So 'turn the other cheek' was only a moral ideal until it is no longer suitable?
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Never said that.
I order to understand what he meant to begin with you have to be familiar with the middle eastern customs of 2000 years ago.
That puts a different light on it.
A slap on the cheek was, in the customs of the day, only refering to a master dealing with a subordinate
If I remember right - to turn the other cheek would be an act of passive aggression, daring the master to shame himself with a second strike, which would be blatent abuse.....
Roman law required a peasant to carry a roman soldiers equipment for one mile.....
Going the second mile would put the soldier at risk of being in trouble with his superiors for not following orders.....
But what I was refering to was the anointing given by God to the Christians of each age, to meet the challenges they were facing at the time.
There were "four beasts" with likeness of a lion, ox, face of a man, and a eagle.....sent from the presense of God, to meet the enemy in each age in the form of the anti-christ.
The first age was facing apostacy of the apostles doctrine in the form of nicolatinism....
"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of a thunder, and one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that set on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
The white horse rider was the anti-christ impersonating Christ, who was the true word left to the apostles.
The Spirit's anointing in this age was the lion (of the tribe of judea)
The word....
This is the first seal.
In the second age, the church united with the state (rome) and was given the power to kill all who disagreed with it in the great inqisition, at the start of the dark ages.
"And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that set thereon to take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another-and there was given unto him a great sword."
The red horse rider was the anti-christ given the power to kill the christian in the roman colliseums, being fed to the lions and sawed in two....
The Spirit's anointing in this age was "the ox", a sacrificial beast.
The christians were anointed to be able to hold their testimony in the face of certain death and lay down their lives.....
This is the second seal.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come... see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that set on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts saying, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; but see thou hurt not the oil and... wine.
The black horse rider was the anti-christ as the catholic church, in the dark ages gathering all the world's gold by selling pennaces, the buying of loved ones out of pergatory, sacriments, ect....
The spirit's anointing in this age was "the face of a man"
The reformers, the messingers (angels) of the church ages, sent to man with a message to futher man's understanding of God's word.....These started with Martin Luther posting his "objections" on the mission wall. John Wesley, finney, knox ect....This started the "protestant denominations"
This is the third seal.
"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that set on him--that set... was--was Death, and Hell followed... him. And power was given unto them over the four parts of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with... beasts of the earth."
The pale horse rider was the anti-christ combining all the powers in the other ages, a mottled, mixed color - pale. In the last days the antichrist was on a pale horse, mixed color. A horse is a beast that represents a power. His power is all mixed up. Why? It's politics; it's national powers; it's religious powers; it's demon powers; it's all kinds of powers mixed together, a mixed pale horse was. He's got all kinds of powers.
Satan, after being kicked out of heaven, incarnates himself in the beast, Antichrist, false prophet, and now beast and given the name of death, and hell follows him: fully Satan on his throne... .
Now, this happens later on. He's false prophet now. He will become beast after while when he breaks his covenant there with the Jews.
The Spirit's anointing in this age is "The Eagle" -the eagle age; God likens His prophets to eagles. He calls Himself an eagle. The eagle goes so high there ain't nothing else can touch him. Not only is he up there, but he's built for that position. When he gets up there, he see where he's at. Mal 4:5-6
The second Elijah when he comes to this church in this day: restores back the original faith.
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls of the air in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God;
"Now, if you want to see their bodies, turn over to Revelations 19 after the Word slays them.