Post by unknownOur expert in all matters scripture and church history is of a view that
asking those departed and alive with God for intercession for us is of no
avail.
Jesus, the way, always taught us to pray to the Heavenly Father.
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut
thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly.” (Mat 6:6)
And as he was preparing to go Jesus said this.
Joh 16:22-28
22And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart
shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
23And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give ityou.
24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that
your joy may be full.
25These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I
shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the
Father.
26At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray
the Father for you:
27For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have
believed that I came out from God.
28I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the
world, and go to the Father.
Post by unknown2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
the dead are not aware of earthly matters, including ourselves. Multiple
verses say otherwise, the parable of the beggar and the rich man a prime
example. But include Paul in Hebrews.In chapter 11 he lists people of the
There is nothing in the verse you provided that spoke of the dead. As you said
here, "the dead are not aware of earthly matters". There are no verses that
speak otherwise, else they would have been quote here. There is also no mention
of any prayers of intercession by the departed ones.
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar both were dead, the rich
man in hell and Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, in paradise. {Paradise was a
holding place for the departed saints in the bowels of the earth.) Held captive
there until Jesus paid the price for sin and then they were redeemed and set
free. Never at any time was there communication between the living and the
dead. You can read and learn from Luke 16,
Post by unknown12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses
The "wherefore" (toigaroun) reaching back and gathering together all the heroes
of Heb 11:4-40, their faith, and their exploits, is an emphatic particle,
strongly affirming the facts on which the following exhortation is based. The
words "we also" are not to be construed with "are compassed about, etc.," but
with "let us run." The Nestle Greek text so punctuates. The Old Testament
saints, the witnesses of chapter 11, were not compassed about with a cloud of
witnesses. They are the witnesses of whom the writer is speaking.
"Therefore also as for us, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
having put off and away from ourselves every encumbrance and that sin which so
deftly and cleverly places itself in an entangling way around us, with patience
let us be running the race lying before us."
IOW's, these whose witness to us in scripture, as an example of the awesome
love and power of God in the lives of those who desire and follow him, let us
run as they did, our examples of Faith in operation.
Post by unknownJohn speaks of those in heaven worshiping God in various ways. Also of the
6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls
of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which
6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and
true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell
on the earth?
6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said
unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as
they were, should be fulfilled.
Do take note. They knew nothing of the day to day happenings on earth. No blow
by blow news programs. They knew as did the rich man of his brothers who were
left behind, that they would face the same fate as he did and wanted a
miraculous action to take place so that they could be delivered.
Those who were under the altar were fully aware of what was happening when they
departed yet the Lord said their brethren which were to be killed for their
testimony must take place first, as told to them when they were anointed to be
a witness for him in the Great Tribulation. They will all be rewarded greatly
in Heaven. Plus, as I recall, will always be near Jesus throughout eternity.
Don't you believe God can handle all things? Love all the saints as He loves
His Son? Are there any true believers who are neglected or deprioritized?
Why do you believe that God is not capable and that you need someone behind the
scenes to speak to God so that you can have an advantage over those that speak
directly to Him?
Is not the Holy Spirit that dwells within the spirits of the righteous an
intercessor for the individual before the Father?
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.” (Rom 8:26-27)
“And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty
to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how
to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up
within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional
sighs too deep for words. God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our
longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy
Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony
with God’s plan and our destiny.” (Rom 8:26-27)
If these things be true, what need do you have of others if you walk in the
spirit?
Now should we pray for others? Most definitely! Not all men are redeemed. Not
all believe. Not all walk in the spirit.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for
all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of
the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in
Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will
therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and
doubting.” (1Ti 2:1-8)
Now some believer may be in bondage due to their sinning, or simple being
attacked by the evil one who knows that they are weak in Faith, So James speaks
in regards to this here,...
“Are there any believers in your fellowship suffering great hardship and
distress? Encourage them to pray! Are there happy, cheerful ones among you?
Encourage them to sing out their praises! Are there any sick among you? Then
ask the elders of the church to come and pray over the sick and anoint them
with oil in the name of our Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick
and the Lord will raise them up, and if they have committed sins they will be
forgiven. Confess and acknowledge how you have offended one another and then
pray for one another to be instantly healed, for tremendous power is released
through the passionate, heartfelt prayer of a godly believer!” (Jas 5:13-16)
These are all evidences of Believers in Jesus, those who follow him, are
ministers of Jesus and not a priest of any certain religions. There is a big
huge difference.
Jesus says to do thus and so. Priests of a religion say that these things are
not for today, and preach and teach doubt and unbelief. Neither God nor His Son
ever taught that.
So you, as do others, HAVE TO DECIDE. Follow Jesus, or follow the religion of
men, their traditions, etc.?