consideringthebibletogether

Questions I’ve been Asked – What Kingdom – Part 3?

2020-09-12

kingdom-of-heaven-1 90.jpeg Quite a while back we were enjoying a Bible study in our home, and a good brother came up with a teaching that I had never considered.

In a nut shell, he stated that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven were two different kingdoms. Initially I considered this to be hair splitting, and not worth chasing, but he was adamant about the difference, stating that the message had to be understood with this difference.

Okay, since I welcome a topic to discuss, and to consider what the Bible is trying to teach me, I resolved to look into it for my brothers sake. – Spenser – if you are out there, give me a call – it has been too lang since we spoke and I miss you brother.

For the next few posts, I will provide verses where the Master, in teaching of the Kingdom, sometimes uses God and sometimes uses Heaven as the modifier (in the same teaching).

Let’s continue with our third (and final) post to see if we can find any obvious differences.

Teaching of the Kingdom – 7

Matthew 13:33

He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Luke 13:20, 21

And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

Same measurement of flour, same person doing the mixing ( a woman!) and the same reference to leaven. Wait – what?

Did you see what I just wrote. Leaven is used in relation to the growth of the kingdom! No that can’t be!

Time for a Rant (It’s been a while, eh?)

When I was a little bitty baby believer, I was taught that leaven represented sin in a person’s life. The verses below were used to justify this teaching.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Leaven, is used to represent boasting in verse 6. In verse 8, the leaven is equated with malice and evil. One characteristic of leaven is that it permeates any lump of dough (it doesn’t discriminate), and once it is introduced, it permeates the entire lump of dough.

The leaven isn’t related to any moral characteristic except contextually, but the purpose of using the leaven metaphor is to describe its ability to permeate any dough and all the dough.

What leaven has been introduced into your life? Remember, any lump of dough, no matter how poor or rich, how righteous or vile, when the leaven enters, it will perform the work it was sent to do.

May the leaven be right!

End of rant – But now I have no other discussion to offer for the topic of this post in relation tho the set of verses supplied.

But, let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Teaching of the Kingdom – 8

Matthew 18:3

and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Mark 10:14

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Luke 18:16

But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Okay – maybe here there is something. Regarding the kingdom of heaven, if the conditions aren’t met (that is to become like a child), one cannot enter it. Not so with the kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children.

Is this a difference?

Matthew’s verse is describing a restriction to the kingdom. Mark and Luke describe those to whom the Kingdom belongs.

Matthew speaks of a restriction.

Mark and Luke speak of a permission.

This may be the two sides of the same coin.

Let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Teaching of the Kingdom – 9

Matthew 22:2

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,

Luke 13:29

And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

Dang – I’m not seeing anything of difference in these verse either. Golly Spenser, I wish you were here to guide me in seeing the differences, and to help me to see. I suppose I have lived my Christian life so far without knowing the difference, and if the difference is critical, I ask that the Father in heaven would open my understanding.

But for the time being, I think I will no longer wait and see before we make up our minds – No – I think they are the same kingdom!

Epilogue

The kingdom of Heaven is spoken of 32 times in the New Testament. Thirty two times Matthew uses this term. No other author uses this term.

Might Matthew have been using “heaven” instead of “God” to placate the sensitivities of the Jewish audience he was writing to?

That may be, but a quick search let me know that is a short sighted solution.

Matthew uses the term “Kingdom of God” five times in his gospel to the Jews.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 12:28

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew 19:24

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 21:31

Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.

Matthew 21:43

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

It is interesting to note that Matthew may have reserved the term “Kingdom of God” to strengthen his message, and possibly shock his readers. (That consideration may be good fodder for another blog post.)

Of course all of this is conjecture since I won’t get a chance to discuss these thoughts with the apostle tonight. But maybe some day I will bring it up when I see him. Come to think of it, I’m thinking I’m gonna be distracted by the Greater Apostle at that point, and if there is a difference, I will rejoice in it!

Hope you enjoyed our little venture into the difference between these two terms. Leave a comment to start a discussion. I look forward to your thoughts.

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OT in NT – Philippians

2020-09-11

How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

This post is simply a data dump of information for your struggle.

Find below a spreadsheet embedded into the post that lists verses from the New Testament book of Philippians and corresponding Old Testament references.

Good luck as you research each of the verses and try to understand Paul’s justification for using the Old Testament passage the way he did.

11-OT in NT – Philippians

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Questions I’ve been Asked – What Kingdom – Part 2?

2020-09-10

kingdom-of-heaven-1 90.jpeg Quite a while back we were enjoying a Bible study in our home, and a good brother came up with a teaching that I had never considered.

In a nut shell, he stated that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven were two different kingdoms. Initially I considered this to be hair splitting, and not worth chasing, but he was adamant about the difference, stating that the message had to be understood with this difference.

Okay, since I welcome a topic to discuss, and to consider what the Bible is trying to teach me, I resolved to look into it for my brothers sake. – Spenser – if you are out there, give me a call – it has been too lang since we spoke and I miss you brother.

For the next few posts, I will provide verses where the Master, in teaching of the Kingdom, sometimes uses God and sometimes uses Heaven as the modifier (in the same teaching).

Let’s continue with our second post to see if we can find any obvious differences.

Teaching of the Kingdom – 4

Matthew 13:11

And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Mark 4:11

And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

Luke 8:10

he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

Golly. This one ain’t helping either.

I know – maybe there is some overlap in the two kingdoms and that could explain the exact same descriptions used for both kingdoms, even though they may have characteristics that are different in some other aspect.

Let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Teaching of the Kingdom – 5

Matthew 13:24

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,

Mark 4:26

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

Difference – One time the farmer is sowing seed, the other time, the farmer is scattering seed. At least with this set of verses, there is a difference in the message, but alas, it is a difference without distinction.

Let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Teaching of the Kingdom – 6

Matthew 13:31, 32

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Mark 4:30 – 32

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,

yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Luke 13:18, 19

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

Okay – so this is the parable of the mustard seed. Not seeing anything jump out a me that will help differentiate between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God in this instance.

Let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Hopefully our next post will supply some answers, (or at least produce fewer questions)!

Hope to see you then.

Be blessed.

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Chatting with a Dispy – 10

2020-09-09

mount-olives-split-2 A brother in the Lord asked if I would discuss dispensationalism and Zechariah 14 with a blogger who owns a bible prophecy website. I gladly accepted the inviation and will provide to the reader the discussion as it occurred.. I have changed the web site owners name to “Brother” for the sake of his privacy, and each of my responses are italicized and indented for clarity sake.

With that introduction, lets continue our chat with a “Dispy.” We pick up in continuing my previous response to statements on his web site. During this discussion, I fear my brother may have lost some focus on the questions at hand. I will leave this to the reader.

Brother

Thanks for such a quick response! I am really enjoying our discussion! Let us continue.

If you take the landing of Jesus literally, please consider this

Zech 13:1 states “a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity”

If we understand the fountain literally, the natural conclusion would be that the fountain waters cleanse from sin.

Would this be acceptable to you, and if not, on what basis do you reject the fountain as being literally able to cleanse from sin, but accept “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives”, as the physical return of Christ

As an aside, notice that it does not say that He lands on the mount, or descends on the mount, or even that he climbs the mount to get to the top.

Thanks again, and have a great day!

Carl

Please visit next time as we continue to discuss issues that arise between my dispensational friend and myself.

Thanks for visiting and as always, I love getting comments from those who read this blog.

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Questions I’ve been Asked – What Kingdom – Part 1?

2020-09-08

kingdom-of-heaven-1 90.jpeg

Quite a while back we were enjoying a Bible study in our home, and a good brother came up with a teaching that I had never considered.
In a nut shell, he stated that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven were two different kingdoms. Initially I considered this to be hair splitting, and not worth chasing, but he was adamant about the difference, stating that the message had to be understood with this difference.

Okay, since I welcome a topic to discuss, and to consider what the Bible is trying to teach me, I resolved to look into it for my brothers sake. – Spenser – if you are out there, give me a call – it has been too long since we spoke and I miss you brother.

For the next few posts, I will provide verses where the Master, in teaching of the Kingdom, sometimes uses God and sometimes uses Heaven as the modifier (in the same teaching).

Let’s see if there are any obvious differences.

Teaching of the Kingdom – 1

Matthew 4:12, 17

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mark 1:14-15

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Both of these instances, where Jesus declares the nearness of the kingdom, occur directly after John is thrown into prison. Jesus message at that time was that a kingdom was near and that repentance was necessary. Of course, if the kingdom of heaven is different than the kingdom of God, there may need to be some additional repentance for some of these folks who heard the wrong message.

I don’t see anything obviously different in these two passages other than the modifier being used. Might they be the same kingdom?

Let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Teaching of the Kingdom – 2

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 6:20

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

The sermon on the plain (Luke’s version) is typically considered having the same basic teaching as the sermon on the mount. Did Jesus teach this message twice? If He did, is there an obvious difference in the message, other than the use of the modifier?

Matthew uses poor in spirit, where Luke simply describes the recipient as being poor. Maybe there is a difference!

Yet the term Luke uses refers to a person who is reduced to beggary, powerless, lowly, destitute of position and honor.

It seems the message is the same. Could the kingdoms be the same?

Let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Teaching of the Kingdom – 3

Matthew 11:11–12
Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Luke 7:28

I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Dang – the only word revised in this message, describing John the Baptist is the term we are trying find differences in. Every word in the Matthew account is identical to the Luke account except heaven / God.

This passage is not helping with the case for two different kingdoms. But we have more passages so……

Let’s wait and see before we make up our minds

Hope to visit with you next time we are Considering the Bible.

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Faith – Apistos – Unbeliever

2020-09-07

Faith 2 As mentioned in my earlier post, I was in discussion with my Sunday School teacher and we verred into the topic of faith. This topic addresses the first Greek word in our table below

Faith

He had told me there are a number of Greek words in the New Testament that are translated “faith” in our English Bible, and I let him know I thought otherwise.

So I came home and did a quick study, using Blue Letter Bible web site. The following table gives a summary of the New Testament Greek words used when describing our English word “faith”.

Strongs #	Greek	Transliterated	English Equivalent
New Testament (Greek) for “faith”
G571	ἄπιστος	apistos	that believe not, unbelieving, faithless, unbeliever, infidel, thing incredible, which believe not
G1680	ἐλπίς	elpis	hope, faith
G3640	ὀλιγόπιστος	oligopistos	of little faith
G4102	πίστις	pistis	faith, assurance, believe, belief, them that believe, fidelity
G4103	πιστός	pistos	faithful, believe, believing, true, faithfully, believer, sure not tr
G6066	ὀλιγοπιστία	oligopistia	littleness of faith

This post will consider Apistos, ἄπιστος No Faith

Strong’s Definitions

ἄπιστος ápistos, ap’-is-tos; from G1 (as a negative particle) and G4103; (actively) disbelieving, i.e. without Christian faith (specially, a heathen); (passively) untrustworthy (person), or incredible (thing):—that believeth not, faithless, incredible thing, infidel, unbeliever(-ing).

Apistos

This is the root word discussed earlier, with the prefix of “a” attached. Having this prefix, negates the word, or in other words, creates the opposite of the term.

Consider a man who calls himself a theist – one who believes in God. Place an “a” in front of this term and you find Richard Dawkins. (an athiest).

Unbeliever/Infidel

1 Timothy 5:8

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

I used to read the KJV religiously, and in that translation, the term “unbeliever” was translated “infidel”. This always bothered me since it is such a loaded term.

This verse actually convinced me of the need to provide life insurance for my wife, since it was so closely associated with the description of widows in this passage.

Again, this verse will be dealt with in a Conditional Security post I will provide, so I will leave the reader to that.

In conclusion of these past few posts, it seems obvious (at least to me) that the condition of unbelieving is not irreversible. If you are in a state of unbelief, change your mind.

Change your will.

Make a decision to follow the Master. Consider the gospel of the grace of God and don’t throw away the invitation to enter into belief.

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Commandments for Christians – No Coveting

2020-09-06

The-Ten-Commandments-Tablets-Are-Christians-Under-the-Law As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

This post will continue with

Commandment #10 – No Coveting

Exodus 20:17

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Lets remember the key questions we are looking to resolve as we go through each of the commandments.

Is each commandment included in Jesus or the Apostles teaching?
If so, was there anything different about the command as expressed by Jesus or the Apostles?

The NO IDOLS command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

Jesus made mention of the last commandment, and in Luke 12 :15, He makes a very startling statement considering the land of plenty and success we live in.

How often have you heard of a friend or colleague “having made it”, of “being successful”, or “living the good life”?

Luke 12:15 – And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Consider the phrase “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”. There is nothing worse than laying cheap guilt on believers, so I want to be careful to not condemn believers simply because they have a nice car or house.

This is an internal issue. A covetous man can very likely be a very poor fella, but always wanting someone else’s “possessions” A covetous man can very likely be a filthy rich man, never sharing or considering others.

The story of JD Rockerfeller always comes to mind when I think of covetousness. He was on a television talk show decades ago, and the talking head asked him when he will have enough. He simply stated “Just one more dollar”.

The covetousness in the old Testament was related to wanting other peoples wives, or calves or bowling balls. Jesus is re-framing this command to include our own possessions. That hurt!

The issue is focus, where do I find my life? Am I wrapped up in the things I own? Troubling question.

Rom 13:9 – For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Paul gives a summary verse, that covers the commandments for the believer. This is a very appropriate verse to end this portion of the series.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Hope you will come back to visit, as we look at some of the verses that I leaned on early in my Christian experience, to justify my ignoring the moral code of God.

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Questions I’ve Been Asked – Animals & the Ark – Part 3

2020-09-05

A while back a brudder asked me about the ark and all the animals that Noah had to “fit” in the ark.

Carl – There is no way in poop that all those animals could fit in the ark – it is foolishness.

In our last post we figgered the room that was available on the ark.

A quick reminder may be best!

Available Floor Space

Using the dimensions supplied by Genesis 6, and converting the cubit to the standard, widely accepted, average, normal, acceptable measurement of 18″ (enough with the qualifiers Carl!), we came up with a floor space.

With all that said, how much space did Noah have available for all these animals?

450’ (long) x 75’ (wide) x 3 (decks) x 3 (shelves / deck) =303,750 square feet

Required Floor Space

Using a conservative assumption, we choose the average size of an animal that would ride the waves with Noah as the lowly sheep – seemed to be a fair animal to pick on! This animal could easily reside in a 5′ x 5′ x 5′ “cage, especially if we understand that the animals may have entered into a hibernation for the duration of the trip. Remember, this is a rescue ship, not a vacation liner, and the efficiencies I am describing are intended to reflect that purpose!

We also referred to some folks called taxonomers (folks who divide animals up into groups, not the IRS people!) to come up with a conservative estimation for the number of species / animals that would be travelling the high seas with Noah.

If I remember right, that number was 50,000. Hey – is my sceptic back? Hope so – that number is just for you!!

50,000 animals will require the following space based on the previous average room required.

50,000 x 5 square feet / average animal = 250,000 square feet

Enough Space?

With all these conservative estimates, it is very possible to see the viability of this “box” to carry the required animals. According to these calculations, Noah had over 50,000 square feet for living quarters for his family and for food storage. Food for the animals may have been minimal, since I think most, if not all the animals may have entered a type of hibernation during this journey.

Considering the original concern about not enough space for all the animals, spending a few minutes to think of the problem let me see that Noah had quite the pleasure yacht if it wasn’t for the all the animals snoring! (I am being waggish again!)

How did the animals reach the different parts of the earth?

The animals simply dispersed, finding environments, food supplies and land bridges to accomplish complete dispersion.

Although not the topic of this blog, (and without any solid teaching from the Bible,) it is possible that the concept of continental drift may offer some portion of the explanation of this question.

Why are some species only present in certain areas of the world?

I like living in Texas. I am a Canadian, but I have found that I like living in Texas. It is my certain area of the world I live in

Nuff said?

Anyway, hope to hear your opinion or enter into some discussion with you my friend. Let me know your thoughts and hope to see you again soon.

Thanks for dropping by.

Hey as I was proofreading, I found a tiny mathematical mistake – Nothing that makes my general argument invalid, but I’m gonna leave the “mistake” in the post for any and all to find – even if you are not my sceptic!

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OT in NT – Ephesians

2020-09-04

How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

This post is simply a data dump of information for your struggle.

Find below a spreadsheet embedded into the post that lists verses from the New Testament book of Ephesians and corresponding Old Testament references.

Good luck as you research each of the verses and try to understand Paul’s justification for using the Old Testament passage the way he did.

10-OT in NT – Ephesians

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Eternal Security and its Fruit

2020-09-03

A fella by the name o Eternal Security - 1 f George Sodini kept a blog.

I have found a few posts that he published. These posts are interesting to me since they have a theological leaning.

You see, this man listened to a preacher teaching about eternal security, and the message this man heard allowed him to make some very serious decisions!

December 24th 2008, he states

I should have exit plan done and practiced by then. I know nothing will change, no matter how hard I try or what goals I set.

December 28th 2008, he states

I will shoot for Tuesday, January 6, 2009, at maybe 8:15. I have list of to-do items to make.

December 31st 2008 he states

I hope it doesn’t snow on Tuesday. Just thought of that. The crowd will be thin so I would postpone. —-!

A little later he would write

Be Ye Holy, even as I have been Ye holy! Thus saith the lord thy God!”, as pastor Rick Knapp would proclaim. …. religion is a waste. But this guy teaches (and convinced me) you can commit mass murder then still go to heaven. Ask him.

January 5, 2009

Was at the gym to lift. Very crowded. Tomorrow should be good. …… to be in serious pain so long one thinks it is normal. I cannot wait for tomorrow!

January 6th 2009

It is 6:40pm, about hour and a half to go. God have mercy. I wish life could be better for all and the crazy world can somehow run smoother. I wish I had answers. Bye.

It is 8:45PM I chickened out! —-! I brought the loaded guns, everything. Hell!

May 4, 2009

I was so eager to do this last year.

What is it like to be dead? I always think I am forgetting something, that’s one reason I postponed. Similar to when you leave to get in your car to go somewhere – you hesitate with a thought: “what am I forgetting?”. In this case, I cannot make a return trip!

May 5, 2009:

To pull the exit plan off, it popped into my mind to just use some booze.

August 3, 2009

I took off today, Monday, and tomorrow to practice my routine and make sure it is well polished. I need to work out every detail, there is only one shot.

Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.

Also, any of the “Practice Papers” left on my coffee table I used or the notes in my gym bag can be published freely. I will not be embarrassed, because, well, I will be dead.

On August 4th, 2009 George Sodini entered an LA Fitness health club, firing 52 shots into the building, killing 3 women and injuring nine others. He also took his own life.

This shooting was perpetrated by an imbalanced man, with multiple struggles and personality conflicts.

The referral to seeing God and Jesus, along with the reference to being able to commit mass murder while still being able to go to heaven seems to me to be a warning sign of the eternal security teaching.

Can a sick man take a good teaching and warp it to his own justified benefit? You bet.

Can this type of teaching also lend itself to What does it say allowing for sinful actions to be justified within the believers life? I think so, and this story seems to indicate this very thing.

Be careful of the teachings you listen to. Actions are a result of beliefs. Guard your heart, and follow the truth found in the Scripture, and not from any man.

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Chatting with a Dispy – 9

2020-09-02

mount-olives-split-2 A brother in the Lord asked if I would discuss dispensationalism and Zechariah 14 with a blogger who owns a bible prophecy website. I gladly accepted the inviation and will provide to the reader the discussion as it occurred.. I have changed the web site owners name to “Brother” for the sake of his privacy, and each of my responses are italicized and indented for clarity sake.

With that introduction, lets continue our chat with a “Dispy.” We pick up in continuing my previous response to statements on his web site. During this discussion, I fear my brother may have lost some focus on the questions at hand. I will leave this to the reader.

I believe you ask very good questions. Some of the best I’ve ever heard asked! To what intent does the prophets say “god treads on the mountains”? I must reply I know of many possible intentions, and I know that God often teaches mankind through parallels, examples, similitude’s, and first doing things in the natural, and then the spiritual.

For example, when Adam and Eve sinned, God gave them animal skins, not Levi’s. Thus, there was an “animal sacrifice” from the beginning to teach of death, and consequences of sin, and that a sacrifice can provide a covering for sin. As we now know, 6000 years later, Jesus’s death for us provides for us white robes that cover our sins.

What is being communicated that God walks on the mounts? Good question. I can only guess and make an educated Biblical guess, in fitting with all other scriptures and doctrines. what is your guess?

I have walked on mountaintops. Have you? What did you see and feel? I see a great view all around; it’s not just “the outdoors”, but it’s an amazing feeling to see so much. Often you are exhausted when you get there. I feel peace. I feel humbled. I feel exhilarated. I feel an appreciation for the creation. I often feel I can commune with God.

I was a skier. We take a chairlift to mountaintops. It’s not the same, but often, just a little bit similar, or only a bit less so.

One thing I have noticed about the outdoors is the sense of freedom, yet also, the sense of lack of security; without the comforts of civilization. There is freedom, and fear.

There is also no slavery in nature. Only man engages in debt slavery with one another. Animals do not do such horrible things to one another.

But what do scriptures say about mountains? They are often places of worship of God, or of false gods. The “temple mount” in Jerusalem is a holy spot. Moses saw the burning bush in the mountains, on holy ground.

Is God “mystical” and so “spiritual” that things can not be understood or practical?

Our God is practical. Idolatry is an affront because it is a useless waste of time, dishonors God, and is often used to pool money from misled people and steal from them, as they trust in a false idol rather than reality.

Jesus said about trees that do not bear fruit, to cut them to the ground.

Mountains are not very useful forms of land; the land is often unfit for human use, unfruitful, and in the sierras, the land behind the mountains is desert, since the mountains drain the precipitation out of the clouds as the clouds move up over the mountains, so the mountains also make large parts of the earth less useful.

Perhaps God intends to level the mountains, to make the earth more useful and fruitful?

Perhaps mountains are an affront to God, lifted up places that compete with the Glory of God.

Perhaps mountains represent fallen angels, who will be destroyed.

Perhaps mountains represent kingdoms of man, who will be destroyed.

Perhaps mountains are like temples of worship, like pyramids built in the shape of mountains.

Perhaps God will destroy not only the physical mountains, but all things like mountains, fallen angels, kingdoms, worthless land, worthless idols, etc.

There are video games where you can “terra form”. Often, tearing down the mountains and filling the valleys lets you build a bigger city with more people.

I have often wondered if there would be any such thing as skiing on a mountain when God comes to restore the earth. I don’t know.

But in no case can I use any sort of spiritual lesson or teaching to deny what the Bible or the prophets say.

God can, and usually does both, first the physical, then the spiritual. If Jesus comes back to land on, and destroy a mountain, I believe the best interpretation is to take that literally, and to understand that the literal future fulfillment is the beginning of what will take place around the world, and in the spiritual fulfillment, as God will destroy all kingdoms set against him, as well, which we know he will do.

But in no case, is the spiritual interpretation to be used to deny the physical and literal, when there are no problems with the physical being fulfilled.

Brother

Please visit next time as we continue to discuss issues that arise between my dispensational friend and myself.

Thanks for visiting and as always, I love getting comments from those who read this blog.

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A Jealous God – Part 8

2020-09-01

Our final post on jealousy, and I want to thank you for tagging along with me on this series.

Little did I think after taking the challenge of my Sunday School teacher on studying jealousy, that I would find some of the teaching I have – It has been challenging, and rewarding at the same, and I want to thank the Lord for His jealousy for my soul. His jealousy has sought me out and seeks my good. His jealousy is not like mine, in that His jealousy is patient, full of mercy and seeks my good along with His honor.

Thank you

So, let us proceed with 1 Peter.

1 Peter 2:1
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

I find it interesting that Peter links slander with envy in this verse.

The work of envy will result in malicious gossip and slander of another’s character. The character of believers and non-believers.

And yet we are to walk in truth.

We are to live without deceit, so (follow my logic here…) if someone has a character flaw, is it not proper, nay, even required to inform others of this flaw?

Tsk tsk tsk – you have fallen into the trap I am slowly climbing out of. Hear Peter calling out to us.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

If my brother has a character flaw, I can freely go to him and lovingly seek to help him in his weakness, realizing my own weakness and frailty. I am not to be his judge, passing judgement (real or perceived) upon him in front of others, by spreading slander. I am to be his brother.

By the way, the Master walked in truth, coupled with grace. Don’t let truth become your only foundation!

John 1:14, 17
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of graceandtruth.
For the law was given through Moses; graceandtruth came through Jesus Christ.

One more verse that speaks of jealously in the New Testament. I knew this verse was coming up in my study, and it has arrived. Let’s consider.

James 4:5
Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

OK – here is the one New Testament verse that links jealousy with God directly.

But I still am not sure of the exact meaning. I found a commentator that seemed to capture my confusion.

David Guzik tries to explain…

Is it God jealously yearning for the devotion of our spirit which He put within us, or is it the Spirit within us jealously yearning for the full devotion of our heart?

No matter, the jealousy of God is expressed in the New Testament in this verse and calls for each of us to draw closer to Him on a continual basis.

But let me ask you something. Upon the time you decide to draw near to God, seeking to worship Him in truth and in spirit, competition for your affection from various sources becomes stronger.

Do you not find that to be true my brother and sister? This is the battle, and for one, I am finding that my battles are becoming increasingly distractive.

Constant thoughts of prayer in a few minutes instead on asking for His help at the time. Too many items to mention at this time, and my intent is not to discourage. I have one challenge for my reader – Right now, before you end reading this post, seek to draw near to God.

Put away those things that are distractions – this blog being one of your distractions – and draw near to the Living God.

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Faith – Apistos – Unbelievable

2020-08-31

Faith 2 As mentioned in my earlier post, I was in discussion with my Sunday School teacher and we verred into the topic of faith. This topic addresses the first Greek word in our table below

Faith

He had told me there are a number of Greek words in the New Testament that are translated “faith” in our English Bible, and I let him know I thought otherwise.

So I came home and did a quick study, using Blue Letter Bible web site. The following table gives a summary of the New Testament Greek words used when describing our English word “faith”.

Strongs #	Greek	Transliterated	English Equivalent
New Testament (Greek) for “faith”
G571	ἄπιστος	apistos	that believe not, unbelieving, faithless, unbeliever, infidel, thing incredible, which believe not
G1680	ἐλπίς	elpis	hope, faith
G3640	ὀλιγόπιστος	oligopistos	of little faith
G4102	πίστις	pistis	faith, assurance, believe, belief, them that believe, fidelity
G4103	πιστός	pistos	faithful, believe, believing, true, faithfully, believer, sure not tr
G6066	ὀλιγοπιστία	oligopistia	littleness of faith

This post will consider Apistos, ἄπιστος No Faith

Strong’s Definitions

ἄπιστος ápistos, ap’-is-tos; from G1 (as a negative particle) and G4103; (actively) disbelieving, i.e. without Christian faith (specially, a heathen); (passively) untrustworthy (person), or incredible (thing):—that believeth not, faithless, incredible thing, infidel, unbeliever(-ing).

Apistos

This is the root word discussed earlier, with the prefix of “a” attached. Having this prefix, negates the word, or in other words, creates the opposite of the term.

Consider a man who calls himself a theist – one who believes in God. Place an “a” in front of this term and you find Richard Dawkins. (an athiest).

Unbelievable/Incredible

Acts 26:8

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

This verse states that it takes faith to limit God. What?

Let me rephrase this verse in a Carlism.

Why is your faith limited to God only working to the point of raising the dead, but not including the raising the the dead?

Is that limiting attitude considered faith? Why do we limit God the Father?

He has given ample evidence to know the truth.

The gospel is not unbelievable – it is wholly within the realm of believability, based on historical evidence, the Biblical text, the growth of the early church and the death of the apostles, to name a few.

But as I think of it, in a sense, the gospel is unbelievable, that is, in the motive of the Father in sacrificing His Son for a sinner like me. His love is beyond comprehension! The Son’s love for me, in dying that cruel death, is beyond my understanding. Oh the deep love of Jesus.

He has supplied the truth to us. Do not let the unbelievable love of God escape your grasp.

Be right with God.

Do not limit Him!

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Commandments for Christians – No False Witness

2020-08-30

The-Ten-Commandments-Tablets-Are-Christians-Under-the-Law As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

This post will continue with

Commandment #9 – No False Witness

Exodus 20:16

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Lets remember the key questions we are looking to resolve as we go through each of the commandments.

Is each commandment included in Jesus or the Apostles teaching?
If so, was there anything different about the command as expressed by Jesus or the Apostles?

The NO LYING command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

We discussed the following verses in our previous post, regarding stealing, and the comments are readily applicable to the commandment of NO LYING. The commands were given for many reasons, but I feel at this time, Jesus was using them to disclose the depravity, the darkness resident in our hearts.

Mat 15:19 – 20

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Paul reframes this commandment, again showing that we have the power to obey, we

Colossians 3:8-10

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Do not lie to one another.

Why Paul? What motivating factor are you going to give us that will enable us to be truthful with one another?

At conversion, in repentance and faith, a great transaction happens. The new believer “puts off his old self”. A new nature is implanted in the believer. Life is sown in the believers heart and all things become new. (I wanna discuss 2 Corinthians 5:17 at a later date – Don’t let me forget, eh?)

Notice that it is not simply, or better said, not only that the old self is put off, but that the new self has been put on! Remember – nature abhors a vacuum, and the same is true in relation to the spiritual life.

putting-on-the-new-man The new self, whether it is referring to the Spirit of God, or a renewed/resurrected spirit within the believer is beyond me. That is for those fellas that get paid to think God’s thoughts. For me, I’m simply thankful that He has supplied life, encouragement, strength, direction and the ability to tell the truth.

I no longer have to lie. I have a choice to refuse to lie, to speak the truth to one another.

For those reading, if you see I am blind to a truth in our time together, this passage speaks to all. If you have the “new man”, continue to grow in the knowledge of the Messiah, and do not lie to one another, but speak the truth.

Thanks again for coming to visit. Have a good day, and enjoy being with the “new man.”

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Questions I’ve been Asked – Animals & the Ark – Part 2

2020-08-29

A while back a brudder asked me about the ark and all the animals that Noah had to “fit” in the ark.

Carl – There is no way in poop that all those animals could fit in the ark – it is foolishness.

Like I said in the last post, this post will deal with the size of the ark needed for the animals needed passage through the flood. But, alas – it isn’t so straightforward of a problems as I first suspected. Some assumptions need to be made!

Genesis 6
14 “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark–you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Second problem – How do we estimate the required space needed?

This problem requires some conservative assumptions. Many scientists claim that the average size of an animal is somewhere between a rat and a sheep. Lets take the sheep as the conservative estimate.

How much room does a sheep take?

A common method of transporting sheep is by rail. To transport sheep via rail, it is common to fit 120 sheep within a level of a standard rail car. A rail car is generally 60′ by 10′, which gives us 600 square feet.

600 square feet/120 sheep = 5 square feet /sheep

Therefore, each sheep takes up, on average, 5 square feet. We will use this number later!

Remember that Noah built this box with three levels, and a roof. Seeing that the box (ark) was 45 ft high, each deck had a 15’ ceiling. Although not applicable for every animal, this space surely allowed for optional shelving.

Therefore the space available for an “average” animal would calculate out to-

5′ x 5′ x 5′ = 25 cubic feet (assuming 5′ vertical allowance for “head room”)

Third problem – How many animals actually boarded the ark?

First off, how many species of animals do we have on earth presently? Famous taxonomers estimate this quantity at 1,000,000.

The following number of species were not required to be “rescued” since the flood would not completely exterminate their existence. (Note that every living thing in Genesis 6 is defined as “all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die”. Could this imply that aquatic species were not to be considered?)

Fish – 21,000 species
Echinoderms (star fish, sea urchins, etc) – 600 species
Mollusks (mussels, clams, oysters, etc) – 107,000 species
Coelenterates (corals, sea anemones, etc) – 10,000 species
Sponges, – 5,000 species
Protozoans, – 30,000 species
Arthropods (lobster, crabs etc) – 838,000 species
Worms – 35,000 species
Insects – ????????
Amphibians
Some mammals (whales, dolphins, etc)

With that said, some experts have defined the number of species that required “rescuing” to as little as 2,000. Others have been more conservative and stated that 35,000 animals were led to the ark (including the 7 pairs of “clean” animals required by God to be present on the ark!)

Some have expanded the number to 50,000 animals to satisfy the most demanding skeptic. I hope I have a sceptic reading – I am gonna take that number just to satisfy your skepticism! So lets go with that number!

But lets go with that number in our next post. Will I see you there? (I’m asking that one sceptic out there – Hope you will come visit again.)

Hey as I was proofreading, I found a tiny mathematical mistake – Nothing that makes my general argument invalid, but I’m gonna leave the “mistake” in the post for any and all to find – even if you are not my sceptic!

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OT in NT – Galations

2020-08-28

How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

This post is simply a data dump of information for your struggle.

Find below a spreadsheet embedded into the post that lists verses from the New Testament book of Galations and corresponding Old Testament references.

Good luck as you research each of the verses and try to understand Paul’s justification for using the Old Testament passage the way he did.

9-OT in NT – Galations

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Ezekiel 34 – Shepherds as Rulers – 9

2020-08-27

Good Shepherds Rule the Flock?

with force and harshness you have ruled them

Two leadership characteristics define the shepherds that tick off Ezekiel

Ezek 34 :4
The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

First off lets define the characteristics Ezekiel accuses the shepherds of.

Force

חׇזְקָה chozqâh, khoz-kaw’; feminine of H2392; vehemence (usually in a bad sense):—force, mightily, repair, sharply.

Harshness

פֶּרֶךְ perek, peh’-rek; from an unused root meaning to break apart; fracture, i.e. severity:—cruelty, rigour.

Seems these shepherds were being kinda nasty with the way they were shepherding the flock. Descriptions such as force, cruelty, rigour – these are simply negative terms. These shepherds were ‘ruling” as a king, or in my mind, like the typical worldly minded boss that has authority issues in his life (Those type were probably bullied in thier childhood, if you ask me.)

Hebrews 13 7

As always, there are exceptions to the “rule” – The New Testament freely revises the method of shepherding, since Hebrews 13:17, (at least in the ol’ KJV), allows for shepherds to rule over thier flock. (Hellooo – I am being waggish here!!!)

I have addressed the ruling of shepherds discussed in Hebrews 13:17 in five posts, called “Christian Accountability” Check it out when you have a chance.

Let’s look at the definition for rule in the Ezekiel passage

Rule

רָדָה râdâh, raw-daw’; a primitive root; to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to crumble off:—(come to, make to) have dominion, prevail against, reign, (bear, make to) rule,(-r, over), take.

Wow – these shepherds were actings as kings! Ruling with dominion, prevailing against the sheep, reigning!

No wonder the shepherds crucified the good Shepherd. He was atypical, and the light of His life shone on the bad shepherds, exposing thier cruel manner of shepherding.

The rub comes when I look around today. Do we see Ezekiel’s type of shepherd still reigning over God’s people? Of course.

Superiority of the Professional Shepherd

superiority

There are many instances of the superiority of the Shepherd in this culture, those who demand respect from thier flock. Fellowship of the Spirit has been replaced with faithfulness to the Pastor/Priest/Minister. Submission to the will of God has been replaced with subservience to the vision of the Pastor/Priest/Minister.

Don’t get me wrong – We are to submit to one another. That is clear from the book of Ephesians 5:21 .. submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Professional Cross

My concern is the superiority of the professional christian, and the desire of christendom to have it so.

We want a man (or woman) to tell us what God wants. But He has given the Spirit of God to believers for (subjective) guidance, and the Word of God for (objective) guidance. What a blessing to have both the Spirit and the Word. The Spirit of God will not guide you where the Word of God restricts! (Is that news to anyone out there?)

The Apostle Paul’s Superiority

Let’s check out the superiority of the Apostle Paul. Surely if any believer could demand obedience and respect, it would be the apostle Paul. But this concept took a hit in my thinking when I came across 1 Corinthians 16:12.

1 Corinthians 16:12

Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

Did you catch that? How audacious is that Apollos?!
First off, this is the urging of the Apostle Paul, a man who has seen the Lord, and been given revelations he isn’t allowed to speak of. How dare Apollos refuse a request, a strong urging of the Apostle. contumacious

OK – here comes one of my rants!
I tell you, if I was the Apostle, I would have strictly censored Apollos, brought him before the church leadership, stripped him of all fellowship, taken him to the middle of the town and placed him in stocks, with a sign over his head “CONTUMACIOUS” (a wee bit waggish don’t you know!)

What did Paul do? The Apostle of the Gentiles submitted(?) to Apollos’ will – Apollos will come when he has opportunity. How outrageous! How can Paul’s ministry withstand such an insult, such a shaming of authority?

Secondly, I myself wouldn’t have informed the Corinthians of the lack of influence I had over Apollos. Such weakness on Paul’s part. Doesn’t leadership demand obedience?

Unless there was a greater lesson. Hmmmmm.

Self Appointed Apostles & Prophets

The superiority of the professional christian seems to be in full bloom in my neck of the woods. A current fad that has erupted recently in my city is the self proclaimed apostle or prophet. Signs (I mean advertising signs) are all over the city touting of the glorious ministry these apostles and prophets are displaying. Thier billboards and signs have glossy pics of thier person, with crowds feigning at thier presence, with airbrushed highlights and endorsements from other self proclaimed apostles or prophets.

For some reason I fear these “great” christians may never discuss thier weakness and frailty, or the time they had to escape the city in a basket. (Read the last post if this makes no sense)

shepherdcarrysheep4

My friend, if you are under a professional christian that is forcing his way on your life with harshness, run away. Save your soul from the destruction he or she is inflicting on you.

On the other hand, if you currently have found a shepherd that exhibits the humility of the Lord Jesus, and is a man of like passions as yourself, honouring God in his weakness, you have found a blessing. A rare blessing. Let him know, and he just might blush.

Give thanks to the Good Shepherd for your human shepherd.

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Chatting with a Dispy – 8

2020-08-26

mount-olives-split-2

A brother in the Lord asked if I would discuss dispensationalism and Zechariah 14 with a blogger who owns a bible prophecy website. I gladly acceptedx.,, cvnX n the inviation and will provide to the reader the discussion as it occurred.. I have changed the web site owners name to “Brother” for the sake of his privacy, and each of my responses are italicized and indented for clarity sake.

With that introduction, lets continue our chat with a “Dispy.” We pick up in continuing my previous response to statements on his web site.

Genesis 10:25
And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.next subject.

Does God walk literally upon the mountains? I know not, nor do you. I live near a mountain. I know that nobody lives on top of the mountain, and the vast majority of the time, nobody is on top of the mountain. I know that Mt. Everest is desolate, and thus, there is nobody who lives near who could confirm or deny such a thing, therefore, the question is impossible to confirm or deny.

But even more, it is IMPOSSIBLE to deny!

As we know from scripture, Jesus, in resurrected form, appears to his disciples in ways that they cannot discern that it is even Jesus. The Bible also says that God is invisible.

Colossians 1:15
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

If an invisible God walks literally upon the mountains where there is nobody around, how in the world are you able to deny such a thing? You are completely incapable to say that God does not literally walk upon the mountains, and you are completely incapable of making a doctrine, or teaching, that God does not do such things, when the Bible clearly says that he does.

Be careful. It’s best to just believe scripture, rather than try to deny it. And if it requires the denial of scripture, then you are on very bad ground.

Sincerely,

Brother

Brother

In your last response you said – “Does God walk literally upon the mountains? I know not, nor do you. “Why does Amos say He does? Is it not to inform us of something?

In the original post, I believe you said that you expect Jesus to touch down on the Mt of Olives and because of this, that the mount would split (or something to that effect). This is the context of my discussion. Is the prophet Zechariah describing a literal touching of the mount with God’s literal feet? Correct me if I have read you wrong, but I think you would interpret Zechariah that Jesus would land/touch/set/stand/ etc on Mt of Olives in fulfillment of Zech 14. I merely brought Amos and Micah into the discussion to ask if these incidents are of the same literalness.

No one wants to deny the Word. I surely do not, and I am convinced you are striving to be faithful. Finding the intent of a scripture should not be construed as a denial of scripture if it rubs you or I the wrong way. Remember that the Word is to transform us, not us try to conform the Word (to our liking!)

I would agree the Bible clearly teaches that God “treads on the high places of the earth” and “the LORD cometh forth out of his place” and that He will “tread upon the high places of the earth” causing the mountains to be “molten under him” and the valleys “shall be cleft, as wax before the fire…”.(v4). My concern is to try to understand what the prophet was trying to communicate.
If, as you say, no one can deny or prove whether an invisible God walks on the mountains, to what point did the prophet tell us these things?

Next question

If we take Zechariah in a literal manner

Verse 8 – the “fountain of living waters,” Could this phrase represent a spiritual truth? Zech 13:1 states “a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity”
If we understand the fountain literally, the natural conclusion would be that the waters cleanse from sin. Would this be acceptable to you, and if not, on what basis do you reject the fountain as being literally able to cleanse from sin, but accept “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives”, as the physical return of Christ (Notice that it does not say that He lands on the mount, or descends on the mount, or even that he climbs the mount to get to the top.)

Please do not respond asking me if I believe in the physical return of Christ – I surely do and with every day expect it sooner and sooner!

Looking forward to your response

Be blessed

Please visit next time as we continue to discuss issues that arise between my dispensational friend and myself.

Thanks for visiting and as always, I love getting comments from those who read this blog.

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A Jealous God – Part 7

2020-08-25

Jealousy in the New Testament reveals our weakness and insecurity in many passages. Let’s continue to consider passages that address this emotion.

Philippians 1:15
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.

Paul again brings up the issue of envy within the church, and this time he hits preachers / leadership. (By the way, what does envy in a believer tell you about his maturity?)

These preachers were preaching, and Paul was defining two types of preachers. One that preached out of envy. One that preached out of good will. Two types.

Which group might you fall into. Want one more notch on your gun handle? One more decision? One more one more one more….

1 Timothy 6:4
he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,

Boy does this verse bug me. Most of my Christian experience I have lived in the middle of this verse, seeking a controversy here or a quarrel over there. Anything to satisfy my need to feel superior over my brother or sister in the Lord.

Let me tell you that the envy, dissension slander and evil suspicions that took hold in my life ate me up.

Avoid at all costs the temptation to separate yourself from your brother over some insignificant finding or doctrine. No one cares what I think about the location of the New Jerusalem, or where the Ark of the Covenant is, when all they see is dissension, disunity and continual bickering.

Titus 3:3
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

Funny how Paul mentions that we passed our days in malice and envy, and yet looking back over my life, even after my conversion (to my shame!) I have spent far too much time comparing myself with others, nursing thoughts of malice, and wishing I had a better situation.

Golly Carl – you need to grow up!

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Faith – Apistos – Disbelieve

2020-08-24

Faith 2

As mentioned in my earlier post, I was in discussion with my Sunday School teacher and we verred into the topic of faith. This topic addresses the first Greek word in our table below

Faith

He had told me there are a number of Greek words in the New Testament that are translated “faith” in our English Bible, and I let him know I thought otherwise.

So I came home and did a quick study, using Blue Letter Bible web site. The following table gives a summary of the New Testament Greek words used when describing our English word “faith”.

Strongs #	Greek	Transliterated	English Equivalent
New Testament (Greek) for “faith”
G571	ἄπιστος	apistos	that believe not, unbelieving, faithless, unbeliever, infidel, thing incredible, which believe not
G1680	ἐλπίς	elpis	hope, faith
G3640	ὀλιγόπιστος	oligopistos	of little faith
G4102	πίστις	pistis	faith, assurance, believe, belief, them that believe, fidelity
G4103	πιστός	pistos	faithful, believe, believing, true, faithfully, believer, sure not tr
G6066	ὀλιγοπιστία	oligopistia	littleness of faith

This post will consider Apistos, ἄπιστος

No Faith

Strong’s Definitions

ἄπιστος ápistos, ap’-is-tos; from G1 (as a negative particle) and G4103; (actively) disbelieving, i.e. without Christian faith (specially, a heathen); (passively) untrustworthy (person), or incredible (thing):—that believeth not, faithless, incredible thing, infidel, unbeliever(-ing).

Apistos

This is the root word discussed earlier, with the prefix of “a” attached. Having this prefix, negates the word, or in other words, creates the opposite of the term.

Consider a man who calls himself a theist – one who believes in God. Place an “a” in front of this term and you find Richard Dawkins. (an athiest).

Disbelieve

John 20:27

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Jesus gave Thomas an opportunity to believe. It is an act of the will, and Thomas had the opportunity to exercise his will, upon the evidence Jesus supplied him, to believe that Jesus rose from the dead.

In other words, to believe the gospel.

God is not reluctant to supply evidence. He is active if we have eyes to see, and ears to hear.

This is your decision.

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Commandments for Christians – No Stealing

2020-08-23

The-Ten-Commandments-Tablets-Are-Christians-Under-the-Law

As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

This post will continue with

Commandment #8 – No Stealing

Exodus 20:8

You shall not steal

Lets remember the key questions we are looking to resolve as we go through each of the commandments.

Is each commandment included in Jesus or the Apostles teaching?
If so, was there anything different about the command as expressed by Jesus or the Apostles?

The NO STEALING command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

Mat 15:19 – 20

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Jesus is teaching the populace the upside down nature of His kingdom, or in other words, how backwards we have the truth when it comes to relating to God and His rule in our lives.

This teaching starts off seemingly innocently in my mind. Dietary laws are of little to no influence in the culture I live in, other than for the sake of appearance and health. Religious observance of diet are essentially non-existent.

no stealing

What has dietary laws got to do with stealing you may ask? The teaching started out with correcting the teaching of defilement. How and what to eat were massive influences within the Jewish culture, and rules upon rules were established to perform these rites.

But Jesus is defining the source of defilement. It is in me. All the food restrictions in the world won’t change that.

And theft comes out of my heart, my inner person. This defiles me. I defile me.

O wretched man that I am. How could I find any hope other than in the person of Jesus. I need an external Savior, some one other than I.

Rant #1

Note how Jesus deals with the Pharisses offence.

Matthew 15:13 – 14

He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

How often do I get upset about those who are obviously teaching error, and the victims they are feeding off of. The mercy and love of God is ever extending to all of us who have that “self” in us, that destructive defiling “self” resident in us. Yet, Jesus seems to dismiss the Pharisees, and their followers as being destined to the pit.

This passage is difficult for me personally. We are all blind to varying degrees, completely blind to the Messiah prior to conversion, and yet mercy was displayed. How can He dismiss these when the gospel reaches out to all?

The only resolve I have, in my current understanding, was that at this specific time and topic, when Peter brought this concern to Jesus, it had become obvious that the die was set, and the Pharisees were doomed, as a religious and political party. It may take 40 years for the nation to fall, but fall it would. The teaching of the Pharisees would evaporate, and those who clung unto their falsehoods would also be finished.

It is interesting that the Lord used the “root up” symbology, which hearkens back to the days of Jeremiah, when he was prophesying of the first destruction of Jerusalem.

Does Paul re-frame this commandment? I think this particular commandment is the one that helped me turn a corner on how the New Testament does not abandon the moral code of the ten commandments, but exalts the law, re-framing the code in the light of the gospel.

Ephesians 4:28

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Paul is most likely addressing a problem within the Ephesian church, that is, a possible thief that has not understood the ramifications of the gospel call on his life. God’s nature has not changed and His people, in reflecting that nature, need / want to conform to that nature.

Some times it is just a matter of teaching, that will provide the information to the believer in order to direct his/her life properly. I like to think this is what is happening in this passage.

Some young believer is still swiping stuff, having had the habit for possibly years, and yet now having acquired the new nature, is informed of the higher life. Provide for others, instead of taking from others.

It is encouraging to see lives changed by the gospel. This is a concrete response to the gospel .

Give don’t take – Its kinda a no brainer, since He gave and gave and gave.

Hey thanks for giving some of your time to consider the Bible with me. I look forward to your comments and will respond to each one as the day affords.

May God bless you and your loved ones.

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Questions I’ve Been Asked – Animals & the Ark – Part 1

2020-08-22

A while back a brudder asked me about the ark and all the animals that Noah had to “fit” in the ark.

Carl – There is no way in poop that all those animals could fit in the ark – it is foolishness.

Well I take that as a personal challenge to find out if it is possible. But lets define the parameters that I need to review.

The question has a few points to it

How did all the animals fit into Noahs Ark?
How did the animals reach the different parts of the earth?
Why are some species (eg a moose) only present in certain areas of the world?

How did all the animals fit into Noahs Ark?

I suppose the first question demands that we determine the size of the ark initially. To do this, we need to refer to the Bible to find the dimensions Noah used for the construction of the Ark. We will find these dimensions in the book of Genesis, chapter 6.

Genesis 6

14 “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.

18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark–you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.

20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.

21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”

22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

First problem – What da heck is a cubit?

cubit

A cubit is an old (ancient) form of measurement that, since I found out what it is, have realized that I have used it much of my life without realizing it. When I don’t have a measuring tape on me, and the distance is relatively short, I will “measure” it with my forearm. The cubit was the ancients way of standardizing a measurement, and it is commonly accepted that the cubit was the distance from the elbow to the finger tip of an average man. For me that comes to aprox 18″, and proves that I am average! (1 cubit = 1.5 ft)

So with that said, the ark’s dimensions come to 450′ long X 75′ wide X 45′ high. It is also important to note that this vessel is not considered a boat, but an ark. Noah built a box – a really big box. And this box had three decks, according to verse 16.

So we figgered the basic size, or volume of the ark.

Next post we shall deal with how much space ol’ Noah needed in the Ark for all those animals. In other words, How in poop did Noah fit those gazillion animals into the Ark?

Hope you can come visit with me for the next installment. I think you may be surprised!!!

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OT in NT – 2 Corinthians

2020-08-21

How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

This post is simply a data dump of information for your struggle.

Find below a spreadsheet embedded into the post that lists verses from the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians and corresponding Old Testament references.

Good luck as you research each of the verses and try to understand Paul’s justification for using the Old Testament passage the way he did.

8-OT in NT – 2 Corinthians

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Ezekiel 34 – Shepherds & The Lost – 8

2020-08-20

True Shepherds Seek the Flock

the lost you have not sought

In our last post, that is on those sheep that were straying, we found that the shepherds were acting on the sheep, forcing them out, banishing them, thrusting the sheep away. The sheep were straying away from the flock due to the active work of the shepherds.

No so in this instance. But first, lets read the passage.

Ezek 34 :4
The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

Let’s define the term “sought” first. The Hebrew word is baqash. The definition is as follows
בָּקַשׁ bâqash, baw-kash’;

to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer); by implication, to strive after:
- ask,
- beg,
- beseech,
- desire,
- enquire,
- get,
- make inquisition,
- procure,
- (make) request,
- require,
- seek (for).

I hope you get the impression that this seeking represents a drawing action on the part of the shepherd, a rescuing effort.
It may seem I am laboring an obvious point, but these last two terms represent a duality that the bad shepherds were getting completely backwards.
The previous blog described the shepherds as actively rejecting the sheep. Not so in this phrase. The shepherds were simply indifferent. The shepherds were acting passively in regards to the sheep they were responsible for.

True Shepherds Seek the Flock

Luke is the gospel that displays the seeking heart of the Messiah. His life and character stand in stark contrast to the shepherds Ezekiel is describing

Luke 5:31 – 32

31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Again, the Master is describing His heart, and the extent of effort and risk He will undergo to find that one sheep, and to rescue it, bring it home and celebrate with His loved ones.

Luke 15:4 – 74 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Note that the shepherd lays the sheep on His shoulders. I have heard that shepherds, when finding a lost sheep, will break one of the sheeps legs, to dissuade the sheep of ever leaving again. I don’t know if this was common practice in Jesus day. No matter, it is the Shepherds perogative to disciplinie His sheep, and He does so with our benefit in mind.

The truth that stands out for me, is that the Shepherd carried the sheep, the wandering sheep that caused ths shepherd to leave the comfort of His home, and to search, search search. He carries the sheep, and that with rejoicing, not anger or resentment over having to search all day, possibly missing the football game after church, or loosing out on the bbq over at Sally’s home.

One of the first Bible verses I memorized speaks of this intent of the Messiah. His desire to not only save the lost, but to seek them. He is actively searching.

Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

This verse actually confused me for many years. I was considering a popular teaching of how Jesus’ mission was to save only those He knew would trust Him, those that, from the foundation of the world, would be destined to believe and be saved.

In my opinion, seeking them seemed to be unneccessary since they would come to faith no matter. Currently, I understand the seeking is the first step, an effort independant of the saving effort. He seeks. And He saves.

Back to Ezekiel 34. From verse 5 – 6, the Lord describes the current condition of the sheep. And what is that condition? The sheep were scattered, dispersed, strewn about.

Ezekiel 34:5-6

5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.

6 My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

The sheep were scattered due to the shepherds actions (or inactions)!

Verses 7-10, the Lord speaks of the sheep becoming prey for beasts, while the shepherds lived a life of self indulgence.

The Lord states He is against the shepherds. The shepherds are the enemy. He will rescue the sheep from these shepherds. Rescuing speaks of danger, danger at the hands of the shepherds that the Lord has declared to be the enemy.

He is against the shepherds, and will no longer allow the sheep to be food for the shepherds.

Current Conditions

Times have not changed. During the apostle Paul’s ministry, false apostles in the Corinthian church brought believers into bondage, exalting themselves, taking advantage of the sheep, and speaking of how important they were as shepherds.

2 Corinthians 11:19-20

19 For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!

20 For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.

Does this not smack of the same attitude, the same superiority, and abuse that Ezekiel was confronting? Is not this an all too common condition of the western church?

Don’t get me started!

Paul tries to shame the believers in this passage, but it also reveals that false teachers/shepherds are a constant problem for the people of God, no matter what time we live in!

How did Paul exhibit his authority? By the shameful (cowardly?) escape from Damascus.

Paul in basket

Paul was a man of like passions, with fear and weakness. He regretfully boasted of the sufferings for the Lord in the previous verses – he was forced to speak of it.

He would rather have “boasted” of his humanity and exalted the Lord in his life.

Strange credentials to say the least!

Lets get back to Ezekiel, and end this post on a positive note!

Ezekiel 34:15-16

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Parable of lost sheep

The Lord Himself, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ

will make them (the sheep) lie down
will seek the lost
will bring back the strayed
will bind up the injured
will strengthen the weak

He is the Good Shepherd!

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Teaching of the Kingdom – 7

Time for a Rant (It’s been a while, eh?)

Teaching of the Kingdom – 8

Teaching of the Kingdom – 9

Epilogue

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How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

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Teaching of the Kingdom – 4

Teaching of the Kingdom – 5

Teaching of the Kingdom – 6

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Teaching of the Kingdom – 1

Teaching of the Kingdom – 2

Teaching of the Kingdom – 3

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Faith

Apistos

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Commandment #10 – No Coveting

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A while back a brudder asked me about the ark and all the animals that Noah had to “fit” in the ark.

Available Floor Space

Required Floor Space

Enough Space?

How did the animals reach the different parts of the earth?

Hey as I was proofreading, I found a tiny mathematical mistake – Nothing that makes my general argument invalid, but I’m gonna leave the “mistake” in the post for any and all to find – even if you are not my sceptic!

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How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

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Faith

Apistos

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Commandment #9 – No False Witness

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A while back a brudder asked me about the ark and all the animals that Noah had to “fit” in the ark.

Second problem – How do we estimate the required space needed?

Third problem – How many animals actually boarded the ark?

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How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

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Good Shepherds Rule the Flock?

Superiority of the Professional Shepherd

The Apostle Paul’s Superiority

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Faith

Apistos

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Commandment #8 – No Stealing

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A while back a brudder asked me about the ark and all the animals that Noah had to “fit” in the ark.

How did all the animals fit into Noahs Ark?