Author: nrfaught

I have spent 5 years in mission work in the West Indies and South America. I have preached mainly part time for 40 years, much of that time while working with a full time job in Christian education. I am currently at Madison Academy in Huntsville, Alabama and serving as a shepherd at the Monrovia Church of Christ. God has blessed me with a wife and 3 grown children (and their families) who are much more loving than I am!

1 TIMOTHY 2:1-7 A CALL TO PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Here is the David Guzik commentary on 1 Timothy 2. I encourage you to read this:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-timothy/1-timothy-2.cfm

A Call to Prayer 2:1-7

1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

Our prayers tend to focus on ourselves, our friends, our fellow church members, and our families. But we must remember to pray for “all people” around the world, especially for rulers all over the world that have the power to create war or peace. Peace is good since the gospel can spread better and can fulfill God’s plan for “all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”. I don’t know how God works to answer our prayers for all people and for rulers, but providentially He does work. My prayers each day should include the people in the Ukraine/Russian war zones, the oppressed people in Communist North Korea, the people in Communist China, the people in Lebanon, Gaza strip, and Israel caught up in the Middle East Crisis facing the terrorists group that create constant war among them, the people in Venezuela due to Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detentions, terrorism, kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, the people facing militant Islamist violence in Africa, the people in Iran most of whom would probably like to do away with their Shia Muslim leadership that is determined to destroy Israel as they await the return of the Imam Mahdi to establish worldwide Islamic rule, the people in India as Hinduism is so predominate that it is hard to search for the truth of Jesus, the people in Muslim controlled countries who are persecuted if they become Christians, the people in the U.S as our country is spiralling into moral and doctrinal decline, the people in Africa who don’t have clean water for good health, the people in refugee camps caught up in the middle of war torn regions, etc.

We should pray for rulers all over the world, even for evil dictators, atheistic regimes, or radical Islamist leaders.  Guzik said this: “The early church leader Tertullian explained: “We pray for all the emperors, that God may grant them long life, a secure government, a prosperous family, vigorous troops, a faithful senate, an obedient people; that the whole world may be in peace; and that God may grant, both to Caesar and to every man, the accomplishment of their just desires.” (Clarke)

We should pray for the people all over the world, even in peaceful regions, that they may come to be saved by Jesus who “gave Himself as a ransom (antilutron: Ransom, Redemption Price: used only here in the New Testament. (AI) “ In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of a ransom was well understood. It was a price paid to free a slave or a prisoner of war. The idea of a ransom also appears in the Old Testament, where it is associated with the redemption of individuals or property. In the New Testament, this concept is applied to the spiritual realm, where Christ’s death is seen as the ultimate ransom that liberates believers from the bondage of sin and death.” The Greek word for “redemption” in the New Testament is “apolutrosis” (ἀπολύτρωσις).  “Aplutrosis” essentially means “deliverance” or “being set free by the payment of a ransom,” which aligns with the Christian concept of redemption through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. It is used in Romans 3:24, Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:14 of our redemption through the blood of Jesus (which was the “antilutron” redemption price paid to God Himself to satisfy His wrath against our sins and to free us from the captivity of sin and death. Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us.” I have a little prayer pad, but my prayer requests are for friends, family, and church members. I am not praying for all people as Paul told Timothy to do. I plan to include all people in future prayers, including those I just mentioned above. Again, I don’t know how the providence of God can answer those prayers, but I believe He will. One way such prayers work is to get us aware of the spiritual and physical needs of people all over the world. That might get us to be directly involved in mission trips or humanitarian trips around the world. Or it might get us to use our vast monetary resources to help people all over the world, often through agencies like Healing Hands International. Or agencies like Eastern European Missions who print the Bible in the major world languages so people can learn about Jesus dying for their sins. Don’t forget to pray for missionaries who are preaching the gospel all over the world, even in Muslim countries.

There is one mediator between God and man, i.e. Jesus Christ. The term “mesités” refers to a mediator, one who intervenes between two parties to restore peace, make a covenant, or ratify an agreement. In the New Testament, it is primarily used to describe Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and humanity, highlighting His role in reconciling sinful humans to a holy God through His sacrificial death and resurrection. The Greek word for “reconciliation” in the New Testament is “katallage” (καταλλαγή). Meaning:“Katallage” literally means “exchange” or “adjustment of a difference,” and in the context of the Bible, it refers to the act of restoring a broken relationship, particularly between God and humanity through Jesus Christ. It is used in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

I decided to split 1 Timothy 2 into 2 articles. I just want this first part, the call to prayer for all people and rulers all over the world, to be something that we all need to do more of. I plan to try to answer that call better in the future.

How about you?

1 TIMOTHY CHAPTER 1

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

First, let’s establish the time of writing and circumstances of writing. These charts help:

Acts closes with Paul in Rome during those 2 years. He was released, traveled widely over the Roman Empire for 2-3 years, going perhaps as far as Spain, before his last imprisonment and martyrdom. He wrote 1 Timothy from Macedonia (1 Tim 1:3) in 66 AD (on his way to Nicopolis, Tit 3:12) to Timothy who was in Ephesus. He states a desire to visit Timothy (1 Tim 3:14,15;4:13). The style and subject matter are very different, but it would make sense that, as Paul nears death and the end of the miraculous period is nearing, he directs Timothy (and Titus later also) in matters like public prayer, the subjective position of women, qualifications for future elders and deacons, church support of widows, rebuking of elders, and the use of wealth. He also condemns the Law teaching Judaizers, Hymenaeus and Alexander by name (2 Tim 2:17), warns of an apostasy, warns against worldly fables, warns about false teachers who have a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words and constant friction who are preaching for gain (6:3ff), and tells him to guard what was entrusted to him, avoiding arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” (1 Tim 6:20-21). This last heresy was already developing in Colossians, a Jewish prre-gnostic heresy. He also gives personal encouragement to Timothy in this ministry of teaching and preaching the word, stressing personal purity and faithfulness to his ministry (1 Tim 4:11ff; 6:11ff).

Here is a map of Paul’s last journey after release from Roman house arrest (Acts 28) without showing a visit to Spain (tradition says he did that trip).

Here’s another map that include the possible visit to Spain before he heads to Crete.

There are some good commentaries on 1 Timothy such as: blueletterbible.org is good by David Guzik. This is an intro:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/eo/1ti/1ti000.cfm. Then it has studies of each individual chapter.

My goal is to try to examine how each chapter applies to us and to “church” today.

Chapter 1

Warning Against False Teachers 1:3-11

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-timothy/1-timothy-1.cfm by David Guzik

1:3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.”

The church at Ephesus has quite a history. Paul established the church there in Acts 19 on his 3rd missionary journey (53-57 AD: see the chart above). He stayed 3 years there. After a riot led by Demetrius the silversmith who made idols of the goddess Diana (or Artemis), he left for Macedonia. He returned near Ephesus at Miletus where he called for the elders of the Ephesian church to come. He warned them: Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” He wrote the letter to the Ephesians while in 2 years of house arrest (Acts 28) in Rome (60-62 AD), but there is no mention of false teachers in that letter. But it is not surprising, as he warned, that false teachers, even from among the elders, would arise in the church by the time he wrote this letter, 1 Timothy, to Timothy in Ephesus in 63 AD, about 5 years after he established the church there. On his missionary journey after he was released from house arrest in Rome, he passed near or through Ephesus (probably only near Ephesus) and left Timothy there to deal with the false teachers.

It was about this same time, 63 AD, that John the apostle wrote Revelation. In Revelation 2: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ John commends the church at Ephesus, led by its elders, for identifying and refuting false apostles there, even the Nicolaitans. The church must have become very rigid about fighting false teachers and maintaining doctrinal purity. The Nicolaitans were a heretical group of Christians in the early church who were known for their immoral and idolatrous practices. John did rebuke the church at Ephesus for leaving their “first love”. We can only wonder if the church at Ephesus heeded John’s warning and returned to their first love. Some say the church died out in the 2nd century, although I have seen no hard proof of that. It is possible today to have a church today that is committed to fighting doctrinal error but one that has lost the love that Jesus wanted his followers to be known for (John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I was raised in a church that kinda fits that description. My church was so intent on fighting doctrinal error that it ended up creating its own sectarian legalism, unlovingly judging and condemning any who disagreed with their sectarian teaching.

Guzik: “Perhaps the endless genealogies (1 Timothy 1:4) had to do with Gnostic-type theories of “emanations” from God. Perhaps they were connected with Jewish-type legalism that sought righteousness by virtue of one’s ancestry. Or perhaps he had in mind doctrinal systems based on mystic readings of Old Testament genealogies. Ancient Jewish writings have been discovered which dig into the most complex genealogies, connecting them with wild speculations about spiritual mysteries. A consuming interest in these kinds of things will crowd out godly edification which is in faith.”

Christian history is full of such false doctrines over the past 2,000 years. Church of God of prophecy claims to have traced the the genealogy of the ‘lost 10 tribes” of the northern kingdom of Israel, with Ephraim being Great Britain and Manasseh being the U.S. Mormons add the Book of Mormon to the same authority as the New Testament. Latter-day Saints believe the Book of Mormon to be a record of God’s dealings principally with another group of Israelites he brought to the Western Hemisphere from Jerusalem about 600 b.c. They anticipated the birth and coming of Jesus Christ and believed in his Atonement and gospel. Such false doctrines lead to speculation since none of them can be verified. They distract from “the stewardship of God which is by faith”. Paul spoke of this stewardship (oikonomia: Stewardship, administration, management, dispensation) in Ephesians 3:1 “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.” A person would be appointed to manage the estate or affairs of someone. Paul, by the direct revelation of the Holy Spirit, was made a steward to tell the Gentiles about the mystery (musterion) of the gospel, i.e. uniting Jew and Gentile believers in the one body of the saved, i.e. the church. The other apostles had been led to “all truth” by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; 14:26). Paul was an apostles of equal authority. The New Testament contains all the truth that we need to not be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. Ephesians 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” Beware of any doctrine that is not clearly taught in the New Testament.

1 Timothy 1:5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”  Those who teach the revealed gospel (whether it is the original apostles and Paul or us today) are charged (paraggelia: Command, instruction, charge) to teach the gospel without changing or adding to it. Those teaching must have pure motives: a pure heart, good conscience, and a sincere faith. The motives of most false teachers are lust, money, sex, and power. The paid preacher system can put preachers on a pedestal that leads them to scandals involving sex or money. The cult leaders are key examples of impure motives of sex, money, and power.

1:8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.”

“Sound (hugiainó: To be sound, to be healthy, to be well; often used of someone bein in good physical health) doctrine”: in other words, teachings that will promote good spiritual health. Apparently the false teachers in Ephesus taught unhealthy doctrines that promoted the sins listed in these verses. Apparently they tolerated or allowed these sins. Does that sound like many of the liberal Christian denominations today? For example, “homosexuality” is arsenokoites: Homosexual, sodomite: Derived from ἄρσην (arsen, meaning “male”) and κοίτη (koite, meaning “bed” or “lying down”), indicating a male engaging in sexual activity with another male. This is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 6:9 list of sins. Paul was “entrusted” with teaching the gospel but the gospel called for repenting of sins. But what is sin in the eyes of God? People might define sin based on their opinions and emotions, but sin must be defined based of God’s word as given us by, in this passage, Paul. Of course, many liberals say that Paul was not inspired by the Holy Spirit, that he was just giving his homophobic opinions that we don’t have to follow today. But Paul was an inspired apostle. At the same time, almost all would say that Peter was an inspired apostle. But Peter wrote this in 2 Peter 3:15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” The apostle Peter is saying that Paul’s writings are “scripture” just like the other scriptures (old testament scriptures). The writings of Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, and others would be considered scriptures also. So if you accept Peter as an apostle, and few Christians question that, then you have to accept Paul as an apostle.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners 1:12-20

1:12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

In this section Paul seems to be telling how and why he was entrusted with the gospel even though he was formerly a “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent (hubristés: Insolent, violent, arrogant, one who behaves with wanton violence or outrage)”. Paul began persecuting Christians in Acts 7:58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. Then some time later, Acts 9:1 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Acts 9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” He told Agrippa in Acts 26:9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. Acts 22:4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women. It was on his way to Damascus that the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. He became a believer in Jesus, was baptized by Ananias in Damascus (Acts 22:16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name), and began his ministry to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He returned to Jerusalem but Jesus appeared to him again, telling him to get out of Jerusalem b/c the Jews there would not listen to his preaching. Acts 22: 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” Galatians 1:13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.”

But Paul received mercy b/c he acted “ignorantly in unbelief”. He thought that the Jewish Christians were blasphemers b/c Jesus claimed to be equal with God (John 5:18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.) He sincerely thought that he was doing what God waned him to do by killing Christians. He became a mass murderer and torturer of Christians, entering homes to find Jewish Christians to beat them. But in 1 Timothy 1:14 the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” All his past sins were “washed away” when he was baptized (Acts 22:16).

Baptism alone does not save, but it is part of saving faith. It is an act of faith; it is not a work that one does to earn salvation. We believe the gospel, confess Jesus to be the Son of God, repent of our sins, but it is in baptism that our sins are washed away. Saul (Paul) was not saved on the road to Damascus when he saw Jesus. He was saved when he was baptized. This is what Jesus, after he was raised from the dead, told the apostles in Mark 16:15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Peter told those asking “what must we do to be saved”, Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Forgiveness of sins comes after baptism, not before (as some teach).  It is an act of faith: Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses”. Baptism is the moment of being raised from being spiritually dead (also raised up from the water) to walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Some think that we are teaching a works salvation when we teach that one is not saved till they are baptized, but we are not. We are just saying that the Scriptures teach that baptism is an essential part of saving faith, just like repentance and confess. Peter is the apostle who taught that forgiveness comes after baptism (Acts 2:38 above). Later in one of Peter’s letters Peter even used the phrasse, “baptism now saves you”. 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” Was Peter teaching baptism only saves? No, but he was teaching that it is at baptism that one is saved by water, just as Noah and his family were saved by water from the sinful society that surrounded them. I’v heard many preachers say, “baptism doesn’t save”, but Peter plainly said “baptism now saves you”. In context, we understand why Peter could say that. I always compare baptism to Namaan’s dipping in the Jordan River 7 times to be healed of leprosy. That was what Elisha the prophet had told him to do, and he was reluctant at first. He did go dip 7 times and was healed of his leprosy. Was it the water that healed him? No. Was it the number of times he dipped? No. Could Elijah have just healed him without the dipping in water? Yes, but he didn’t. But the fact remains, he was healed after he obeyed in faith the command to be dipped 7 times in the Jordan River. I think baptism is an act of faith similar to the story of Namaan.

Please remember that baptism in the name of Jesus (also in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) was only a command for salvation for those living after the death of Jesus. It was a new covenant command. That’s why the thief on. the cross could be saved while on his cross without being baptized. Someone will say, “what if someone is on his way to be baptized and falls dead before he gets to the water?” That doesn’t change what the scriptures teach about baptism and salvation. I do feel, however, that God is a gracious God so I will leave that person’s salvation up to God. What if a person is sprinkled instead of immersed? The Greek word for baptism is baptizó: To baptize, to immerse, to dip. I know I would want to do exactly what Jesus said, to be immersed. Namaan was told to “dip in the Jordan River”, not to just pour some water on his head. Again, though, I will leave to God the salvation of a person who is sprinkled with water instead of immersed. Mother Teresa, being a Cathholic, ws probably sprinkled as a child instead of adult believer immersion, but I would hope that would not keep her out of heaven! If she doesn’t make it, how can I? What if a person does the “sinner’s prayer”, asking Jesus to come into his heart and save him before baptism, later to be baptized as an outward sign showing that he was saved? Again, surely God would still saved that person even if that isn’t exactly the way it was done in the book of Acts. As you can tell, I am pretty convicted that the scriptures teach that baptism is essential to salvation, but I am pretty tolerant of those who don’t understand baptism the way I do.

Back to 1 Timothy1:12-17. Paul said that the grace and mercy that saved him, the “chief of sinners b/c of his killing Christians, confirmed the saying: 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” If God’s grace could saved Paul in spite of his sins, then God’s grace can save anyone. Paul said that his salvation was “an example” for others for all time. John Newton was a slave trader, but was saved.

Paul closes chapter 1 with 18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Apparently some prophet had predicted that Timothy would be an evangelist, preaching the gospel. Paul told him to have that “sincere faith and good conscience” that he mentioned in 1:5. We don’t know the exact sins of Hymenaeus and Alexander except that it was bad enough for Paul to hand them over to Satan, i.e. to withdraw fellowship from them as heretics. 2 Tim 2:17 does mention a Hymenaeus who was teaching that the resurrection of the dead had already happened, so that might be the same Hymenaeus here in 1 Timothy 1, and that might be his heretical sin.

Again, I encourage you to study this chapter using the blueletterbible.org site by David Guzak. I encourage you to be saved just as Paul was in order to receive the grace of God no matter how sinful you have been. I encourage you, as part of your saving faith, to be baptized (immersed) in water for the forgiveness of sins just as Paul was (Acts 22:16). I hope you would study the subject of baptism in the new testament if need be to get your own conviction of what baptism should be.

Thanks for reading.

A review of martyrs facing death and how Jesus faced His death. How will I face death?

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Have you thought much about actually facing the moment you know you are dying or about to die? How do you think you will feel? Afraid? Peaceful? Confident? Relieved? Excited?

As I get older (soon to be 75), I think a lot about facing death. I watched my dad face death when the docs told him he had 2 years to live (72 at the time) and there was no cure for his lung disease. I think he found a much deeper faith and peace during that 2 years. I watched my mom die at 90? I think she was relieved. She told me, “I am tired of living (b/c of the pain)”? She was ready to go. I watched my wife’s dad die of Alzheimer’s. As many of you know, a terrible way to die. A self made man, WWII vet, always the one who was strong and took care of others. But left to have others take care of him and be totally dependent on others with no quality of life.

Of course, I don’t know how I will die. Many have died for their faith over the 2,000 years of Christian history. Jesus spoke of those killed by the Jews for their faith in the Old Testament. Matthew 23:29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” God avenged the death of those martyrs in 70 AD when He sent the Romans to destory the temple and Jerusalem, killing one million wicked Jews. Abel, Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-21 a Zechariah son of Jehoida was stoned for condemning the sins of the king but he wasn’t the son of Barachiah so who is the Zechariah Jesus spoke of?), Uriah (killed by King Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 26:20-23), Isaiah (if tradition is true and he was sawn into, Hebrews 11:37), and many others that we don’t know about. Elijah spoke of martyrs: 1 Kings 19:9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” Wicked Jezebel killed the prophets: 1 Kings 18:4 and when Jezebel cut off (karath: To cut, cut off, cut down, make a covenant: probably means killed in this verse b/c Obadiah hid 100 prophets from her) the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)

John the Baptist was beheaded for condemning Herod’s marriage. Stephen was the first New Testament martyr for faith in Jesus that we know about (Acts 7), followed by James the apostle (Acts 12), Antipas (Rev 2:12,13). Tradition says that Paul was beheaded by Nero and Peter was crucified upside down, considering himself to be unworthy of dying in exact same manner that Jesus died. Tradition says that all the apostles died a martyr’s death (https://www.usfra.org/groups/ChaplainsCorner/blogs/how-the-apostles-died). John the apostle died a martyr’s death contrary to many saying that he lived to the age of 100 and died a peaceful death. Jesus predicted his martyrdom (Mark 10:39 And Jesus said to them (i.e. the apostle brothers James and John), “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,” That cup can only be death since Jesus prayed in the Garden “Father, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). The early church father Papias (60-130 AD said that John the apostle did die a martyrs death by a group of Jews. He doesn’t give the date of John’s death, but he says that John died a martyr just as Jesus predicted for the 2 brothers. I think the time of his death could only be before 70 AD when the Jews had the ability to kill Christians. Tradition says they killed James the Lord’s brother just before 70 AD. The Jews would not have been able to martry Cristians around 100 AD. Be that as it may, he died a martyr’s death of else Jesus’s prediction was false. John’s brother James the apostle died a martyr in Acts 12. BTW this tells us that all of John’s gospel and letters (1,2,3 John and Revelation) were written before he died before 70 AD.

Then there were the famous martyrs of early Christian history. Polycarp of Smyrna in 203 AD: According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Justin Martyr in 165 AD. Perpetua and Felicity (her slave servant who was pregant): Perpetua, age 22; had an infant son (still nursing, but gave the child to Christians to keep), killed at military games in honor of the emperor. The 40 martyrs of Sebaste: in 320 AD: this story is so interesting that I am quoting it from Wikipedia:”According to Basil, forty soldiers who had openly confessed themselves Christians were condemned by the prefect to be exposed naked upon a frozen pond near Sebaste on a bitterly cold night, that they might freeze to death. Among the confessors, one yielded and, leaving his companions, sought the warm baths near the lake which had been prepared for any who might prove inconstant. Upon immersion into the cauldron, the one who yielded went into shock and immediately died. One of the guards, Aglaius, was set to keep watch over the martyrs and beheld at this moment a supernatural brilliancy overshadowing them. He at once proclaimed himself a Christian, threw off his garments, and joined the remaining thirty-nine.[3] Thus the number of forty remained complete. At daybreak, the stiffened bodies of the confessors, which still showed signs of life, were burned and the ashes cast into a river. Christians, however, collected the precious remains, and the relics were distributed throughout many cities. Veneration of the Forty Martyrs became widespread.[1]  “Forty Martyrs of Sebaste”. Oxford Reference. Retrieved 10 March 2024. Agnes of Rome: A virgin, her high-ranking suitors, slighted by her resolute devotion to religious purity, sought to persecute her for her beliefs. Her father urged her to deny God, but she refused, and she was dragged naked through the streets to a brothel, then tried and sentenced to death. She was eventually beheaded,” in 304 AD. (Wikipedia)

The Middle Ages: Jan Huss: 1415, he was burned at the stake for heresy against the teachings of the Catholic Church. Joan of Arc: She was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy, which included blaspheming by wearing men’s clothes, acting upon visions that were demonic, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen. Girolamo Savonarola: In 1498 he was condemned, hanged and his body burned. William Tyndale:

The Reformation Period. Willaim Tyndate: Tyndale “was strangled to death[e] while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned”.[43] His final words, spoken “at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice”, were reported later as “Lord! Open the King of England’s eyes.”[44][45]

While the aforementioned martyrs are some of the most famous martyrs, the statistics for modern Christian martyrdom is unbelievable. Here is a great site: http://theestherproject.com/statistics/

Sharing some of those stats from that site: More than 70 million Christians have been martyred in the course of history (some question that statistic, saying that much of the killing was ethnic related than Christian martyrdom). More than half were martyred in the 20th century under communist and fascist government (Gordon-Conwell Resources).In the 21st century, roughly 100,000  to 160,000 Christians were killed each year (Gordon-Conwell Resources and World Christian Database, respectively). Roughly 1,093,000 Christians were martyred, worldwide, between 2000 and 2010 (World Christian Database). 800,000 Christians were targeted for their faith and martyred in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2007, in the time surrounding their civil war (World Christian Database). Roughly 50,000 Christians were martyred during the North-South Sudan violence that officially ended in 2003 (World Christian Database). An estimated 700,000 Christians were killed in North Korean prison camps between 1948 and 1987 (Crimson Crucible).

The organization Voice of the Martyrs has since 1967 been telling the story of persecuted Christians all over the world, inspiring efforts to relieve their suffering in many ways. The organization was founded by Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor who experienced severe persecution under the communist regime in his country, which likely influenced the choice of the name. Indeed, many of the VOM stories are martyrs, killed for their faith. After all, 322 Christians are killed for their faith worldwide each month.

This article began as my own feelings about facing my death. Reading my own research about Christian martyrs, past and present, makes me a little ashamed. All those martyrs courageously died for their faith, looking forward to eternal life with God. I don’t think any of them ever had any doubts about how they would face death. Hebrews 12:Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. “For the joy set before Him”. I never thought of it like this, but Jesus was a martyr. Early Christians considered Jesus to be the first and greatest martyr because of his crucifixion. Someone might disagree with that b/c Jesus said that his was giving up his life voluntarily (John 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”), but he was still killed for his faith in the Father, so I think that is martyrdom.

How did Jesus face death? Matthew 26:36-46 New American Standard Bible

The Garden of Gethsemane

36 Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

“Deeply grieved and distressed to the point of death”. (AI) “Jesus was suffering in his soul and body, overwhelmed and sorrowful as he was betrayed and abandoned. He experienced grief, rejection, humiliation, and ridicule. He opened himself to hatred and hostility, persecution, and threats on his life”. From Christina Williams: “He confesses a deeply troubled state of mind. Jesus describes this as being so distressed that He almost feels the emotion would kill Him. Jesus’ language describing His distress resembles some of what David wrote in the Psalms. For instance, David wrote in Psalm 143:3–4, “For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.” Jesus even felt forsaken by the Father. “My God, my God, what hast thou forsaken me?” He knew he was volunteering to die for the sins of the world. He knew he was doing it for His Father. He was “taking one for the team”. He was obeying the Father. Hebrews 5:7 ” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” The Hebrew writer adds “with loud cries and tears” to the gospel accounts of that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane. How loud were his cries in the Garden? The disciples still didn’t wake up. Can you just imagine that scene? Your friend and master is “a little ways” off from you. He has told you to “keep watch” for him. He is crying “loudly” in agony, and yet you fall asleep. Jesus returns and rebukes them, and goes off again. 3 times he this is repeated, and you fall asleep each time. Truly, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.

Jesus found no “joy” while he suffered and while he was being crucified. But “for the joy set before him”, knowing that after his death he would be raised from the dead and ascend back to the Father to be restored to the glory he had with the Father before the world began. John 17:4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” He no doubt kept thinking about that as he was suffering on the cross.

I hope that I would have the courage to die as a martyr for my faith if it came to that. In America, I don’t think we really think that is possible. In North Korea, for example, that is a real possibility. Maybe I will die by an accident of some kind, but most likely I will some day die of some disease. Again, I can’t predict who I will handle that. Hopefully, my thoughts about this world will leave me. I won’t be worried about things b/c they won’t matter any more. I won’t be worried about “what if” b/c the “what if” is finally here. Time to face the music. Hopefully my thoughts will focus on the “joy set before me”, the joy of eternal life. The joy of seeing my parents again. Will we know each other? I don’t know, but I think so. The joy of being reunited with other loved ones and people I helped lead to Jesus over the years. Hopefully with the courage to face death that will be an example to my kids and grandkids and others to encourage them to give their lives to Jesus to prepare for their death some day.

This article was for me, but I hope it was encouraging for you.


THANKSGIVING 2024

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

I love that!

THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE

Think of all the people you love. Then think of all the people who love you! My parents loved me, but never expressed it verbally or with hugs. My mom spent a major part of her life putting my needs ahead of her needs (pretty much spoiling me!). My dad worked 50 hrs/wk to provide for me: he took me fishing a lot and watched every baseball game I ever played in. But neither said “I love you” or hugged until my dad was 72 and was given 2 years to live (lung disease). Both said “I love you” a lot more after that. I still struggle with loving her b/c I am so selfish, and I struggled with showing emotion. My poor wife has lived with that for 54 years now. Unfortunately I am like the old man whose old wife asked him why he never tells her that he loves her. He told her, “Woman, I told you I loved the night we got married; I’ll let you know if I change my mind”. You’ve heard that one, huh? I do try to express love and hug, but it is still difficult. I’m thankful that my wife and 3 children are far more loving than I am. I’m thankful for all the people that have loved me along life’s journey. They all kinda tolerate my grumpy disposition! I know the Spirit of God can help us do and feel things that are not in our normal character and disposition. When you love someone whom you normally dislike, then God is glorified for what His Spirit is doing in you. I’ll keep working on it. I thank God that He has put so many people in my life that loved me.

THE PLACES YOU’VE SEEN

Again, my poor wife. I don’t like to travel. I get stressed out easily about every little thing or situation or “what if” that might happen or happens on a trip. My family dread traveling with me b/c fo that. I’ve gotten a little better, but still I really don’t want to travel. My wife loves to travel. Anywhere, it doesn’t matter where. Fortunately, the Lord pushed me out of the nest, and instead of going to Vietnam (I almost was drafted, I was 1A when I finished my engineering degree) my wife and I went to Trinidad, West Indies for 3 years (maybe the best years of my ministry) and then 2 years in Colombia, South America. Since then we have made trips to Vancouver, Italy, Honduras, back to Trinidad with some of my kids, Costa Rica (20 years ago), and Baja, Mexico. Recently we have made trips with our entire family to Puerto Rico and to Costa Rica. Each of those trip created memories that I hope I never forget. (AI) “Travel Is Fatal To Prejudice, Bigotry, And Narrow-Mindedness. So Is Returning Home. Mark Twain wrote, “Travel is fatal to prejuidce, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” I needed those trips to get me to experience some great things in life that I would have missed otherwise. I got to see the Coliseum in Rome where Christians were persecuted, Pompeii where Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, the Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, Volcano Arenal in Costa Rica, and many other places. I thank God that he pushed me out of my nest to go to all these places.

MEMORIES YOU’VE MADE ALONG THE WAY

God has given me many good memories during my 75 years (along with the travel memories). As stated, the travel created many memories: snorkling among coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea, the Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, a lady peeling tomatillos in a barrel of freezing weater for $1/hr in Baja Mexico, visiting Hugh and Dorothy Minor in Vancouver, teaching in a Saturday school of preaching for local leaders in Trinidad, our parents visiting us in Colombia South America, driving to the beaches in Vieques Island Puerto Rico with the kids, the family staying on the beach in Tamarindo Costa Rica, eating a great breakfast with family at our very nice place right at the foot of Volcano Arenal in Costa Rica, the wedding ceremonies of our 3 children- all finding godly mates, as a principal at a fledgling but great Christian school in Birmingham Alabama, courting and dating my current wife from the time she was in the 9th grade, playing baseball at the famous Rickwood Field in Birmingham (180 Hall of Fame MLB players have played there), fishing at Smith Lake where we built two cabins and spent most of my high school weekends, 2 years of nothing but bible study at a school of preaching in West Monro Louisiana, and on and on I could go. It is Thanksgiving, 2024, and I want to thank God for all these memories. I have several bad memories, but the good far outweigh the bad.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

This article is all about me with people, places, and memories that mean nothing to you, the reader. But I have enjoyed thinking about the people I love (and those who loved me), the places I have been, and the memories made along the way. I would encourage you, right now after reading this article, to write down your people you have loved, places you have been, and memories you have made along the way. I assure you it wil make you even more grateful during this Thanksgiving season.

GETTING OLDER and SEASONS OF LIFE (ALSO DISCUSSION OF ABORTION)

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

I guess I am writing this article for my own sake as I am about to turn 75 on 12/10/2024. I told my Bible students at MA that I was about to enter the 4th quarter of life (75-100 age). (AI) “The average life expectancy for men in the United States in 2024 is 76.1 years. This is five years less than the average life expectancy for women, which is 81.1 years.” One of my students reminded me that my life expectancy is only 76.1 years. In other words, if this were a football game, I would be in the 2 minute period of the 4th quarter (not just starting the 4th quarter as I had told them. If I make it another year past 2025, I will be in “overtime” and that doesn’t last long (a few plays and your done one way or the other). So in my “morning musings” I decided to do an article, maybe to cheer me up.

Isaiah 46: 3“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
    all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from before your birth,
    carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
    and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
    I will carry and will save.”

“Before your birth”? I.e., in the womb. God guided the entire gestation process for 9 months. He put the DNA that is unique to each person in that fetus and it began to program out the development of every part of the baby till birth.

Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

Abortion. I read this on AI:

“Some people argue that abortion is the killing of a life because they believe a fetus is a person with a right to life. This line of reasoning is based on the following ideas:

  • A fetus is a person
  • People have a right to life
  • Therefore, a fetus has a right to life
  • It is wrong to kill a being with a right to life
  • Therefore, it is wrong to kill a fetus 

Some people believe that a fetus is a person from the moment of conception. They argue that a fetus is an innocent human being with its own DNA, and that abortion is the murder of an innocent life.” So then I asked AI (my new Siri), “is there life in the womb?” I was surprised to get this answer. “Yes, according to the scientific consensus, life in the womb exists from the moment of conception when a sperm fertilizes an egg, forming a single cell called a zygote, which marks the beginning of a new human life; this developing organism is considered a fetus throughout pregnancy and is considered to be “alive” within the womb.” “Scientific evidence that indicates life within the womb includes: the presence of a unique DNA distinct from the mother’s at conception, continuous cell division and development into a complex organism with organs like a beating heart, brain activity, movement, response to stimuli like sound and light, and the ability to learn and recognize sounds and patterns while still in the womb, all starting from the moment of fertilization when a sperm meets an egg to form a zygote; essentially, a fetus exhibits all the biological criteria considered indicative of life.”

“The most definitive sign of a living fetus, usually detectable via ultrasound around 6-7 weeks of pregnancy.” Surely the pro-abortion advocates would agree that if there is a heartbeat, then there is life (or would they?). So, for the same of argument, we can at least say life begins at 6-7 weeks (about 1 1/2 months). The fetus has a heart by that time for sure. So that heart has been devloping from conception, programmed by the baby’s DNA. At what point during that first 6-7 weeks are you going to say that you do not think there was life in the fetus? At 5 weeks? At 4 weeks? At 3, or 2 weeks? In which week before 6-7 weeks would you say, “there is no life in this fetus so we can abort the feetus without killing a living fetus baby?” I can’t iimagine being the abortion doctor and having to decide in an abortion I am doing in week 4 of a pregnant woman, “am I just removing some non-living tissues or am I killing a living fetus baby?” How can a pregnant woman make that decision to allow the doctor to do the abortion without being sure if the fetus if living or not?”

As I said, I was surprised at the AI answer (which I think was taken verbatim from some pro-life articles), but how would God answer that question, “is there life in the womb”, and if so, “when does that life begin”. Back to Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance” When did God begin “knitting together the inward parts of the yet unformed (not fully formed baby yet) substance”? As science has shown, and no rational pro-abortionists could refute this, all the DNA is present when the sperm and egg. unite to form a zygote at conception. So I think Psalm 139 is God saying that life begins at conception. God even says that he knew certain individuals while they were in the womb. Jeremiah 1:4-5: “Then the word of the Lord came to me saying ‘Before you were born I knew you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations'” Paul said, Galatians 1:15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born.”

But perhaps the strongest case from the Bible that God says that life is in the womb is from Exodus 21:22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” In. other words, if striking the pregnant woman causes her child to to born dead (stillborn or miscarriage), then the one who struck the woman (even if unintentional) will die, life for life (stoned to death?). The pro-abortionists might say, “well that might be a pregnancy in the third trimester (6th – 9th week of pregnancy”. But does God say, “if the fetus is 6 weeks or more, then life for life” in these verses? The verses just specify, “a pregnant woman”. So if the woman is pregant at all, then the punishment applied. So, in my opinion, the verses teach that God considers all of the 9 months of pregnancy to be life in the womb. I found this in article, saying that pro-abortionists see these verses as proving just the opposite. “Exodus 21, for example, suggests that a pregnant woman’s life is more valuable than the fetus’s. This text describes a scenario in which men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and cause her to miscarry. A monetary fine is imposed if the woman suffers no other harm beyond the miscarriage. However, if the woman suffers additional harm, the perpetrator’s punishment is to suffer reciprocal harm, up to life for life.” (From theconversation.com). They try to say that these verses show that life in the womb is considered by God to be of less importance that the mother’s life. I don’t see that at all!!!!!!!

Bottom line, since even most pro-abortionists believe that life begins at some point in the womb (maybe in the third trimester since often that was when even they believed that abortions should be banned), then how can someone say when in the gestation that life actually began (what month). If that be the case, how could someone abort a fetus or perform an abortion knowing that uncertainty exists?

Isaiah 46 jumps from “before your birth, carried from your womb (birth), to “old ages and gray hairs”. BTW Proverbs 16:31“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness”. This verse suggests that gray hair is a sign of a life well lived and a commitment to righteousness. Proverbs 20:29“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old”. This verse suggests that gray hair is a sign of wisdom and honor.” Do you remember that 1980 Clairol commercial with the song “I’m gonna wash that gray right outa my hair”? Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc6f0M7h9b4I understand, but why be ashamed of the gray hair of old age? Why try to make yourself look young when you aren’t? Aren’t you satisfied with that last old age stage of life that God gives you without trying to hold on to younger stages? I must admit, I did use some of that but only once!!!!!!!!! I tell my wife all that and she still spend $75 once a month to color her hair from gray to brown. No one listens to me!

So what about that stage between birth and old age, Isaiah? Start with childhood. The pain and yet the joy of childbirth: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21).”Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”(Psalm 127:3-5). Apparently children under the “age of accountability” are pure and free of sin: But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). Of course that refutes the idea that babies are born inheriting Adam’s sin, called “original sin”, from the fall. Catholicism has always taught that babies need to be born quickly to get rid of that inherited sin or else they will go to Catholic purgatory for babies which is called limbo. I found this to be very interesting from AI: In Catholic theology, limbo is the place where souls who die in original sin but are not condemned to hell reside. It is a border area between heaven and hell where souls are not punished but are also not able to experience eternal happiness with God in heaven.  The concept of limbo developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Medieval theologians believed that limbo was divided into two parts:

  • Limbo of the Fathers: The place where Old Testament saints were thought to reside until Christ’s “descent into hell”
  • Limbo of the Infants: The place where unbaptized children and the mentally impaired reside 

The Catholic Church’s official catechism, published in 1992, did not mention limbo. The International Theological Commission (ITC) issued a document in 2007 that reduced the teaching of limbo from “common doctrine” to “a possible theological hypothesis”. The ITC concluded that there is less certainty about the salvation of infants who die without baptism than for those who are baptized.” In other words, Catholicism may be backing off the idea that unbaptized babies who die go to limbo. It’s funny how Catholics can something is the word of God through the pope and then later say it isn’t exactly so! Romans 5: 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. A person only dies spiritually when he chooses to sin, not when he is born with original sin. BTW Jesus said “he that believes and is baptized shall be saved ” (Mark 16:16). Christian baptism is only for those who can believe. What good does it do to baptize a child who can’t believe? The book of Acts gives several cases of baptized believers, but not infant baptism. It might be countered that the jailor and “all his household” were baptized (Acts 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”). But that would have to assume that he had underage children, and it still wouldn’t change the fact that only believers could be baptized.


At what age is a child considered responsible for choosing sin? That depends on the individual child, of course. Many think the age of 12 or so? This was interesting: “In Judaism, a Bar Mitzvah is typically celebrated at age 13 for boys because it marks the age when they are considered mature enough to fully take on the responsibilities of Jewish adulthood, including observing religious laws and being held accountable for their actions, which is often associated with the onset of puberty; the female equivalent, a Bat Mitzvah, is often celebrated at age 12, also signifying the coming of age based on maturity levels.” I’ve always said that teenage girls mature sooner than boys! I have surely experienced that dealing with immature boys in my Bible classes who sit in desks right next to mature young girls of the same age! Very frustrating! God will bless little children. They have a “guardian angel”. Matthew 18:10 Christ says, “See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven”. I assume they still have those! But what about when a young child dies? That doesn’t mean that the child’s angel isn’t looking after the child. It may just be that God is allowing that child to die (regardless of why), but that God will take care of that child for eternity in a much better place in heaven. I always think of “The Shack” movie. That little girl went through a hellish nightmare when she was abducted and killed, but Mac was able to later see her playing in the fields with Jesus. God took care of her. Too many parents have become atheists when a child of theirs dies. I know it takes a lot of faith to see your deceased child in heaven, but be assured that it is so. People have always had a tendency to look down on youth b/c young people do a lot of bad, stupid things. Proverbs 20:11 “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” Christians youth should be different, and an example to others. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain[c] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.” Those verses imply that young people are going to do bad things that can bring the judgment of God on them. They “sow their wild oats”. “Youth and the dawn of life” are called “vanity” (the Hebrew word for vapor, breath: they appear to mean something but in the long run they are a vapor off a steam kettle that lasts for a short while and then disappear). Then the admonition in Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”

What about the “young man or young woman” stage in between birth and old age? Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.” The “young men” refer to young people in the prime of their physical strength, essentially signifying the glory of youth as being their physical vitality and energy. I think Timothy was in that “young man” stage when Paul told him in 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” Paul then told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22 “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Passions do run wild in young men when the testosterone is peaking. 1 John 2:14  “I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” It is always good to see young adult Christian men step up to lead, serve, and be mentors to young people. Titus 2:6-8  “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” So many young adults lack self control. They act “wild”. They seem to think it is cool to act wild. The young adult Christian man’s goal should be to act like Jesus did in his young adult stage: Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Psalm 71:5  For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.”Proverbs 1:8-9  Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” 1 Peter 5:5-7 “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Daniel 1:17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” Those 3 Hebrew “children” were young male adults who defied the king’s command to worship the image even as they were thrown into the fire. They had such faith and courage. Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” We need Christian young men to step up in this world of sin. A lot of young adults live for drinking, sex, materialism, pleasure, and wild times. Let’s not forget about young adult females. Titus 2:4-8 “And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Too many young adult Christian ladies are influenced by fashion, drinking, bar-hopping, one night stands, materialism, pleasure, vanity of how you look, jewelry, etc. Many are more interested in their careers than they are in being godly wives, mothers, homemakers, and examples to others. Many would rather work in their careers than stay home and raise their children in those early formative years, so they turn their very young children over to the grandparents (who often gladly take care of those children) or some day care services. I know there may be extenuating circumstances that require a young mother to work outside the home, but hopefully she can at least stay home with those very young children for those formative years. (Just my opinion). Remember Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” I laugh when I read proverbs 31 description of the woman who fears the Lord, the ideal godly woman. He describes what that woman should be like, but adds 31:10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” It is like, “this is what she would look like but you won’t find one like this!” Solomon could be a little misogynistic. Ecclesiastes 7:28 “One man among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all those have I not found.” Maybe his experiences with his thousand wives and concubines leading him to idolatry made him pessimistic about women! I do feel sorry for young Christian adults, men and women, trying to find a godly mate today. The field of prospects seems to be very limited. But God will lead you to that right mate, along with listening to good advice from older Christians.

Ok, we finally get to the last stage of Isaiah 46: “old age and gray hairs”. Job 12:12: “So with old age is wisdom, and with length of days understanding”. Older people are not always wiser but often Job is right. In the church, elders were to be older men, proven Christian men (1 Timothy 3) who had “managed their own households”. Yet Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.” Some of the elders in the church that I have known in my 50 years of ministry were not wise, and really needed to be rebuked. Psalm 71:9: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent”. I know what that means. I used to be able to work 12-14 hours a day painting. I would be sore, but recover quickly in the morning. Not so now at 75. I can still work hard and long but not nearly as hard and long as earlier in life. 2 Corinthians 4: 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Old age and getting “older” should be time that, even as you watch your outer self wasting away, you begin to look forward to your new eternal body in heaven. So we groan with our aches and pains, but look forward. 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling”. Psalm 90:10 “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” That sounds like I’ve got 5 years left at the most! Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” Passages like this one bother me a little. Surely David had seen a righteous man and his children being poor and begging.for bread, maybe during one of the famiines God sent on Israel b/c of their sins. I think this is just a general rule but there might be exceptions. Titus 2:2,3 “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good.” Titus has such good practical advice for young men and women and older men and women. Old age doesn’t mean that we can’g still bear fruit. Psalm 92:14 They will still yield fruit in advanced age; They will be full of sap and very green”

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— “. Is that accurate or what? Eyesight dims, hearing gets bad, bent over walking, teeth decay, legs get weak, hands tremble, you lose the desire to even go out of the house, depression clouds set in, can’t sleep. I have all the symptoms! He says all this is “b/c man is going to his eternal home”. In other words, he is dying. Death is right around the corner. They will be having you funeral in a short while. Psalm 71:17-18 “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” As we get older we feel the need to ground our grandchildren in the faith, maybe even our children although hopefully we did that when they were little. Timothy’s mother and grandmother passed down their faith to Timothy. 2 Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” Old age may be a time when you reminise about the “good old days”, but Ecclesiastes 7:10  Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Anna was 84 and in the temple: Luke 2:36-38 ” And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Old age might be a time of prayer and thanks, like Anna did.

Old age is a time of looking back at our life, our accomplishments and our failures. Jacob struggled spiritually all his years: he wrestled with God (thus his name change to Israel) at Penuel and during his whole life. He was about 110 when he moved his family to Egypt to be with Joseph. He was 130 when he told Pharoah: Genesus 47:9 So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my living abroad are 130; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their living abroad.” How sad that Jacob looked back at this life and summed up his 130 years as “unpleasant”. They were unpleasant b/c for most of his years he lied to his father, cheated his brother, trusted in his own cunning instead of God, was fearful and cowardly. I hope I don’t end up like that. At least he told Joseph as he was blessing Joseph’s 2 sons: Genesis 48:15 ““The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16 The angel who has redeemed me from all evil. That indicates that he finally realized that it was God’s wisdom and power, not his own cunning and strength, that had given him many blessings in life. Some find that awareness of God’s working in their lives as they are on their deathbed.

Psalm 39:5 “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah” A handbreath is the width of a hand, maybe 6 inches. I look back and it just seems like yesterday that I was young. It seems like a few handbreaths, not 75 years.

Ecclesiastes 6:3 ” If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.” Solomon’s phlosophy of life in Ecclesiastes is “eat, drink, and be merry”, enjoy the life God has given you. Put your trust in God and live every day for Him. In that way you will be satisfied with this life when you died, like Abraham. Genesis 25:8 Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people. I hope I can one day when I die look back and be satisfied with the life God has given me and ready for the next life in eternity.

This has been long, but 75 years of relection takes a lot of writing.

ISAIAH 44 THE FOLLY OF IDOLATRY; MODERN IDOLATRY

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

In an earlier blog on Isaiah 41-45, Isaiah challenged the gods of the pagan idols to prove their very existence (41:1 set forth your case) by predicting the future (with 100% accuracy). He then gives several predictions about the temple being destroyed (586 BC, 120 years in the future), the return from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the temple (536 BC, 160 years in the future) allowed by Cyrus the king of Persia, naming Cyrus by name about 100 years before he was even born. I gave many other prophecies about nations that were fulfilled in the old testament.

But not only does Isaiah show that the pagan gods cannot predict the future, he then goes on to show the “futility of idol worship” (the foolishness).

Isaiah 44:9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

There is not much need of commentary here. Isaiah scoffs at the idea of a man planting and growing a tree, cutting it down after it is grown, using half of the fallen tree to make fires to rost his meat, and uses the other half to make into a delicately and lavishly carved wooden idol to worhip his pagan god.

We must go to Romans 1 for commentary.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Paul is saying that there is no excuse for not believing in God who created everything. While his attributes of eternal power and divine nature should be “clearly perceived” by all. Read my blog article “Praising the God of creation” for all the arguments for the existence of God (intelligent design of all animals and plants, the periodic table, the human body, the many constants of math and physics that must be finely tuned to have life on earth, etc.). That is called “natural revelation” (nature reveals that there is a creator God). The psalmist said “the fool has said there is no god” (Psalm 19:1). But let us suppose that someone does perceive that the universe and life could not just come into existence from nothing. That would not tell us about that God who created everything. That would take “special revelation”, i.e. that creator God would reveal himself and his plans through inspired messengers or prophets by miraculous inspiration. But suppose that person believes there must be a creator God but doesn’t have access to any of God’s special revelation of HIs word through prophets. He might decide to. start worshipping God through what God created. This could be “animism”: Animism is the doctrine that every natural thing in the universe has a soul. If you believe in animism, you believe that ostriches, cactuses, mountains, and thunder are all spiritual beings. Animism comes from the Latin word anima, meaning life, or soul. Animists believe in innumerable spiritual beings that are concerned with human affairs and capable of helping or harming human interests. Animistic rituals are a variety of practices that serve to maintain relationships between humans and spirits, such as sacrifices, taboos, ancestor worship, shamanism (witch doctors), etc. You can undersand in remote areas of Africans the practice of animism by sincere worshipers of the Creator God when they don’t have the word of God. It is the church’s responsibility to get the word of God to them in their own languages, which many have tried to do, often leding to their deaths.

Idolatry is different than animism. A great AI (I love AI b/c it usually says things better than I do and in less words!) distinction: “While both terms are related to the worship of something other than a single, supreme deity, idolatry specifically refers to the act of worshipping a physical object like a statue as a god, while animism is the belief that all things in nature, including animals, plants, and even inanimate objects, possess a spirit or soul, and can be interacted with on a spiritual level; essentially, animism is a broader concept that encompasses the idea of spiritual agency in all things, not just physical representations of deities like in idolatry.” For example, Ancient Egypt: The polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt featured large idols that were often animals or included animal parts. Bull and cow, cat and dog, ram and goat were considered to be the incarnations of different deities, and so were lion and lioness, jackal and scorpion, crocodile and hippopotamus, the poisonous cobra (also called the “uraeus” serpent) and several birds, among them the falcon and the vulture. They worshipped the sun god Ra and many other gods but focused on the animals. Ancient Greece: The Greek civilization favored human forms for divine representation. The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods, including the 12 Olympians, who lived on Mount Olympus (Zeus- the main god, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.). They worshipped idols that were a representation of the gods themselves. The most important group of deities of the Romans were the Deii Consentes, the twelve gods and goddesses of the Roman pantheon: Jupiter (the main god) and Juno, Neptune and Minerva, Mars and Venus, Apollo and Diana, Vulcan and Vesta, Mercury and Ceres. The Romans basically worshipped the same gods that the Romans did, they just changed the names. Isolatry has existed in all cultures. The Canaanites practiced polytheism, which is the worship of multiple gods. Their gods included: Astarte: A war goddess.  Baal: A fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the Canaanite pantheon.  Asherah: The wife of El, also known as Athirat.  Anat: A war goddess. Many, many other examples of idolatry and false pagan gods could be given.

Paul sums up idolatry in Romans 1:22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Idolaters made images of “man and animals”, worshipping the things the creator created instead of the creator Himself. Isaiah says this is just downright folly of foolishness. Even if you don’t have special revelation, it just doesn’t make sense to make up different false gods and then create idols to worhip them by. Again, it is the church’s responsibility to get the word of God to them, but there would be no excuse for the Greeks and Romans discussed above. The Jews had collected the 39 books (scrolls) of the old testament by the time the Greeks and the Romans came into existence. Those books condemned idolatry, a sin that Israael itself continued to practice. They could have turned from idolatry just as Rahab turned from the worship of the Canaanite gods like Baal to worship the one true god YHWH of Israel. I think that is probably true for all idolaters in the world. Hinduism in India is full of worhsip of many gods and goddesses with idols. But the word of God has been preached in India for centuries. If a person was seeking the truth about God, he could find it in India if he really wanted to. Buddhism has its many statues of Buddha and follow his teaching. They actually don’t worship Buddha himself or his statue, but for all practical purposes they do. But the word of God has been in Buddhist countries for centuries. Islam only began in the 7th century AD, about 600 years after Jesus lived and dead and 600 years after the New Testament was completed. Muslims definitely had the word of God but chose instead to follow Mohommed and the Koran. At least hey don’t practice idolatry, however, but they do deny that Jesus is the Son of God.

Jeremiah condemns the folly of idolatry: 10:1  Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, 3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity.
A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” 6 There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you. 8 They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!

(AI) “n the Bible, Ezekiel saw several examples of idolatry in the temple in Ezekiel 8, including:

  • 1) An idol outside the temple: Ezekiel saw a foreign idol standing in front of the temple’s northern gate. This idol was a symbol of Israel’s rejection of God. Maybe a giant idol off Asherah? or Baal?
  • 2) Idols on the walls: Ezekiel saw images of crawling animals, detestable creatures, and idols of the house of Israel on the temple walls. This would be from Egyptian gods probably.
  • 3) Women weeping for Tammuz: Ezekiel saw women weeping for Tammuz, a Babylonian god of fertility. Ezekiel sees several other sacrilegious things, but Tammuz is the only deity mentioned in the vision, showing one of the foreign gods Israel had strayed after.
  • 4) Men worshiping the sun: Ezekiel saw 25 men facing east and worshiping the sun. Sun worship has been practiced in many cultures throughout history, including: 
    • Ancient Egypt: The sun god Ra was worshipped, and the ancient Egyptian god of creation, Amun, was believed to reside in the sun. 
    • Ancient Greece: The sun god Helios was worshipped. 
    • Ancient Rome: The sun god Sol was worshipped. 
    • Ancient Persia: The sun god Mithra was worshipped. 
    • Ancient India: The sun gods Surya, Savitr, and Mithra were worshipped. 
    • Ancient Sumer: The sun god Utu was worshipped. 
    • Ancient Babylon: The sun god Shamash was worshipped. 
    • Inca civilization: The sun god Inti was worshipped, and the ruler of Peru was considered an incarnation of Inti. 
    • Aztec religion: The sun gods Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca demanded human sacrifice. 
    • Japanese Shintoism: The sun goddess Amaterasu was worshipped, and sun symbols are still used to represent the Japanese state. 
    • Albanian tradition: The sun god Dielli is worshipped, and the sun and moon are sacred elements of Albanian tradition. 
    • Native American tribes: Some tribes still practice a sun dance to renew their connection with the earth and the growing season. 
    • Siberian cultures: The sun goddess is worshipped by the Taymyr Samoyed and the Tungus. 
    • The concept of sun worship is likely as old as humanity itself. In societies that were dependent on the sun for life and sustenance, it’s not surprising that the sun became deified.
  • 5) Leaders offering incense sacrifices: Ezekiel saw leaders offering incense sacrifices to false gods. 
  • Ezekiel’s vision of idolatry in the temple was a condemnation of these practices and explained why God’s glory departed from the temple later in the vision. 

God condemned idolatry as the 2nd of the 10 commandments: Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. It is amazing that Israel practiced idolatry all through their history up to the Babylonian captivity ( the exile seemed to cure them of idolatry after that). It is amazing that Solomon (the wisest man on earth) practiced idolatry. 1 Kings 11:1 ” King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter. He loved Hittite women and women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon. 2 They came from the nations about which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “Never intermarry with them. They will surely tempt you to follow their gods.” But Solomon was obsessed with their love. 3 He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 wives who were concubines. 4 In his old age, his wives tempted him to follow other gods. He was no longer committed to the Lord his God as his father David had been. 5 Solomon followed Astarte (the goddess of the Sidonians) and Milcom (the disgusting idol of the Ammonites). 6 So Solomon did what the Lord considered evil. He did not wholeheartedly follow the Lord as his father David had done. 7 Then Solomon built an illegal worship site on the hill east of Jerusalem for Chemosh (the disgusting idol of Moab) and for Molech (the disgusting idol of the Ammonites). 8 He did these things for each of his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.”

Jereoboam I and King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel are known for practicing idolatry: Jeroboam IThe first king of the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam established new places of worship, including golden calves in Bethel and Dan, to divert his people away from the temple in Judah. He also appointed his own priests. Jeroboam’s actions were motivated by a fear that his subjects would become sympathetic to the Southern Kingdom and its king, In the Bible, the prophet Amos condemned idolatry in the northern kingdom of Israel in the book of Amos, specifically in Amos 5:4-5: Amos 5:4-5: Amos tells the Israelites to renounce their idolatry and not enter the idolatrous temples of Bethel and Gilgal. Amos was sent to preach in Bethel of Israel by God to condemn the sins of the northern kingdom, including idolatry, greed, social injustice, and political corruption. Amos’s messages announced God’s anger and impending judgment on Israel. The idolatry of the northern kingdom eventually led to being carried into Assyrian captivity in 722 BC after 19 evil kings.

In the southern kingdom of Judah, several kings practiced idolatry but the worst if probably Manasseh. Known as the “Evil King”, Manasseh’s reign was marked by paganism, including human sacrifice and the worship of Baal and Asherah. He also sponsored the Assyrian astral cult. In contrast, King Josiah led Judah in a reform movement that broke the pattern of idol worship in his family. Josiah’s reforms included: Breaking down altars made by Manasseh, Defiling high places dedicated to foreign gods, and Breaking pillars and Asherim. But idolatry was too ingrained in the people. Josiah’s reforms did not stop the evil practices of Judah, which led the them being carried into Babylonian captivity in 3 exilles in 606 BC, 596 BC, and 586 BC when the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer. There was no more idolatry of Judah after the exile, so God’s punishment worked.

I feel good that I don’t practice idolatry since it is such a bad sin. Really? Notice these new testament verses. 1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Ephesians 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. What is “modern day idolatry” and some examples?

Modern-day idolatry is the act of misdirecting worship and giving more affection to something created than the Creator. It can take many forms, including: 

  • Materialism: Buying more and more things to build our egos 
  • Pride and ego: Obsessing over careers and jobs 
  • Self-aggrandizement: Self-indulgence through alcohol, drugs, sexual sins, and food 
  • Identity: Placing our identity in something or someone other than God, such as our social media following, our position at work, or our abilities 
  • Entertainment: Being obsessed with being entertained, such as through Netflix, vacations, video games, or podcasts 
  • Comfort: Being promised an easier or simpler or more comfortable life through products 
  • Phones: Becoming addicted to smartphones 

Idols can be anything that we look to for things that only God can give. They can be things that we believe will fulfill our desires, such as love, joy, peace, freedom, status, identity, control, happiness, security, fulfillment, significance, acceptance, and respect.

Ouch! I might not be worshipping some idol in my house or in a Hindu temple, but maybe I am just as much of an idolater as they are! “Turn away from idols” is a phrase that appears in the Bible, and it is a call to stop worshiping idols and to serve the true God: Ezekiel 14:6: “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your disgusting and vile acts” . Genesis 35:2-3 So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress.” Some of his family had brought with them the household idols of Laban from his 20 years in Haran. Rachel hid hers from Laban when he caught up with Jacob fleeing Haran, searching for his household idols that had been stolen. So before Jacob could build an altar to worship God at Bethel, he made everyone put away their pagan altars. Maybe that’s what we need to do before we worship. Too many Christians go to some church assembly to worship with songs and praise, but then they go right back to their time, energy, and money being dominated by their modern idolatry idols listed above. God is a “jealous God”. Joshua 24:19“And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins”. Joshua knew that the Israelites would worship the Canaanite gods after his death. In the Bible, God is described as jealous because he wants exclusive devotion from his people and commands that they love and worship him alone. He wants the same exclusive devotion that married mates would want from each other.

Am I an idolater? Are you an idolater?

ISAIAH 41-46 God challenges the gods of idols to predict the future

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

A CHALLENGE TO THE GODS OF IDOLATRY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE

Isaiah 41:21-29 Isaiah is challenging the pagan gods directly. “Set forth your case”, i.e. defend your existence and reality as if on trial in a courtroom. “Bring your proofs”: what proof do you have that you really are gods? Hinduism, for example, is filled with idols and gods. (AI) “The Hindu trinityThe three gods of the Hindu trinity are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva: 1) Brahma: The god of creation. 2) Vishnu: The god of preservation, and the supreme deity in Vaishnavism. Vishnu is often depicted sleeping on the serpent Adishesha, a personification of time, while floating on the ocean of milk, Kshira Sagara. 3) Shiva: The god of destruction, who destroys the universe in order to recreate it. Many other gods that they worship to get special blessings: Durga: The goddess of war. Kali: The goddess of time and destruction, and the divine mother. Lakshmi: The goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity, and the consort of Vishnu. Indra: The king of the devas and Svarga, and the god of the thunderbolt. Saraswati: The goddess of wisdom. Parvati: The goddess of power. Thousands of other gods.They have the Vedas: (AI) “The oldest and most authoritative Hindu texts, which Hindus believe were revealed by God and not created by humans. The Vedas were passed down orally for generations before being written down.” The Vedas are full of myths: (AI) “Myths found in the Vedas include the creation story of the “Cosmic Man” (Purusha) where the universe is created from the different parts of his body, the story of the earth goddess Prithivi being impregnated by the sky god Dyaus to produce rain, and the myth of the primordial sacrifice where the different social classes (Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras) are born from different parts of Purusha’s body; most of these myths are found in the Rig Veda, the oldest Vedic text.” Hinduism has legendar creatures: Navagunjara: A creature made up of nine different animals. Panchamukhi Hanuman: Hanuman took on a five-faced form to kill Ahiravana. Reachisey: A mythical animal with the head of a lion, the trunk of an elephant, and the body of a dragon. Hinduism has mytholoical stories: The Ramayana: Rama is exiled with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, but is forced to rescue Sita from the clutches of the king of Lanka, Ravana. Other myths and legends in Hinduism: Mahabalipuram and the God who Sunk Temples. Amritam and the Nectar of Immortality. Lord Rama and his Army of Monkeys. Shesha Naga: The Earthquake-Producing Snake. Vish Kanyas: The Squad of Venomous Female Assassins. Then there is Krishna: Often called Lord Krishna, he is one of the most widely worshiped and popular Hindu deities. Krishna is the eighth avatar (or incarnation) of Vishnu. He was deified in the 5th century and since then has also been worshiped as the supreme god himself. Krishna is the Hindu god of compassion, protection, and love.

Isaiah would challenge all the gods of Hinduism (as well as all the other gods of the pagan world religions): Bring your proof that you really exist, that these myths and legends actually happened in history. So what is the main proof that he challenges them to bring? 41:22 Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. 23 Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. 24 Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.” Hinduism has no proof of predictons of the future being fulfilled with 100% accuracy. That was God’s way of proving that He is the one true God of the world, that His prophets were speaking His words, and that their writings were inspired by God. 2 Peter 1:19 “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Then Isaiah gives an example of accurately predicting the future. He predicts that: 40:25 “I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay. 26 Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.” The “one from the north” is Cyrus, King of Persia. Cyrus the Great ruled Persia from 559–530 BC. He is also the “one from the east” in 41:2 Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.” Persia was to the northeast of Palestine. Daniel 5 tells of the handwriting on the wall that foretold the fall of Belshazzar’s Babylonian kingdom. Daniel 5:30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.” Darius I ruled the Medo-Persian Empire from 522-486 BC, so he could not be the man mentioned here in 539 BC.(AI) “Darius the Mede is mentioned in the Book of Daniel as King of Babylon between Belshazzar and Cyrus the Great, but he is not known to secular history and there is no space in the historical timeline between those two verified rulers.” We leave that debate to scholars. Here is an article that gives 2 options to explain this: https://www.evidenceunseen.com/bible-difficulties-2/ot-difficulties/daniel-amos/dan-531-who-is-darius-the-mede/ It was Cyrus the Persian who took the city of Babylon. (AI) “The Babylonians had prepared themselves for a siege but the Persians diverted the river Euphrates to get into the city. Babylon was surrendered to Cyrus without a fight. Cyrus gave battle against the army of Akkad (Babylon). He defeated them and slaughtered the people.” Cyrus is the king who, after defeating the Babylonians in 539 BC, allowed the Israelites in Babylonian captivity to return to rebuild the temple that Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed in 586 BC. Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:” It then goes on to say that he allowed the Jews to return and for the Babylonians to give them silver, gold, and all the supplies they needed for the long trip and to rebuild the temple.

The amazing thing about this prediction about Cyrus is that is was made about 150 years before it would be fulfilled, about 100 years before Cyrus was even born! You can see why Isaiah 41:25 says that the prediction concerning Cyrus was a great proof that YHWH was the one true God, as oposed to the false pagan gods who could not predict the future (the challenge Isaiah gave to them). You can see why the “liberals” say that Isaiah could not possibly have predicted this since they believe no one can predict the future with 100% accuracy. Here is a good discussion of the topic. https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/75073/what-evidence-is-used-to-support-the-claim-that-isaiah-was-written-before-the-re Basically, the Jews accepted the full book of Isaiah as the product of the prophet Isaiah in the 8th century BC. They were the ones entrusted by God with collecting the inspired scrolls in the old testament. Romans 3:1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.” (AI) The entire Book of Isaiah, including chapters 40-66, is considered part of the Jewish scriptures. While the entire book is included, scholars often divide Isaiah into sections like “Proto-Isaiah” (chapters 1-39) and “Deutero-Isaiah” (chapters 40-66) based on stylistic differences and potential authorship variations.” You can see why they might question the authorship of chapters 40-66 since they would not believe that Isaiah 53 is predicting Jesus the Messiah. So, did the Jews believe that Isaiah’s prediction about Cyrus was written before Cyrus was born? (AI) Yes, Jews traditionally believe that the prophet Isaiah predicted the rise of Cyrus, the Persian king who allowed the Jews to return from exile in Babylon, even mentioning him by name in his prophecies, which are considered to have been written significantly before Cyrus’s time; this is seen as a remarkable example of biblical prophecy coming true.” Our best proof that Isaiah did predict about a future Cyrus is that the Jews accepted that to be true. “This prophecy is seen as a powerful testament to God’s sovereignty and ability to guide history through his chosen instruments.” (AI) “There are multiple theories about the authorship of the Book of Isaiah, with some scholars believing that it was written by 3 authors: 1) Proto-Isaiah: Chapters 1–39, written by the original Isaiah. 2) Deutero-Isaiah: Chapters 40–55, written by an anonymous author during the exile. 3) Trito-Isaiah: Chapters 56–66, written by an anonymous author after the exile. Why would the liberals claim 3 authors? (AI) “Many scholars believe the Book of Isaiah was written by multiple authors due to noticeable differences in writing style, historical context, and the time period covered within the text, suggesting that various prophets or editors added to the original work of Isaiah over a significant span of time, particularly with the “Deutero-Isaiah” theory highlighting a distinct section likely written during the Babylonian exile, significantly later than Isaiah’s life.” But the bottom line is that they won’t accept that Isaiah could predict the future with such accuracy! They deny the miraculous prediction of the future by God’s prophets. They start with the assumption that such is just not possible in the natural and scientific realsm (naturalism), and then try to find proof of their assumption, such as “differences in writing style” in the different sections of Isaiah. This called circular reasoning: Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy that occurs when an argument assumes its conclusion is true and uses it as evidence to support itself. “Certain chapters focus more heavily on themes like redemption and restoration, which could reflect a later perspective on the Babylonian exile”. Of course that is true, but so what. The last part of the book (ch 40-66) focuses on the hope of Israel, both the return from Babylonian captivity and the Messianic hope. BTW the Great Isaiah Scroll, a complete Hebrew copy of Isaiah, was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered in 1947 AD). “The Great Isaiah Scroll, also known as 1QIsa, is dated to around 100 BCE.  The scroll’s date has been determined using radiocarbon dating and palaeographic/scribal dating. The scroll was discovered in 1947 in Cave 1 at Qumran.” This was collected by Jews and is one complete book of Isaiah, all 66 chapters, with no indication of any divisions due to different authors. Again, I’ll go with the Jews on this instead of the naturalists who are looking for reasons to deny the miracles of the Bible!

Before we close the predictions of Cyrus, let’s go to the other verses in Isaiah that predict Cyrus. Isaiah 44:24 “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, 25 who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, 26 who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’; 27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’;28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built, and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Again, the prediction of Cyrus, the return from Babylon in 536 BC, and the rebuilding of the temple “confirms the word of His (God’s) servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers”. But that’s not all! 45:1 “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.” Did you notice, “who call you by your name”? First of all, this prophecy predicts a future destruction and “ruins” of the temple. The temple was destroyed in 586 BC, so this prediction is made over 100 years before the temple is destroyed. Any prediction made by Isaiah in 700 BC of a destruction of the temple to be fulfilled in 586 BC would be blasphemy to the Jews, but Isaiah made it. Then it predicts a “raising up” of the ruins of the destroyed temple, made possible by King Cyrus which necessitates the return of the Jews from Babylon as part of the prediction. . That prediction was fulfilled in 536 BC, over 160 years before it happened, 100 years before Cyrus was born. That’s impressive. But get this! He then “calls you by your name” (45:3). Just to predict the destruction of the temple and the return to rebuild it to be fulfilled 100-160 years in the future is amazing. But to name the king who will allow them to return? To actually call him by name 100 years before he is born!!!!!!!!!! No wonder the liberals reject these predictions of Isaiah.

One last prediction made by Isaiah about Cyrus is Isaiah 46:8 “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 9   remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” This “bird from the east” must again refer to Cyrus. God predicted about Cryus and God would “accomplish His purposes for raising up Cyrus”, thus proving He is God by fulfilling prophecy (again).

We could give many examples of fulfilled prophecies of the Bible to prove that the God who inspired his messengers the prophets to make those predictions is the one true God, YHWH (also confirming the messengers to be inspired, 44:26). Isaiah himself in the first part of the book (ch 1-39) predicted the fall of Assyria to the Babylonians (612 BC, 90 years in the future) and the fall of Babylon to the Medes (Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them) and Persians (539 BC, 160 years in the future). We can go to Jeremiah who predicts the rise of the Medes and the fall of Babylon to the Medes (Jeremiah 50 and 51). We can go to Daniel who predicts the kingdoms in order of Babylon, Medo-Persians, Grecians, and Rome in Daniel 2. The prediction about the Grecian kingdom was made over 200 years before it happened, and the Roman prediction was 500 years in the future. . He even names the Medo-Persian and the Grecian kingdoms in Daniel 7,8. He even says that the Grecian kingdom will have a conspicuous horn (Alexander the Great) and that horn will be broken into 4 lesser kingdoms (the Grecian kingdom was divided among his 4 generals after his death). That prediction was made over 200 years before Alexander the Great conquered Persia in 336 BC and before his death in 323 BC. The prediction about the horn and its breaking up into 4 kingdoms is just an amazing prediction that the liberals say could not be predicted (same logic used as on Isaiah’s predictions).

Ezekiel 26 predicts the siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar with its towers and walls broken down and cast into the sea (Tyre lies on the east coast of the Mediterranian Sea. Some have questioned the accuracy of this prophecy b/c Nebuchadnezzar did not destroy the city and throw it in the sea. We think it was accurate but divided into two predictions. Tyre is divided into two sections: part of it is on the mainland, and part of it is an island.At one point, Nebuchadnezzar had plundered the mainland part of Tyre. Quite a while later, Alexander conquered island Tyre. But how did that happen? Basically, there is a natural “land bridge” between island Tyre and the mainland that is about three feet below the water. So Alexander had his men take the ruins from “Old Tyre” (on the mainland) and throw it into the sea so they could walk across! So it was fulfilled just as Ezekiel predicted. Here is an article that discusses all that. https://biblearchaeology.org/research/divided-kingdom/3304-ezekiel-26114-a-proof-text-for-inerrancy-or-fallibility-of-the-old-testament Amos 1:9-10 (800 BC) also predicts that Tyre’s fortresses would fall. Ezekiel 29:15 predicted that Egypt would never again be an empire ruling over other nations. At the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar inflicted a crushing defeat on an Egyptian army led by Pharaoh Necho II, and ensured that the Neo-Babylonian Empire would succeed the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the dominant power in the ancient Near East. Cyrus’ son Cambyses II conquered Egypt in 525 BCE. Cambyses’s conquest was the major achievement of his reign.  Ezekiel 25:1-17: Contains prophecies against Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, and Sidon, all of which were fulfilled by Babylon invading those nations.

Isaiah 44:6-7 gives the same challenge. 44:6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.”

Isaiah 45:21 gives this same challenge to predict the future. “Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.”

Isaiah 48 has the same stuff. 48:3 “The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. 4 Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, 5 I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.” An intesting added thought here. God predicted the future so that you could see that it was YHWH who made it come to pass, and not the idols.

Many other examples could be given, but I hope that these examples are sufficient. God “set forth his case (41:21) that He is the only one true God, proved by predicting the future with 100% accuracy. Of course we could add all the Messianic predictions. See my blog article “Isaiah Messianic Prophet” for the Messianic predictions given just by Isaiah along. Isaiah 42:1-3 and 45:1-5 are Messianic and covered in the blog article “Isaiah Messianic Prophet” so they are not included in this blog.

I hope you enjoyed this article.

AgainAA


Isaiah 40: WHAT A GREAT CHAPTER!

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

The Messianic prophecies in this last part of the book of Isiah are discussed separately in the blog article “isaiah Messianic Prophet, but here are some other neat passages in this section.

COMFORT FOR GOD’S PEOPLE

40:1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A lot of this chapter has Messianic overtones, especially since it starts with the prediction o the coming of John the Baptist (40:3).

THE WORD OF GOD STANDS FOREVER

40:6 “A voice says, “Cry!” And I said,] “What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fade when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” This great verse is quoted in 1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” The primary meaning is probably that God’s predictions will always come true, but it is amazing that the word of God has stood all these centuries when many have tried to destroy it. From AI: 1) “Antiochus (in the 2nd century BC) also destroyed copies of the Torah and sentenced to death anyone who was found to possess a copy of the Torah or observed its teachings. Antiochus ordered the total suppression of Temple sacrifices, Sabbath observance, and the practice of circumcision.” 2)According to the Book of Jeremiah, King Jehoiakim (one of the last kings of Judah) attempted to destroy the written word of God (which included Jeremiah’s predictions of the fall of Jerusalem to happen in 586 BC) by cutting up and burning a scroll containing Jeremiah’s prophecies. From AI: 3) “In 303 AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered that the Christian Scriptures be confiscated and burned. When Christians were found, they would give them copies of deuterocanonical books or other Christian literature, and the pagans, unsuspecting, burned them.”

THE GREATNESS OF GOD

40:9-26. Vs 9 Go tell the world “Behold your God who is coming”. A series of questions beginning with “who” showing how great God is:

1) 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Imagine a God so big that he can scoop up all the waters from the rivers, lakes, and seas in his hands. You can only scoop us maybe a cup of water in your hands. A span is about 9 inches in the Bible, the length of an outstretched hand. Can you imagine trying to measure the distance from Huntsville to Mobile using a ruler (which is 12 inches)? But God’s hands are so big that he can use His span to measure all the heavens in the universe, maybe just a few of his spans. Can you imagine weighing the Rocky Mountains on a bathroom scale? Or on a small balance in the lab that weighs grams of chemicals? But God is so big that His bathroom scales can weigh all the mountains and hills on earth. There is a neat song: Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing our God cannot do.”

2) 40:13 Who has measured (takan: To measure, weigh, regulate, estimate, balance)the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? How big would you estimate that the Spirit of the Lord is? Psalm 139:7Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” God is spirit (John 4:24) and His spirit fills the universe. The Spirit of God tells us the mind, thoughts, and plans of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

3) Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? We are always trying to learn wisdom at the feet of great men like Socrates and Plato, but God doesn’t have to consult anyone about wisdom. He is the scource of all wisdom for salvation and all things.

40:15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.” The United Nations recognizes 241 countries and territories when dependent territories are included with a total of 8 billion people. According to estimations, a gallon bucket can hold roughly 1 million drops of water. All the nations in the world are like one drop of water in God’s bucket.

Then to show the greatness of God, Isaiah has two “to whom will you liken or compare God to”?

  1. 40:18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? 19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. 20 He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman
    to set up an idol that will not move.” To an idol that a goldsmith forms, that a poor man has made to stand in his house so he can worship it for a long time since he can’t afford to go offer sacrifices on a regular basis?? God is big that: 40:22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.” You might could sit on top of a small plastic globe of the earth but God is so big than he can sit on top of the earth sphere. I might stretch out the 6 feet of curtains in my bathtub before I take a shower. God stretches out the endless heavens like I stretch out those curtains. I might set up a little tent to dwell in and spend the night in outside. God sets up His tent with all the heavens of the universe so he can dwell in it. You can blow dust off a countertop to move it. God can blow on the nations and move them wherever He wants. Daniel 12:21 “He removes kings and sets up kings”. This verse also says that God changes times and seasons, gives wisdom to the wise, and reveals deep and secret things.”
  2. 40:25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.” Psalm 19:The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.” From AI: The observable universe has ~ 2 trillion galaxies. Each galaxy has ~ 100 billion stars. Each star has about 1.6 planets. Multiplying these gives 3.2 x 10^23 planets in the observable universe.” From AI: “A few hundred stars have proper names, while the International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognizes proper names for 152 planets. There are 88 officially recognized constellations, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) (like Orion, Pleiades, and Arcturas mentioned in Job 9:8-9: did God name those when he book of Job was written or were they already named that by people?).” But has named each of the 200 billion, trillion stars or planets. How long would it take us to do that? God is a spirit who fills the universe, so that would not be difficult for Him since His spirit is right there everywhere in the universe. There is a “fixed order” of stars and planets in the universe, all on pre-set patterns of movement. 1 Chronicles 16:30 – “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable.” Psalm 93:1 – “Thou hast fixed the earth immovable and firm.” Psalm 96:10 – “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable.”Psalm 104:5 -“Thou didst fix the earth on its foundation so that it never can be shaken.” This fixed order of movement is so precise and dependable that we can safely send men into space and return them from orbit around the moon.

THE NEVER TIRING GOD, THE GOD OF UNLIMITED STRENGTH AND POWER

40:27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.”

The remnant often end up asking why God does not avenge their suffering. The souls under the altar in Revelation 6 asked, “How long, God, before You avenge our blood”? Is God asleep? Does He not see what is going on, how we are being persecuted? God even told the souls under the altar that He was going to wait until some more saints were martyred. That sounds like He doesn’t care. Or maybe He is powerless to stop it. Not so. He is the Creator of the universe so He has all power. He knows all that is going on. He is not tired or asleep. He has a plan and we must trust Him. He will give us the strength during those tough times to keep on keeping on. He will give us wings to fly above our trials and problems. He doesn’t always remove the problems, but He will give us the strength to handle them, to overcome them. As Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” God is all powerful, and the amazing thing is that He gives us enough of His power to handle everything we face or do. Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” It’s like when you are sinking in the water and can’t swim, or sinking in quicksand, and someone reaches down to give you their strong hand and pull up to safety, giving you strength that you can’t possibly have on your own.” From AI” In the Bible, God asks Moses if His power is limited in Numbers 11:23. This occurs when Moses expresses doubt about God’s ability to provide meat for the Israelites for a whole month, and God responds by saying, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened?” The LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.”

ISAIAH 7-35 JUDGMENT ON THE NATIONS

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

JUDGMENT ON ASSYRIA

Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem from approximately 742–701 BC, during the reigns of the kings of Judah Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. The earliest recorded event in Isaiah’s life is his call to prophecy around 742 BC. The Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire was the last war fought by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, between 626 and 609 BC. We also know that he lived during the reigns of four kings. The first, Uzziah, reigned from around 783 BC to 742 BC. The last king, Hezekiah, reigned from 715 BC to 698 BC. So we don’t know when Isaiah was born, but scholars estimate that he could’ve been a prophet for about 40 years. Isaiah 6:1 says that he saw the throne scene vision in the year that Uzziah died, which would be 742. He then prophesied until Hezekiah’s was King, and died around 14 years into his reign which ended in 698 BCE. Hezekiah reigned for almost 30 years which puts Isaiah’s death around 715 BCE. Supposing Isaiah began his ministry around 755, then his ministry went around 40 years.

So Isaiah lived his entire life during the Assyrian Empire, although Babylon was gaining strength as a nation, as were the Medes and the Persians. He would have seen the northern kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) taken captive in 722 BC. He would be there in the 14th year of Hezekiah’s reign (Isaiah 36:1), which would be around 701 BC, when the Assyrians under King Sennacherib sieged Jerusalem. Isaiah told Hezekiah that Assyria, b/c of her arrogance in mocking God (Rabshakeh had mocked God’s ability to save the city), would not be allowed to take Jerusalem (Isaiah 37). He told Hezekiah that a remant would survive (37:31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.”). The Lord struck dead 185,000 in the Assyrian camp that night, Sennacherib returned to Ninevah and was assassinated by his sons as he worshipped his god Nisroch. God told Hezekiah he was going to die. He prayed and God gave him 15 extra years, and a sign that the sun dial would go back 10 steps. The king of Babylon sent envoys to observe this healing and the sign (which apparently affected Babylon as well). Hezekiah showed them the gold and silver in the temple, which would cause the Babylonians to later siege Jerusalem (586 BC). Isaiah told Hezekiah that, b/c he had foolishly shown the temple treasures to the Babylonians that the Babylonians would, after Hezekiah’s death, destroy the temple and take those treasures. So we see that Isaiah was heavily involved with predicting the Babylonians taking the city even though he did not live to see that. So let’s go back now earlier in Isaiah to read about Isaiah’s predictions for the nations around Israel

JUDGMENT ON ARROGANT ISRAEL

Isaiah 12:1-19 Isaiah predicts judgment on Assyria. Yes, God used Assyria to punish the northern kingdom of Israel (11 tries), destroy their capital Samaria, and take the 11 tribes captive into Assyria in 722 Bc, although God left a remnant of survivors in Samaria (12:20-23). He might have allowed Assyria to capture Jerusalem under Hezekiah (Isaiah 36-37) except for the arrogance of Assyria and their mocking the God of Israel. As noted earlier, the Babylonians defeated the Assyrians in 612 BC, so Isaiah’s prediction of the fall of Assyria is about 80 years in the future, and shows the value in fulfilled prophecy in proving that YHWH is the only one true God. Isaiah repeats this prediction of judgment on Assyria in 14:24-27.

THE FALL OF BABYLON

ISAIAH 13:1-16 predicts the fall of Babylon using figurative language (the sun and moon darkened 13:10). He then goes on to say it will be the Medes and Persians who will conquer Babylon in 13:17-22. The Medo-Persians conquered Babylon in 539 BC (as described in Daniel 5 with the handwriting on the wall announcing Babylon’s fate and that very night Darius captured Babylon). So Isaiah is predicting the fall of Babylon about 150 years in the future, which is amazing. He taunts Babylon in ch 14. He repeats this prediction of the fall of Babylon in 21:1-10.

JUDGMENT ON SURROUNDING NATIONS

In 12:28 – 23:18 Isaiah predicts judgment on many of the surrounding nations. They would be invaded by either the Assyrians or later by the Babylonians as judgment for their sins. Here is a map from IBible.org that shows the nations Isaiah predicted judgment: Philistia, Moab, Damascus (Syria), Cush (southern Egypt and northern Sudan), Egypt, Tyre, Sidon (near Tyre). Ch 34 is judgment on basically all the nations surrounding Jerusalem.

JUDGMENT ON THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL

Ch 28-29 predicts Ephraim (the northing kingdom of Israel, 11 tribes) going into captivity (fulfilled when the Assryians took them captive in 722 Bc), and the warning to Judah (the southern kingdom, 2 tribes) and Jerusalem that they will be judged if they don’t repent. He tells them Isaiah 29:13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught” Jesus quotes this in Matthew 15, saying that it applied to the Jews he was teaching. Isaiah warns Judah about trusting in Egypt to help them face the Assyrians and Babylonians (ch 30-31). He does predict a glorious future for the remnant (ch 32) who survive the judgment. This glorious future would even include the Messianic blessings in ch 35 (see blog article “Isaiah Messianic Prophet”) when God will come with a vengeance but also doing many miracles, redeeming Zion who come back to Jerusalem on the Highway of Holiness with everlasting joy and joyful singing. In Matthew 11, John was in prison and sent messengers to ask Jesus if he was the Coming One or not. Jesus healed some sick people (the blind, lame, etc as in Isaiah 35) while the messengers watched. He told them to go tell John what they saw. Jesus is saying that He is the Coming One who fulfills Isaiah 35. Those on the Highway of Holiness would be the remnant church of Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah when he would come 800 years later. This includes Isaiah 25:6 Now the Lord of armies will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. 7 And on this mountain He will destroy the covering which is over all peoples, The veil which is stretched over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces. That prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus conquers spiritual death as his last enemy, giving immortality to believers (1 Cor 15:50ff). Jesus probably was citing this “banquet” of Isaiah 25 in Matthew 8:11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. This would be a spiritual banquet of spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:1-15), not physical food.

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS CREATION

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Job 12:7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Job 37:14 “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. 15 Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? 16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?

Job 38:4 Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 

Genesis 1:2 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” 

Revelation 5:13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Hebrews 3:4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Psalm 8:1 “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.” 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Psalm 65:9-11 You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. 

Psalm 95:4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 104:19 He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. 24 How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. 24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom has thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works.

Psalm 121:1-2 A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth

Psalm 124:8 “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 136:5-9 to him who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever. who made the great lights— His love endures forever. the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever. the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever. 

Psalm 139:13-14 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 147:8-9 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. 

Psalm 148:1-7 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapours high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. Praise the LORD from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths,

Isaiah 40:26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 28 The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 45:12 “It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.”

Isaiah 55:12 For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Jeremiah 10:12 But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 

Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.’ 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Nehemiah 9:6 You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

Amos 9:6 Who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth— the Lord is his name.

From Pureflix.com by Billy Hallowell “These Bible verses about nature remind us of some powerful realities. Here are just some of the take-aways:

1 We should pause to marvel at the wonders God created.

2 God created everything we see before us.

3 The Lord created everything we see in nature out of darkness and nothingness.

4 God holds the power to create stunning beauty.

5 Everything we see in creation points back to the Creator.”

Hallowell goes on to suggest doing prayer walks through nature, devotions outdoors, or just pondering the wonders of it all.

My. thoughts. God takes pleasure and rejoices in his works of creation. An artist looks at his/her finished painting and takes pleasure just looking at it and it makes him happy. I love cutting my yard, edging, and weed eating. When I get through, I enjoy just looking at the finished project. God does that with his works. It is interesting that the objects of his creation are given human characteristics (anthropomorphism). The stars, animals, mountains, etc. rejoice, sing, and clap when they see their Creator. If we could just hear them speak, they are praising God non stop. Use your imagination as you observe nature and listen to them speaking. You can see God’s love in how he takes care of his creation (watering it, etc.) just as we take care of a garden that we grow. We can learn a lot about God from his creation.

God’s creation is amazingly designed. “Intelligent design”: the theory that life, or the universe, cannot have arisen by chance and was designed and created by some intelligent entity. I am amazed when I go to an aquarium like the one in Chattanooga, Tn. The diversity of colors and designs of the fish amazes me. The same with the diversity of all animals, birds, and plants. The same with the design of the human body with all the systems in the body that must work together for human life to exist and function. The design of the periodic table with each successive element adding exactly one proton to the nucleus. The laws of physics and math that exist. The universal constants that govern the universe. The designed movement of the heavenly bodies that allow us to send astronauts into space.

I always have 2 thoughts when I look at intelligent desirn. 1) Such diversity and design could not have evolved by chance. I look at a car with all the engineered parts that have to all work together for a car to run properly. That car can’t be a product of random chance from nothing. It had a designer and material to form the parts out of. If the material that the parts of the car were formed were eternal, they would have rusted making them useless (the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics). They didn’t just pop into existence from nothing (the 1st Law of Thermodynamics). The same goes with the intelligently designed parts of the universe and all life. Matter could not be eternal or it would be in a state of disarray and decay to the point of being useless, not designed (2nd Law). Matter can’t pop itself into existence from nothing (1st. Law). But we find matter and life is so well designed. As Paul said in Romans 1:20, there is no excuse for anyone not seeing that there is a creator God whose power made and designed everything. There is no excuse for not believing in a Creator God. Psalm 19:1 calls the atheist a “fool”. Psalm 104 might be my favorite of the creation texts above. Go back and read the entire psalm.

Psalm 104:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;[a]
    the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

Meditating on God’s creation and His care for His creation led the psalmist to this conclusion: 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!”

Let the atheist gloat in his denial of the existence of God, but I will praise the Lord for his creation.

2) But then I have a second thought. You see, I believe in a six 24 hour week of creation. I firmly believe that the Bible states that as a fact. The Hebrew word for day is “yom” always means a 24 hour day in the Old Testament when it is used with a number or numerical adjective (2nd day) or used with “morning and evening”. Genesis 1 uses “yom” in both ways. In Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. That was the basis for Israel working 6 days and resting on the 7th. That is the basis for the “week” as a measure of time. All other measures like year, month, season, day, etc. have a natural law of the universe that dictates those time period. I believe that the Bible teaches that the earth is young, around 6,000 years old. The genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 yield about 2,000 years from the creation to Abraham. The years in those genealogies are very specific. Adam was 130 when he fathered Seth. Seth was 105 when he fathered Enosh. Etc. Those are not imaginary numbers. They are the same kind of numbers that you would use in doing your family genealogy. Then Matthew 1 gives 42 generations or about 2,000 years from Abraham to Jesus. The word genea there is always used of a period of about 40 years or the people living in a 40 year period in the same way we speak of the x or z generation today. It has been about 2,000 years since Jesus to today so that adds up to about 6,000 years. There is no way around the fact that the Bible claims that the creation week was about 6,000 years ago.

Some say the whole creation story is just a myth or allegory, but an honest look at the facts I just gave refutes that. You can’t just allegorize all that. You have to just say the Bible is wrong in its claims if the earth is 6 billion years old. You can’t just allegorize the creation of man from dust. That happened on the 6th 24 hour day. It either happened literally that way or the Bible is wrong. If macro evolution (micro evolution is variations in each species and that does occur; macro evolution involves the changing of a species into a totally different species, like reptiles to birds or fish to men, and that has never been shown to occur) is true (either atheistic or theistic evolution), then man evolved over millions of years instead of being formed full grown from dust in just a moment of time as the Bible claimed. Jesus said in Matthew 19:“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? He is quoting Genesis 1 and 2. Apparently he believed the creation story was literal, not figurative or some allegory. Paul said that Adam was the first man. If macro evolution is true, then death existed for millions of years before the fall in the Garden. But the Bible claims that death was the result of the sin of Adam and only began after Adam sinned. There are plenty of evidences for a young earth (google that).

The measure used to say that the earth is 6 billiion years old is radiometric dating using the half-life of radioactive elements, but that method involves several assumptions that can’t be proven. Mainly, that the original rock sample had 100% mother element and 0% daughter element (the element that the radioactive element decays into each half life). The earth looks old (apparent age) even though it is not that old. God made everything full grown, with diamonds, rubies, and coal in the ground ready for man to use and enjoy immediately after he was created. Some say that would make God deceptive to make it look old when it really isn’t. Adam seconds after he was created would have looked old, but he wasn’t. That’s not deceptive. It’s just the way God chose to do it. He could have chosen to do it over millions of years (theistic evolution) but the Bible claims that he did not do it that way. Either believe the creation account to literal or reject the Bible, which can lead to rejecting all the Bible if we reject Genesis. The theory of evolution (macro evolution) is just that, a theory that cannot be proven. The fossil record does not confirm it either, with no fossil record of one species evolving into a completely different species. In Genesis 1, God created eveything to reproduces “after its own kind” and that is the way it has always happened. Mutations and natural selection, the supposed mechanisms of macro evolution, do not account for the creation and diversity of life and do not support the theory of evolutioin. Many atheists even acknowledge Darwin’s theory to be false.

But my second leads to other questions even if I believe God created everything. How did God create all the diversity of plants in a 24 hour day, of land animals in another 24 hour day, of all the planets and stars in the many galaxies of the univers in another 24 hour day, of fish and fowl in another 24 hour day, of mammals and man in another 24 hour day? The problem is that I picture God as if he were a man sitting down to think up the design for all the fish, for example, and then programming the natural instinctive habits of the fish. Then he has to disperse the fish over the entire planet. All that within a 24 hour day. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But God is not like a man with limited powers doing all that. In Numbers 11, God told Moses that He was going to give meat to the complaining Israelites. 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” Jeremiah 32:17: “Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” God is an all powerful, all knowing, all present spirit (John 4:24 God is spirit) that fills the universe. That God spirit can be creating from nothing animals and fish all over the planet simultaneously, all within a 24 hour day.

Now, I must admit that even that thought seems unbelievable to me even if it helps explain how God could do it. But the other option is atheism, that there is no god, that it all came about by random chance evolution from nothing. The belief that God created it all in six 24 hour days is still the best option. Thankfully, we have other evidences that the Bible is the inspired word of God, such as fulfilled prophecies of nations and kings (like the statue in Daniel 2 that predicted the next 4 empires and Daniel 8 that predicts the breaking up of Alexander the Great’s Grecian empire into 4 lesser kigndoms after his death), fulfilled Messianic prophecies (like Isaiah 53), the miracles of Jesus (which the enemies could not deny had happened, they just attibuted it to the work of the devil), and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (the ultimate proof, Acts 17:31 because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people [x]by raising Him from the dead.”). These proofs help reinforce my belief that God indeed created all this diversity in six 24 hour days.

Then I just pause and think,”Wow”! Look at what God did. That evokes praise just as the psalmist in Psalm 104:34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!”

Hallelujah, which means “Hallel” (praise) “yah” (shortened form of YHWH or Yahweh). So I hope this article helps increase your faith in God and remove those moments of doubt that most of us have from time to time. The song in our songbooks, Hallelujah Praise Jehovah is based on Psalm 148 invoking all of God’s creation to praise him (whiich would include man, the height of God’s creation).

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah, from the heavens praise His name;
praise Jehovah in the highest, all His angels, praise proclaim.
All His hosts, together praise Him, sun and moon and stars on high;
praise Him, O you heav’ns of heavens, and you floods above the sky.

Let them praises give Jehovah, they were made at His command;
them forever He established, His decree shall ever stand.
From the earth O praise Jehovah, all you seas, you monsters all,
fire and hail and snow and vapors, stormy winds that hear His call. [Refrain]

Let them praises give Jehovah, they were made at His command;
them forever He established, His decree shall ever stand.
From the earth O praise Jehovah, all you seas, you monsters all,
fire and hail and snow and vapors, stormy winds that hear His call. [Refrain]

The refrain or chorus at the end of each verse.

Let them praises give Jehovah, for His name alone is high,
and His glory is exalted, and His glory is exalted,
and His glory is exalted far above the earth and sky. 

Listen to this song acapella. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0EZctgkSFY

Here is the story of the man who wrote the music to this song, William Kirkpatrick (1838 to 1921). He published about 100 major musical works. Here is an interesting quote from Hymns4Him at https://hymns4him.mjbhost.com/hymns/hallelujah-praise-jehovah-2/

“William J. Kirkpatrick died on September 20, 1921. He told his wife that night that he had a tune running through his head and he wanted to write it down before he lost it. His wife retired to bed and awoke in the middle of the night to find that he was not there. She went to his study to find him, and when she did, he was slumped over on his desk, dead, without having recorded that song. He was interred in West Laurel Hill Cemetery near Philadelphia. ”

Another quoted story:

“Kirkpatrick participated in many of the Camp Meetings the Methodist churches held. He often led the music portion of the meeting and enlisted the help of soloists and other musicians to perform for the attenders. During one of these meetings, he became saddened by his observation of the soloist, who would perform the required songs and then leave without staying to hear the preacher. William feared that this young man did not really know Christ and so he began to pray that God would somehow get a hold of the soloist’s heart. One evening while he was praying, a song began to form in his mind. He quickly jotted down the lyrics to go with the music and asked the soloist to sing the song that night. The lyrics of the song convicted the young man’s heart and he ended up staying and listening to the message. When the preacher gave the altar call at the end of the night, the soloist got up and went to the front of the tent and placed his trust in Jesus. The lyrics that so touched this young man, and many people since, are based on Luke’s account of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. “I’ve wandered far away from God, Now I’m coming home; The paths of sin too long I’ve trod, Lord, I’m coming home. Coming home, coming home, Never more to roam; Open now Thine arms of love, Lord, I’m coming home.” Among the many other hymns for which Kirkpatrick contributed music, these are some of the most notable.” Here are the words to that song, Lord I’m Coming Home.

  1. I’ve wandered far away from God,
    Now I’m coming home;
    The paths of sin too long I’ve trod,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
    • Refrain:
      Coming home, coming home,
      Nevermore to roam;
      Open wide Thine arms of love,
      Lord, I’m coming home.
  2. I’ve wasted many precious years,
    Now I’m coming home;
    I now repent with bitter tears,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  3. I’m tired of sin and straying, Lord,
    Now I’m coming home;
    I’ll trust Thy love, believe Thy word,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  4. My soul is sick, my heart is sore,
    Now I’m coming home;
    My strength renew, my hope restore,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  5. My only hope, my only plea,
    Now I’m coming home;
    That Jesus died, and died for me,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  6. I need His cleansing blood I know,
    Now I’m coming home;
    Oh, wash me whiter than the snow,
    Lord, I’m coming home.

Lisen to the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_M_x4qX3JU

I think of a friend and brother when I hear the words of that song. “I’ve wasted many precious years, but now I’m coming home”. I have spent 30 years at Madison Academy in Huntsville, Alabama as principal or teacher, preaching part time the first 10 years at Monrovia Church of Christ in Madison. There was only one year in that 30 years that I preached full time at Monrovia. During that year, I’ m sitting in the church office doing preacher stuff and I got a phone call out of the blue. The man said he was John Howerton, that he had been to our church service a couple of times (I never noticed him), that he had wasted most of his life by not following Jesus (he was in his 60’s at that time), and that he was ready to be baptized and devote his last years to Jesus. I baptized him. He went on to be a faithful Christian till death a few years ago. He went on a mission trip with our church to Baja, Mexico and helped the poor people in a village a lot. He was a brilliant man who wasted many years but came to the Lord. I miss him. He and another close friend and mentor, Hugh Minor, and I spent several meals together (John always bought). He was a political activist and would have loved to still be alive when Trump just recently got elected.

Kirkpatrick wrote some of our most familiar songs. Look up the words to these songs.

“’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3V58-VcHJs

“A Wonderful Savior is Jesus My Lord” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-jTDHYRus. Fanny Cosby and Kirkpatrick wrote this song in 1890.

“Jesus Saves! (We Have Heard the Joyful Sound)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxnFr-NLeLU

“Lead Me to Calvary” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE6qReRGmaY

Thanks for reading. I hope you will listen to all these songs just cited. It is very edifying.