

2Corinthians 6:8-10

J. Clontz – Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament


The Trial of Adam Foreshadowed the Trial of Jesus

Genesis 3:18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shall eat the herb of the field; 19 in the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return.

Adam receiving thorns from the ground foreshadows the crown of thorns that Jesus received after his trial. Matthew 27:29 “And when they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head.”

Adam eating bread in the sweat of his brow until he returned to the ground foreshadows Jesus’ sweat becoming like drops of blood after sharing the bread at the last supper and before he was buried in the tomb. Luke 22:44 “And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

Genesis 3:21 And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever –

The phrase, “Behold, the man” is only used in the bible with reference to Adam and Jesus – John 19:5 “So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold! The man!” The charge against Adam – that he had become like God – foreshadows the charge of blasphemy that Caiaphas made against Jesus at his trial. Adam being able to put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and live forever foreshadows Jesus putting forth his hands on the cross and after his resurrection living forever.

J. Clontz – Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament


Foreshadowing the death of Judas in the Book of Genesis

Genesis 3:14 And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shall thou go, and dust shall thou eat all the days of thy life…

According to the Gospels, Satan entered into Judas during the betrayal. This is symbolized by Satan entering the serpent in the garden of Eden. Notice that the serpent in Genesis is cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. This symbolizes Judas hanging himself on a tree in a field – Matthew 27:5 “Then he threw down the pieces of silver into the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.” Per the Law of Moses, everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed. Also a person hanging from a tree is definitely “above” every beast of the field. Then verse 14 says, “upon thy belly shall thou go” which symbolizes Judas’ body falling and his belly splitting open – Acts 1:18 “Now this man [Judas] bought a field with the reward of his wickedness. And falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.”


J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament

Saturday, January 21, 2017

The Book of Genesis Contains a Prophecy about the Four Gospels

Genesis 2:8 And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasses the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Tigris: that is it which goes in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Verses 8, 10-14 depict the boundaries for the geographic region that encompassed all of Jesus’ movements during his lifetime as described in the four Gospels.

After Jesus’ incarnation, the wise men brought gifts including gold. This is symbolized in verses 8, 10-11 wherein God puts the man in Eden where there were valuable metals including gold. The three valuable metals mentioned in verse 12 allude to the three valuable gifts of the wise men.

The river that went out of Eden and parted and became four heads is the story of Jesus that parted into the four gospels.

The first river, Pishon, which compasses the whole land of Havilah symbolizes the gospel of Matthew. Traditionally, Matthew left Judea for the area of Havilah (Arabia) where he preached until he died. According to some of the early church leaders, Matthew’s gospel was written first. It is also interesting to note that the first river in Genesis is noted for having gold and the Gospel of Matthew is the only gospel with the story of the visit of the wise men bringing gifts including gold.

The second river, Gihon, flows from Ethiopia to the Nile in Egypt and symbolizes the gospel of Mark. Traditionally, Mark eventually reached Egypt and became the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt and lived there until he died. According to some of the early church leaders, Mark’s gospel was written second.

The third river, Tigris, symbolizes the gospel of Luke. The Tigris formed the central portion of the Assyrian Empire. Luke the Evangelist is believed by many to have been from Antioch, Syria which had once been part of the Assyrian Empire. According to some of the early church leaders, Luke’s gospel was written third.

The fourth river, Euphrates, symbolizes the gospel of John. The Euphrates originates in Asia Minor (Turkey) which was the area where the apostle John lived after leaving Judea until he died. According to some of the early church leaders, John’s gospel was written fourth.

The foreshadowing of the four gospels by the four rivers coming from Eden match the traditional chronological order of authorship of the four gospels based on the writings of the early church fathers. Also, the geographic regions associated with each of the four rivers match the geographic regions traditionally associated with each of the authors of the four gospels. Furthermore, information unique to the first river includes information unique to the first gospel, Matthew.

Now I’m going to point something out to skeptics. Why do you think that the author of Genesis listed the rivers in a specific order of one through four? It serves no literary purpose. The author of Genesis could have numbered the four rivers in any order or more appropriately not numbered them at all. It is also odd that he numbers them in the order that he did. Geographically, Gihon is the furthest west and the furthest south while Tigris is the furthest north and east. So if he were to number the rivers in a geographic direction either Gihon or Tigris should have been first or fourth but they aren’t. Also if he were ordering from proximity to the center of Eden, then Tigris should have been fourth since it is the furthest from the center of Eden, but it is third. Since there is no literary or geographic reason to give the first to fourth order for the four rivers, then there must have been another reason. That reason was prophetic. It is not a coincidence that the four rivers listed in their specific order of one to four matches the traditional chronological order of authorship of the four gospels and the associated geographic regions for their authors.

J. Clontz – Editor of the Comprehensive New Testament