HELP FROM ABOVE BY COMPILED BY WATSON GOODMAN>>>PLEASE READ ALONG

                                                 HELP FROM ABOVE

 Please read along with me...Rev. Ed Sarnella...:)

I NEED A SAVIOR:

 Romans 3:23

King James Version (KJV)

 ²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

 Isaiah 59:2

King James Version (KJV)

 ²But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

CHRIST DIED FOR ME

1 Peter 3:18

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁸For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

I NEED TO REPENT OF MY SIN

Proverbs 28:13

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹³He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Acts 3:19
King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁹Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

I MUST RECEIVE JESUS BY FAITH

John 1:12

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹²But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

I CAN BE SURE OF MY SALVATION

1 John 5:12

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹²He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

John 5:24

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

THE GRACE OF GOD BE WITH YOU ALWAYS...AMEN...:)

How many more Wars...Wars and Rumors of Wars...Please read along...:)

After reading Ezekiel 38 and 39...Lets read Joel 3...Please read along...:)

Read along with Rev. Ed Sarnella...:)

Just what does our bible say about these "LATTER DAY" WARS? Is there ONE more World War with another War following that. Another War against God by the nations of the world? And then another War between GOD VS. SATAN? We need to know, we need to STUDY more!,,,Lets get to it...:)


Reading Joel 3:

 ¹For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
 ²I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley ofJehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
 ³And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
 ⁴Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
 ⁵Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
 ⁶The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
 ⁷Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
 ⁸And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
 ⁹Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
 ¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
 ¹¹Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
 ¹²Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
 ¹³Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
 ¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
 ¹⁵The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
 ¹⁶The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
 ¹⁷So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
 ¹⁸And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
 ¹⁹Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
 ²⁰But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
 ²¹For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

 WOW! RIGHT? Lets divide the word together...:)

1.) "IN THOSE DAYS, IN THAT TIME, IN THAT DAY". I ask myself, what days?, what time? I need to know! We need to dig deeper...:)

Our Bible says "I AM, I WILL, I SHALL, I HAVE, THE LORD WILL BE, WILL I, MY LAND, MY HOLY MOUNTAIN, MY GOLD, MY SILVER, THE LORD ALSO, THE LORD WILL, THE LORD IS, THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT, MY LAND, MY PEOPLE, MY HERITAGE.

I say to myself, is this not THE KING OF KINGS, THE LIVING WORD OF GOD? The Great "I AM'! YES IT IS! Do you see what I see? Almighty God says it and it comes to pass.

Until next time...The Grace Of God Be With You Forever...:)

Ezekiel 39 - The Gog Magog War

Ezekiel 38 - The Gog Magog War

JUST WHAT DOES OUR BIBLE SAY ABOUT 1,2 or 3 ? DECISIVE WARS...PLEASE READ ALONG...:)

"3 DECISIVE WARS"

WORLD WAR THREE: Let us read our Bibles together...:)

 Please read along with Rev. Ed Sarnella...:)

Ezekiel 38

 ¹And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
 ²Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
 ³And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
 ⁴And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
 ⁵Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
 ⁶Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
 ⁷Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
 ⁸After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
 ⁹Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
 ¹⁰Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
 ¹¹And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
 ¹²To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
 ¹³Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
 ¹⁴Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
 ¹⁵And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
 ¹⁶And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
 ¹⁷Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
 ¹⁸And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
 ¹⁹For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
 ²⁰So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
 ²¹And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
 ²²And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
 ²³Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

So as we read seeking the knowledge of THE LORD always in prayer...:)
 Just who is: GOG, MAGOG, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya, Gomer, Togarmah of the north quarters. 


And the answer is: I LIKE THE VISUAL...IT PAINTS THE PICTURE.

 SO THAT IS WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE MIDDLE EAST...:)
Let us continue reading...:)

Ezekiel 39

 ¹Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
 ²And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
 ³And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
 ⁴Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
 ⁵Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
 ⁶And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
 ⁷So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
 ⁸Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
 ⁹And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
 ¹⁰So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
 ¹¹And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
 ¹²And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
 ¹³Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
 ¹⁴And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
 ¹⁵And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
 ¹⁶And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
 ¹⁷And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
 ¹⁸Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
 ¹⁹And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
 ²⁰Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
 ²¹And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
 ²²So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.

 ²³And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.

 ²⁴According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
 ²⁵Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
 ²⁶After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
 ²⁷When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
 ²⁸Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.

 ²⁹Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

 So as we read THE LIVING WORD OF GOD it is plainly written:


1.) THE LORD GOD WILL DO ALL THESE THINGS. It shall come to pass in THE LATTER DAYS. The Lord God Speaks and it is done according to His Will. As we were reading I counted 15-17 times, THE LORD GOD SPOKE "I WILL, I HAVE, WILL I!" How about you...check it out...:) Ask yourself, What is going on in our world today. The Living Word Of God has all the answers...:)


The Grace Of God Be With You And All Those You Love Forever...:)

JOHN THE APOSTLE

                                                              Rev. Ed Sarnella

John the Apostle
The Divine, Apostle of Charity, Beloved Apostle Evangelist

John the Apostle: Please read along...:) (Aramaic Yoħanna, (Ancient Greek: Ἰωάννης) (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve ApostlesJesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles. Christian tradition holds he was the last surviving of the Twelve Apostles and that he died of natural causes — the only apostle to die naturally - "in great old age near Ephesus".^[1] of
The Church Fathers generally identify him as the author of several New Testament works: the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation. All three are very different in nature from the synoptic gospels. It was said that the Bishops of Asia, requested him to write his Gospel to deal with dogma of the Ebionites, who asserted that Christ did not exist before Mary. It was also said that he composed his work because Matthew, Mark, and Luke, (of which he approved) had given the history of Jesus for only one year (the year which followed the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist).^[3] C 600, however, Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem, notes that "two epistles bearing his name ... are considered by some to be the work of a certain John the Elder" and, while stating that Revelation was written by John on Patmos, it was “later translated by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus”, ^[1] presumably in an attempt to reconcile tradition with the obvious differences in Greek style.
Some modern scholars have raised the possibility that John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, and John of Patmos^[4] Certain lines of evidence suggest that John of Patmos wrote Revelation, but neither the Gospel of John nor the Epistles of John. For one, the author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" several times, but the author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself directly. Roman Catholic scholars state that "vocabulary, grammar, and style make it doubtful that the book could have been put into its present form by the same person(s) responsible for the fourth gospel."^[5] This is an area of ongoing scholarly debate. were three separate individuals.

The Gospel According to John (Greek τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγέλιον), commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John,^[1] and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus. It begins with the witness and affirmation by John the Baptist and concludes with the death, burial, Resurrection, and post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus. This account is fourth of the canonical gospels, after the synoptics Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The Gospel's authorship is anonymous. Its Chapter 21 states it derives from the testimony of the 'disciple whom Jesus loved.' Along with Peter, the unnamed disciple is especially close to Jesus, and early-church tradition identified him as John the Apostle, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles. The gospel is closely related in style and content to the three surviving Epistles of John such that commentators treat the four books together,^[2] yet, according to most modern scholars, John was not the author of any of these books.^[3]
Raymond E. Brown did pioneering work to trace the development of the tradition from which the gospel arose.^[4][5] c. AD 90. It is notable that, in the gospel, the community still appears to define itself primarily against Judaism, rather than as part of a wider Christian church.^[6] Though Christianity started as a movement within Judaism, gradually Christians and Jews became bitterly opposed.^[7] The discourses seem to be concerned with the actual issues of the church-and-synagogue debate at the time when the Gospel was written
John presents a "higher" Christology than the synoptics, meaning that he describes Jesus as the incarnation of the divine Logos through whom all things were made, as the object of veneration,^[8] and more explicitly as God incarnate.^[9] Only in John does Jesus talk at length about himself and his divine role, often shared with the disciples only. Against the synoptics, John focuses largely on different miracles (including resurrecting Lazarus), given as signs meant to engender faith. Synoptic elements such as parables and exorcisms are not found in John. It presents a realized eschatology in which salvation is already present for the believer. The historical reliability of John is debated, particularly by secular scholarship.^[10][11] In contrast, Grace-oriented churches argue for the total pre-eminence of John.

2 John 1:3

King James Version (KJV)

 ³Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

LUKE THE EVANGELIST...PLEASE READ ALONG...:)

                                                  Rev. Ed Sarnella                                                   

Luke the Evangelist: Please Read Along...
(Ancient Greek: Λουκᾶς, Loukás) was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. He is considered one of the Four Evangelists.
He is venerated as Saint Luke, patron saint of artists, physicians, surgeons, students, butchers; his feast day is 18 October.

Luke was a Greco-Syrian physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch in Ancient Syria.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}
His earliest notice is in Paul's Epistle to Philemon, verse 24. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:11, two works commonly ascribed to Paul. The next earliest account of Luke is in the Anti-Marcionite Prologue to the Gospel of Luke, a document once thought to date to the 2nd century, but which has more recently been dated to the later 4th century. Helmut Koester, however, claims that the following part – the only part preserved in the original Greek – may have been composed in the late 2nd century:

“

Luke, a native of Antioch, by profession a physician.[8] He had become a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his [Paul's] martyrdom. Having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at the age of 84 years. (p. 335)

”

Epiphanius states that Luke was one of the Seventy (Panarion 51.11), and John Chrysostom indicates at one point that the "brother" Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 8:18 is either Luke or Barnabas. J. Wenham asserts that Luke was "one of the Seventy, the Emmaus disciple, Lucius of Cyrene and Paul's kinsman." Not all scholars are as confident of all of these attributes as Wenham is, not least because Luke's own statement at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke (1:1–4) freely admits that he was not an eyewitness to the events of the Gospel.
If one accepts that Luke was in fact the author of the Gospel bearing his name and also the Acts of the Apostles, certain details of his personal life can be reasonably assumed. While he does exclude himself from those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus' ministry, he repeatedly uses the word "we" in describing the Pauline missions in Acts of the Apostles, indicating that he was personally there at those times.^[9]
There is similar evidence that Luke resided in Troas, the province which included the ruins of ancient Troy, in that he writes in Acts in the third person about Paul and his travels until they get to Troas, where he switches to the first person plural. The "we" section of Acts continues until the group leaves Philippi, when his writing goes back to the third person. This change happens again when the group returns to Philippi. There are three "we sections" in Acts, all following this rule. Luke never stated, however, that he lived in Troas, and this is the only evidence that he did.
The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, indicate that the author was an educated man. The quote in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians differentiating between Luke and other colleagues "of the circumcision"^[10] has caused many to speculate that this indicates Luke was a Gentile. If this were true, it would make Luke the only writer of the New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. However, that is not the only possibility. The phrase could just as easily be used to differentiate between those Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism and those who did not.^[9]
Luke's presence in Rome with the Apostle Paul near the end of Paul's life was attested by 2 Timothy 4:11: "Only Luke is with me". In the last chapter of the Book of Acts, widely attributed to Luke, we find several accounts in the first person also affirming Luke's presence in Rome including Acts 28:16: "And when we came to Rome..." According to some accounts, Luke also contributed to authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Luke died at age 84 in Boeotia, according to a "fairly early and widespread tradition".^[11] According to Nikiphoros-Kallistos Xanthopoulos (Eccles. History XIVth c. AD., Migne P.G. 145, 876) and others, Luke's Tomb was located in Thebes (Greece), from whence his relics were transferred to Constantinople in the year 357.

2 John 1:3-5

King James Version (KJV)

 ³Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

                                                    Rev. Ed Sarnella                                               
The Gospel According to Mark...Please read along...:)
(Greek: κατὰ Μᾶρκον εὐαγγέλιον, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Μᾶρκον, to euangelion kata Markon), commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second gospel in the Bible. However, most contemporary scholars now regard it as the earliest of the canonical gospels ^[1] (c 70),^[2] a position known as Markan priority.
The Gospel of Mark narrates the Ministry of Jesus from John the Baptist's baptism of Jesus to the Ascension of Jesus, and it concentrates particularly on the last week of his life (chapters 11–16, the trip to Jerusalem). Its swift narrative portrays Jesus as a heroic man of action,^[2] an exorcist, a healer and miracle worker.
An important theme of Mark is the Messianic Secret.^[3] Jesus silences the demoniacs he heals, keeps his messianic identity secret, and conceals his message with parables.^[3] The disciples also fail to understand the implication of the miracles of Jesus.^[2]
All four canonical gospels are anonymous, but Early Christian tradition identifies this gospel's author as Mark the Evangelist, who is said to have based the work on the testimony of Saint Peter.^[4] Some modern scholars consider the traditional authorship account to be essentially credible,^[5] while others doubt it.^[6] Even scholars who doubt Mark's authorship acknowledge that much of the material in Mark goes back a long way and represents important information about Jesus.^[7] The Gospel of Mark is often considered to be the primary source of information about the ministry of Jesus.^[8]

John Mark is a character in the New Testament. According to William Lane, an "unbroken tradition" identifies him with Mark the Evangelist.^[1] John Mark is mentioned several times in the Acts of the Apostles. The first mention is in Acts 12:12, when Peter is coming to his mother's house:

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

John Mark himself appears a bit later in the same chapter, in Acts 12:25, as the travel companion of Saul (Apostle Paul) and Barnabas:

When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

John Mark is mentioned for the last time soon after the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:37-41. Paul (Saul) does not have a too flattering impression of his former associate, arguing over him with Barnabas in Antioch:

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

This is apparently the same occurrence that was earlier mentioned in Acts 13:13, this time referring to John Mark simply as "John":

From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

This John had joined their mission in Antioch. Acts 13:4-5 says:

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

Barnabas' and Paul's showdown in Antioch is probably the same incident that Paul mentions in his Epistle to the Galatians.^[2] According to Paul, however, the ultimate reason was a dispute with Peter over acceptance of Gentiles, in which Barnabas had sided with Peter against Paul.

The Grace of God Be With You...:)

"SAINT MATTHEW THE EVANGELIST"

Please read along with Rev. Ed Sarnella now performing Christian Wedding Ceremonies in Austin Texas...:)

Saint Matthew the Evangelist
Saint Matthew and the Angel by Guido Reni
Apostle, Evangelist, Martyr

Matthew the Evangelist (מתי/מתתיהו, "Gift of Yahweh", Standard Hebrew and Tiberian Hebrew: Mattay or Mattithyahu; Septuagint Greek: Ματθαῖος, Matthaios) was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.

The Gospel According to Matthew (Greek: κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγέλιον, kata Matthaion euangelion, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ματθαῖον, to euangelion kata Matthaion) (Gospel of Matthew or simply Matthew) is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The version we have today was written in Koine Greek.
"Matthew" probably originated in a Jewish-Christian community in Roman Syria towards the end of the 1st century.^[1] The anonymous author probably drew on a number of sources, including the Gospel of Mark, the sayings collection known as the Q source, and material unique to his own community, as well as his own experience.^[2] The narrative tells how Israel's Messiah, having been rejected by Israel (i.e., God's chosen people), withdrew into the circle of his disciples, passed judgment on those who had rejected him (so that "Israel" becomes the non-believing "Jews"), and finally sent the disciples to the Gentiles.<sup>[3]

The Grace Of God Be With You All Now and Forever...:)</sup>

"PAUL THE APOSTLE"

                           Please read along with Rev. Ed Sarnella...:)                         
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     Paul the Apostle (c. AD 5 – c. AD 67; variously referred to as the "Apostle Paul" or "Saint Paul"),^[2] also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christianmissionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament. The influence on Christian thinking of the epistles ascribed to him has been significant,^[3] due in part to his association as a prominent apostle of Christianity during the spreading of the Gospel through early Christian communities across the Roman Empire.
According to the writings in the New Testament, Paul was known as Saul prior to his conversion, and was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem.^[4] While traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem", the resurrected Jesus spoke to him in a great light. Saul was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.^[5]
Along with Simon Peter and James the Just he was one of the most prominent early Christian leaders.^[6] He was also a Roman citizen—a fact that afforded him a privileged legal status with respect to laws, property, and governance.^[7][8]
Fourteen epistles in the New Testament are attributed to Paul. His authorship of seven of the fourteen is questioned by modern scholars.^[3][9] Augustine of Hippo developed Paul's idea that salvation is based on faith and not "works of the law".^[3] Martin Luther's interpretation of Paul's writings heavily influenced Luther's doctrine of sola fide.
Paul's conversion dramatically changed the course of his life. Through his missionary activity and writings he eventually transformed religious belief and philosophy around the Mediterranean Basin. His leadership, influence and legacy led to the formation of communities dominated by Gentile groups that worshiped the God of Israel, adhered to the "Judaic moral code", but relaxed or abandoned the ritual and dietary teachings of the Law of Moses, all on the basis of Paul's teachings of the life and works of Jesus Christ and his teaching of a New Covenant (or "new testament")^[10] established through Jesus' death and resurrection. The Bible does not record Paul's death.<sup>[11]

Gods Mercy, Grace and Love be with you all Forever...:)</sup>

JESUS IS COMING