Posts

When we wake up

When we look at the world it sometimes seems that evil is in control of the world. Many countries have rulers that oppress Christians and Christianity. Others practice aggression against weaker counties around them. Large corporations are concerned only with making profits and don’t care how many people they hurt in the process. Lawbreakers seem to operate with impunity and those who have good lawyers seldom suffer the consequences of their actions. Even individuals who appear to be living decent, moral lives devote their lives to advancement in this world and give little or no thought to how God wants them to live. This state of affairs will not go on forever. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,     all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,     shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating,     and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he
Post a Comment
Read more

The pronouns of the Lord’s prayer

The Lord’s Prayer: My Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done,     on earth as it is in heaven. Give me this day my daily bread, and forgive me my debts,     as I also have forgiven my debtors. And lead me not into temptation,     but deliver me from evil. Does this sound familiar? It shouldn’t. All the first person pronouns in the Lord’s Prayer are plural. It is addressed to  our  Father and asks that God give  us  daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. So who is included in the word  we ? According to 1 Corinthians 12: 12-26 all Christians are one body and our personal welfare is linked to that of the whole body. Verse 26 says, “   If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” When we pray we are asking for God’s blessings not only for ourselves but also for the rest of the body. This doesn’t mean that we should never ask for something solely for ourselves. For example, look at Peter’s
Post a Comment
Read more

The seventieth week

Daniel 9:24-27 contains a prophecy of seventy weeks of years, 490 years, that was given to Daniel to show what lay ahead for his people the Jews and for the city of Jerusalem. “ Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.  Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.  And he shall make a strong covenant with
Post a Comment
Read more

Leprosy

The 13th chapter of Leviticus gives instructions about leprosy. If someone had an unusual spot or swelling on his body he was to go to a priest who would examine the spot to determine if it was a sign of leprosy. If the person did have leprosy he had to live apart from other people and wherever he went he had to call out “Unclean, unclean” to warn others not to come near him. (There is a disease called Hansen’s disease which is called leprosy. It is not the same as biblical leprosy. It can cause physical impairment or disfigurement. There is no indication that leprosy in the Bible did that. Leprosy wasn’t a disease; it was a skin condition that made a person ceremonially unclean. In Matthew 10:8 Jesus commanded his disciples, “ Heal  the sick, raise the dead,  cleanse  lepers, cast out demons.”) There is one statement that has puzzled me. Verses 12 and 13 say, “And if the leprous disease breaks out in the skin, so that the leprous disease covers all the skin of the diseased person from
Post a Comment
Read more

There are no archangels

In addition to creating humans, God has created angels and other beings who are like them. Students of the Bible generally teach that there are at least four classes of such beings: angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim. Angels are mentioned many times. Cherubim are first mentioned in Genesis 3:24, “   He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. “ Seraphim are mentioned in Isaiah 6:2, “ Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. “ But the word “archangels” is never found in the Bible. The singular, “archangel”, appears only twice. The first appearance is in 1 Thessalonians 4:16.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of  the  archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  It says  the  arc
Post a Comment
Read more

Capital punishment – opening the door to salvation

After the flood God gave Noah a new command. “ Whoever sheds the blood of man,     by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image .” (Genesis 9:6) Despite the fact that capital punishment was commanded by God many Christians believe it should be abolished. One argument they use is that killing a person closes the door to any hope that he will repent of his sins and be saved. Yet the Bible tells of a case where capital punishment opened the door to salvation for one man. When Jesus was crucified two others were crucified with him. “ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down
Post a Comment
Read more

Are you a CINO?

If you read many political discussions you may have read the terms DINO and RINO. They stand for Democrat in Name Only and Republican in Name Only. They describe those who are members of a political party but who don’t really promote the things that party stands for. In the long run it doesn’t really matter whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, a DINO, or a RINO. One day Jesus Christ will return and set up his kingdom and rule the entire world. All of our present governments and political parties will be eliminated. But it will make a big difference whether or not you are a CINO. CINO stands for Christian in Name Only. We are all sinners and deserve nothing but eternal condemnation in Hell. Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to atone for our sins. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.  (1 Cori
Post a Comment
Read more