The Church in Sardis prefigures the Protestant Reformation?

[aron]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

I know you are being facetious but you've touched on the matter of Christ and the Body being one, and believers being one with the Father through Christ. These are all solid scriptural ideas. So what you say is not exactly wrong.

I once read a story of a man, an unbeliever, who died and saw the spiritual realm. In the spiritual realm he saw streams of light connecting all living things and flowing from God. So I think there is some metaphysical reality behind all these things, that people are connected in some way. Animals also exhibit some sort of invisible connection with humans and other animals as well, somehow they know or sense things. How else to explain the sixth sense or gut feeling that many people have when their friend or family is in trouble? There's lots of things that science can't explain but the bible can.

In the portrayal of the New Jerusalem we see a throne, and a river bright as crystal proceeding out of the throne, and a tree of life growing along the river. These are distinct items.

In the first chapter of the same book we see the Christ walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, in front of the throne. I see distinct items, and feel that most readers would also.

The Centurion in Capernaum (Luke 7) was "one" with Caesar in Rome, and could speak and the servants would obey. But the Centurion was not Caesar. They are distinct. One is in Rome, and one in Caesarea. But from an operational perspective (that of the functioning servant) they are one.

All of this is fairly common sense.