thank you for your article. he has helped me to understand some things. my question - during your study did you come up with an answer to this - why did the Lord kill so many of his people once he took them out of egypt, whenever they did something wrong. was there not a chance for them to repent. example - when they built the golden calf. when achan took of the spoils -joshua 7-8?
Marie Carroll September 18, 2014
I would like to thank Kerry for his insights. I am one of many who find the Old Testament to be challenging. Tying it all together as he has done makes it easy to understand the Lord's consistent love for his children and what importance the covenants are generation after generation.
Gary BealSeptember 16, 2014
I thought this was an interesting and useful article as far as it went, but I believe it leaves out an essential element for our understanding of the seed of Abraham, and what it means to be a covenant people. Nowhere in the article does it address the role that the preexistence plays in this matter. We know that we lived with God for eons of time before coming here. We also know that we progressed at differing rates. In Abraham 3, God outlines to Abraham the differences in the spirits that live(d) with Him, and how some were "chosen," Abraham being one of them. The scriptures reference God's Chosen people; that isn't strictly a result of things that happen here in this life, but I believe that the greater weight to our being "chosen" or "covenant" people has to do with our devotion to the God in the pre-existent state. We are born into the covenant in this life, based on our worthiness in the pre-existence. It is not random. When Christ says that His sheep hear his voice, He references spirit-children that fully embraced His gospel, and covenanted with Him there. How many converts have you heard talk about "it was like coming home, like I knew all of this already"
ChipWSeptember 16, 2014
These covenant themes are echoed throughout the New Testament as well. For example, Revelation 21 describes the culmination of the covenant.
Verse 3 talks in terms of the covenant people: "...they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
Verse 7 repeats the theme at a very personal level: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."
Markus AllrediusSeptember 16, 2014
I regard Kerry as a personal friend whom I have never met, introduced through email by another highly regarded friend. He has generously answered others of my scriptural questions, and we have had personal dialog about them.
This article seems to be another of those dialogs, and I'm grateful for his sharing his insights.
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roxanneOctober 4, 2014
thank you for your article. he has helped me to understand some things. my question - during your study did you come up with an answer to this - why did the Lord kill so many of his people once he took them out of egypt, whenever they did something wrong. was there not a chance for them to repent. example - when they built the golden calf. when achan took of the spoils -joshua 7-8?
Marie Carroll September 18, 2014
I would like to thank Kerry for his insights. I am one of many who find the Old Testament to be challenging. Tying it all together as he has done makes it easy to understand the Lord's consistent love for his children and what importance the covenants are generation after generation.
Gary BealSeptember 16, 2014
I thought this was an interesting and useful article as far as it went, but I believe it leaves out an essential element for our understanding of the seed of Abraham, and what it means to be a covenant people. Nowhere in the article does it address the role that the preexistence plays in this matter. We know that we lived with God for eons of time before coming here. We also know that we progressed at differing rates. In Abraham 3, God outlines to Abraham the differences in the spirits that live(d) with Him, and how some were "chosen," Abraham being one of them. The scriptures reference God's Chosen people; that isn't strictly a result of things that happen here in this life, but I believe that the greater weight to our being "chosen" or "covenant" people has to do with our devotion to the God in the pre-existent state. We are born into the covenant in this life, based on our worthiness in the pre-existence. It is not random. When Christ says that His sheep hear his voice, He references spirit-children that fully embraced His gospel, and covenanted with Him there. How many converts have you heard talk about "it was like coming home, like I knew all of this already"
ChipWSeptember 16, 2014
These covenant themes are echoed throughout the New Testament as well. For example, Revelation 21 describes the culmination of the covenant. Verse 3 talks in terms of the covenant people: "...they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Verse 7 repeats the theme at a very personal level: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."
Markus AllrediusSeptember 16, 2014
I regard Kerry as a personal friend whom I have never met, introduced through email by another highly regarded friend. He has generously answered others of my scriptural questions, and we have had personal dialog about them. This article seems to be another of those dialogs, and I'm grateful for his sharing his insights.
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