These statements rest on a solid scriptural foundation as passages like 1 John 5:3 and James 2:19, 20 make rather clear.To "believe" doesn't just mean to intellectually believe or acknowledge. Jesus himself said this. As did Apostles James and Paul both.
People take Paul's words out of context that "faith alone" saves (something Peter mentioned in his letters that people don't understand his words, it's just as valid today as it was back then).
lamesa wrote:
"Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you... Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.' Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent'” (John 6:26-29).
Particularly with this divine command of obedience in mind which would of course include "believing in the one God has sent," the latter part of this scripture you cited raises a few questions that I hope you don't mind me posing to you lamesa:
In connection with the prophetic words of Jesus in accounts like Matthew 24:45 and those of John in accounts like Revelation 11:3 and 12:5, would we perhaps take the position that we are under no obligation to "believe" or even "believe IN" these "faithful stewards" or "witnesses" since they are not Jesus? It should of course be clear to us that they would be "SENT" by Jehovah as worded there in John, and since they would clearly be anointed and this word in turn is the very DEFINITION of the Christ, they obviously would by extension qualify as among the "many members of the body of the CHRIST." (1 Cor 12:12) But if they do not qualify as Christ JESUS, would that mean we are not required to "believe in" them?
Here is something to factor in or even ponder in connection with these questions, and particularly with prophesies like Hebrews 9:26-28, Revelation 6:11 11:11, 12 12:5 and 13:7, 8 in mind:
In view of the fact that (per such scriptures) sacrificial priestly atonement would ultimately be part and parcel of these ministries as well, or otherwise what is ALWAYS the most pivotal thing involved with Jehovah's salvation, (which in turn is the very DEFINITION of the name -Jesus) are we not once again considering scriptural confirmations that even Christ JESUS is not an individual? And is this not the case even if this "body" does indeed have a "head" that ministered on the earth two millenniums ago alongside a second "witness" by the name of John the Baptist? (Col 1:18) (Re 11:3)
Yes we are all aware that none of the other members of the "faithful steward" or "inspectors" of the "sleeping" spiritual "virgins" would be perfect like their leader, but this is among the reasons that Jehovah would appoint this one as a "HEAD" of this "body" or "foundation cornerstone" of the spiritual "temple" in the first place. (1 Pe 2:6) (1 Cor 3:16, 17) Based alone on the scriptures I have covered so far, there are three things that should be perfectly clear to us regardless of how thoroughly we have been deceived by the "disgusting thing" that ALWAYS overthrows and occupies what WAS Jehovah's spiritual "temple" when his holy marriage covenant has been violated with spiritual adultery; the very situation that always makes another "coming of the kingdom" necessary in the first place. These would be the following:
First of all, it should be clear to us that the moment the fifth foretold priestly sacrificial offering of the "two witnesses" was completed in the early part of the first century; Jehovah would even RETROACTIVELY apply the value of this blood to ALL of the foretold ministries of the "faithful steward" or "son of man." (Eze 2:1) (Mt 26:31) Compare (Le 26:23-25)
Secondly, since it is ultimately the priestly sacrifice at the CONCLUSIONS these ministries of the "two witnesses" that actually furnishes Jehovah's salvation for repentant humans, in at least some sense even the unusually magnificent "faithful steward" of the first century that we always refer to as Jesus did not technically qualify as such until his ministry was successfully completed. (Joh 19:30)
Thirdly, at least in the case of Jesus' anointed "brothers" who are ALWAYS in desperate need of the spiritual "feeding" AND "covering atonement" or figurative "clothing" involved with these ministries of the "faithful stewards" in these time frames of a foretold "bowl of the anger of God" or "days like those of Noah" that we once again find ourselves in, OBEYING scriptures like John 6:26-29 would certainly INCLUDE "believing in" the prophets that Jehovah would be sending to the "sleeping virgins" in these periods. (Mt 24:37, 45 25:1-5, 34-40) (Am 3:7) (Re 16:1)
Once again, Jesus HIMSELF directed our attention to the account there in Daniel 11:30-32 when he prophesied about the times in which his anointed brothers would need to "flee to the mountains" due to the "disgusting thing" that would again come to occupy the "holy place." (Mt 24:15, 16) As we can see there in Daniel, not only is this tragedy all about an "apostasy" that involves "leaving the holy covenant" that Jesus and John the Baptist had just renewed with the anointed "virgins" yet again at that very time, but it also results in the "removal" of what is REPRESENTED or SIGNIFIED by the "CONTINUAL sacrifice." (Lu 22:28, 29) In other words, the atoning VALUE of this sacrifice is "continual" until the moment the holy covenant that always ESTABLISHES it is violated with an "apostasy" on the part of the appointed theocratic shepherds it is formed with. Are scriptures like Hebrew 9:26-28, Revelation 11:11, 12 and 13:7, 8 beginning to make more sense to us?
Rest assured there are very good reasons why Jesus compared our time period to the "days of Noah." (Mt 24:37) AMONG these reasons is the fact that a kind of "ark" is ALWAYS being constructed or even RE-constructed for the salvation of repentant mankind in these post-apostasy/pre-kingdom settings. While scriptures like 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 help us to understand what the LITERAL ark of Noah's day actually represented in a symbolic/prophetic manner, ones like Joshua 3:3, Genesis 6:18 and Galatians 4:24 on the other hand remind us that a holy "COVENANT" or otherwise a RENEWED one is ultimately what reconstructs these "holy places" of Jehovah's refuge or salvation; "continual sacrifices" that a "disgusting thing" would often "destroy." (1 Cor 3:16, 17 6:15) (Da 11:31) (Mt 24:15, 16) (2 Th 2:1-8) (Isa 1:21)
Agape love;
Sol
