No Explanations Needed

What you’ve been told about the Bible is probably wrong.   That’s why I copy the verses in the body of my posts; so you can read it for yourself.   Most of the time, the Mighty Book is so clear and plain, that no explanation is needed.    Like this:  ”For the love of money is the root of all evil:  which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”   1 Timothy 6:10   You don’t need someone with a doctorate in theology to explain it.   It’s not ‘money’ that begets all evil:  it’s “the love of money”.   If I were going to add anything, it would only be that this is the last use of the word “money” in the King James Bible.   That might cause some smiles, thinking about God’s final word on the subject of money.

Here’s another:  ”Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.   Ye shall know them by their fruits.   Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?    Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.   A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.   Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.   Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”   Matthew 7:15-20    And there’s a well-known section that describes the fruit of the Holy Spirit:  Galatians 5:22/23  ”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,   Meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law.”

So there are sections of the Bible that are as plain as a two-by-four between the eyes.   Then there are sections that are easily augmented by other well-known verses.   Recently I was puzzled about something, and it took me a little while to find an answer.   My puzzle was:   “What, and who, are ‘devils’?”   The old testament tells us four times that the Israelites sacrificed to devils.   We are warned, in 1 Corinthians 10:20  . . . “and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.”   So I wanted to identify the devils and avoid them.   The Lord Jesus Christ identified a devil in John 6:70/71   “Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?   He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon:  for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”

Judas Iscariot?   An apostle of Jesus Christ?   Matthew 10:1-4    The treasurer of the group, who carried their bag of money?  John 12:4-6   Wow!    So what behavior did Judas exhibit that could have helped anyone avoid him?    Well, he griped about women worshipping the Lord.   John 12:3-8  ”Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair:  and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.   Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,  Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?   This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.   Then said Jesus,  Let her alone:  against the day of my burying hath she kept this.   For the poor always ye have with you;  but me ye have not always.”   That section is packed with solid information about an identified devil, in action.   And he’s not a red humanoid, with ox-like horns, cloven feet, and a barbed tail.   He’s an ordinary-looking man, supposedly a religious man, supposedly trustworthy.

There are three places where the Lord Jesus rebukes the disciples for trying to prevent children from getting near the Lord.   Matthew19:13-15;  Mark 10:13-16; and Luke 18:15-17.   I’m guessing that once again, Judas Iscariot was the instigator, getting all indignant.   He probably said things like:   “They aren’t old enough to understand what they’re doing.”   and  ”Better to let them grow up, and let them choose for themselves.”    and blah blah blah.   But we’ve already been told what motivated Judas Iscariot, who was a devil.   It was money.    Children don’t have money to put in the offering plate.

 

 

“Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:  the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”   Ezekiel 28:13

This chapter is addressed to the prince of the city of Tyre; and this section points to the king of Tyre, who may or may not be the same person.   Whoever the human mask is, we know that no human being was meant in verse 14!   “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth;  and I have set thee so:  thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”  Ezekiel 28:14    The Lord God is speaking to Lucifer/Satan/the Devil/the great Dragon.   Once or twice, I have tried to imagine how it must grieve the Lord that His finest creature has rebelled against Him, and corrupted the entire creation.   It must be infinitely worse than David weeping over Absalom.

Has that incredibly beautiful dragon already landed on earth?    I don’t know.   But if he has, I can believe that the disturbing sounds that people are hearing are coming from that great body.   Maybe the dragon is wrapping himself around certain favorite mountain tops.   The pipes make groaning sounds when he breathes.   The ‘tabrets’ are like tambourines:   when he moves, there should be a tinkling, like the sound of bracelets made of coins.

Yes, it’s a frightening thought.   I hope I am never confronted by such a sight and sound.   But if that ever happens, I hope I remember Job 40:19:   “He is the chief of the ways of God:  he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.”

The Millstone

“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?   And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,  And said, Verily I say unto you,  Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.   Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.   And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.   But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”  Matthew 18:1-6

That’s a serious warning.   It’s repeated in Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:2.    It doesn’t apply only to Jerry Sandusky.   It applies to every man (or person) to whom Sandusky pimped a child.   It applies to the grandmother who brutalized her nine-year old granddaughter and literally killed her with running.   Over candy bars.   It applies to the part time teacher who left her daughter home alone, naked:  the lack of clothing was supposed to keep the child in the house.   But the child was hungry.   Food and clothing?   Even the lowest animals provide that for their offspring.   This is the commonplace wisdom of the world:   the Lord Jesus loves the children of the world.

Floundering In Tomatoes

Once upon a time (~1991), a merchant decided to become very, very rich by having a magician add fish characteristics to his tomatoes.   The merchant wanted the tomatoes to be able to live in very cold temperatures.   And he would have been very pleased if the tomatoes could also swim!   But the magician’s spell didn’t work.   Not only was there no sign of fish behavior, but the tomatoes could not withstand cold weather very well.   And frankly, they didn’t even taste very good.   (Wikipedia:  ”Fish Tomato”)   And the people who grew tomatoes wondered why the merchant didn’t just go to one of the cold places on the earth and ask for seeds from the tomatoes that grow there.

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.   And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”  Genesis 6:5 & 6   Sometimes a project just gets so messed up that you have to throw it away and start over.   “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.   These are the generations of Noah:  Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”  Genesis 6:8 & 9

This time, the Lord chose a man whose genetic package had not been corrupted, and decided to start over.   “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his  way upon the earth.   And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”  Genesis 6:11-13   “them”?    This chapter started out talking about a group of males called “the sons of God”, who apparently sired gigantic offspring from human women.   Same “them”?   That could be a very serious question:   if this reference is to the extra-terrestrial humanoids called the “sons of God”, then they are a violent species.   We should avoid them.

So Noah was chosen to replenish the earth.    Again.   (See Genesis 1:28)   And in a few thousand years, the Lord God brought the descendants of Jacob out of Egypt.   He led them into the promised land of Canaan, and He warned them about mixing the genes and species.   “Ye shall keep my statutes.   Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind:  thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed:  neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee.”  Leviticus 19:19    ”Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds:  lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.”  Deuteronomy 22:9

So the Word of God makes it plain that the Creator of all species does not approve of blending species.   You can read about plenty of genetic fruit salad in Revelation, starting around chapter 9.   And when you read about the world dictator, who is called The Beast, maybe you will wonder why.    Why is this person called The Beast?Does he have animalistic characteristics?   Maybe he is a Bigfoot?    or a Bigfoot/human hybrid?   I wonder if he will eat flounder-infested tomatoes?

Who’s There?

“And Cain said unto the Lord,  My punishment  is greater than I can bear.   Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a  fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.   And the Lord said unto him, Therefore, whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.   And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.”  Genesis 4:13-15

No, this isn’t about the infamous ‘mark of Cain’.   That mark died with Cain:  we can forget about it.   Who was there?   The standard Bible teaching/preaching is that there was no one on the planet other than Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel’s dead body.   But Cain was afraid.   He seemed to think that there were multiple people on the earth, and that they would kill him for killing his brother.   The Lord God didn’t tell him that his conscience was creating hallucinations.   The Lord marked him;  then the Lord promised to take seven-fold vengeance on anyone who killed Cain.   So it’s entirely possible that there was some kind of  ’progenitor’ group on earth.   That word is only used once in the KJV,  in Genesis 49:26; it doesn’t refer to Cain, so I won’t go there.

There are increasing numbers of fearful things in the world now.   But the individual who promises to put a mark on each of us is not the gracious Lord God.   When we feel apprehensive, and wonder who is out there, maybe it really is  one of the ‘bad guys’.   Or maybe not.  ”So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea,  and drawing near unto the ship:  and they were afraid.   But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.”   John 6:20

Forbidding to Marry

What’s up with that?    1 Timothy 4:1-5  ”Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;  Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.   For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:  For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

I don’t want to define “marriage”, or study out the history of the institution.   I want to look at the  italicized phrase:  ”some shall depart from the faith”.    Paul wrote this letter to Timothy so that Timothy could become a faithful, reliable spiritual leader.   The Spirit of God expressly warned Paul that some people would depart from the faith of Christ; and He told Paul what these people would do.   When we see people doing these things, we know that they are apostate Christians.   For centuries, evangelical preachers have thundered from the pulpit that the Catholic Church had departed from the faith in requiring celibacy from priests and nuns.   Now?   There is more thunder coming from politically motivated evangelicals about whether homosexual couples can marry.  Instead of telling the world that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, these hate filled apostates are seeking the limelight for themselves by making outrageous statements about the Lord God.   If God hates homosexuals, why can’t these loud liars give the Book, Chapter and Verse reference for that?

When the Son of God was here in the flesh, He took a whip and drove the hypocrites and money-changers out of the temple.   I’ll be interested in seeing what He will do to these current hypocrites.

Some Handy Factoids

Everybody should have some handy factoids.   Especially about/from the Bible.   You can use the handy factoids to stop an argument or to start a riot, and for some causes in between.

Here’s one:   “Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones:”  Lamentations 4:3    So sea monsters are mammals.   And if you ever happen to be in a conference of taxonomists, you could start a riot with that.

There are many points that can’t be ‘proven’ because they are commonplace beliefs about the Bible, but they are not in the Bible.   It’s impossible to prove a negative.   For instance, there is not one word in the Bible about abortion, or about contraception.   But this year (2012) the politicians in America will be preaching endlessly about these matters.   **The Lord God never asked any Gentile nation to follow the laws He set for the nation of Israel, in the promised land.   But American politicians will exhaust us all with endless demands that we kill homosexuals, and subjugate all women to psychotic men, and find multiple excuses to execute any woman who has a mind of her own.   Before these people are allowed to say such things in public, they should be compelled to give up all pork meats and any kind of sea life that doesn’t have fins and scales.   No more shrimp or oysters!   It’s a futile hope, but it’s worth a chuckle.

Then there’s that famous Beast in Revelation.   There are hundreds of theories about what or who that thing is.   “Here is wisdom.   Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:  for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”   Revelation 13:18    The arguments are already raging in multiple households and churches.   It’s a man.   Not a church, not a political party, not a woman, probably not even a pope.    Is the 666 his phone number?    His social security number?   I don’t have the wisdom to figure it out; but I’m watching.

Whose Prayer?

We call this “the Lord’s prayer”, but it’s for us believers, not for Him.   Luke 11:1-4  ”And it came to pass,that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.   And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven,  Hallowed be thy name.   Thy kingdom come.   Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.   Give us day by day our daily bread.   And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.   And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

Does it seem like something is missing?  Yes, we’re accustomed to the ‘doxology’ formula at the end.   That’s recorded in Matthew 6:5-15  ”And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are:  for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.   Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.   But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:  for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.   Be not ye therefore like unto them:  for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.   After this manner therefore pray ye:  Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.   Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.   Give us this day our daily bread.   And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.   And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen.    For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:   But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

The last two sentences appear to teach that forgiveness from God is conditional.   But this section is part of the Sermon on the Mount:  the entire passage was aimed at Jews, living in the Promised Land.    This is their King, teaching them how the new rules will work.   When the King of Kings repeated His instructions for prayer, recorded in Luke’s gospel, He included gentiles.   And both sets of instructions are describing how believers in Christ should pray.  The prayer uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is recorded in John 17, all 26 verses.  I encourage everyone who can, to read that.

What Would Jesus Do?

Let’s see:  I think He would slap every silly person who uses that fatuous phrase.   It’s not an honest question.   It’s a liar’s excuse for doing something they know is wrong.

Let’s pretend that they honestly, consciously intend to look to the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance.   Yes, the real Jesus Christ; the One described in the Bible.    He is the Son of Man as well as the Son of God.   Humans repeat their actions:  what people have done in the past, they  will do again in the future.   So, instead of fantasizing about what the Lord Jesus might do, let’s read exactly what He did do.   No speculations.

John 2:1-11  Please read the entire section.   And notice that the Lord Jesus Christ did not wave His hands in the air, or have an orchestra play dramatic music, or set up a scantily clad model as a distraction while he turned water into wine.   He simply provided what was needed for a wedding.   “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”    Can any WWJD-ers match that?

Luke 7:11-15  ”And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.   Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow:  and much people of the city was with her.   And when the Lord saw her,  he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.   And he came and touched the bier:  and they that bare him stood still.   And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.   And he that was dead sat up and began to speak.   And he delivered him to his mother.”   Seven words.   If you count the two words to the grieving mother, it’s nine words.   No sermon.   No loudspeakers.   No pulpit.   No “love offering”.

Matthew 15:30 & 31  ”And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet;  and he healed them:  Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see:  and they glorified the God of Israel.”    What was that question again?    What would Jesus do?    What has He done in the past?

Matthew 15:32-39  ”Then Jesus called the disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat:  and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.   And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?   And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye?   And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.   And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.   And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.   And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.   And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.”    What did He do?   He spent three days healing people who had missing parts.   Then He fed a multitude of at least 12,000 people.  And when they all ate, they were filled.   They got a full meal, not a piece of a cracker and a sip of grape juice.

John 8:1-11  (vss. 10/11)
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman,  he said unto her, Woman, where are thine accusers?  hath no man condemned thee?   She said, No man, Lord.   And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee:  go and sin no more.”    The Lord Jesus Christ delivered a woman who had been entrapped and condemned to death by religious leaders.   He said “Neither do I condemn thee.”   He came to save sinners, not to condemn them.

This is what Jesus Christ did while He was here on this planet.   If you believe on Him, but you can’t do what He did, than please stop bloviating about “what would Jesus do”.   If you’re just copying the crowd you run with, using a phrase that you haven’t analyzed, stop and think.    How does the real Jesus feel about your words?

The Purpose of Jesus Christ

Luke 9:56  ”For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.  And they went to another village.”   And Fred Phelps, Terry Jones and a multitude of other hate-filled, arrogant liars are still trying to destroy other people.   In the name of the Lord.

They don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ.   And they don’t believe what He said.   The popular book, “In His Steps” is  a silly lie.   “He set an example” is a stupid lie.   These lies come from Satan.

John 6:38  ”For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”   And there are at least 15 more verses where the Lord Jesus Christ Himself tells us exactly why He came into the world.

If you won’t/can’t wrestle an alligator, why deceive yourself into wrestling the Great Dragon?