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danschance
Guest
They lied to impress others but were accused of lying to God. It reminds me of the story of Achan (Joshua 7) who stole Silver, gold and a nice rob. It caused trouble for Israel as they fled before their enemies. In the end Achan, his household and possessions where killed, burned and buried. I wonder if the story of Achan is related to Ananias and Sapphira?
I think it is related. Everything first is of the Lord is a theme in it....
That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD'S. Ex 13:12
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee. Num 18:12
First city that is captured:
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.Jos 6:24
First church offerings....
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet Acts 4:34
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. Acts 5:1,2
That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD'S. Ex 13:12
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee. Num 18:12
First city that is captured:
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.Jos 6:24
First church offerings....
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet Acts 4:34
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. Acts 5:1,2
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danschance
Guest
You are right in that the text does not say who killed them but it is implied that God killed them.
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The_highwayman
Guest
Not only did they lie to God, but they were also imitator's of Barnabas, they only gave for their own benefit...The story really starts in Acts 4.34-37
Acts4:32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
Acts 5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?
Matthew 12:25
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Genesis 11:9
That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
John 10:12
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
Matthew 16:6
“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Romans 16:17
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
They had a system well put together nicely, but Ananias pretended that he was a believer, but instead he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, because he had a deceiving spirit. But by his action or the seed that he was planting, would have had cause others to start doubting, and turned toward money as their salvation.
One requirement of that ministry was to "have all things in common" being of one accord, you see this being perfected in the four gosples and it is shown of those that believe in early Acts. God knows the heart, they were judged. This portion, group, house, church etc., was part of the little flock, remnant of those called out of the house of Moses, they have a purpose of function in the household of God. There is another verse, it escapes me, but God took thousands in one day. I believe for the good of everyone, it was merciful, but don't hold me to this opinion, I cannot recall the verse or situation, I think saved persons fell into idolatry or something. I think Paul spoke this verse to, but I cannot place the Scripture reference as I search my heart for it and I don't have my bible handy. We have to remember there are two ministries at work in Acts, the book of Acts is a transitional book, and an exciting study when we understand some of the basic fundamentals of approach through the method of right division.
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BradC
Guest
Think of it in this manner. If the Holy Spirit gives you a specific direction or instructions and you give place to the devil and allow Satan to fill your heart with a lie that gets you to go against the Holy Spirit and those instructions, what would you call that? Would it be considered evil to be filled with such a lie that you would not discern the Lord's body. It is interesting that Peter was used in this because of the past situation he found himself in with the Lord when he was rebuked for allowing Satan to use him in such a way to rebuke the Lord in (Mark 8:31-33). Peter was not intentionally being deceitful although he was offended and deceived and Satan took advantage of Peter's weakness to rebuke the Lord through one of his own servants. These two in (Acts 5) were intentionally trying to deceived the Lord's body (apostles) in keeping back part of the price when they were instructed by the Spirit to lay it all at the feet of the apostles. That was directed at the Holy Spirit and they lost their lives on earth because of it. I believe they were Christians and fell asleep through the sin unto death but will probably suffer the loss of all rewards for their works.
"with one accord in the temple"
Acts 2:38-47
*Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the*Lord*our God shall call.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
*And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
*And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
*Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Acts 2:38-47
*Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the*Lord*our God shall call.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
*And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
*And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
*Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
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reject-tech
Guest
Looks to me like they died from guilt and having been caught red handed, instead of "God killing them".
Worst assumption of anybody else playing a part in their death that I can assume is that the wife's death was simply forcasted.
Worst assumption of anybody else playing a part in their death that I can assume is that the wife's death was simply forcasted.
I think that the power to make the decision on whether or not they should live was decided by Peter, of course acting in accordance with God's will.
I think that Peter is an example of a loaded gun, so to speak.
His decision to let them die, God allowed, but it could be that Peter reacted out of anger, though full of the Holy Ghost.
I think that Peter is an example of a loaded gun, so to speak.
His decision to let them die, God allowed, but it could be that Peter reacted out of anger, though full of the Holy Ghost.
I think this is not the reason they were killed. Disobeying the Holy Spirit does not always or even usually result in death, for God has other ways of punishing us.
In the instance God wanted to make an example of them, to show future generations what would happen to those who "pretended" to be Christians in order to obtain an advantage to their reputation before the church.
the question "why" is often best answered by looking at cause and effect.
consider the cause:
You have not lied to men but to God.
(Acts 5:4)
and the effect:
And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
(Acts 5:11)
consider the cause:
You have not lied to men but to God.
(Acts 5:4)
and the effect:
And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
(Acts 5:11)
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Crazylove
Guest
" And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." (Mt 12:31)
Blasphemy: to speak evil of; to disrespect; to insulting or to show contempt
They had blasphemed (degraded, disrespected) the Spirit by their deceptiveness. I'm assuming since these two obviously had no fear of God, that they acted as an example to th congregation and a reminder to fear th Lord and to respect th Spirit.
I agree that they had more than sinned; they shewed that they despised the church before the apostles. Yet the issue is that so many do that same thing today - they show contempt for holy things - what about the antichrist power that Paul says will arise in 2Th 2:3? Why wasn't that cut down in its prime if it was also so blasphemous?
I can't help but think that this was for the same reason as Pharaoh was struck down and killed, so
Rom 9:17 "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth."
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Crazylove
Guest
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DragonSlayer
Guest
God never killed Ananias and Sapphira, but Ananias and Sapphira did kill themselves, just like Judas Iscariot did because of idolatry of material riches. They were already spiritually dead, so God just materialized on their physical bodies what was already present spiritually. Justice served.
The thing about sin is it breeds more sin. The heart, God knows, when all integrity is lost. Some will not recover themselves, they just won't, some cannot because sin is so destructive, self destructive. There is a verse where Paul says," Turn such a one over to satan for the destruction of the flesh", then is says something about that the spirit might be saved. I believe these two persons of the op were added to the church, so they have their part, portion, place etc., in the body.
I found the verse about the idolatry and God taking thousands in one day. Fornication, good word study, fornication is false worship. 1 Cor 10:8 kjv if you please, so we are sharing in the same words.
I found the verse about the idolatry and God taking thousands in one day. Fornication, good word study, fornication is false worship. 1 Cor 10:8 kjv if you please, so we are sharing in the same words.
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