January 23, 2008 7:12 AM
Sam wrote:
Hmmm...here we go again....another Scripture I am SURE I read, but never really 'read', if you know what I mean. Verse 8 of Ephesians 4---"When he ascended on hihg, he led captives in his train...." I noted in the footnote that this passage came from a Psalm....68:18. ALthough verses 9 and 10 go about explaining a little about these Scriptures, it doesn't quite make it clear to me. So, I did a little research this morning. It seems that these verses are talking about when Jesus died on the cross (prophesied in Psalms and recollected here in Ephesians) (AGAIN, I am awestruck at the preciseness of prediction of the Old Testament....as Rich stated yesterday, I also am finding that the Bible is truly inspired by God....how else would David (and the other psalmists) know what to write in such great detail...makes one want to believe EVERYTHING in this book is actually true, and not just compilations of men.) What these authors have recorded for us is Jesus taking 'captives' with him as he travelled to Heaven. Who were these captives? Well, best I can figure out, it was those he saw in Hades (or the proposed 'Limbo' by Catholics) who had died and were waiting to go to Heaven. Read Matthew 27:53 and it refers to those who were in the grave and were now set free by Jesus. Of course, these people were set free on earth, and did not seem to follow his train to Heaven (yet)...but MAY have when he actually went there. This Scripture may be more accurate in describing the sins which hold us captive, and that Jesus took those sins with Him for us. Obviously, this is going to take more research than I have time for this morning....gotta run to work. Anything from you guys on this? I'll attempt to work on this some more today, as I want to see what this may truly represent. I am impressed with God's Word every day, even when I don't understand it. Reply to this
January 23, 2008 11:46 AM
Sam wrote:
Well, not much more, but maybe a little. Luke 4, verse 18 talks about prisoners (captives) of sin. Luke is also referring to the Old Testament as he quoted Isaiah 61, verse 1. Isaiah said he was sent to "proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners". Isn't this just what Jesus has done. Gathered up us who were captives of sin, and has promised to take us to Heaven? The KJV says "he led captivity captive"; the NASB says "he lead captive a host of captives"; and teh NLT says "he led a crowd of captives". From these other translations I can more easily see that the Psalmist (and Paul) were talking about people held captive by sin...whether they were dead physically already, or just spiritually dead, yet still alive. Isaiah, David, Paul and Jesus all talk about us being prisoners. Isaiah and David prophesied that Jesus would lead us out of captivitiy, Paul reiterated that fact, and Jesus Himself performed it. Men separated by many centuries all saying the same thing....guess we should listen, huh??? Reply to this
Hmmm...here we go again....another Scripture I am SURE I read, but never really 'read', if you know what I mean. Verse 8 of Ephesians 4---"When he ascended on hihg, he led captives in his train...." I noted in the footnote that this passage came from a Psalm....68:18. ALthough verses 9 and 10 go about explaining a little about these Scriptures, it doesn't quite make it clear to me. So, I did a little research this morning. It seems that these verses are talking about when Jesus died on the cross (prophesied in Psalms and recollected here in Ephesians) (AGAIN, I am awestruck at the preciseness of prediction of the Old Testament....as Rich stated yesterday, I also am finding that the Bible is truly inspired by God....how else would David (and the other psalmists) know what to write in such great detail...makes one want to believe EVERYTHING in this book is actually true, and not just compilations of men.) What these authors have recorded for us is Jesus taking 'captives' with him as he travelled to Heaven. Who were these captives? Well, best I can figure out, it was those he saw in Hades (or the proposed 'Limbo' by Catholics) who had died and were waiting to go to Heaven. Read Matthew 27:53 and it refers to those who were in the grave and were now set free by Jesus. Of course, these people were set free on earth, and did not seem to follow his train to Heaven (yet)...but MAY have when he actually went there. This Scripture may be more accurate in describing the sins which hold us captive, and that Jesus took those sins with Him for us. Obviously, this is going to take more research than I have time for this morning....gotta run to work. Anything from you guys on this? I'll attempt to work on this some more today, as I want to see what this may truly represent. I am impressed with God's Word every day, even when I don't understand it.
Reply to this
Well, not much more, but maybe a little. Luke 4, verse 18 talks about prisoners (captives) of sin. Luke is also referring to the Old Testament as he quoted Isaiah 61, verse 1. Isaiah said he was sent to "proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners". Isn't this just what Jesus has done. Gathered up us who were captives of sin, and has promised to take us to Heaven? The KJV says "he led captivity captive"; the NASB says "he lead captive a host of captives"; and teh NLT says "he led a crowd of captives". From these other translations I can more easily see that the Psalmist (and Paul) were talking about people held captive by sin...whether they were dead physically already, or just spiritually dead, yet still alive. Isaiah, David, Paul and Jesus all talk about us being prisoners. Isaiah and David prophesied that Jesus would lead us out of captivitiy, Paul reiterated that fact, and Jesus Himself performed it. Men separated by many centuries all saying the same thing....guess we should listen, huh???
Reply to this