Reflections in Christ by Savannah

Although comforting, the idea that Mary intercede for us deserves scrutiny to see if it rests on actual facts. Historically and biblically, Mary, mother of Jesus, does not assist nor intercede with anyone to Yahweh. The New Testament only records her as a servant of God from the seed of David, chosen to bear the son of God whom is Jesus Christ. Here is the reality of the New Testament: 1. Their Claim: "The archangel Gabriel called Mary 'Full of Grace'" . The Reality:  The archangel Gabriel honored Mary. Honoring someone is not equal to "praying to them". By that logic, David honored Jonathan, that does mean David actually prayed to Jonathan? 2. Their claim: "The Bible doesn't say that the angel went looking all of Judea for a virgin and happened to come across Mary. Mary is a key part in God's salvation plan." The Reality: The Israelites are the people of God, and each Israelite is given a particular purpose. Moses was called as a prophet;...

A short time ago, a statement appeared on my feed that I found difficult to ignore. His claim: "Esther joined the beauty pageant to marry the king." It is expected that Christians who do not understand the Book of Esther will use Esther as an example. However, a closer examination of the Bible reveals it never said that Esther join any beauty pageant. Let us dive on what the Book of Esther actually says: It all started when King Ahasuerus made a feast in his palace, and all people in Shushan were invited, rich and poor alike.  "And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace." (Esther 1:5) Of course, there is a feast and people are wondering where is the queen. (For the knowledge, the queen is not there because she arranged a separate feast for women in the royal house.) And so, the king ordered ...

In Matthew 24, a disciple ask Jesus Christ when will be his second coming. Then Lord Jesus responded — Greek transliteration of Matthew 24:29–30: Eutheōs de  meta tēn thlipsin  tōn hēmerōn ekeinōn, ho hēlios skotisthēsetai, kai hē selēnē ou dōsei to phengos autēs, kai hoi asteres pesountai apō tou ouranou, kai hai dynameis tōn ouranōn saleuthēsontai. kai tote phanthēsetai to sēmeion tou huiou tou anthrōpou en ouranō, kai tote kopsontai pasai hai phylai tēs gēs, kai opsontai ton huion tou anthrōpou erchomenon epi tōn nephelōn tou ouranou meta dunameōs kai doxēs pollēs. Greek transliteration to English translation: Immediately then  after the tribulation  the days of those: The sun will be darkened, and the moon not will give the light of it, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, And then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven , and then will mourn all the tribes of the earth, and they will see the Son...

In Christian theological discourse, 1 Samuel 28 is often cited to maintain that divination, or any magical arts, were approved by Yahweh. However, this claim collapses under careful reading of the text. First thing first, we should examine the truth on why Saul consulted the medium in Endor. In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites were pleading to Samuel into giving them a king who will rule them and lead them in their battles just like in other countries. Samuel prayed to Yahweh about this matter, where God answered, "Do what they want and give them a king." A quite some time, Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen to be the first king of Israelites. At first, Saul conveyed obedience to God until he started to become arrogant and disobedient. (1 Samuel 16:4) As a result, Yahweh abandoned him, and the Holy Spirit departed from him. Following this, evil spirits were said to surround him, and his primacy began to deteriorate. When he saw the Philistines assembling near the town of Shu...

The concept of papal supremacy is unbiblical. We know this because the Bible, specifically the New Testament, never mention it in the very first place. The Bible – the highest and ultimate authority for Christians – only teach bishops and deacons. Some Catholics (members of the physical church) would say that "some things need to be redefined". Wait, what? As I have said, papal supremacy does not exist in the 1st century CE. You cannot add or change what is written in the Sacred Scriptures. Moses once said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:2, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." Moses here was acting as Yahweh's mouthpiece passing on God's own instruction to the Israelites. Okay, remove the Israelites from the picture – the truth of the message remains universal. It's because the same warning is given by Paul the apostle in Galatians 1:8-9, no one should ch...

The Catechism of the Catholic Church never said that the Roman Catholic Church is the Church of God. In Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3, Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church — titled “The Church – People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit” — the Church is described using three primary biblical images. According to the section on the “The People of God”, the Church is called the People of God. So who are the People of God? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #781-#782, the Church, or the People of God, are those people whom God acquired for Himself to acknowledge and serve Him in holiness. How to become a member of the Church or the People of God? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #782, the actual members of the Church, or the People of God, are those people who are baptized with water and baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Is baptism of water and baptism of the Holy Spirit the same?...

1. Dialogue with Trypho, ch.81 by Justin Martyr written around 155-160 CE And further, there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment of all men would likewise take place.  Reference: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01286.htm 2. Against Heresies, bk.4, ch.20, no.11 by Irenaeus of Lyons  written around 180-190 CE John also, the Lord's disciple, when beholding the sacerdotal and glorious advent of His kingdom, says in the Apocalypse: I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And, being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks One like the Son of man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle; and His head and His hairs were...

There is no such thing as once saved, always saved. I hate to say this, but the majority of people who keep promoting the idea of 'once saved, always saved' are those who have never received, or have not yet received, the Holy Spirit in the first place. That is why they have no idea about receiving the Holy Spirit and about losing the Holy Spirit. They think that just because they call Jesus “Lord, Lord”, they already have the Holy Spirit and it will remain unto them for the rest of their lives. That is what most church Priests or church Pastors, or big YouTubers are teaching Christians of today. So, for most Christians, it is true, you cannot lose your salvation, because an authority in the physical church or a content creator with a big following said it. Yeah. They no longer read their Bible and even if they do, they would just pick the Bible verse that sounds good to their ears. They don't take the time to sit in silence and pray, asking Yahweh to open their minds to tr...

Earth angels do not exist. Here’s why: Major ancient belief systems such as animism and totemism, and earliest major religions such as ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Egyptian religion, ancient Greek religion, ancient Hinduism religion, ancient Chinese religion and Zoroastrianism never mention the concept of angel nor mention the term itself. They believe in gods, spirits, demons and supernatural beings. But they never taught about “angels”. Judaism is the only ancient religion to ever introduce the concept of “angels” by calling them  malakh  or  malakhim  in texts like the Book of Genesis, which means “messengers” of God. In the fullness of time, Christianity, Judaism’s sister in faith, inherited and expanded the concept of “angels”. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek around the 3rd to 2nd century BCE, the Hebrew word  malakh  was rendered as  angelos , which also means “messenger”. Later, this became  angelus  in Latin,...

Hi! In this blog, I am going to share with you my encounter with a Catholic on 2024 who claims that Dismas, the repentant thief, was saved because Mary, the mother of Jesus, was interceding for him. My first reaction after I read his post was like, “What is this Christian talking about?” Deep inside, I feel that there is a need for me to ask him about his belief. So I asked him, “Is there a scripture to support your claim that Mary was praying to Dismas that is why he was saved?” He answered, “It is not wrong to assume that Mary was interceding to Dismas.” Look. Saying "this is how I feel" doesn't mean it's a fact. We have to be able to separate our emotions from reality. Feelings are valid, but they're not always accurate reflections of what's actually happening. Let us see what the Bible is telling us about the salvation of Dismas. In Luke 23:39-43, “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. B...

The creation of spirits is according to God’s purpose. The creation of the spirit of angels, humans and animals are different from one another. The angels are created by God to belong to heaven to serve Him. While humans and animals are created for Earth. Humans and animals are created with physical bodies but angels don’t. They only exist as spiritual beings and heaven is their exact home. 1. The creation of spirits is fixed. The Bible states that Yahweh created His creations within 6 days and rested on the 7th day. Which means to say that the creation of spirits is already fixed. If you are created to be an angel, then you are an angel forever. Contrary to New Agers, your free will can’t do anything about it. You don’t choose what you want to be. 2. The angels are genderless. Angels are spiritual beings without physical bodies so they don't have gender like humans do. They always appear as male but sometimes, they may appear as female depending on the message they need to relay. ...

 1. Monitoring spirits are a type of demonic spirit with the mission to make your life miserable and lose your faith in God. They are different from Incubus and Succubus. Monitoring spirits appear in your life to destroy your peace by bringing you negativity, block you from reaching your success, create disturbances in your surroundings to increase your stress or negative emotions and to distract you from whatever you are doing, most especially if you are reading the Bible or praying. 2. Unlike angels who are assigned to real human beings at birth, monitoring spirits are not assigned at birth. Not everyone has monitoring spirits. They only target and they only appear in individuals who are in a vulnerable state or disconnected from God, as this gives the demons an easier opportunity to influence or manipulate the person.  3. An individual can have one or more monitoring spirits influencing them. One monitoring spirit is the one affecting them directly, while the other monito...

According to the Jewish calendar, the first day of the week is Sunday. And that makes the 7th day, which is Saturday, the Sabbath day. It begins in the sunset of Friday and ends in the nightfall (after the sunset where everything is already dark) of Saturday. The week consists of seven days, distinguished from one another by their place in the week. They are called the first day, the second day, the third day, and so on to the seventh day, which is besides called "Shabbat" (Rest) or "Yom ha-Shabbat" (Day of Rest). As the Sabbath is the most important day of the week, the term "Shabbat" denotes also "week"—that is, the period from one Sabbath to the next; and a year of rest is also called "Shabbat" (or "shabu'a"). Friday, as the forerunner of Shabbat, is called "'Ereb Shabbat" (The Eve of Sabbath). The term "'ereb" admits of two meanings: "evening" and "admixture" (Ex. xii. 38...

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love stories ever written. With its powerful portrayal of passionate love, familial conflicts, sacrifices and tragic deaths, many people believe it is based on real events. And the story itself is often celebrated as a standard for what true love should be. However, both of these assumptions are incorrect. Romeo and Juliet (1968) Although the story feels so real because of its emotional resonance and relatable struggles, it is entirely a work of imagination. Its characters and events are not rooted in reality. Romeo and Juliet is a fictional play written by William Shakespeare in the 16th century CE, designed to teach a valuable lesson about the power of love, the destructive nature of hate, the danger of impulsive decisions and the impact of family feud. Shakespeare was inspired by earlier literary works, including Arthur Brooke’s The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet published in 1562, which itself was based on Pier...

Every time I heard people saying that the Bride of Christ are the whole believers, I can’t stop shaking my head for real. I am disappointed, not to them, but to the church leaders. I always said to myself, ‘what church leaders are teaching Christians today!?’. Is teaching ‘God is love’ is the only thing they do? I don’t understand. What frustrates me even more is the growing confusion among Christians, largely caused by those who take it upon themselves to teach without being called by Yahweh. These individuals, having awakened from spiritual slumber, suddenly assume the role of teachers of God’s word, despite lacking divine appointment or true understanding. Don’t get me wrong, I am well-aware that the Bible states that everyone is commanded to preach the gospel (Mat28:19); and prophesy (Acts2:17), but it was never said that everyone is appointed to be a teacher. J ames 3:1  reads: My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. No C...

The Apocrypha refers to a collection of ancient books that are included in some versions of the Christian Old Testament, particularly in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, but are excluded from most Protestant Bibles. These books, such as Tobit , Judith , Wisdom of Solomon , Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus ), Baruch , and the Maccabees , were written primarily in the intertestamental period (roughly 400 BCE to 1 CE) and provide historical, moral, and theological insights. While the term “Apocrypha” originally meant “hidden” or “secret,” it later came to refer to texts of disputed authority. The Catholic Church refers to them as “Deuterocanonical” (second canon), affirming their scriptural status, while Protestant Reformers excluded them, arguing they were not part of the original Hebrew Bible. Here is a general chronological order of the Apocryphal (Deuterocanonical) books based on scholarly estimates: 3rd Century BCE  1. The Book of Tobit (c. 225–175 BCE) The Book of Tobit, writt...