Most followers of Yahweh and His Son, our Messiah, would concur that angelic beings exist. There is clear evidence in the Scriptures that this is so. Yet, the details are a bit sketchy at best. The interest seems to ebb and flow with whatever is of current interest. With the resurgence of spirit-ism and New Age philosophy angels became a hot topic and little figurines could be found at many Hallmark Stores and Christian bookstores. They are popular tree toppers at Christmas time and make their appearance in most nativity re-enactments. But what do we really know about them? Most would say, "I believe there are angels." but ask the question, "When did you last talk to one?" you will get either a look that says you must also talk to space aliens or just a blank stare. Just what can we glean from the Scriptures?
They are created beings, for John 1:3 tells us the "Word" created all things. They are called "sons of God" in Job 1:6, where these created beings came to give an account to God. They are called "stars" in Job 38:7 as they sang together at the time of creation. Some are angels of light for if Satan may disguise himself as one there must be angels of light (see 2 Cor 11:14). They hold different positions and have varying degrees of power (see Daniel 10). They are God's servants of judgement as in Gen 19:1 at Sodom and Gomorrah, 2 Sam 24:17 as God disciplines David, and throughout the book of Revelation. They are spirits but it is clear they have the ability to take on physical form.
Perhaps one of their main responsibilities is told to us in Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" They have been ministering for some time. Gen. 21:17 "And
God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of
heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath
heard the voice of the lad where he is." 1 Kings 19:5 "And
as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him,
and said unto him, Arise and eat" where the angel ministers to Elijah. God's angel's also go before His people, Exodus 23:20 "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared" (also see Ex 23:23, 32:34, 33:2). God's angels are personal.They speak to people. Zechariah is pretty much a conversation between Zechariah and an angel, "And
the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and
comfortable words" (Zech 1:13). God sends an angel to help Abraham's servant find Isaac a wife (Gen 22:40). He stops the lions' mouths (Dan 6:22). God's angelic spirits are indeed ministering spirits in the Old Testament.
Their ministry does not stop there, however. In Luke 1:11-19 the angel, Gabriel, comes to Zacharias to tell of the conception and birth of his son, John the baptizer. Gabriel returns to visit Mary with the good news of Messiah's arrival through her (Luke 2:26-38). An angel also comes to Cornelius and tells him to send for Peter, "And
he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto
him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter" (Acts 11:13). Angels rescue Peter and John from Prison (Acts 5:19) and releases Peter (Acts 12). An angel comforts Paul as he is about to be ship wrecked (Acts 27:23). In Acts 8:26 we read that an angel speaks to Phillip and sends him to meet the Ethiopian. Angelic ministry is evident throughout the record of the early followers of Messiah. There are two other interesting passages to consider. "Take
heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in
heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven" (Mt 18:10). It appears that God has a special assignment for His angels to watch over little children. The other comes comes from Luke 16:22, "And
it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom." It would appear that God's saints have angelic company as they pass from this life. from the early years to the end angels minister to the children of God. Angelic beings are there at the resurrection of the Lord to tell those at the tomb the amazing news, "He is not here for He is risen!" For me the most amazing passages are these: Matthew 4:11 "Then
the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." After fasting for forty days and being tempted by the Devil it is the angels who come to minister to the Son of God. Overcome by the agony in the garden we read, "And
there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him" (Luke 22:43). Angels, those ministering spirits, comfort and strengthen the very Son of God, our Messiah hours before He would undergo His torturous death.
I wonder where that reality, that of the ministering spirits of light, has gone? I know, and believe that the Spirit of God is our Comforter and indwells those who believe. But, if angelic spirits ministered to Messiah in times of great distress are we exempt? If they were there for Peter, Phillip, John, and Cornelius could they be there for me?. I wonder if my "maturity" and education has left me jaded to the wonder and available comfort of the spirits of light? Does Hebrews 1:14 apply to me? Does it apply to you? Do we need an occasional "Aaaaahhhh" moment like the shepherds had at the angel's announcement of the arrival of Messiah? Do I need a refresher of the simple faith and innocence I once knew when I experienced the spirits of light. The ones that were with me when I feared and when I prayed. I am not talking about angel worship but it does seem that in God's Word there were men and women of God who were not afraid to converse with those angelic spirits of light. Trapped in the material and logical may rob us of the spiritual and the supernatural. We need to be cautious, to "test the spirits" as John tells us, for there are principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness who also exist. But if we are to test the spirits does it not seem reasonable that there are good spirits out there as well? If the Lord sent one of His angelic messengers to visit me would I be too spiritually dull to know it? Hebrews 13:2 "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels unaware." Maybe, we need to welcome the comfort our Lord knew in the garden.
Maybe if we were more sensitive and aware we wouldn't be caught "unaware" when an angelic visitor comes to visit. Just wondering.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
The Game Plan of the Spirits of Darkness or Embezzler at the Door
Yahweh gives life. This is what I believe. That life originates from Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, and life is sustained in Him. I know that this is not the only point of view. Other religions have a different take, as do Greek and Roman Mythologies. We could add the Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians and still just scratch the surface. The Eastern mystics have their faith, as do Native American traditions and all the tribes of South America and Africa. There are a plethora of faiths, past and present, that hold their own beliefs. I am not remotely qualified to speak to all of them, and many of the details of those I have studied have been lost in the dusty archives of my mind. So I do not come as an expert in religion or any type of scholar when it comes to all these nuances of faith. I can't even keep up with all the various flavors of Baptists in America today. However I have been around for over 62 years and have devoted about 44 of those to the study of the Hebrew Scriptures and writings preserved for my observation. I include Matthew though Revelation as part of the Hebrew Scriptures as they are profoundly Jewish, no offense intended to my Jewish brethren. I guess I should toss in some of the Apocryphal writings as well, as they have some interesting insights to the times of the Hebrew people.
I have come to be fully convinced that Yahweh is the giver of life. I have seen the miracle of life given and life restored on more occasions than I can list. I have also seen life taken, sometimes suddenly and sometimes painstakingly as a disease incrementally draws life from its victim. I have witnessed intangible forces intervene to rescue life. I have also witnessed the tragic process of life stolen by unseen powers. Yahweh, the One Creator of all life, determined to design the highly complex human body and the profoundly simple amoeba. He grows giant sequoias and yellowish green pond scum. The evidence of His life giving creative power surrounds us. It declares that He exists (See Psalm 19). We simply have to look to be aware of His handiwork. However, He also has created life that is harder to see. Life on, perhaps, a different plane of existence. Spirit beings of diverse powers that assist in protecting life and also are bent on taking life away. Scripture contains clues as to their existence with accounts of both of these spirit beings. They are found sprinkled throughout all of God's revelation to us. Visitations recorded from Geneses through Revelation.
I have come to know that life is frail and to be treasured and enjoyed. Life is often not lost all at once, but moment by moment while we are unaware. Carpe Diem is the admonition. Seize the day. But what does that mean in light of responsibilities and the potential unseen that can rob life when we are unaware? I do not intend for this to be a dissertation on demonology or an in depth look at the work of Satan. I honestly think we give him too much credit for the evil in the world and the struggles of life we often impose on ourselves. Satan is a real created being. So are his fallen angels or demons, or dark spirits. Paul is right in Ephesians 6:12; we do fight against principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this age. They do posses and oppress people. They are powerful, and Daniel 10 indicates they can even interfere with our receiving answers and direction from the Lord. They can also be used of God to keep us close to the Lord, as God did for Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7. My focus today is on John 10:10. It is here that Yeshua gives us Satan's plan and the mission of darkness.
Speaking to His disciples Yeshua says, "The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy". This is one of the most revealing scriptures into the reality of darkness and its relationship to every living being on this planet. The place to begin is with the words Messiah uses to describe the darkness that afflicts or souls. "Thief" (κλέπτης) pronounced kleptes. The word means embezzler. The thief is not obvious. He doesn't take what we can readily see. He rarely comes to take our prized possession or the rare painting over the fireplace. No, he is too subtle for that. This embezzler comes to "rob" which is the same root word. The embezzler comes to embezzle. He seductively comes into a life and skims just a little so as not to be noticed. A good embezzler can be active for years before the owner is even aware that wealth has been taken. That is what the spirits of darkness do. They skim just a little of life off at a time. And they can make it look good. 2 Corinthians 11:14 tell us, "and do not marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light". The darkness hides well and takes a little at a time. Life given to greed or selfishness doesn't happen over night. A friendship that brings us to choose between our faith or their love. Compromise with morality begins with one stolen kiss or the brush of a hand. Adultery follows harmless flirtation. Even assault and murder are likely to begin with disappointment, and a little bit of life embezzled is where bitterness fills the void.
The Embezzler also "kills" (θύω) pronounced thuo with long vowels. The common use is to sacrifice. Death is brought through sacrifice. The normal use is of the quick and painless killing of an animal, but it can also be used in a more philosophic sense as the sacrifice of ideals or beliefs that lead away from truth. Individuals sacrifice time and family for the promotion or the little plaque to hang in their cubical. We sacrifice fellowship and Bible study for soccer and ballet and overtime. The embezzler skims a little more life off each day until family, friends, and relationships are gone and we are alone. He incrementally replaces faith with disillusionment as we observe people of faith fall and find that our "truth" is more about tradition than Biblical reality. Faith in the Giver of Life skimmed off the top, little by little, day by day. And the void is filled with whatever works. Drugs, sex, mysticism, a unending search of meaning where emptiness rules. Life embezzled through the sacrifice of self to the darkness that denies real life, while the Creator of Life awaits our return. The tragic reality is that sometimes the embezzler skims enough life so the victim of the unseen crime by the unseen darkness has nothing left but emptiness and despair. They may well surrender to the darkness and end the life Yahweh had blessed them with.
The embezzler also "destroys" (ἀπόλλυμι) pronounced apollumi, with long "u" and "i" vowels. The core of the word means to render useless. Life has been skimmed and leaves behind nothing. He has embezzled, sacrificed and now the overwhelming feeling of uselessness remains. Empty shells that once held life. It was hard to even see it coming, especially from the inside. Just a technical note all these words are aorist active subjunctive verbs. It means it is an ongoing activity that has happened with the consent and cooperation of the subject. The embezzler has been invited in and cooperated with. The life he embezzled has actually been given to him. Now the precious life given by the Creator of life has been slowly embezzled and the victim feels like they have been rendered useless. The sacrifices made have cost too much and what little life that is left is not worth holding onto. Either that or the embezzler is promoted and life is exchanged for the lust for power or possessions or just lust itself. "Let the world be damned, I am my own god, I make my own sacrifices, my value is in what I know, possess, or control. I am among the elite, the powerful, the walking dead."
The dark spirits are active every day plying their trade, embezzling life. Among those who believe in Yahweh and Messiah, as well as those who do not. This is the real danger of the dark spirits. This is the darkness that lingers on the corners of our lives. The victims seldom see it coming. That is why the embezzler usually gets caught through an outside auditor. Someone who can look with an unbiased eye and see what has been so craftily taken. As followers of Messiah we need each other to be accountable to so the dark embezzler does not gain a foothold in our lives. This is the darkness overcome by the Light of the world. We will speak of Him and the spirits of light next time. In the mean time just remember, the embezzlers of life are closer than you think.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Talking With the Spirits
It began when I was very young. I grew up in a 200 year old house in Pennsylvania. My room was in the back of the house with three outside walls. A huge black walnut tree loomed outside one window. The other side of the room had windows facing the open field while the headboard to my bed was pressed against the remaining windowless wall. The tree danced eerie shadows against the walls from the glow of a full moon. The shadows were unnerving at times for a young boy given to imagination. So I tried to pass off some of the oppressive shadows as just that. Imaginations. However, there were times when the shadows came without the moon and did not dance, but slowly moved across the windowed wall where the tree stood vigil just outside. There is no earthly reason for the shadows to be there. No light to cast the image. Just a clear sense of a presence that made me feel like some special form of gravity held me down and pressed me to my bed. I would watch, almost unable to breath. And then I would ask God to make them go away. I don't know why. I accepted there was a God from as far back as life could go. We were church people, so I had had some basics. There were times that the shadows were like reflected light but there was no mirror, no light to cause them. Like the dark ones, these shadows seemed to move as they willed. There was no gravity well with them. No euphoria either. They would just come quietly to visit. The dark ones never came when they were there. I told my mom of the presence and she said it was just a bad dream. But it wasn't a dream.
As I got a little older I simply accepted the reality of the spirit world. I had learned of the Holy Spirit at church and about Jesus and God and the Devil. Somewhere I knew there were other spirit beings as well. Some good. Some evil. I felt them in walks through pine trees or in the silence of a snow fall. I would lay on my back watching slivers of light drift down through the darkness and dissolve on my open hands. The spirits would somehow make me smile as if to say all would be right in the world. There were other times, crouched against a boathouse along the shores of Lake Erie, when the presence of evil was so close my lungs would not work. Waves turned brutal tossing foam across the sand and rocks almost to my feet. I cowered against the building as a darkness taunted me, telling me I was his and my life had no meaning. My life would not last. I asked the spirits of light to come but shivers came instead. And then he was gone. I walked home in the dark and never told anyone of this dark visitation until my college days.
There was another night on the same beach,near the same boathouse. (I guess it would be helpful to mention I grew up less than a mile from Lake Erie and spent hours there in contemplation, more often alone than not. I would come in the late night hours when I should have been at home in bed.) This night I was contemplating the reality of a God I had learned of and of His Son Jesus. I knew the stories. I knew of His Christmas birth and the images of His death on a cross and the Easter Sunday resurrection thing. I didn't discount it, just never gave it that much thought. I had traveled the roads of Nietzsche and Descartes. I thought long about Plato's essay on "The Cave". Interesting literature for a 15 year old. But now I faced a question of belief. Was what I had learned in a Bible Study group true? Knowing I had sinned was no issue. The idea that I had value and purpose was another matter. That encounter with the darkness on this very beach had impressed upon me how little I mattered. How worthless my life would be. And to be honest my mother and many of my teachers had reinforced that thought. Then there was that lightness thing. Not the images from my bedroom, but suddenly I just knew it was true. God's love, Christ's sacrifice, His resurrection, life offered, purpose given. I believed. I struggled. The dark shadows still came across the windowed wall but they couldn't seem to stay. There were times I wondered if it really were true. The belief thing. Yet somehow I always knew it was true. God was present and life had value. I had value.
I had never talked about the dark and light spirits or the visitation of the darkness that night when I was told that life would be short and meaningless. I had a job. I had a girlfriend. I found a church to go to. The light and darkness still came on walks in the woods. They were with me in those moments of seclusion or lying in the snow. I told people of my encounter with God and Jesus and the reality of belief that swept over me on the beach that night, but never about the spirits. I learned that God's messengers, His angels, watched over me (Hebrews 1:14) and that there were forces of spiritual darkness (Ephesians 6:12). I believe I have encountered both for a very long time. But in the later 60's and early 70's these impressions might well have brought about questions of drug use, so I kept the spiritual visitations to myself. That is until I was at college. It was there I shared the accounts with my roommates.
It was a dark autumn night in the dorm and my roommate's mom had an unexplained illness, so he asked us to pray. A number of our conversations between Ron, Ed and I happened after lights were out and we thought we were going to sleep. Then Ed shared his burden for his mom. Ron suggested we get up and pray. So I lit one of those candles in a jar to give a little light and got ready to pray. Ed said he thought it was more of a spiritual thing than a physical sickness. That some dark spirit was near his mom. He didn't know why. He just felt that way. As we began to pray the room got noticeably colder. Ed pulled on his sweater and Ron and I reached for our blankets as Ed continued to pray. Then the room began to grow darker. In spite of the candle it just seemed oppressively dark. Ed began to stumble over his words. Ron began to pray with some of the same issues of mispronounced sounds. My mind went to the light shadows from my bedroom and that Hebrews verse and I silently asked the light to push back the darkness and for God's Spirit to allow us to pray. The room grew lighter and the coldness left. I shared my story of my encounters through the years and no one laughed. It is something I have seldom shared. People still struggle with the spirit world. It is written of as fiction or as a way to tap into some power beyond the normal, but it is seldom spoken of in real terms. By the way, two days later Ed's mom recovered. As mysteriously as the illness came, it departed.
This post is merely the introduction to the one that comes next. There are spirits about us and we are naive to think they do not matter.
See you next week.
As I got a little older I simply accepted the reality of the spirit world. I had learned of the Holy Spirit at church and about Jesus and God and the Devil. Somewhere I knew there were other spirit beings as well. Some good. Some evil. I felt them in walks through pine trees or in the silence of a snow fall. I would lay on my back watching slivers of light drift down through the darkness and dissolve on my open hands. The spirits would somehow make me smile as if to say all would be right in the world. There were other times, crouched against a boathouse along the shores of Lake Erie, when the presence of evil was so close my lungs would not work. Waves turned brutal tossing foam across the sand and rocks almost to my feet. I cowered against the building as a darkness taunted me, telling me I was his and my life had no meaning. My life would not last. I asked the spirits of light to come but shivers came instead. And then he was gone. I walked home in the dark and never told anyone of this dark visitation until my college days.
There was another night on the same beach,near the same boathouse. (I guess it would be helpful to mention I grew up less than a mile from Lake Erie and spent hours there in contemplation, more often alone than not. I would come in the late night hours when I should have been at home in bed.) This night I was contemplating the reality of a God I had learned of and of His Son Jesus. I knew the stories. I knew of His Christmas birth and the images of His death on a cross and the Easter Sunday resurrection thing. I didn't discount it, just never gave it that much thought. I had traveled the roads of Nietzsche and Descartes. I thought long about Plato's essay on "The Cave". Interesting literature for a 15 year old. But now I faced a question of belief. Was what I had learned in a Bible Study group true? Knowing I had sinned was no issue. The idea that I had value and purpose was another matter. That encounter with the darkness on this very beach had impressed upon me how little I mattered. How worthless my life would be. And to be honest my mother and many of my teachers had reinforced that thought. Then there was that lightness thing. Not the images from my bedroom, but suddenly I just knew it was true. God's love, Christ's sacrifice, His resurrection, life offered, purpose given. I believed. I struggled. The dark shadows still came across the windowed wall but they couldn't seem to stay. There were times I wondered if it really were true. The belief thing. Yet somehow I always knew it was true. God was present and life had value. I had value.
I had never talked about the dark and light spirits or the visitation of the darkness that night when I was told that life would be short and meaningless. I had a job. I had a girlfriend. I found a church to go to. The light and darkness still came on walks in the woods. They were with me in those moments of seclusion or lying in the snow. I told people of my encounter with God and Jesus and the reality of belief that swept over me on the beach that night, but never about the spirits. I learned that God's messengers, His angels, watched over me (Hebrews 1:14) and that there were forces of spiritual darkness (Ephesians 6:12). I believe I have encountered both for a very long time. But in the later 60's and early 70's these impressions might well have brought about questions of drug use, so I kept the spiritual visitations to myself. That is until I was at college. It was there I shared the accounts with my roommates.
It was a dark autumn night in the dorm and my roommate's mom had an unexplained illness, so he asked us to pray. A number of our conversations between Ron, Ed and I happened after lights were out and we thought we were going to sleep. Then Ed shared his burden for his mom. Ron suggested we get up and pray. So I lit one of those candles in a jar to give a little light and got ready to pray. Ed said he thought it was more of a spiritual thing than a physical sickness. That some dark spirit was near his mom. He didn't know why. He just felt that way. As we began to pray the room got noticeably colder. Ed pulled on his sweater and Ron and I reached for our blankets as Ed continued to pray. Then the room began to grow darker. In spite of the candle it just seemed oppressively dark. Ed began to stumble over his words. Ron began to pray with some of the same issues of mispronounced sounds. My mind went to the light shadows from my bedroom and that Hebrews verse and I silently asked the light to push back the darkness and for God's Spirit to allow us to pray. The room grew lighter and the coldness left. I shared my story of my encounters through the years and no one laughed. It is something I have seldom shared. People still struggle with the spirit world. It is written of as fiction or as a way to tap into some power beyond the normal, but it is seldom spoken of in real terms. By the way, two days later Ed's mom recovered. As mysteriously as the illness came, it departed.
This post is merely the introduction to the one that comes next. There are spirits about us and we are naive to think they do not matter.
See you next week.
Monday, June 29, 2015
The Supreme Court, Rebel Flag and Evangelicals, There Is a Common Thread
The past week has been a bit interesting. As the world around us continues to convulse in violence our attention has been focused on some Supreme Court decisions, and the Rebel Flag. It has brought out interesting comments from a variety of sources. Evangelicals have had their say and have been highlighted as "those intolerant extremists" once again. In reality there is a common thread that connects all three of these topics. They share the same problem that has taken us to where we are today. Drifting rapidly from where God has designed us to be. It is not just the Court or the Rebel Flag detractors but also Evangelicals who have fallen prey to the attack on truth.
If you are not familiar with me you should know that I am a bit driven to try to see the historic and cultural context of things I study. This is true in my study of the Scriptures as well as other things that interest me. I believe it is absolutely essential to try to understand what was the intent of the author and the reader at the time events were recorded. When we ignore the original context of who wrote things and to whom they were written, we may well end up in error. That is the case for the Supreme Court decisions, the concern over the Rebel Flag and how evangelicals understand the Word of God. The first two are disturbing and even irritating. However, the last, understanding Scripture, has led us to confusion and outright error. A place no follower of God or Messiah wants to be.
I would like to view these one at a time. In the decisions made by the Supreme Court, the Court has simply disregarded the history that is the foundation of the U.S. Constitution. They have usurped the rights of the states and denied the intent of the authors of the document. Whether it is demanding the support of a national health care program or redefining marriage, history and the intent of the writers has had no bearing. There is nothing in the document to grant the power they have exercised. There is nothing in the Constitution that even mentions marriage. To tie life, liberty, and equal protection from the 14th amendment is fanciful at best. It assumes that if marrying several women or men at the same time brings you a feeling of liberty and happiness, you are guaranteed equal protection to make that happen. Concern has been voiced by those who see this as a moral issue or from the basis of religious conviction. The thought is that their right to practice their faith will be in question. There may be cause for concern, as one of the commentators following the decision on same sex marriage made the statement that "The Supreme Court has finally recognized that religious freedom must end where oppression begins." It is not hard to imagine that a religious stand concerning abortion, sexual purity before marriage, homosexuality or even sin in general will be viewed as oppressive. Such conviction spoken would not be allowed.
The only way to arrive at the decisions we are seeing is to remove the foundation that the Constitution was built upon. No matter what you want to believe, the United States of America was founded on the belief that there is a God who created us and made Himself known to us. Religious freedom was at the very core of many of the colonies. Our laws were gleaned from or in principal drawn from the pages of Scripture. We have simply chosen to ignore the historic truth beneath our nation's founding and the Constitution that was meant to protect our freedoms from a potentially oppressive government.
As to the Rebel Flag, the supposed flag of slavery, there are several flaws in the current argument. Questions were asked of people on the street during a segment of "The O'Reily Factor". One question was, "What was the reason for the Civil War?" The answer, of course, was "slavery". Just a few points of reality. 1) It was not a "Civil" war. No one in the South wanted to overthrow the government; they were revolting to form their own government just as the 13 colonies had about 100 years before. 2) Southern states seceded over what they saw as an oppressive federal government laying unreasonable taxation on the southern states. 3) The Northern states also had slaves. In fact, next to Charleston, the greatest ports for the importation and sale of slaves were Philadelphia, New York and Boston. 4) The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to southern states. Northern states could maintain their possession of their house servants and stable hands. 5) Slavery became the issue two years into the war as northern support was waning, and a moral issue was needed to continue to pursue the war.
Whatever you think of the Rebel Flag, the history behind it wasn't about slavery, but about the south rebelling against an oppressive federal government. If you compare memorials in Gettysburg and Fredericksburg, you will find that the Union fought the Rebels at Gettysburg while the Confederates fought the Federalist at Fredericksburg. Perspective. However, history has no bearing on current society so take down the flags and don't sell them on e-bay or at K-Mart. By the way, the slaves were purchased from the English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Dutch colonies in Africa. I guess we can't sell those flags either. The point is slavery was a national travesty, not just a southern one. Slaves were owned in all of the states. The northern states simply did not have to endure the heavy taxation placed upon the southern states by the federal government. Unfair taxation led the southern states to rebel with a desire to form a new Confederation of states with a limited centralized governing authority. Imagine a flag that represents being upset with an oppressive federal government that taxes unreasonably, tramples on states rights and personal freedoms. But, again it must be said, history doesn't matter.
As to Evangelical Christians, at least those who write commentaries and Bible studies, we find the same disturbing truth. Studies and materials produced are written as if the Apostle Paul wrote to Americans. His letters do apply to us. However,they were written to existing assemblies in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, etc. As a Jewish Rabbi writing to a mix of Jews and Gentiles, the culture and instruction was decidedly Hebraic. But, we have determined that the Jewish foundation of our faith is pretty much to be ignored. If you look at Scripture (see Acts 24:5,24:14 & 28:22), the believing groups at that time were viewed simply as sects of Judaism. Yet you will be hard pressed to find Evangelical assemblies that honor any Jewish traditions. We are told we are under grace and not under the Law. Ephesians 2 explains that we Gentiles who were far off and not citizens of Israel and had no claim to the covenants of promised are brought near. By the blood of the Jewish Messiah we too can become citizens. We too can share in the covenants. Paul is clear in Romans 11 that it is the Gentiles who were grafted into Israel http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rom&c=11&t=NKJV#s=1057017. Yet, if we are honest, Evangelical Christians let Jews know they have to be grafted into the church to be in God's kingdom. Who cares what the culture and historic context of Scripture tells us; what the Scripture means to me today is what matters.
If we saw ourselves as a sect of Judaism, as the believing assemblies did in Acts, we would have to rewrite much of what we do today. What of the evangelical rejection of resting on the seventh day. What of the ignoring of God's ordained holidays in His Word? Should we honor those in addition to the ones we just made up? And O my! What about bacon! But don't worry. We are under grace. God can't really be concerned with what He inspired the writers of Scripture to write. After all He gave us His Spirit Who can lead us to pick and choose what we like and ignore the stuff we don't. Hey, we can even add some new stuff to help us justify what we don't like. We add words and take them away to make our point. (See Wednesday, June 24, 2015 The Book Of James Should Not Be In the Bible)
We can be pretty outraged at what the Supreme Court does when they ignore the history and original meaning and intent of our Constitution. As well we should be. We may draw wrong conclusions about what a flag stands for when we fail to consider the history behind it. Yet, might it be more important to consider what is the foundation, the history, the culture, that lies beneath the Word of God, of His revelation to us? Do we just ignore it and hope we are right about a gracious God not caring what we do with His Word? Does it matter that we have drifted so far from the practice of the Early "church". You know, that sect of Judaism that was growing back in the first century.
Well, there is a lot to think about. Feeling oppressed yet?
If you are not familiar with me you should know that I am a bit driven to try to see the historic and cultural context of things I study. This is true in my study of the Scriptures as well as other things that interest me. I believe it is absolutely essential to try to understand what was the intent of the author and the reader at the time events were recorded. When we ignore the original context of who wrote things and to whom they were written, we may well end up in error. That is the case for the Supreme Court decisions, the concern over the Rebel Flag and how evangelicals understand the Word of God. The first two are disturbing and even irritating. However, the last, understanding Scripture, has led us to confusion and outright error. A place no follower of God or Messiah wants to be.
I would like to view these one at a time. In the decisions made by the Supreme Court, the Court has simply disregarded the history that is the foundation of the U.S. Constitution. They have usurped the rights of the states and denied the intent of the authors of the document. Whether it is demanding the support of a national health care program or redefining marriage, history and the intent of the writers has had no bearing. There is nothing in the document to grant the power they have exercised. There is nothing in the Constitution that even mentions marriage. To tie life, liberty, and equal protection from the 14th amendment is fanciful at best. It assumes that if marrying several women or men at the same time brings you a feeling of liberty and happiness, you are guaranteed equal protection to make that happen. Concern has been voiced by those who see this as a moral issue or from the basis of religious conviction. The thought is that their right to practice their faith will be in question. There may be cause for concern, as one of the commentators following the decision on same sex marriage made the statement that "The Supreme Court has finally recognized that religious freedom must end where oppression begins." It is not hard to imagine that a religious stand concerning abortion, sexual purity before marriage, homosexuality or even sin in general will be viewed as oppressive. Such conviction spoken would not be allowed.
The only way to arrive at the decisions we are seeing is to remove the foundation that the Constitution was built upon. No matter what you want to believe, the United States of America was founded on the belief that there is a God who created us and made Himself known to us. Religious freedom was at the very core of many of the colonies. Our laws were gleaned from or in principal drawn from the pages of Scripture. We have simply chosen to ignore the historic truth beneath our nation's founding and the Constitution that was meant to protect our freedoms from a potentially oppressive government.
As to the Rebel Flag, the supposed flag of slavery, there are several flaws in the current argument. Questions were asked of people on the street during a segment of "The O'Reily Factor". One question was, "What was the reason for the Civil War?" The answer, of course, was "slavery". Just a few points of reality. 1) It was not a "Civil" war. No one in the South wanted to overthrow the government; they were revolting to form their own government just as the 13 colonies had about 100 years before. 2) Southern states seceded over what they saw as an oppressive federal government laying unreasonable taxation on the southern states. 3) The Northern states also had slaves. In fact, next to Charleston, the greatest ports for the importation and sale of slaves were Philadelphia, New York and Boston. 4) The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to southern states. Northern states could maintain their possession of their house servants and stable hands. 5) Slavery became the issue two years into the war as northern support was waning, and a moral issue was needed to continue to pursue the war.
Whatever you think of the Rebel Flag, the history behind it wasn't about slavery, but about the south rebelling against an oppressive federal government. If you compare memorials in Gettysburg and Fredericksburg, you will find that the Union fought the Rebels at Gettysburg while the Confederates fought the Federalist at Fredericksburg. Perspective. However, history has no bearing on current society so take down the flags and don't sell them on e-bay or at K-Mart. By the way, the slaves were purchased from the English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Dutch colonies in Africa. I guess we can't sell those flags either. The point is slavery was a national travesty, not just a southern one. Slaves were owned in all of the states. The northern states simply did not have to endure the heavy taxation placed upon the southern states by the federal government. Unfair taxation led the southern states to rebel with a desire to form a new Confederation of states with a limited centralized governing authority. Imagine a flag that represents being upset with an oppressive federal government that taxes unreasonably, tramples on states rights and personal freedoms. But, again it must be said, history doesn't matter.
As to Evangelical Christians, at least those who write commentaries and Bible studies, we find the same disturbing truth. Studies and materials produced are written as if the Apostle Paul wrote to Americans. His letters do apply to us. However,they were written to existing assemblies in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, etc. As a Jewish Rabbi writing to a mix of Jews and Gentiles, the culture and instruction was decidedly Hebraic. But, we have determined that the Jewish foundation of our faith is pretty much to be ignored. If you look at Scripture (see Acts 24:5,24:14 & 28:22), the believing groups at that time were viewed simply as sects of Judaism. Yet you will be hard pressed to find Evangelical assemblies that honor any Jewish traditions. We are told we are under grace and not under the Law. Ephesians 2 explains that we Gentiles who were far off and not citizens of Israel and had no claim to the covenants of promised are brought near. By the blood of the Jewish Messiah we too can become citizens. We too can share in the covenants. Paul is clear in Romans 11 that it is the Gentiles who were grafted into Israel http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rom&c=11&t=NKJV#s=1057017. Yet, if we are honest, Evangelical Christians let Jews know they have to be grafted into the church to be in God's kingdom. Who cares what the culture and historic context of Scripture tells us; what the Scripture means to me today is what matters.
If we saw ourselves as a sect of Judaism, as the believing assemblies did in Acts, we would have to rewrite much of what we do today. What of the evangelical rejection of resting on the seventh day. What of the ignoring of God's ordained holidays in His Word? Should we honor those in addition to the ones we just made up? And O my! What about bacon! But don't worry. We are under grace. God can't really be concerned with what He inspired the writers of Scripture to write. After all He gave us His Spirit Who can lead us to pick and choose what we like and ignore the stuff we don't. Hey, we can even add some new stuff to help us justify what we don't like. We add words and take them away to make our point. (See Wednesday, June 24, 2015 The Book Of James Should Not Be In the Bible)
We can be pretty outraged at what the Supreme Court does when they ignore the history and original meaning and intent of our Constitution. As well we should be. We may draw wrong conclusions about what a flag stands for when we fail to consider the history behind it. Yet, might it be more important to consider what is the foundation, the history, the culture, that lies beneath the Word of God, of His revelation to us? Do we just ignore it and hope we are right about a gracious God not caring what we do with His Word? Does it matter that we have drifted so far from the practice of the Early "church". You know, that sect of Judaism that was growing back in the first century.
Well, there is a lot to think about. Feeling oppressed yet?
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
The Book Of James Should Not Be In the Bible
In case you were not aware of it, there are a number of writings from the time of Messiah's ministry that were not included in our Bibles today. Some of us have heard of Maccabees or perhaps the Gospel of Thomas. Some of the tales have made it to the silver screen or are hung in the better art museums around the world. I remember the story of Bel and the Dragon. A tale of one of Daniel's adventures. The distressing tale of Suzanna and the Elders is captured for us in paintings by Rembrandt, Ruben and several other artists. By 363 A.D. the twenty seven books of the New Testament were accepted, as well as the books we hold as the Old Testament. These, along with some of the Apocryphal writings, were now to be read when the Assembly of believers came together. Yet, it is a curious thing that when we arrive at today's translations we find that the books of Jacob and those of Jonas are not in the table of contents in most Bibles. Why is that so and what happened to them?
The books in question are actually there. They have been disguised so we don't even see them any more. However, if you dabble in a little Greek, they suddenly reappear. We are introduced to the authors of the books of Jacob and Jonas in the Gospel accounts. In Matthew 4:21 we are introduced to one and receive a clue for the other. In Greek the text reads, "Going on from there, He [Yeshua] saw two brothers, Yaakob Ben Zebdai and Yoannan (Yoannas in other passages). There is no "J" sound in Greek or Hebrew. The "Y" sound turn into a "J" sound around the time of the reformation. Thus we have two brothers Jaakob and Joannan or Joannas. One of Yeshua's brother's names was also Yaakob in Matthew 13:55 http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=17&v=1&t=KJV#s=946001 He is the writer of the book that follows Hebrews. The James of Acts 15.
The truth is that in every reference in the New Testament you will find Yaakob or Jacob translated James. The same is true for John, which is always some derivation of Jonas or Jonah. The one exception is in Matthew 16:17. http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=barjona&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1 Simon, well actually Simeon, is BarJona or the son of Jona. As the New Testament was carefully translated by the best scholars King James could find, an interesting thing happened along the way. The Jewish names in the New Testament took on an English sound. And as King James was paying for the work it was helpful to find his name among the pages. So Jacob becomes James, Jonas and Jonah become John. We can toss in Simon for Simeon, Jude for Judah, Mary for Miriam, just to name a few. So there really is no book called James in the New Testament. That book is Jacob. We just want to honor the king, as it were, so accuracy is less important.
As we read our translations of the Scriptures it is wise to recognize that those who translate have a point of view. They have a personal bias that simply cannot be overcome. We are naive to think otherwise. So English translators purge Jewish names and others make judgement calls as to which texts are more reliable. Thus when reading the New International Version or the English Standard Version you will find Acts 8:37 missing. The translators have determined that the verse does not belong. Consider the differences between the King James and the NIV when translating Mark 7:19. KJV "Because it entereth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?" Now the NIV "For is doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.' (in saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean)". The NIV adds "In saying this Jesus declared". None of this is in the Greek text. It has been added by the translators because they believe all Jewish dietary laws have been done away with. But the words are not there and the addition violates the meaning of the passage as well as the cultural setting.
My point here is not to make you question your translation, but rather to encourage all of us to take a little more time in our Bible study. Read the same passage in several translations. You can do so by buying a multiple translation Bible or see how many translations you already own. You can pick up some different translations at some of the Dollar Stores or Walmart at minimal expense. Perhaps You can add a Greek/ English interlinear New Testament. Or take a minute to check out Blue Letter Bible.org. http://www.blueletterbible.org/ Just select your passage and click on the many translations to see if there are any differences. It will take a bit more time, but then trying to understand God's revelation to you seems like it should be worth it. I also suggest you pick up the Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern. It has its short comings, as it is just one man's point of view, but it will give you a little more Jewish flavor to our very Jewish Bible.
Don't sell yourself short. You can learn a lot just from investigating a variety of translations. Who knows, if you act like a Berean and really study God's Word you may just find the Book of Jacob there right after Hebrews.
The books in question are actually there. They have been disguised so we don't even see them any more. However, if you dabble in a little Greek, they suddenly reappear. We are introduced to the authors of the books of Jacob and Jonas in the Gospel accounts. In Matthew 4:21 we are introduced to one and receive a clue for the other. In Greek the text reads, "Going on from there, He [Yeshua] saw two brothers, Yaakob Ben Zebdai and Yoannan (Yoannas in other passages). There is no "J" sound in Greek or Hebrew. The "Y" sound turn into a "J" sound around the time of the reformation. Thus we have two brothers Jaakob and Joannan or Joannas. One of Yeshua's brother's names was also Yaakob in Matthew 13:55 http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=17&v=1&t=KJV#s=946001 He is the writer of the book that follows Hebrews. The James of Acts 15.
The truth is that in every reference in the New Testament you will find Yaakob or Jacob translated James. The same is true for John, which is always some derivation of Jonas or Jonah. The one exception is in Matthew 16:17. http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=barjona&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1 Simon, well actually Simeon, is BarJona or the son of Jona. As the New Testament was carefully translated by the best scholars King James could find, an interesting thing happened along the way. The Jewish names in the New Testament took on an English sound. And as King James was paying for the work it was helpful to find his name among the pages. So Jacob becomes James, Jonas and Jonah become John. We can toss in Simon for Simeon, Jude for Judah, Mary for Miriam, just to name a few. So there really is no book called James in the New Testament. That book is Jacob. We just want to honor the king, as it were, so accuracy is less important.
As we read our translations of the Scriptures it is wise to recognize that those who translate have a point of view. They have a personal bias that simply cannot be overcome. We are naive to think otherwise. So English translators purge Jewish names and others make judgement calls as to which texts are more reliable. Thus when reading the New International Version or the English Standard Version you will find Acts 8:37 missing. The translators have determined that the verse does not belong. Consider the differences between the King James and the NIV when translating Mark 7:19. KJV "Because it entereth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?" Now the NIV "For is doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.' (in saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean)". The NIV adds "In saying this Jesus declared". None of this is in the Greek text. It has been added by the translators because they believe all Jewish dietary laws have been done away with. But the words are not there and the addition violates the meaning of the passage as well as the cultural setting.
My point here is not to make you question your translation, but rather to encourage all of us to take a little more time in our Bible study. Read the same passage in several translations. You can do so by buying a multiple translation Bible or see how many translations you already own. You can pick up some different translations at some of the Dollar Stores or Walmart at minimal expense. Perhaps You can add a Greek/ English interlinear New Testament. Or take a minute to check out Blue Letter Bible.org. http://www.blueletterbible.org/ Just select your passage and click on the many translations to see if there are any differences. It will take a bit more time, but then trying to understand God's revelation to you seems like it should be worth it. I also suggest you pick up the Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern. It has its short comings, as it is just one man's point of view, but it will give you a little more Jewish flavor to our very Jewish Bible.
Don't sell yourself short. You can learn a lot just from investigating a variety of translations. Who knows, if you act like a Berean and really study God's Word you may just find the Book of Jacob there right after Hebrews.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Free Cell Damnation
Have you ever felt condemned by Free Cell? You play a few games and slowly the game tries to take over. It won't be long before you find a game difficult to win and you finally give up and move on to another game. It all seems innocent enough until you click on the stats page and see you have won 9 out of 10 games or 90%. In most schools that is, like a B-. Even in the more generous schools where "A" goes all the way down to 90% it is an A-. The lowest "A" possible. And you will now never ever get to 100%. Win 100 more games and you are at 99%. Pretty good but not 100%. If you are like me, you will find the "undo" button. so you can get a do-over. The program on my laptop lets you undo one move at a time all the way back to the beginning to start over. And as far as I can tell you can "do-over" something like forever and the computer will never know. So you can "win" even after you know you failed. However, if you didn't know about the "undo" key and lost even one game, your stats will be forever tainted with failure. And if you are honest with yourself, the "do-overs" began with that little window telling you there are "no more legal moves" so in essence you cheated. You know. God knows.
Enter grace. Here I was told that, in spite of my life of absolute failure, God would be gracious if I asked Jesus to be my Savior. Just pray this prayer. Buuuut I already had understood what Jesus did. I had asked for forgiveness. I believed He was God's Son and that He died for me. But I didn't pray that "salvation" prayer. Had I missed the formula? Some magic word combination to remove the stain of who I had been and who, in some ways, I still was? I felt bad for stuff before I started to follow Christ; now theology helped me see just how totally awful I was. Not so helpful. Theology also told me God is love and that He loved me and wanted me to be with Him. But I was also reminded not to forget just how awful I really am. The more dark and ugly you see your life, the more God's grace is magnified. Now I am confused. Am I supposed to feel like deeply loved pond scum? Sin corrupts every cell of my being and, because of me, all of creation groans and convulses due to my disobedience. How comforting.
Now, this stuff may be true. But maybe we get things a bit distorted. God does love me, as I am a part of His created cosmos. "For God so loved the cosmos, that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16). My relationship with Him is not just this surreal love thing. God chooses to love me. It gives Him delight. My salvation brings Him pleasure. He made me for purpose on purpose. To be a part of His eternal purpose. I am made in His image because He wanted to make me. I have value before Him. His Grace cannot be magnified for it is all encompassing, pervading every breath of life. My sin, my failures need not be magnified to see His grace. God delights in me. I am His joy. As damaged as I was, and still am, God enjoys my presence. He gets pleasure from adopting me as His child. Therefore, I am a child of the light. So I find joy in walking in the light. I delight in Him and find pleasure in knowing I am His. I find true joy in obedience, for that just brings me closer to His presence. I am His.
Our drive to label and categorize everything in life will bring us to categorize our sin and failure. We can develop theological files of our darkness and depravity. We will misplace the Jack and there will be no more legal moves. Game over. In the process we may miss the reality of His pleasure in us. His delight in delivering us. His passion spent to make us His. Our sin lists can blind us to the real joy of obedience. Not to earn anything or to secure anything but to draw closer. That is what God's commandments are for. To draw us near, not to condemn us.
Do not let Free Cell damnation rule your life. Fear of the misplaced card. Lying about the "do-overs", categorizing your sin and failures in nice theological boxes. You would be better off to look to His grace, His delight in saving you, His pleasure in adopting you. His loving directions He gave to you so that you might know how to best live and know the joy of obedience. The Joy of His presence. Maybe its time to shuffle the deck of condemnation and find that God dealt us grace before we ever knew Him.
And that is how it is in real life. If you have violated any one of God's commandments anywhere at any time you can never get 100%. You always come up short. James 2:10 tells us, "For whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all". Guilty. Condemned. And hopeless to ever fix it. No matter what I do it will never be enough. Following my decision to accept the truth about God's love through His Son, Yeshua, I was given the real story of who I was, imperfect, a blemish in God's creation. I was not just depraved but totally depraved. There was no good thing in me. Romans 3:10 - 18 told me the truth of what God really thought of me. http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rom&c=3&t=NKJV#s=1049010
My new found freedom painted a still bleak picture of my relationship with God. I will always come up short. God knew of my attempted "do overs" and they were exposed as failures. Enter grace. Here I was told that, in spite of my life of absolute failure, God would be gracious if I asked Jesus to be my Savior. Just pray this prayer. Buuuut I already had understood what Jesus did. I had asked for forgiveness. I believed He was God's Son and that He died for me. But I didn't pray that "salvation" prayer. Had I missed the formula? Some magic word combination to remove the stain of who I had been and who, in some ways, I still was? I felt bad for stuff before I started to follow Christ; now theology helped me see just how totally awful I was. Not so helpful. Theology also told me God is love and that He loved me and wanted me to be with Him. But I was also reminded not to forget just how awful I really am. The more dark and ugly you see your life, the more God's grace is magnified. Now I am confused. Am I supposed to feel like deeply loved pond scum? Sin corrupts every cell of my being and, because of me, all of creation groans and convulses due to my disobedience. How comforting.
Now, this stuff may be true. But maybe we get things a bit distorted. God does love me, as I am a part of His created cosmos. "For God so loved the cosmos, that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16). My relationship with Him is not just this surreal love thing. God chooses to love me. It gives Him delight. My salvation brings Him pleasure. He made me for purpose on purpose. To be a part of His eternal purpose. I am made in His image because He wanted to make me. I have value before Him. His Grace cannot be magnified for it is all encompassing, pervading every breath of life. My sin, my failures need not be magnified to see His grace. God delights in me. I am His joy. As damaged as I was, and still am, God enjoys my presence. He gets pleasure from adopting me as His child. Therefore, I am a child of the light. So I find joy in walking in the light. I delight in Him and find pleasure in knowing I am His. I find true joy in obedience, for that just brings me closer to His presence. I am His.
Our drive to label and categorize everything in life will bring us to categorize our sin and failure. We can develop theological files of our darkness and depravity. We will misplace the Jack and there will be no more legal moves. Game over. In the process we may miss the reality of His pleasure in us. His delight in delivering us. His passion spent to make us His. Our sin lists can blind us to the real joy of obedience. Not to earn anything or to secure anything but to draw closer. That is what God's commandments are for. To draw us near, not to condemn us.
Do not let Free Cell damnation rule your life. Fear of the misplaced card. Lying about the "do-overs", categorizing your sin and failures in nice theological boxes. You would be better off to look to His grace, His delight in saving you, His pleasure in adopting you. His loving directions He gave to you so that you might know how to best live and know the joy of obedience. The Joy of His presence. Maybe its time to shuffle the deck of condemnation and find that God dealt us grace before we ever knew Him.
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