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/* Fifth example: "hope" as "confident expectation" */ linked [[salvation]]
=== Examples of additions and amplifications ===
====First example: clarifying the meaning of various terms and phrases in the Gospels=========The genealogy of Joseph, and Nazareth as "his own city": ===== Matthew 1:24-25; Luke 2:1-5, 3:23b-31:<blockquote>Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; and didn’t know her sexually at any time before she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus (which means, God saves).
Now this is an account of the ancestry of Joseph, son of David. Jacob was the father of Joseph, who was the son of Heli, according to what is written in the law of the Lord, "If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies, and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel."
David became the father of Solomon. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the father of Abijah. Abijah became the father of Asa. Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram. Joram became the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham. Jotham became the father of Ahaz. Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh. Manasseh became the father of Amon. Amon became the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah. Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim. Eliakim became the father of Azor. Azor became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim. Achim became the father of Eliud. Eliud became the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan. Matthan became the father of Jacob. And Jacob became the father of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David.
Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. Joseph also moreover went up from Galilee, out of his own city, the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. </blockquote>
====="''till''" / "''before''"=====
In Matthew 1:25 the phrase "''at any time before''" is used in this ''Harmony of the Gospel''. This is according to the more literal actual biblical archaic meaning of the words "till", "until", Greek '''ἕως''' ''heos''. (See Strong's number ''2193'': "even (until, unto), (hither-, un-, up) to".) The Greek text says, '''καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν.''' The Greek word '''ἕως''' here in Matthew 1:25 signifies nothing about what occurs afterward, which is utterly unlike the meaning that the English word "until" has in modern American English usage, a meaning which does signify what occurs afterward. Compare
:Matthew 5:18 KJV "''Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled''." RSVCE "''till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished''." Before heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter, not the smallest stroke of a letter, will pass from the law before all is accomplished; <br>Matthew 10:23 KJV "''Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come''." RSVCE "''you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes''"; <br>Matthew 16:28 KJV "''which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom''" RSVCE "''who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom''"; <br>Matthew 22:44 KJV "''The L<small>ORD</small> said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.''" When his enemies are made his footstool, will the Lord then no longer sit on the L<small>ORD</small>'s right hand?
Compare Genesis 28:15 KJV and Genesis 48:15 KJV. God says to Jacob, "''I will not leave thee, '''until''' I have done that which I have spoken to thee of''" ('''until''' God had brought him "back to this land"). But God did not leave him. Decades afterward, in Egypt, Jacob, past the age of 130 years, testifies that God did not abandon him, "''God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day''". God did not leave Jacob before bringing him back to Haran and Beer-sheba in Palestine. And after bringing him back home, God still remained with Jacob, sustaining him all his life long, even days after Jacob's blessing of Joseph in Egypt, '''until''' he died in Egypt. And even after his death God did not leave Jacob; for Jesus himself testified to the Sadducees about Jacob with God's words to Moses, in Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:26-27, Luke 20:37-38, that the L<small>ORD</small> is Jacob's God, and that Jacob is not dead but living. He did not leave Jacob after bringing him "''back to this land''". The biblical meaning of the Hebrew or Greek word translated "till", "until" does not imply what followed afterward. Thus Matthew 1:25 according to the biblical usage is a doctrinal statement about both the virginal conception of Jesus in Mary's womb, without any human sexual intercourse, and the chastity of Joseph and Mary during the entire period of her pregnancy from the very moment of conception. It is not a statement about what Joseph did immediately after Jesus was born.
If you are willing to receive it, John is Elijah, "who is to come". As it is written in the book of the prophet Malachi, “'Behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes will burn them up,' says Yahweh of Armies, 'that it shall leave them neither root nor branch'.” And, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Thus, it is as the angel Gabriel sent from God declared to Zechariah concerning John before he was conceived, “He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”</blockquote>
====Fifth example: "hope" as "confident expectation"====
The Christian virtue of [[hope]] is not the same as the [[wishful thinking]] or longing desire of ordinary people who "hope" that this or that will happen, who "hope" everything will turn out for the best, who dream of the day when perhaps their hopes and aspirations might be fulfilled, but without any certain confidence of an absolute guarantee of a good outcome, totally free of any doubt or disappointment or betrayal.
According to the New Testament and Christian Apostolic Tradition, hope in God, and the hope of [[salvation]] from the wrath that will come on the sinner, the disobedient and the wicked, with the hope of rewards God has promised for [[repentance]] and conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ, for faithfulness, righteousness, justice and virtue, are absolutely certain of fulfillment beyond any doubt, because the promises of God are sure and certain. This is what many Christians mean when they say, "have faith in God"—complete confidence, the trust of a child free of fear.
In this ''Harmony of the Gospel (Conservative Version)'' the word "hope", when used in the context of total, trusting confidence in Christ as each individual's personal Savior, and the Savior of all mankind, and the absolutely infallible certainty of the fulfillment of all the promises of God, who will render to each according to their works, is revised to "confident expectation" and to "expectation", as an amplification and clarification of its true Christian meaning.<ref>[https://www.gotquestions.org/hope-Bible.html What is the Christian's hope? - Got Questions (gotquestions.org)]<br>[https://www.thoughtco.com/hope-a-theological-virtue-542123 Hope: A Theological Virtue (thoughtco.com)]<br>[http://www.catholicdoors.com/courses/th4.htm Catholic Doors Ministry presents the Bible Course: "The Theological Virtue of Hope" (catholicdoors.com)]</ref>
===Examples of word policy in this ''Harmony of the Gospel''===
== Private development of a ''Harmony of the Gospel'' ==
Developing a harmony of the Gospels ''responsibly'' as a personal and private exercise requires a solid background of understanding of middle eastern history and culture together with reliance on expert and orthodox conservative biblical scholarship firmly based on the centuries-old tradition of Christian understanding and interpretation of the Bible, as well as a mature and commonsense knowledge of basic human nature. The New Testament testifies that many in relying on their own opinions "''have made shipwreck of their faith''" and ruined both themselves and those who listen to them. See Keep in mind the warning warnings in *[https://www.biblegateway.com/passageverse/en/?search=Proverbs%2018:2&version=RSVCE %3A2 Proverbs 18:2]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/2Peter%201%3A20 2 Peter 1:20]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/2Peter%203%3A16 3:16]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Sirach%203%3A24 Ecclesiasticus / Sirach 3:24]:"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion." :"First of all you must understand this, that no prophesy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation." :"There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction." :"Their own opinion has misled many, and false reasoning unbalanced their judgment."<ref>NAB Sirach 3:2'''3'''</ref> It is better to adjust our understanding to the scriptures, than to adjust the scriptures to our understanding. When a harmony of the Gospel is developed and written with the right motivation, there will be a resulting visible increase in the [[Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit|seven gifts]] and the twelve [[fruits of the Holy Spirit]] in the life of the student-researcher, and a greater love of the whole Christian community and of God by embracing and practicing the three great commandments, Mark 12:29-31 and John 13:34; 1 John 3:16-18.:"Jesus answered, 'The first is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.' " :"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." :"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth." Not all readers of the Bible, not all scholars and biblical researchers, are truly wise and understanding.
{{cquote|Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good life let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18}}
See [[Corporal and spiritual works of mercy]].
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<small>Initial collating and redaction First Edition completed 23 November 2017. <br>Dedicated 26 November 2017 on the Solemnity of Christ the King, '''Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe'''<br>Complete revision with additions and notes concluded—dedicated 2 finished 16 February 2018 on the '''Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple'''<br>—''Michael Paul Heart''- Friday after [[Ash Wednesday]]</small>
