{"id":13478,"date":"2026-02-08T23:31:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T22:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/VitSmajstrla"},"modified":"2026-02-08T23:31:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T22:31:49","slug":"agonidzesthe-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/biblical_studies\/agonidzesthe-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Agonidzesthe - fight like hell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&nbsp;Lk 13:24 Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter in, but will not be able.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c5\u03bb\u03b7\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9 \u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03b6\u03b7\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b9\u03c3\u03c7\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Agonidzesthe eiselthein dia tes stenes thyras, hoti poloi lego umin, dzetesusin eiselthein kai uk ischysusin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strive, \u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5  <\/strong>= strive, fight, struggle, strive hard, strive hard, strive hard, strive hard.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Czech word \"<strong>agonize<\/strong>\"There is no. Agony is a pre-death state, a dying person's struggle for life. To struggle as in agony, one might say, that is, to gasp hard for the last breath of air, to struggle with the last of one's strength to survive. It is an image of an extremely intense struggle. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>occurs still in Col 4:12, where Epaphras \"agonizes\" for the disciples in prayer: 'Epaphras, who is from you, a slave of Christ Jesus, greets you; he continually <strong>Struggling <\/strong>in prayer, that you may be built up mature and complete in the whole will of God. It is clear that the disciples were in some serious danger and that Epaphras cared immensely for them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>related word <strong>agony <\/strong>occurs in Luke 22:44 in connection with Jesus' struggle in Gethsemane: Finding himself in the inner <strong>match<\/strong>He prayed harder; his sweat became like drops of blood that dripped to the ground.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>otherwise in NZ without occurrence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is clear that such a struggle is extremely intense, fought with all our strength, to our last breath. It can't be a half-hearted fight fought at half throttle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>enter through the narrow door <\/strong>(here the door to the house, in Mt7:13 the outer gate)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>for many, I tell you, are <strong>will try, \u03b6\u03b7\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd  <\/strong>(they will lust, seek, seek a way, seek a possibility, examine, seek, demand, investigate, consider, 117 occurrences). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>for example, when Mary and the brothers stood outside the house and wanted to talk to Jesus. <strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">This effort no longer has the power of agony. I'd like to, but I don't care to the death<\/mark><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>but they won't be able <\/strong>= be strong, be a hundred, prove, be healthy, lead, have power, be powerful, 28 occurrences<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>So there is a difference between \"striving (agonidzesthai)\" and \"striving (dzetein)\". There is something between wanting to enter and actually entering. Mere \"dzetein\" is not enough<\/strong>, <strong>when it doesn't precede \"agonidzesthai\". We must care \"to the death\" about entering God's kingdom, we must fight for it, as for life <\/strong>.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A typical example is probably the Israelites, of whom we read in Heb. 3-4 that they did not enter into rest after all. How could this happen? After all, God is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>led out of Egypt by faith - they had to believe Moses and anoint the faithful with the blood of the lamb (we have to believe Jesus) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>he led them to the promised land (leads us through life)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He cares about protection (He also protects us, gives us spiritual weapons, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He protected them from destructive deities through prohibitions and commands (when God forbids or commands something it is for our good and protection).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>took care of his livelihood <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>maintained a relationship with them <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>raising them, testing them. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what prevented the Israelis from entering? A comprehensive explanation is found in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">6 We are his house, <strong>if we maintain to the end a firm confidence and the pride of hope<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They did not keep the firm trust and the boast of hope to the end. Whoever gives up the journey to God will not enter in the end, no matter how far he has come<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">7 Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, If ye shall hear his voice this day.<strong> harden not your hearts, as in the indignation of the day of temptation in the wilderness,<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>hardened their hearts - that is, they deliberately chose not to heed God's voice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>they hardened their hearts in the moment of trial. Trials are an inseparable part of the journey to God - and in them we must never stop listening to God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">9 when I was <strong>your fathers tempted me by testing me,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>to test God is to require Him to prove His existence and presence over and over again<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(God cannot be tempted to evil, so it must be some other kind of temptation. Apparently God is irritated when we demand repeated proof from Him)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> and have seen my works 10 forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and I said:<strong> They still wander in their hearts; they have not known my ways. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>their repeated requests for God to prove Himself were completely unjustified - for the Israelites had witnessed God's action virtually continuously and for a long time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>but even this long term \"exposure\" to God's self-proclamation did nothing for them, they learned nothing from it. Still <strong>wandered <\/strong>- so they were completely \"off\" in their thinking. They did not understand at all that God was leading them and for what purpose<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>perhaps a comparison could be made to <strong>to an unteachable baby<\/strong>A: Immediately after birth, the newborn requires the mother's continuous presence. This is normal. Gradually, however, he must begin to understand that just because the mother has moved away for three minutes does not mean that she has abandoned him. The mother has proved a thousand times that she didn't abandon him, she just needed to run an errand. This resilience, this elementary trust in the mother, this ability to do without the mother's presence, increases with age. If a child is still screaming hysterically at the age of ten when his mother is away from him for a while, something is very wrong <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>11 As I swore in my anger: Surely they shall not enter into my rest.'<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>God was extremely \"annoyed\" by the attitude of the Israelites. Even to the point of vowing that they would not reach the land prepared for them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">it is hard to get God to \"break his rod\" over us. It's hard, but not impossible.<\/mark><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">12 Take heed, brethren, lest perhaps there be in any of you <strong>an evil and unfaithful heart, so that he would fall away from the living God, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the root cause of why the Israelites did not eventually enter was their <strong>heart<\/strong> - because it was <strong>evil and unfaithful<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>unfaithful means that their heart has \"given up\" on God, abandoned Him<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">13 and therefore each other <strong>Assist <\/strong>every day until it says Today, so that none of you will be <strong>hardened by delusion <\/strong>of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> mutual correction is possible and desirable. Mutual admonition can help in some cases<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>that which leads away from the right path is sin. And sin never presents itself as sin, but always in some way <strong>lying<\/strong>that is, masquerading, making himself better than he is<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if that origin of assurance <strong>we'll keep it tight to the end<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>you have to hold on till the end. Giving up ten metres before the finish line is still giving up<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">15 When it is said, `If you hear his voice today, <strong>do not harden your hearts as in the indignation, <\/strong>... 4,7 `If you hear his voice today, do not harden your hearts.'<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>during the journey to Christ, it is necessary not to reject God's (or the brother's) corrections<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">16 Who are they that have heard, and <strong>have caused outrage<\/strong>? Were they not all those who came out of Egypt through Moses?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the indignation of God is meant.  Who were those who made God so angry that he vowed not to let them into his land? It was the Christians, the children of God, to whom it happened.<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">17 To whom <strong>Angered <\/strong>for forty years? Is it not to those who have sinned, and whose corpses have fallen in the wilderness? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>and they pissed Her off real bad and for a long time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">18 And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that <strong>disobeyed<\/strong>? ... 4,5 And here again, `They shall not enter into my rest.6 Because therefore there remains a possibility that some may enter into it, and because those to whom it was preached before, <strong>they didn't come in for insubordination,<\/strong> ... 4,11 Let us therefore make haste to enter into that rest, lest any man fall by the same example. <strong>disobedience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>fatal in the end was their unwillingness to be told, to be corrected (disobedience)<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">19 And we see that they could not come in for <strong>disbelief<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>by losing faith, by losing faithfulness, by losing trust, believers can close the way to salvation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4,1 The promise is still valid for entering into his rest, so let us fear lest any of you should be found to be <strong>missed<\/strong>. <strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the door for entry is open. The window of opportunity is still open. But it won't last forever. This opportunity can be \"missed.\"<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2 For the glad tidings have been announced to us, as well as to them. But the word which they heard did not profit them, because they were not united by faith with those who heard<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>yes, the word of God may not be of benefit if it is not coupled with faith<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3 For we enter into rest, <strong>who have believed<\/strong>as he said, `As I swore in my anger: They shall not enter into my rest,'' though the works were finished from the foundation of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the condition of entrance is to gain faith, to have faith and not to lose faith<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">10 For whosoever hath entered into his rest, he also <strong>rested from his actions<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>until we enter, we must not give up, we must keep the faith and walk with God. It is impossible to rest from this<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">So we have gone through an extensive analysis of what it does and does not mean to struggle in agony to enter God's rest<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;Lk 13,24 Usilujte vej\u00edt \u00fazk\u00fdmi dve\u0159mi, nebo\u0165 mnoz\u00ed, prav\u00edm v\u00e1m, se budou sna\u017eit vej\u00edt, ale nebudou schopni.&nbsp; \u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c5\u03bb\u03b7\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9 \u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03b6\u03b7\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b9\u03c3\u03c7\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd&nbsp; Agonidzesthe eiselthein dia tes stenes thyras, hoti&nbsp; poloi lego umin, dzetesusin eiselthein kai uk ischysusin Mezi &#8222;sna\u017eit se (agonidzesthai)&#8220;\u00a0 a &#8222;sna\u017eit se (dzetein)&#8220; [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"[]"},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biblical_studies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyversebible.hiseo.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}