FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

The New Living Translation has it this way - Luke 16:16 “ Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in .” John the Baptist was a transitional figure in scripture, a herald of the good news and of the Lamb of God. He baptized people in water with a baptism of repentance. But with Jesus came the kingdom and His disciples baptized with a baptism of repentance, forgiveness, and power which gave freedom from the past and power for the future (Matthew 3:11; Acts 2:38; 19:4). Wherever Jesus went preaching the good news there was great joy that followed, as did power over the enemy and healing and freedom from bondage. (Matthew 8:16, 12:15, 14:35; Mark 1:32, 4:24). The good news of the Kingdom of God brought through the preaching and evangelization was always good news. The fruit of evangelistic preaching euaggelizo always brings the same results - glad tidings, good news, and great joy. As Jesus increased the influence and reach of His ministry He did so by sending out his disciples to euaggelizo across the local countryside. As these disciples went about preaching the good news the results were the same as those Jesus attained. Matthew 4:23 “ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people .” Luke 8:1 “ Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him. ” Luke 9:1 “ Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick .”

Matthew 24:14 “ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. ”

Jesus used the record of Jonah to explain that He would die and be raised from the dead after three days. There is no clear scripture in the Old Testament that states specifically that the messiah would die

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