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Bible Mail Warehouse Introduction |
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| Difference between "apostle" &
"disciple" Laurie writes - My husband and I would like to know what is the difference between an Apostle and a Disciple? |
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| Biblebell's reply Apostle [Greek apostolos delegate]- In the GENERAL sense, apostle means "one who is sent with a special message or commission." The word apostolos is used in this way in the verses quoted alongside, where Greek words are shown between < >. |
Verily <amen>, verily <amen>, I say <lego> unto
you <humin>, The servant <doulos> is <esti> not <ou> greater than <meizon> his <autos>
lord <kurios>; neither <oude> he that
is sent <apostolos> greater than <meizon> he that
sent <pempo> him <autos>. John 3.16 Whether <eite> any do enquire of <huper> Titus <Titos>, he is my <emos> partner <koinonos> and <kai> fellowhelper <sunergos> concerning <eis> you <humas>: or <eite> our <hemon> brethren <adelphos> be enquired of, they are the messengers <apostolos> of the churches <ekklesia>, and the glory <doxa> of Christ <Christos>. 2 Cor 8.23 |
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| In the sense of the OFFICE of Apostle, the qualifications to be designated
as *Apostle* are as defined in Acts 1.21-22. Those verses record the appointment of Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot [who betrayed Lord Jesus & committed suicide]. The requirements for replacing Judas as an apostle were that the person was a witness of the Lord's resurrection. |
Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection. Acts 1.21.22 | ||
| The 11 remaining apostles chose Matthias by casting lots. However,
Lord Jesus chose Saul of Tarsus [called Paul in the Greek language]. Jesus personally appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus [Acts 9.1-9, 22.4-11]. Therefore Saul became fully qualified to hold the Office of Apostle because he was an eye-witness of the resurrected Christ. |
As Paul journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone
around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are
you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9.3-6 |
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| In the general sense every emissary of Lord Jesus is an apostle, but there is no longer ANYONE on the Planet Earth [including the Roman Catholic pope] who is qualified to lay claim to the OFFICE of Apostle. | |||
| Disciple [Greek mathetes learner]- "Disciple" means one who professes to have learned certain principles from a teacher, and who maintains those principles based upon the authority of that teacher. |
And <de> seeing <eido> the multitudes <ochlos>,
he went up <anabaino> into <eis> a mountain <oros>: and <kai> when he <autos> was
set <kathizo>, his <autos> disciples
<mathetes> came <proserchomai> unto him <autos>
Mt 5.1 And <de> another <heteros> of his <autos> disciples <mathetes> said <epo> unto him <autos>, Lord <kurios>, suffer <epitrepo> me <moi> first <proton> to go <aperchomai> and <kai> bury <thapto> my <mou> father <pater>. Mt 8.21 |
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| Lord Jesus had MANY professing disciples besides the 12 who are identified by name in the Bible. | From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" John 6.66.-67 | ||
| The Biblical qualifications for discipleship include obedience [John
14.15], faithfulness [John 15.8], perseverance [John 8.31], love [John 13.35], humility [Mt 10.24-25], surrender
of all [Lk 14.26-27, 14.33]. Based upon the requirements in the cited verses, & especially the verse quoted alongside, there are many Christians, but very few of them are truly entitled to be called disciples. Amen |
[Jesus said...] And <kai> whosoever <hostis> doth <bastazo> not <ou> bear <bastazo> his <autos> cross <stauros>, and <kai> come <erchomai> after <opiso> me <mou>, cannot <ou> <dunamai> be <einai> my <mou> disciple <mathetes>. Lk 14.27 | ||
| *Lost tribes* of Israel??? Sonja writes - I was told that two other tribes were added to the twelve later and then were destroyed. Do you know of the other two tribes and whose sons they were? I have a Bible study Friday and that is our research and I have not been able to find the other two tribes. HELP!! Thank you. |
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| Biblebell's reply Jacob appointed Joseph's sons, Ephraim & Manasseh, as tribes [Genesis chapter 48] from the standpoint of sharing in the inheritance. |
Jacob was told, "Look, your son Joseph is coming to you";
and Israel [that is, Jacob] strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. [Jacob told Joseph...] "And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance." Gen 48.2, 48.5-6 |
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| Recall that Jacob's son, Levi, was designated by God as the priestly tribe. Therefore, Levi wasn't an heir to the land . Rather, Levi was supported by the tithes of all the tribes. [Num 18.20-21] | The LORD said to Aaron: "You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting." Num 18.20-21 | ||
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Thus, from the standpoint of tangible heritage, there remained 12 tribes...
Thus, by virtue of giving each of Joseph's 2 sons a 1/12th share in the heritage, Jacob provided the double portion that he promised Joseph in Gen 48.22. |
Then Israel [that is, Jacob] said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow." Gen 48.21-22 | ||
| In the soon-coming future days of the Great Tribulation, Joseph again will be regarded as a single tribe [see, for example, Rev 7.8] -- which, of course, incorporates ALL of Joseph's descendants - including those persons descended from Joseph's sons, Ephraim & Manasseh. | of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. Rev 7.8 | ||
| In short, there are NO "lost tribes" -- neither is there
any Biblical basis for saying that there are. The concept of "lost tribes" is primarily of cultic origin, mythology, urban legend, & other weirdness. However, in all the conquests of Israel [by such as Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, etc] many of the Jewish genealogical records were lost or destroyed. |
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Thus, a relatively small percentage of the Jewish people today can
be absolutely certain of WHICH tribe they are descended from -- however, they ARE 100% certain of their racial
Jewishness. In my OPINION, God will restore knowledge of their tribal identities prior to or during the Great Tribulation.
I think this because the book of Revelation shows that tribal distinctions will again be well known by that time. I hope this helps. Have a good Bible study, Sonja, and... may God richly bless thee and thine. |
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| Division of the land Don writes - I have a question about the division of land (inheritance) of Joseph's portion. Why was his land divided equally between his sons? Thanks, Don |
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| Biblebell's reply For reasons known to God, and not to me, God often saw fit to maintain a "twelve-ness" in the ordering of His people. Thus, there were 12 tribes of Israel [Old Testament- OT], and 12 disciples or apostles [New Testament- NT]. One of the 12 tribes [Levi] received no land [Josh 13.14 et alia]. The 12-ness in allocation of the land was restored by according Manasseh and Ephraim the status of *tribes* in certain matters. |
Only to the tribe of Levi he had given no inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as He said to them. Josh 13.14 | ||
| This God-given special status was confessed by Jacob in Gen 48.5. Moreover, an additional portion of Jacob's inheritance was allocated to Joseph, to accord with the elevation of his two sons to tribal status [Gen 48.22]. | [Jacob told Joseph...] "And
now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt,
are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine." "Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow." Gen 48.5 & 48.22 |
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| As an aside -- not cogent to your question -- note that God also restored the 12-ness of the apostles. That status was lost by casting out of Judas Iscariot. It was restored when Jesus personally appointed Saul of Tarsus as His apostle to the Gentiles. Ergo, there are 12 OT + 12 NT elders = 24 elders in Rev 4.4; 12 gates for the 12 tribes Rev 21.12; 12 foundations for the 12 apostles Rev 21.14; etc. | Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw
twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. Rev 4.4 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel Rev 21.12 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rev 21.14 |
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| Other factors in the land allocation include but are not limited to
the following... 1) Num 26.54 land to be divided IAW size of tribe. 2) Num 34.16-29 Land Allocation Committee appointed by God 3) Num 32.33 Half tribe of Manasseh allocated land E. of Jordan R. 4) Josh 14.1-5 Locale & boundaries of each tribe's allocation to be determined by casting of the lot. I think the above paragraphs explain HOW God wanted the mechanics of land allocation to work. As to WHY God specified this particular methodology, I do not know. The Bible doesn't say. God knows. NOT me. |
To a large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to a small
tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Each shall be given its inheritance according to those who were numbered
of them. Num 26.54 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. And you shall take one leader of every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance. Num 34.16-18 So Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country. Num 32.33 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them. Their inheritance was by lot, as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of the Jordan; but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them. For the children of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for their livestock and their property. As the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and they divided the land. Josh 14.1-5 |
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| What about the tribe of Dan? OGonz writes - In Revelation 7:6 it talks about the 144,000 bondservants of God. Why was the tribe of Dan replaced with the tribe of Manasseh? |
Re 7:6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; | ||
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Biblebell's reply
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Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites
the horse's heels, so that its rider shall fall backward. Gen
49.17 And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent called Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Rev 12.9 |
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And the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the mountain. For they would not allow them to come down to the valley. Jud 1.34 | ||
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And the sons of Dan set up the engraved image. And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set up Micah's engraved image for themselves, the image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh. Jud 18.30-31 | ||
| In any event, it would seem that the tribe of Dan is *ultimately* to be included with all the tribes of Israel to participate in God's salvation. See Rom 11.26 [also, consider Rev 21.12]. | And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, "There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant with them, when I have taken away their sins." Rom 11.26-27 | ||
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