Please explain 1 Peter 1:3-5.

1 Peter 1:3-5 reads, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

There are such beautiful promises in this passage. For whom are these wonderful things promised, and what do they mean?

WHO IS PROMISED THIS BLESSING?

The greetings of 1 Peter address Christians.1 Peter 1:1,2 read, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, … who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure."

So, the "us" in verse 3 is referring to those who are chosen according to God's foreknowledge, and are sanctified by the Spirit of God. Romans 8:29, "For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren:”

Sanctifying Work of the Spirit

The sanctifying work of the spirit is God's power to change our characters and our actions to become more Christlike. Galatians 5:22,23 say, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

WHAT IS THE BLESSING PROMISED TO THESE?

God's great mercy has promised these:

**To be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.This promise is to be resurrected as Jesus was, with an incorruptible spirit body (see 1 Corinthians 15:44, "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spirit body.”).

**To obtain a heavenly inheritance which is imperishable -reserved for the saints to be revealed in the last time.

This inheritance is God's Kingdom, where they will rule as kings and priests for 1000 years, as it says in Revelation 20:4,,"they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

Who are they ruling over?

As it says in Acts 15:17, "After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David (the nation of Israel) which has fallen, and will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it (through God's favor), in order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from old."

All the nations of the earth will be blessed, all who have ever lived will be resurrected, and this is the gospel…the good news!

What did Jacob really need when he wrestled with the angel? What was the blessing?

We read in Genesis 32 that Jacob was going to meet his brother Esau in the country of Edom.   When Jacob had last seen Esau, Esau had been very angry and had stated that he would kill Jacob once their father Isaac was dead (Gen. 27:41).  This was due to the fact that Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob many years earlier and that Isaac, their father, had then given Jacob his blessing.  This had made Esau very upset with Jacob and in Gen. 32, Jacob is understandably nervous about meeting his brother again, even after a long absence.  He prays to God for protection against his brother Esau, who he fears will kill him and his household.  Jacob knows that God had made a promise to Abraham and Isaac (his grandfather and father) that their descendants would become like the sand of the sea, and he reminds God of this promise in his prayer.  “But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”  Jacob was holding firmly to the promise that he would prosper, even while fearing Esau at the same time.

That night, Jacob wrestles with an angel and does not let go even when the angel asks him to.  Jacob says, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Gen. 32:26).  It is then that the angel tells Jacob that his new name is Israel and blesses him.  Even though the promise had already been given to his forefathers, Jacob himself wanted the blessing to be given to him as well, as a type of assurance.  Jacob felt that he would not be fit to meet Esau the next day unless he had that blessing.  It wasn’t that God didn’t want to give him the blessing or that Jacob wrestled the blessing out of the angel against God’s wishes, but rather that Jacob showed his true need for God’s blessing.  Jacob struggled through the night which showed that he truly felt a need for God’s promise in his life and after the long struggle, God saw fit that the angel would give the blessing Jacob desired to receive.  The blessing was the promise that Jacob and his descendants would prosper.

So in our lives, we should strive to “not grow weary and lose heart,” as stated in Hebrews 12:3.  In all of our struggles, we should continually show God that we also have faith in His promises and that even though we live in this night of sin, we know that a glorious morning is coming when we will no longer cry, mourn or be in pain (Psalm 30:5; Revelation 21:4).  “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:36).

DO YOU KNOW JESUS CHRIST( Messiah ) WAS BORN IN OCTOBER AND NOT ON December ?

After a diligent research into both sacred and profane history, we have no doubt in our minds that Jesus Christ was born in the month of October, and NOT in December ! We must at this stage point out that the day, month or year in which Christ was born is not positively stated chapter and verse in the Bible for the unlearned or those who do not search the Scriptures to understand. But there are scriptural records including the Bible Chronology, from which we can show to those with open minds that his birth took place in October.

Simple Calculation:

"We all agree that Jesus Christ lived for 33 ½ years. Now let us admit that he was born in December, as the Churches teach; it will mean, therefore, that his 33rd birth anniversary fell in December: and six months later, which was June, he died. If it were so, why then are the churches celebrating his death in April and not in June? The plain truth is that he was born in October. His 33rd birthday fell in October, and six months later, which was in April, he was slain...."

Bible Account:

In those days there were appointed 24 Jewish priests, the sons of Aaron, to serve in the temple in a year. Everyone officiated according to the order of his course or turn - two every month. The first priest served from the beginning of the first month called Nisan or Abib and retired at the middle of the month; and the second took over from the middle to the end of the month. 

The priest Abijah served in the eighth course according to 1 Chronicles 24: 1-10. The eighth course started from the middle to the end of the fourth month known as Tammuz, which, according to the Jewish Calendar, corresponds with the latter part of our June to early July, according to The Oxford Encyclopedic Concordance, page 197, and The Universal Bible Dictionary by Buckland & Williams, page 475.

Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was a successor of Abijah. It was when he was officiating in the temple in the order of his course - "the course of Abijah” - that an angel of God appeared to him saying that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear him a son to be named John. (Luke 1: 5-13) After the completion of Zacharias' period of duty in early July, (Tammuz), his wife became pregnant, and she hid herself for five months, (that is, from July to November). - Luke 1: 23, 24.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's conception - Chisleu, which is our December - the angel Gabriel was sent by God to the virgin Mary and he announced to her that she would conceive and bear a son to be called JESUS. The angel added: "And behold, thy cousin, Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible." - Luke 1: 26-31, 36, 37.

Consequent upon the annunciation Mary, no doubt, was in high spirits. With haste she went straight to a city in the uplands of Judah to meet Elizabeth. She stayed with her cousin about three months (i.e. from January to March) and then returned home. (Luke 1:39, 40, 56) According to medical authorities the span of foetal life under normal conditions is 280 days, which is nine months. Any time in the tenth month the child, by God's grace, can be born. This was the case with John the Baptist. The angel appeared to Mary in the sixth month of Elizabeth's conception, which was December, and Mary went to her and stayed three months, (January to March). Six months plus three months equal nine months. It was then "Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son" - obviously, in the tenth month, April. - Luke 1: 36, 56, 57.

The Bible reveals that John, who became known as “John the Baptist” was six months older than Jesus Christ. (Luke 1: 26, 36) So, if he was born in April, we only have to add six months to April, (counting from May) to know when Christ was born - which are May, June July, August, September and October - when Christ was born.

That apart, something dramatic occurred when Mary visited Elizabeth. As soon as she entered Zacharias' house and greeted Elizabeth, the babe (John) stirred in her womb. The words of Elizabeth to Mary at that instance, which were motivated by the Holy Spirit, show clearly that Mary herself was already pregnant. Not only did Elizabeth bless the fruit of her womb but she went on to address her outright as "the mother of my Lord". (Luke 1:41-44) Having been equipped with this knowledge, let us now count Mary's conception from January as was manifest in Elizabeth's declaration: we shall have January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September (the ninth month), then any time in the tenth month OCTOBER, Jesus Christ was born. But on which day in October his birth took place no one can tell because there is no record. We of the GKS say only what we can prove. - John 3:11; Deuteronomy 29:29.

Again, the fact that most Churches observe the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in April shows that his birth could not have taken place in December. Of a truth, he was killed in April, which is Nisan or Abib, the first month of the Jewish year, when the Feast of Passover or Unleavened Bread was celebrated. - Exodus 12:1-28; John 18:28; 19:14, 31, 42.

We all agree that Jesus Christ lived for 33 ½ years. Now let us admit that he was born in December, as the Churches teach; it will mean, therefore, that his 33rd birth anniversary fell in December: and six months later, which was June, he died. If it were so, why then are the churches celebrating his death in April and not in June? The plain truth is that he was born in October. His 33rd birthday fell in October, and six months later, which was in April, he was slain....

What is a spirit being?

According to the Scriptures, it is a creature, or personality, inhabiting the spiritual plane of existence, a higher plane than that of the human or earthly creatures. Just as the Divine nature, the nature of God, is the highest order of the spiritual realm,
 so man is of the highest order of the animal or earthly existence. Angels are spirit beings (`Psa. 104:4`) and we read that man was created "a little lower than the angels." (`Psa. 8:5`.) 

A change of nature is promised to all of those who will be of the Church of Christ; those who "make their calling and election sure" and who eventually will be associated with their Lord and Savior in the glories of the Kingdom as His "joint-heirs." This "change" of nature is wonderfully described by the Apostle in the fifteenth chapter of `1 Cor. 15:42-52`. 

Those who will experience this transformation of nature are said to be "born of the spirit" and this will take place in the resurrection. These then will be powerful, and invisible to mortal eye, just as the angels are all around and Jehovah's messengers in past ages, yet unseen. Jesus described this matter of the "wind" to picture the condition of those who shall be born of the spirit in the resurrection morning, `John 3:6-8`.