03.23.09
Posted in Meditation at 1:47 pm by Meditation
Winston Churchill used to speak of a purpose “being worked out here below”, a transcendent purpose that is the point of our existence. Our purpose in the universe is, beyond anything else, to remember our Creator and alter our behavior accordingly (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
“The preacher sought to discover acceptable words and that, which was written was upright, even words of truth” (verse 10). Acceptable is the Hebrew “chephets”, meaning “delightful”. Truth here is the Hebrew word “emeth”, meaning “reliability” or “divine instruction”.
“…of making books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let’s hear the conclusion of the entire matter. Fear God and obey his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (verse 12-14)
The word “duty” is not in the original Hebrew. To stand in awe of God and keep his commandments, this is the whole human.
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him” (I John 2:15).
In a world that promotes anxiety through the process of conflicts and confrontation, it is always important to have peace individually. The peace of mind that is available through Christ is not simply a peace that keeps the mind quiet or inactive, but a peace that changes the quality of the mind and the direction of the thought patterns.
Is it evident that linking to the Father and focusing all of our attention on the kingdom has the automatic effect of reducing anxiety? This is a small part of the lesson of Martha and Mary.
What did Christ say? “…Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). She was not just troubled about the household duties. The King James “careful” is the Greek word “merimnao”, meaning “anxious”. The King James word “troubled” is the Greek word “turbazo”, meaning “disturbed”. Christ let her know she was anxious and disturbed. Martha was willing to invite him into the house. But her service was from a sense of duty, not a genuine desire to give of herself. But Mary knew the importance of Christ’s visit and took full advantage of it (verse 42).
Hasn’t the same thing become a problem in today’s world? Actually it is worse in today’s world. It is easy to get into a routine that has developed into a sense of duty even when it was originally an inspiration to perform. When that situation develops, there is anxiety. We need to stop and become passively of aware of why we do what we do and yield to the Holy Spirit.
“But the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, it shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, what ever I have told unto you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit exists as the comforter, the paracletos, the power of God. The Greek word “paracletos” means “called to one’s side”. It indicates the capability or adaptability for giving aid. The Spirit of God provides help as a comforter. God’s Holy Spirit is the presence of God (Psalms 51:11 and Psalms 139:7), which has the function of giving us a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me” (John 14:1). The point of our existence is to be a part of Christ’s headquarters team. This will be a reality for us if we are called, chosen, and faithful (Revelation 17:14). This is a description of someone who is an overcomer. Overcomers will be given power over the nations (Revelation 2:26).
How can the called and chosen be faithful? It is difficult in today’s world because so many religious leaders teach their converts that they should be disobedient and lazy. The truth is we should obey God and do the works of God.
What Works?
If you choose to obey God, there is a standard of conduct. It is written in stone. It is the Ten Commandments.
How Can We Bind the Commandments on Our Fingers?
Just as a parent is happy to give delightful gifts to their children, our Father is happy to give us gifts when we are ready. The ultimate reward that waits for us cannot be adequately conceived by the human mind.
Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the center of the mind of man the things that the Eternal has prepared for those who wait for him and love him (Isaiah 64:4 and 1 Corinthians 2:9).
Wily Elder, CBA, CMI
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03.22.09
Posted in Meditation at 5:16 am by Meditation
One of the primary problems in the field of behavior science is the problem of individuals feeling they have no apparent purpose in their lives. Many in today’s world feel that they are trapped in an existence that offers little in the way of inspiration or guidance or pragmatic instruction for life improvement. This situation is amplified by the Depression that has descended upon the world.
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor 15:19).
General Douglas MacArthur (one of the generals who helped to achieve victory in World War II) said in a speech after the Japanese surrender: “We have had our last chance. If we cannot devise some greater and equitable system, our Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence, an improvement [in] human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.” It will only be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh. The flesh being saved will be the human trainees left over from the tribulation.
Christ spoke of the identical problem almost twenty centuries ago. Focusing on the last days, he said, “…except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved…” (Matthew 24:22). Christ predicted a time when all life could be erased from the face of this planet (the time period in which we now live). “[Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11).
In accordance with God’s time table, there will be multiple resurrections from the dead (John 5:28-29). There are some false teachers who teach there is no resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12).
At the last trump the dead in Christ will be raised up at the first resurrection into bodies that do not die (1 Corinthians 15:52-54). Those in the first resurrection will not experience the second death. They will rule with Christ for 1000 years (Revelation 20:6). Many coming up in the second and third resurrections will be surprised to see that they will be judged by their works (Revelation 20:12 and Revelation 20:13).
Which Works?
God will, in time, remove all rebellion to him from the face of the earth. His Son, Christ will take back this planet by force (Revelation 19:11-13) and force peace upon this earth. He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6). Of the increase of his government there will be no end (verse 7). Individuals who overcome will be given a white stone, awarded to them by Jesus Christ himself. That stone will have the individual’s new name, which will be unique in the entire universe. No one will know the name except the one who receives the stone (Revelation 2:17).
What God has for his people is so much more than a repair job to return to an Eden-like environment. What he has planned transcends all that has ever been. The next major positive event for the universe is the kingdom of God coming to this planet, which is the reason to pray “…thy Kingdom come.”
The kingdoms of this world will be forced to become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ (Revelation 11:15). The New Jerusalem will come down to this earth and God will tabernacle with his people (Revelation 21:2-3). There will be no more death, sorrow, tears, or pain (verse 4).
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give to you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
“In the last days it will come to pass, [that] the mountain of the LORD’s house will be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills. And all nations shall flow into it” (Isaiah 2:2, Micah 4:1).
“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3 and Micah 4:2).
“And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3).
“And they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken it” (Micah 4:4).
-wilyelder
Ask Your Bible
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03.20.09
Posted in Meditation at 5:30 pm by Meditation
Some Christians question how the books in the New Testament came to be accepted as the approved canon. Actually, it was the other way around. John, the original apostle, and his understudy, Polycarp, saw to it that spurious and fraudulent books would not become part of the recommended reading material of Christians in the first and second centuries AD. For example, they rejected the Gospel of the Lord, also known as the Gospel of Marcion. There were two extremes of religious leaders seeking to distract people from the gospel of the kingdom of God. One extreme were the legalists, who believed salvation was earned by keeping the law and by being circumcised. The other extreme were the Nicoliatans, whose reasoning was: “God is glorified by forgiving sin, so sin early and sin often in order that God may be glorified that much more.” Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Antinomian imperatives are not something new in theology. Every era of time has had its advocates. The organized beginnings in the Christian era is documented as far back as the 140′s AD. At that point in time there was a heretic named Marcion who invented a new philosophy, which represented an unusual view of Christ.
In the second century, Marcion of Pontius (in West Asia) became associated with a professing Christian group in Rome. He was the son of the bishop of Sinope. He formulated the idea of the Bad God/Good God. His belief was a strange outgrowth of the gnostic theology. He believed the Most High God was an inferior being. He believed Christ came to overturn the harsh laws of the Most-High God. He believed Christ was always spirit (never flesh). He believed Christ never really died for the sins of every one. He believed Christ to have been a phantasm. This is, of course, the spirit of the Antichrist. He thought the death of Christ was theatrical, not real. Therefore he believed Christ never suffered. He believed there was something somehow holy about not having sex so he and his followers tried to practice celibacy. The bishops (supposedly, including his own father) excommunicated him for his odd philosophy. Ironically, years later, as the standard religion became more corrupt, the mainstream would embrace celibacy as something holy.
Marcion believed the role of Jesus was to liberate Christians from the power of the Most High God (the Father). So he thought the Father was the evil God of the Old Testament. And Christ (he thought) was the nice God of the New Testament who made the harsh God of the Old Testament unnecessary. Does this sound familiar? It certainly fits into some of modern day theology. Marcion believed that only Paul understood the teachings of Christ. So Marcion put together a Christian canon consisting of only ten letters of Paul and a modified Gospel of Luke. He threw out the Old Testament completely. He didn’t want his followers reading Matthew, Mark, John, Acts, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, James, or Jude. And he certainly didn’t want them to read Revelation. In Revelation there are the prophecies of God’s people keeping the commandments right up to the end. Of course, in the Bible, you can’t go further into the future than Revelation.
“And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).
One time when Marcion encountered Polycarp (an understudy of John, the Apostle), Marcion said, “Don’t you recognize me?” Polycarp said, “I do indeed. I recognize the firstborn of Satan!”
Marcion was not the only anti-law advocate at the time. But he was one of the most famous. Marcion’s “canon” (the modified Gospel of Luke and 10 of Paul’s letters) was a thin book (scroll) to begin with. And from time to time he would alter the “canon”. He always subtracted from it. He never added to it. He removed those scriptures that encouraged obedience to God and those scriptures emphasizing works for a Christian to do. Thankfully, Polycarp, and later, Polycrates of Ephesus, made sure that the contrived canons such as Marcion’s were exposed and rejected.
History of the English Bible
Ask Your Bible
-wilyelder
Antiquity Online, Jews and Christians in Rome’s Golden Age, Chapter 19, 1999 Fesmitha, Eureka
Brom, Jennifer, The Ecole Glossary, 1999 Cedar Evansville Education, Ecole
Holmes, Peter, Five Books Against Marcion, 1868 Peter Holmes
Josephus, Flavius, Antiquities of The Jews, 1981 Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, United States
Lieuwen, Daniel F., The Emergence of the New Testament Canon, 1999 Daniel F Lieuwen
Voorwinde, Stephen, Vox Reformata Articles, 1999 Vox Reformata, Geelong, Australia
Wiki Editors, Gospel of Marcion, copyright 2009 Absolute Astronomy
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Posted in Meditation at 7:49 am by Meditation
Just like a camera will generally have a point of focus, the human mind will usually have a point of focus. Eastern philosophies refer to the human mind as being like a drunk monkey looking for the ultimate banana. This, of course, pre-supposes that person is grasping, practicing the way of “get”. We live in a modern world that is filled with distractions of all kinds. There are many things that are devised to capture the mind: 2012 hype, imploding economy, fear-mongering in the media, moneymaking opportunities, entertainment, game playing, politics, talk radio, movies, television, games, Internet, etc. Once the mind is captured by a distraction, it generally ignores what it was previously paying attention to. It may or may not return to what it had originally focused on.
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
What we treasure most will usually become the focus of our attention. This can cause us to compartmentalize our priorities. Truth from scripture may become compartmentalized to a part of our mind that contains religious thought. There is nothing wrong with doing that. But wouldn’t it be better to put it into a part of the mind that contains practical pragmatic wisdom?
Christ often condemned the religious leaders because of their lack of wisdom and their spirit of competition and their blindness. They failed to focus properly.
“The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon: and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Luke 11:31).
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and his wisdom and went to see him to see if it really was true that he was the wisest man. She found he was indeed the wisest man (1 Kings 10:1-9).
“And she said to the king, it was an accurate report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: your wisdom and prosperity exceeds the fame which I heard of. Happy are your men, happy are these, your servants, which stand continually before you, and hear your wisdom. Blessed is the LORD your God, which delights in you, to set you on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king to do judgment and justice” (1 Kings 10:6-9).
The comparison made by Christ was that he (Christ) was infinitely wiser than Solomon. Yet the crowds of people, for the most part, had no real appreciation of that. And the religious leaders hated him.
The same is true today. Christ is the living Word of God (John 1:1). The Bible is the written Word of God. In the pages of the Bible we have a real wealth of knowledge that was created from wisdom that is infinite. But generally humans, for the most part, set Bible reading as a low priority. There are computer programs and internet links that can show and translate the various Greek texts on which the English New Testament is based. The same can be done with the Hebrew of the Old Testament. There are programs and concordances that show how specific original language words are used throughout scripture. There has never been an age in which this knowledge, in detail, was at the fingertips of humans until now. And yet the majority of people have almost no appreciation of it.
There are two things that cause a major focus away from God: an evil heart of unbelief and a heart hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-13).
Scripture contains the knowledge we all need (2 Timothy 3:16). To transform it into wisdom, we have to ask.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not…” (James 1:5).
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 9:10). The King James “fear” is from the Hebrew “yirah”, which means fear, awe, respect. Our respect for God is extremely important. Without it we cannot even begin to have wisdom.
Wily Elder, Ocala
Analysis of Behavior
Ask Your Bible
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Posted in Meditation at 2:33 am by Meditation
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” — FDR during World War II.
There are people who have panic attacks who are so very fearful they are unable to get out of their home. They may depend on their family members to communicate to the outside world while they stay “safely” at home. Most of us may see the irrationality of such fear. However have you ever had a fear that caused you to lose your concentration, that caused you to lose sleep at night, and that caused you to be losing your peace of mind?
In the field of psychological science there is an entire category of specific fears labeled as phobias.
In the 1500’s, there was the introduction of the word “hydrophobia”, the fear of water. This was a time of great religious persecution. A person could be drowned by zealous mobs or burned at the stake, for being thought of as a witch or sorcerer.
In the 1870′s Dr. Westphal introduced the word “agoraphobia”. It originally was understood to mean “the fear of squares or open places.” This fear was initially noted as evident in the setting of market places or places used for public assembly. One celebrated meeting place of the ancient world was the Agora in Athens. Hence the prefix “agora” was used to describe a fear that was originally keyed to places of assembly. Like the Forum in Rome, the Agora in Athens was a place for an assembly of people. The word “agora” comes from the Latin word “ageirein”, meaning assemble, which is related to the Latin word “grex”. The Latin word “grex” means flock from which the English word “gregarious” is configured. The word “gregarious” is descriptive of a person who likes to socialize (likes to be with a flock).
In the latter half of the 1800′s there were some new configurations of many more words descriptive of fears.
In the 1870s, there was the introduction of the word “claustrophobia”, the fear of enclosed places, the opposite of agoraphobia. Agoraphobia eventually came to mean (primarily) the fear of open places, not just the market places.
During the 1890′s there was the introduction of the word “acrophobia”, the fear of heights. The prefix “acro” is from the Greek “akros” meaning topmost.
Some phobias are very specific. For example, triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number thirteen.
What are some of the ways people overcome their fears?
Passive Awareness:
In using passive awareness the person experiencing the fear must transcend the direct effect of the fear by gaining insight into the irrationality of the fear and thereby becoming free from the fear. Obviously this method is the least likely to be used for one reason. Most people suffering from a specific fear for any length of time are not likely to have or attain insight into a fear they have become entrenched in. In other words, they are too close to the fear to free themselves from it. The time when passive awareness can be most helpful is with individuals in which the fear has just begun to have an inordinate effect on their life.
Systematic Desensitization:
In systematic desensitization there is a gradual withdrawal from their fear by a series of small steps that are designed to desensitize a person to the experiences they consider to be negative. For example, a person who suffers panic attacks may be unwilling to communicate with the outside world in any manner. This person will be encouraged to step outside their house two steps and turn around and go back inside the house. Next they will be encouraged to step two steps outside their house and wait for 15 seconds then return to the house. Next they will be encouraged to step all the way to their front gate and wait for 20 seconds and then return to the house. This gradual guidance, successive approximation, will continue until the individual is walking around outside and beginning to communicate with other people. This gradual re-introduction to the outside world may take days or weeks to accomplish. The important thing to remember is, in most cases, rushing the person will very likely make their fear worse.
Positive Practice:
In positive practice the fear is extinguished through the use of training which can be self-directed. A man with the fear of heights may climb five floors up and look down and continue looking down until he feels calm in spite of being up so high.
Modeling:
Watching someone else face a specific type of fear can have a profound effect on someone who is trying to overcome the same fear.
Shaping:
When someone successfully overcomes a fear, friends and associates can offer encouragement by giving verbal praise for courage or faith.
The Greek “phobos”? from which we get the word phobia can mean flight or that which causes flight. It can mean fear, dread, and terror. It can be a negative fear (as in 1 John 4:18,“…no fear in love….”). Or it may be a positive fear, a reverential fear of God (as in Romans 3:18,”…no fear of God….”). This fear of God is a healthy dread of displeasing Him, just as you might dread to displease your earthy parent.
The basic Greek “phobetron” ?is terrors. It is configured from “phobos”. A modified form of “phobetron” is found in Luke 21:11. “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” The word for fearful sights was “phobetra”? ??In Old English, before the 1200’s AD, the English verb for fear was the same as in use today. However, the noun meant “sudden terrible event” and only after the 1200’s AD did the noun start to describe the human reaction to sudden terrible events instead of the events themselves.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
The word here for “fear” is the Greek “deilias” from the word “deilia”, meaning fearfulness, denoting cowardice. It is never used in a positive sense.
What is the fear of the future? It is worry. How may we avoid worry?
“…seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
“Do not fret, then, over tomorrow…” (Matthew 6:34, The Knox Translation)“…for tomorrow will bring its own anxieties” (Matthew 6:34 Twentieth Century New Testament).
Are we willing to have a healthy fear of God?
Adam and Eve might have learned their lesson. But their son, Cain, did not have respect for God’s authority. Cain brought plants (fruit of the ground) as an offering to God (Genesis 4:3) Cain was disobedient, after knowing what God expected. The “way of Cain” is to say, in essence: “God, I’ll worship You the way I want to worship You, not the way You want me to worship You.” The way of Cain is to have no fear of God, no reverence to God. Jude warned us to avoid the way of Cain (Jude 11).
Wily Elder (Ocala)
Behavior Science
Bible Answers
Sources
Arndt, William F., and Gengrich, F. Wilbur, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, London, University of Chicago Press, 1957.
Ayto, John, Dictionary of Word Origins, New York, Arcade Publishing, 1990.
Dewey, Pam, Outside The City, Charlotte, Michigan, Shelter In The Word, Vol. 1, Number 1, 1998
Stevens 1550, The Englishman’s Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970.
Vaughan, Th.D., General Editor, The Word, The Bible From 26 Translations, Gulfport, MS, Mathis Publishers, 1988.
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03.19.09
Posted in Meditation at 11:47 pm by Meditation
Regarding Babylon, one message in the book of Revelation is not “Come out of her, you Pagans.” The message is: “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4). This message would not be appropriate unless God’s people had a presence in Babylon at the time of the end. Why should you come out of Babylon?
“…That you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues” (same verse).
“…her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:5).
“Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad” (Jeremiah 51:7).
While the City of Babylon will be a specific place on this earth, Babylon itself is a system that girdles the globe. It is the international control system against God. It was set up like that from the beginning when Nimrod established Babel, the seed that became Babylon.
“…Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Eternal” (Genesis 10:9).
The King James “before” is from the Hebrew “paniym”, which means, among other things, “in front of.” Nimrod placed himself in front of God, ahead of God, in essence, against God. Nimrod’s system, Babylon, as refined by his wife, Semiramis, became the control system opposed to the Creator God.
To understand Babylon, we must understand Babel, the tower upon which the system was founded. It was more than just a tower; it was the beginning of the control system against God. It has evolved into being the control system we see in today’s modern world: control of religion (faith control), control of media (opinion control), control of education (mind control), control of commerce (trade control), control of banking (money control), control of medications and prescriptions and medical services (drug control).
How did Babylon get started? Before there was Babylon, there was Babel. After the flood, God gave a promise that he would not destroy all flesh in a flood (Genesis 9:13-15). However, many of the people were still fearful. Nimrod took advantage of this fear. Josephus describes what happened after the flood. At first many were reluctant to come down from the mountains, fearing the possibility of a future worldwide flood. This occurred in spite of a direct promise from God. When the majority of people came down from the mountains, they dwelt in the plane of Shinar, a section of territory that would comprise what was later known as a precinct of Babylon. It was a good land for farming and was filled with blessings from the ground. However a leadership arose that rejected the idea that the prosperity was a blessing from God. They believed that their own power was the proper cause of their plentiful conditions and that they were therefore under no obligation to obey God.
It was Nimrod, grandson of Ham, who incited them to exhibit such an affront and contempt of God. His philosophy was, “If you submit to God, you are a coward.” It was a philosophy of expanding self-confidence into self-worship. The building of the tower of Babel was supervised by the master mason, Nimrod. Its purpose was not simply to reach into heaven (the sky). Its purpose was also to provide a place to go when the future flood arrived to drown the world. Nimrod worked on the fear people had of the flood, a flood that never came. Fear was (and is) a tool of Babylon.
The tower was made of burnt brick, cemented together with mortar consisting of bitumen, which made it water-proof. Fearful that other places might not be as fruitful and plentiful as Shinar, the majority of the people participated in the building of the tower. Nimrod controlled the people by means of the tool of fear. However, the tower-building project came to an abrupt end when God confounded their language and scattered them over the face of the earth (Genesis 11:7-9). So all the people who were participating in the building of the tower became unable to communicate with each other and, as a result, became scattered. After this time, did anyone come to inhabit the land of Shinar? Yes. Hestiaeus mentions the priests of Jupiter (a false god) took sacred vessels and came to Shinar.
Nimrod’s great uncle, Shem, is also known as Sem. He is the father of all the Semitic people. According to profane history Shem killed Nimrod, cut him up, and sent pieces of his body all over the inhabited world.
This violent act had the effect of terrorizing Semiramis, Nimrod’s widow, to the extent that she transformed the Babel system into a mystery, a secret system known only to the inner circle. It became the Babylonian mysteries. And today Babylon is a mystery to the majority of the world’s population who is victimized by it. Modern education and media are, for the most part, Godless and secular.
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient” (Romans 1:28).
This is the reason why so many in the media and in education have lost the ability to maintain logical and reasonable trains of thought. Their degeneracy has developed to the level in which their mind has become reprobate. Some newcomers have not reached that point but they are told they must get with the program or get out. After years of getting with the program, they, too, lose the associative abilities one would ordinarily expect of reporters and educators.
Christ did not institute vows of poverty for himself or for anyone else. On the other hand he did not direct that his way (Christianity) should be run like a business, complete with territorial imperatives, the spirit of competition, and an overbearing chain-of-command to lord it over the so-called “laity”.
Many demons have had the effect of placing an extra level of deception into the mind of the idolater. For example, at the end there will be frog-like demons that will influence the rulers of the earth to believe that they can actually fight against Christ (Revelation 16:13-14). There is an equation at work here. The more idolatry a person is involved in, the greater capacity they have for self-deception.
“Take heed to yourself that you be not trapped by following them, after that they be destroyed from before you; and that you inquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise” (Deuteronomy 12:30).
At first glance, this may seem like someone simply going after other gods and using idols as an aid to worship other gods. The next verse makes it clearer. You shall not apply this to the true God!
“You shall not do so unto the Eternal your God…” (Deuteronomy 12:31).
Study of the Bible
Bible Studies
References:
Elder, Wily, Babylon, Control of Religion, © 2000 Wily Elder, AFSS Corporation, Ocala, FL, United States
Hislop, Alexander, The Two Babylons, © 1916, Loizeaux Brothers, p. 6,63,64, Neptune, NJ, United States
Josephus, Complete Works of Josephus, © 1960 Kregel Publications, p. 30, Grand Rapids, MI, United States
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Posted in Meditation at 8:02 pm by Meditation
Discovering the truth about hell requires thinking outside the box. If, after looking at the evidence, you are still not convinced, you have the option of retreating back into the box.
“For what know you, O wife, whether you shall save your husband? Or how know you, O man, whether you shall save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:16).
For some, it may come as great comfort to realize that their mate, if they die unconverted, will not be going to an ever-burning torturing hell fire to be tormented for eternity. Why would God, unless he is a sadist, be wanting your mate to be writhing in an ever-burning hell fire for eternity?
There are two primary points of view on the subject of hell. On one hand there is the belief that bad people go to an underground torture chamber filled with fire to endure torment for eternity. On the other hand there is the belief that God is a God of mercy who will reward the good with eternal life (John 3:16) and punish the evil by destroying them in the lake of fire so that they cease to exist except as ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3).
What phrase is repeated in scripture/the Bible over and over?
“…his mercy endures forever.” It occurs over 40 times between 1 Chronicles 16:34 and Jeremiah 33:11. David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) repeated it 33 times. We either believe that God’s mercy endures forever or we don’t.
If we don’t believe God’s mercy endures forever, then we believe in the traditional hell.
There is no doubt that professing Christianity, for the most part, is built on the fear of hell. It is fear religion at its worse.
“There is no fear in love but perfect love pushes out fear because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).
Traditional evangelists have made a good living scaring people into conversions by describing the traditional ever-burning hell. This type of preacher is supposedly a counter balance to an opposite extreme that preaches that there is no punishment for the wicked (which is also a lie).
What is the punishment for being wicked? The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), not eternal life in hell fire. The deceptions about hell dovetail against each other to the extent that most people are pre-programmed to reject the truth of the matter before they even start digging to get to the truth of the issue. It requires a breaking of set patterns of thinking and realizing that all scriptures combine together to expose a perfect picture of what to expect after our lives are over.
Of course, in order to get to the truth of the word issue requires us to go to the original Hebrew of the Old Testament and the original Greek of the New Testament.
What is scripture?
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Is scripture the King James Version Bible?
No.
Is the scripture the NIV?
No.
Scripture is the original Hebrew and Chaldee Old Testament plus the Greek New Testament.
English translations are simply translations. In most cases this is not a huge issue. However, on the subject of hell it is a big issue because the King James Bible is peppered with the word “hell”.
In the King James Version of the Old Testament the word translated into the English word “hell” is the Hebrew word “sheol”, which means “the unseen”, in essence, “the grave”. The equivalent of this in the King James Version of the New Testament is the Greek word “hades”, which also means “the unseen”, in essence, “the grave”. There are two other Greek words that the King James translators translated into the English word “hell”.
One of the other Greek words is “ge-enna”, which is a trash pit just outside Jerusalem. There is no trash there at this time. It is a tourist attraction. Tour guides advertise that they can take you to hell and back. Hell is a popular tourist site.
Ge-enna was the place where mothers used to sacrifice their babies to the god Molock. This was centuries ago. After the altar of Molock was destroyed it became a place to put trash. Also criminals who did not deserve to be buried were put into ge-enna, the trash pit. Christ referred to it in a metaphor for the lake of fire, “…where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched.” The worm is a maggot. The maggot does not die. It becomes a fly. The fly eventually dies, of course. The fire is not quenched. In both cases, the ge-enna trash pit, and the lake of fire, there is no quenching of the fires. They die out when there is no more material to feed the flame.
Last, but not least, the Greek word “tartaroo” is translated into the English word “hell”. It occurs only once in 2 Peter 2:4. It is a condition of restraint. It is not for people. It is for fallen angels only.
It is no wonder that there is such confusion on the subject of hell. After being told as children that “bad people go to hell when they die”, the conditioning is completed by looking into the King James Bible and then seeing the word hell occurring many times, not knowing that 4 words of 3 diverse meanings are translated into the English word “hell”. This certainly takes a lot getting used to. And just knowing the meanings of the original words is usually not enough to alleviate the confusion.
For extra information go to Hell.
Conditioning received from the commercial hell-fire preachers cannot easily be transcended. For example, there is an analogy of the “soul” being the real you and the body being like an old overcoat that you can shed when you die. The idea of an immortal soul comes from Greek philosophy, not scripture.
Type the words “immortal soul” in an electronic Bible. You will find no occurrences of such an idea. The soul is not immortal. The soul that sins will die (Ezekiel 18:4 and Ezekiel 18:20). How many souls have sinned? All have sinned (Romans 3:23). Therefore all souls die.
The soul dies. It does not receive eternal life in an ever-burning hell-fire.
What does the word “soul” mean? If you want the Bible meaning of the word you will need to go to the original languages of the Bible and retrieve the meaning.
Soul is from the Hebrew word “nephesh”, meaning self or creature. Most of the time it simply refers to a living creature, man or animal. But it can also refer to a dead creature. In Numbers 19:13 the Hebrew “nephesh” is translated as “body” and it is mentioning a body (a “nephesh”, a soul) that is dead. In the New Testament the word “soul” comes from the Greek word “psuche”, meaning a vital force with the affections and desires. It generally refers to living souls. However, it too can refer to dead souls. In Revelation there is reference to a time in the future when “…every living soul died in the sea” (Revelation 16:3). Every soul (“psuche”) died. You do not have a soul. You are a soul.
There is something that is worse than dying. What is worse than dying? It is the experience of the second death, of course, when unrepentant sinners are thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8), burning to a crisp to become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3), the Merciful God allowing them to cease to exist.
As mentioned before, the Hebrew “sheol” is translated into the Old Testament as the English word “hell”. “Hell” occurs 31 times in the Old Testament, translated from the word “sheol”. However, “sheol” occurs more than 50 times in the Old Testament. What other word is it translated into? It is also translated into the word “grave” and into the word “pit”. It was totally at the discretion of the individual translator as to whether it was translated as “hell”, “grave”, or “pit”. Many of the Bible translators believed in the traditional hell. This is the reason they used the word “hell” liberally.
What is the punishment for the wicked? Their end is destruction (Philippians 3:18-19) not eternal life in hell. Their fate is to become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3).
Wily Elder
Answers from the Bible
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Posted in Meditation at 6:47 pm by Meditation
People often ask why so many prophecies are dual? It is: because making them dual causes a more profound understanding of either the message to be retained or the lesson to be learned. In addition, it is easier to anticipate the fulfillment of a prophecy during our time when you see an example of it in history.
Detailed prophecy generally has to be absorbed by a prophet and then passed on to its intended audience. The Prophet Ezekiel ate a book of prophecy (Ezekiel 2:8-Ezekiel 3:3). The Prophet John ate a book of prophecy (Revelation 10:1-11). The books were sweet in their mouths. But John’s book turned to bitterness when it reached the stomach. This exemplifies the fact that learning what will happen before it happens is fascinating and generally beneficial; however, there are obvious negatives. Most likely, what a real prophet has to say will almost never be politically correct. A true prophet will not always have pleasant things to predict, unlike a fortune teller who will predict just about anything to keep her clients happy.
Prophecies can show us the ultimate in rewards that are gained after endurance, overcoming, and faithfulness. This perspective is, for the most part, timeless. Even though prophecy by its very meaning is predictive, prophecy without the relevant imperatives of character-building is like a play without a moral or a story without a point.
Judas is the disciple who betrayed Jesus for money (Matthew 26:15-16). It would have been better for Judas if he had never been born (Mark 14:21). Afterwards, Judas took a dive off of a high place with a fastener around his neck, exploding at the bottom with his bowels gushing out (Matthew 27:3-5, Acts 1:16-18). One twelfth of the disciples of Christ were replaced. Matthias replaced unfaithful Judas (Acts 1:25-26). By the same token, one twelfth of the potential 144,000 of Revelation chapter 7 will be replaced. The tribe of Dan (that would have had a population of 12,000) will be omitted. To make up the difference, Joseph will be added, resulting in Joseph and his son occupying two tribal positions instead of one (Revelation 7:4-8). One of the meanings of the word “Joseph” is “addition”.
Herod executed James and captured Peter because it pleased the members of the standard religion, consisting of, at that time, the non-Messianic Jews (Acts 12:1-3). Just as faithful Christians were threatened with death by the standard religion during the first century, and a different form of the standard religion during the dark ages, faithful Christians will be threatened with death by the standard religion at the end of man’s rule (John 16:2, Revelation 17:6). God’s people are told to come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4). One sign of false prophets and false teachers is their willingness to try to make merchandise of God’s people (II Peter 2:1-3). Zechariah looked forward to a time during which there would be the absence of the Canaanite (Zechariah 14:21). The Hebrew for Canaanite is from “Chenaanee”, meaning merchant. Canaanite is a word for merchant just as Caldean is a word for astrologer. John wrote of a time in which merchants will weep and mourn (Revelation 18:11) all because Babylon will have been ruined (Revelation 18:2).
Sodom is representative of extreme wickedness (Genesis 13:13). Egypt, which had enslaved Israel (Exodus 1:13-14), is a symbol of sin. Old Jerusalem at the end of the age of man’s rule will become a combination of Sodom and Egypt, extreme wickedness and enslaving sin (Revelation 11:8). Just as Egypt is a type of sin, Pharaoh is a type of Satan. Pharaoh did not want to let the people of God escape from Egypt, the land of sin. By the same token Satan does not want to let the people of God escape from sin during the end time. Satan will have great wrath, knowing that his time is short (Revelation 12:12). Just as Moses and Aaron were two witnesses to truth as the Children of Israel were led out of Egypt, so also there will be two witnesses at the end time. There will be two witnesses prophesying three and a half years (forty-two months) (Revelation chapter 11). Just as Moses and Aaron were instrumental in seeing to it that the Children of Israel escaped from Egypt, the two witnesses will be instrumental in seeing to it that the people of God escape from sin and from Babylon.
Just as Paul was overcoming (fighting the good fight), finishing the course (enduring to the end), and keeping the faith (II Timothy 4:7), the final headquarters team ruling with Jesus will have been overcoming (I John 5:4-5, Revelation 2:26), enduring to the end (Matthew 10:22, James 1:12) and remaining faithful (Revelation 2:10, Revelation 17:14). The faithful will have been mindful of a future reward and have embraced the promises (Hebrews 11:13-14). Both Isaiah and Paul remind us of a future time of ultimate rewards, which cannot be totally understood by the mind of man, a time so magnificent that eye has not seen and ear has not heard what God has prepared for those who love him and wait for him (Isaiah 64:4, I Corinthians 2:9).
While many will claim that the original creation of the planet occurred 6000 years ago (an absurdity of mammoth proportions), it is a fact that man was created about 6000 years ago. We have the genealogy all the way back to Adam. It is about 6000 years into the past. The time is a rough estimate because, although Genesis and other books of the Bible provide us with genealogies and how old a man was when his son was born, there is the problem of factoring in fractions of years.
For example, Abraham was reported as being 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him (Genesis 21:5). However, what does it truly mean that Abraham was 100 years old? It means he was past his one-hundredth birthday. How far was he past it? We don’t know. He may have been 100 years and 1 month old. He may have been 100 years and 5 months old. He may have been 100 years and 11 months old. And the same is true of many who are listed in the genealogies. And this is the reason the time of the creation of Adam cannot be pinpointed with great accuracy. But we do know it was about 6000 years ago.
To reconcile the fact of the age of the universe (about 13.5 billion years) and the age of man (around 6000 years) go to Gap Theories.
Many Bible scholars would estimate it to be just under 6000 years because of the theory of the Sabbath of millenniums. Just as the re-creation took six days and the seventh was the day God rested, leaving us an example that we should also rest on the seventh day – so also there is six 1000 periods of time that Satan does his dirty work But the seventh 1000 year period will be a forced period of rest for Satan (Revelation 20:2,3,7). Satan will be put into the abyss for 1000 years and then released. He will be forced to rest during that last 1000 years.
Just as the prophet Elijah pointed people to the true God during the time of Jezebel and King Ahab, there will be a modern day Elijah to point people to the real God in today’s world, destroying the influence of the end-time Jezebel.
For some more information about the prophet Elijah, go to 4 Elijahs.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
-wilyelder
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03.17.09
Posted in Meditation at 3:15 am by Meditation
Contrary to the popular Hollywood formula, God and the Devil are not on a soul-collecting contest to see who can collect the most souls. If such a thing had been the case, a person might conclude that Satan is more powerful because he seems to have collected exponentially more souls than God. In order to understand this, you must start to think outside the box. To get it right, we must refer to the handbook for life, the Bible.
There are three requirements if you would like to be on Christ’s headquarters team. It is summed up in three words: called, chosen, and faithful (Revelation 17:14).
The part of being called is the Father’s activity of giving us salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8). No one can come to Christ unless the Father calls (draws) him (John 6:44). Salvation is a gift that can be kept or thrown away. If we look at today’s world and the world of the past almost 6000 years we have to conclude that only a moderate percent of the world’s population (both present and past) are called. This is done according to God’s plan. He wants us to select the good in spite of the fact it is not popular in this evil society.
People coming into the real knowledge of God are compared to harvests. There are two harvests: the small Spring harvest which is tiny and the large main harvest in the fall which is huge. The first-fruits are harvested first because they are the first to receive adoption (son-ship and daughter-ship) from the Father (Romans 8:23). The calling is not the only part that cuts down the percent of the population. The choosing also cuts down the percent even more. Many are called but few chosen (Matthew 20:16). And, of course, being faithful to the end is a requirement that cuts down the percent even more (Matthew 10:22). Who chooses? Christ does!
“You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And ordained you…” (John 15:16).
Jesus (Yoshua in the Hebrew) is the only name under heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:10-12).
How can you know if Christ has chosen you? The first component of that step is to become a disciple of Christ. How do you know you have become a disciple of Christ? It’s simple. Check to see if you have love for others.
“…all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another” (John 13:35).
We are required to love everybody, even our enemies!
“But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and make requests for them which despitefully use you” (John 6:27-28).
This does not mean: be a chump. We live in a hostile world. Don’t hate people. If they have done you wrong, don’t let them get by with doing you wrong again. Christ said we should turn the other cheek. The word “cheek” is singular not plural. Christ does not want us to become door mats. But he doesn’t want us to hate either. If you can love your enemies, then you, in essence, have no enemies. The process of having no enemies is the doorway through which you become a disciple of Christ.
The truth about the plan of God is so much more than most have ever imagined. It is important to see past the hype of commercial religion. Now, you know that the Father calls you and Christ, his Son, chooses you. The third step is in being faithful. That is your part. Don’t get sidetracked like so many billions have been. In being faithful, there are two basic types of faith, a dead faith and a live faith. Faith without works is a dead faith (James 2:26). Works are expected.
What Works Are Expected?
Then what happens to all the billions who have lived and died and never even heard the name Jesus Christ? They are simply not being called at this time.
When Christ returns to this planet the dead in Christ will rise up out of their graves first (1 Thessalonians 4:16). This is the first resurrection. These will be resurrected into bodies that do not die (1 Corinthians 15:52-53). These are the first fruits. What about the second resurrection?
The main harvest will come over 1000 years later, after the 1000 years of peace. The billions who never had a first chance for salvation will be in the second resurrection. This will be a resurrection back into physical bodies. This is exemplified by the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel chapter 37). This will be a time of judgment for them. If they accept the sacrifice of Christ and become faithful they will also be given eternal life and bodies that do not die. However, if they reject Christ and salvation they will be burned up in the lake of fire in the second death from which there is no resurrection (Revelation 20:11-14). Everyone who has knowledge of the truth should strive to be in the first resurrection, which causes the second death to have no power over them (Revelation 20:6).
“And he that overcomes and keeps my words unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations” (Revelation 2:26).
Answers from Scripture
Wily Elder
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03.16.09
Posted in Meditation at 4:45 pm by Meditation
“Calibration – a set of graduations for indicating values or positions.”
“TheSpirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
When Paul wrote of the Spirit with a capital “S” (in the King James) most would recognize that he is speaking of the Holy Spirit. However what did he mean by “…our spirit…” with the small “s”? He was talking about the spirit in man (Job 32:8), which is the neutral spirit that gives us the ability to function in our daily life. The spirit in man (in humans) gives us the ability to talk, work, play, think, reason, move, react, and question. The brain is our hardware, the bi-polar neurons, which are physical. The spirit is our software (programming). The mind is our memory, will and operating system. Without both the brain and the spirit, the mind would be non-functional.
Most in today’s society have heard of the so-called fall of man. The idea is: Adam fell. There was a wonderful garden and a great life. But the snake got into the garden and spoiled God’s plans. And everything fell apart. And man fell.
But is that what really happened? It doesn’t make sense, does it? The idea pretends that Satan is on a power level equal to or close to that of God.
What really happened? It was not the fall of man. It was the calibration of man. Man had to be registered at the level he would ordinarily drift to, based upon his choices.
“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope” (Romans 8:20).
The Lamb, who is Christ (1 Peter 1:19), was considered as slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Therefore it was known that Christ would have to die to redeem sinners long before Adam executed the first transgression.
The line of logic is important in this matter, in order that we may not miss the purpose for which we exist.
Ask the worst question first. Does the Father want us to fail? No.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
We can further conclude that our success in becoming his children is so important that he endured the excruciating experience of seeing his Son killed on our behalf (John 3:16).
Man had to be registered at the level he would ordinarily drift to, based on his choices. He would then graduate to positions based on his values inherited from the Father.
Why didn’t God stop Adam from sinning? This is the key issue. Adam (and all humankind) has to have freedom of choice. That freedom includes the freedom to choose the wrong way. The children of God are not going to be an army of robots. They will be creatures who have sinned, suffered, and repented and have accepted the sacrifice of the Son in order to be reconciled to the Father (Romans 5:10). The Father has the power to bring everything together to make it work perfectly.
“….all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The idea that man fell and that salvation is a repair job in order to restore man back to a previous level, is an error. Man was calibrated and salvation will result in a promotion to a condition far greater than has ever been experienced by humans.
Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the center of the mind of man the things God has prepared for those that love him (Isaiah 64:4 and 1 Corinthians 2:9).
Wily Elder
The Authority of Scripture
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