Latest Entries »

What The Hell–Part 3 Embracing The Fire of God

Because they have forsaken Me and have made this (city of Jerusalem) an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent  and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter.  Jeremiah 19:4-6 NASB1995 (emphasis added)

 

We begin our post with what should not by any means be a controversial assertion:  Father is NOT a hypocrite; that is to say, He does not have one set of laws for us, and another set of laws governing His own activities.  (We apologize to our insider friends who believe that Father regularly disregards the laws that he gave through Moses, not to mention through the Lord Jesus, and believe that He is not Himself bound by the same laws.  Have you considered that would effectively make Father a hypocrite?) No, Father follows his own laws because they reflect His own nature, and He cannot deny His own nature.

 

In our opening passage, Jeremiah is stating Father’s judgment against the city of Jerusalem for burning their sons alive with fire.  It is repeated in Jeremiah 32:35, where the city residents had added Molech to their list of false gods to “worship” with the same practice.  Jeremiah is quoting Father’s judgment against them because burning one’s children is a detestable and disgraceful act, setting aside the fact that it is also murder!  So, we may see at the outset that for God to condemn the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants for burning their children, and then to eventually burn His children would be the epitome of hypocrisy. We hasten to say that He would also be a liar, since He has Himself stated it was “a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind“. 

 

The tormenting and torturing fire is attributed to Father by the proponents of the Hideous Doctrine allegedly because of His holiness!  According to some proponents of the Hideous Doctrine, Father is required by His holiness to punish certain outsiders by burning them, as their just desserts.  Needless to say, we disagree with the idea that such a thing could remotely be inspired by any concept of holiness, and certainly not by Father’s holiness!  We re-iterate that such an accusation against Father is terrible, slanderous, and has its origins in the morbid imaginations of those who do not know Him as He really is.

 

At last we come to the discussion of the purpose and restorative effects of Father’s fire.  Miles Monroe has somewhat famously taught “If you do not know the purpose of a thing, abuse of that thing is inevitable.”  We agree completely with this teaching and begin with a consideration of whether the fire of God is literal, or figurative.  Then, we will turn to its purpose.

 

As the children of Israel were completing the required 40-year journey in the wilderness, Moses gave a blessing to them just before he died.  As a part of the blessing, Moses recounted the fiery law that was in God’s right hand for His saints, or literally, “holy ones“.  See it below:

And he (Moses) said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law (Hebrew:  esh-dawth) for them.  Deuteronomy 33:2-3 KJV

This law-fire is not literal, but figurative, and the implication is that it is intended to be a beneficial (not destructive) contribution to his holy ones.  Notice, it is “for” them.  We may further conclude it is beneficial because it is from Father’s right hand, which is always the hand of mercy and forgiveness.  This is indeed why Yeshua/Jesus sat down at the right hand of Father and from there makes intercession for us.

 

We recall with fondness one of the favorite stories of our friend, Dr. Harold Lovelace.  Dr. Lovelace related that once, during a commercial airlines flight, he was reading from his Bible in James 3:6.  A lady seated next to him looked over at the text and commented about it.  Here is what he was reading:

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

His question to the lady was simple:  did she believe the writer was saying the tongue was literally on fire?  Or that it set the course of nature literally on fire?  To which the lady responded, no, obviously it is intended to be figurative, not literal.  Dr. Lovelace then replied in the inimitable fashion that made him such an excellent ambassador of universal reconciliation:  “then we may safely assume that the last phrase ‘set on fire of hell’ is figurative and not literal also!”

 

We maintain that in the first instance, Father’s heavenly fire is not literal but is the reality of which actual, earthly fire is an imperfect prophetic picture.  We note, again, that the Greek word for fire, pyr, (pronounced “poor”) is the etymological origin for many of our English words such as pure, purify, and purebred.  The part of the type that points toward purification and purity is the correct application.  Even the destructive part of fire, understood correctly, points to the removal of spiritually damaging thoughts and actions.  Look at the following passage which states that Father will refine as a refiner of precious metals.

But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.  Malachi 3:2-3 KJV

In this passage the Lord is compared to the refiner and to the fire.  It plainly states that he will “purify” the sons of Levi and purge them from dross, with a goal of righteousness.  Righteousness is the goal of Father’s fire, for when the inhabitants of the world experience Father’s correction, they learn righteousness.  The only things that are “destroyed” by Father’s fire are un-righteous thoughts and actions.  Here is our final scripture to prove Father’s fire is spiritual:

43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell (Greek, “Gehenna”), into the unquenchable fire, 44 WHERE THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.  Mark 9:43-44 NASB1995 (capitalization in original)

This is a rather well known passage where Yeshua/Jesus is making the point that it would be better for a person to cripple themselves than to be thrown as a corpse on the local garbage dump, called Gehenna in that day (and Ben-Hinnom, before that).  The obvious point is that if one were willing to go to the extreme of amputating one’s hand, how much easier would it be to simply live righteously?  But our concern is with the capitalized language by which the NASB denotes that Jesus was quoting from the Old Testament Scripture, in this case, Isaiah 66, in which the prophet foretold the destruction of the rebellious inhabitants of Jerusalem.

 

Jesus was reiterating the same point made by the prophet:  if this judgment comes to pass, the fire will not be “quenched” until it has consumed all of the corpses thrown there by Jerusalem’s enemies.  The substitution of the word “hell” for “Gehenna” is nothing short of bias in favor of the Hideous Doctrine; use of the proper word would have been less confusing.  The fact is, earthly Gehenna’s fire has in fact been quenched, as any reasonable investigation will reveal.  However, Father’s fire is not quenched as Jesus plainly stated.  From this fact, we may conclude that Father’s fire is spiritual, and not literal, and until its purpose is fulfilled, it will not be quenched.  And that, dear Reader, is very good news, indeed!

 

Simply stated, the purpose of Father’s fire is to correct, instruct, redeem and restore.  It is administered with unfailing love and never in anger.  Its goal is always the righteousness and agreement of the child that is in need of it, no matter how old that “child” may be.  Frankly, we can’t even admit that it’s punishment, so great is the love-motive behind it and so great is the freedom it produces; however, we will not quibble over the use of the word if others insist upon it.

 

However, it is our experience, dear Reader, that missing the mark for whatever reason is worse than any punishment.  Father’s fire requires incrementally increasing surrender of your right to have your own sweet way in favor of trusting (usually without clearly seeing the end) that Father’s way is always best.  After a few times of experiencing your own way, and all the troubles that brings, believe us when we say that you can be thankful for the correction.  Eventually, you will come to embrace the fire, knowing the ultimate good that will come from it.  This is the mark of a mature son and daughter of heavenly Father!

 

Blessed are you, righteous and holy Father, whose unfailing love is manifested by the fiery law in your right hand, whose purpose is restorative and saving.  Thank you for the fire of your love and may all experience its wonderful effects! 

A Radical and Complete Transformation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB1995

 

Dear Reader, ask yourself these questions:  Why did thousands and thousands of Jews and other residents of Judah and the surrounding area (surely some of the most religious people in the world) follow Jesus out to remote areas without food or water for days on end?  Why were they enamored of his teachings that from a human standpoint were even more difficult to live up to than the original 613 commandments of the books of Moses? Do you really believe they were hearing the same things that can be heard on the religious programming that today goes out over the airwaves 24/7?

 

If you are a religious “outsider” and have given up all hope that you will ever make peace with God, much less be actually pleasing to Him or ever be able to call Him “Father”, we are elated to tell you the good news that Jesus was proclaiming to those people (and still is proclaiming to all people) that such a radical and complete transformation is not only possible, it is inevitable!  You see, dear Reader, those people went to listen to Jesus because they, like you, had despaired of ever being pleasing to Father, and Yeshua/Jesus gave them hope!  How did he do that?

 

At the outset it should be noted that his very name, Yeshua, in Hebrew means salvation, as they were well aware.  Jesus first demonstrated by healing miracles that Father loves all of the people of His creation, and simultaneously laid down Father’s requirements for righteousness, which exceeded that of the religious insiders of his day.  (We pause to note in passing that the failure to understand the reason and purpose for explaining Father’s standards of righteousness has led to much mis-understanding in the organized church.)  Gradually over time, building teaching upon teaching, the Lord explained that he had the authority to state the requirements and to fulfill them, and that this authority came directly from Father!

 

Next, he repeatedly said that Father desired mercy, not sacrifice!  In fact, he instructed everyone to go and learn what that means!  (Again we note in passing, this instruction has never been rescinded.) In addition to healing all of their diseases and afflictions, he also taught that he had come to call sinners and not the righteous.  For the religious outsiders, it was all good news.  But from a certain point of view (like that of the religious insiders), it looked impossible to achieve, for as yet no one understood that he himself would pay the ultimate sacrifice by his own death on the cross, much less that his own sacrifice would pay for all sins of all people for all time.

 

This problem immediately loomed up and seemed to block all understanding:  left to our own efforts, we cannot fulfill even the laws of Moses, and we certainly cannot fulfill the higher standards of righteousness stated by Yeshua/Jesus.  How was this problem to be resolved, not only then, but also NOW?

 

On more than one occasion, Jesus warned his followers not to be like the religious insiders, so that eliminated in a fell swoop all of their man-made, oral traditions of what was considered correct behavior. In situation after situation, he made clear that he himself was the way, the truth and the life.  “Follow me”, he said.  “Ask me for living water and it will become in you a fountain welling up to eternal life.  Come to me, take up my yoke and learn of me, and you will find rest for your souls. I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. My ‘sheep’ follow me, they hear my voice, I know them, and I give them eternal life.”

 

Finally, on the eve of his arrest, torture and execution, he explained the how, how would he be able to make everyone who ever lived righteous in God’s sight.  At that point, even the disciples couldn’t understand the process, mainly because it was so revolutionary.  By going back to Father, from whom he had come, it would then be possible for the Christ, the Anointed One, to actually live in us! Read it for yourself:

 

19After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  The one who has my commands and keeps (Gr. tereo–to watch, to guard, like you would your car keys) them is the one who loves me.  And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father.  I also will love him and will reveal myself to him. John 14:19-21 NASB1995 (emphasis added)

 

The indwelling Lord Jesus Christ is the one who makes it all possible!  Apart from him, no righteousness is possible, simply because righteousness is not indigenous to our species and is found only in Him.  As Isaiah the prophet said:  For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;… Isaiah 64:6 NASB1995  But dear Reader, you already know that, and that is why you (like all of us who are trusting him) have given up hope of ever being righteous enough to please Father.  All who are willing to throw their unrighteousness on Jesus, and ask him to fix what is broken, clean what is filthy, and mend what can never be mended by our own efforts, and can believe his promises–they can be, and are, loved by Jesus and Father!

 

(We simply have to pause here and thank and praise our wonderful lord and savior!  Who is like you, O Lord, so wise and wonderful, so full of love, so merciful and willing to forgive, and not only forgive but also restore?  Our wonderful Father, there is no one else!  Dear Reader, can you not see why we who follow him love him so much?)

 

In simple terms, here is how it works out.  By simply trusting that Jesus will do what he promised to do, and of course, asking him to do so, he miraculously gives you a part of his divine nature.  In religious terms, he is called the Holy Spirit.  Like a new-born baby, a new believer begins to grow up, taking each day one at a time, with some successes and some failures–not many babies grow up without skinned knees and elbows. As we noted in the opening scripture above, he is literally a new creature!  The old things of shame, failure, condemnation and hopelessness have given way to a new life of joy, love, acceptance and hope.

 

From the point that a new believer receives the Holy Spirit, and from then on, Father does not “see” (or condemn) your old nature.  What he instead “sees” is the divine nature of Jesus; in fact, he “sees” the finished product, the end result, the final outcome of what the Jesus-nature produces: a mature and righteous son (or daughter)! And he is very pleased with that.  What he “sees” is his child who has now been “made righteous“. For now, we simply state that the legal basis for this result is beyond the scope of this post.

 

But, back to our analogy:  Soon the baby learns to talk to his daddy, and we already know instinctively that if that is not learned, it’s not a good situation.  Then he learns to obey what his daddy tells him, again with successes and failures, but always with the love of his parent who will never leave him as an orphan.  All during this time, the divine nature of the Lord is growing and becoming more dominant.  Finally, after years of growth, the mature son looks and sounds and thinks like his father–isn’t that what we see in the natural realm?  That’s exactly why we see it in the natural realm, as a picture of the spiritual realm, a picture of Jesus raising up a mature son or daughter to Father, who is in agreement with Him and is pleasing to Him.

 

Nowhere in the natural process, to which we have just made a comparison, do we find it helpful for the child to “try” to grow up, to “try” to be mature, to “try” to be an adult–in fact, don’t we laugh when we see a child trying to do so?  And here is precisely where so many religious insiders go off the rails: the one responsible for completing what he started is the one who started it; Jesus.  He is the author, finisher and perfecter of your faith.  Dear Reader, it is not up to you, and it never has been.  Having begun by the Holy Spirit, you will not be completed by your fleshly efforts.

 

Take it from us, he is very good at what he does.  And be advised, if you want a radical and complete transformation, he is the one to do it.  He can re-make you into what you have always wanted to be but lacked any power whatsoever to make it happen.  His success at radically transforming every life is inevitable; in fact, it was planned before the beginning of the world.  Read it for yourself:

 

God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. Romans 8:29 The Message (emphasis added)

 

Dear Reader, is Father calling your name?  Do you feel a heart-tug, even now, that it’s past time to try a different direction with your life?  We recommend that you give in quickly, and don’t be afraid.  You will be glad you did!  A new life is waiting, one that will be completely different from the one you are leaving behind.  We want to be the first to welcome you to Father’s family–you are an outsider no longer!  Shabbat Shalom!

 

Blessed are you O Lord!  For you have planned for, purposed, and provided for the transformation of every single child of yours, promising that you will make us in your very own image.  Hallelujah! We want to, oh we need to, be more like Jesus. Let it be so, Father.

What the Hell–Part 2 Revisiting The Hideous Doctrine

      In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 NASB (emphasis added) (Jesus discussing the future home of all present and future believers.)

 

In Part 1 of What the Hell–The Hideous Doctrine, we pointed out that none of the 3 different Greek words (and one Hebrew word) which are translated “hell” in most modern versions of the Bible mean anything remotely similar to “a place for burning eternally in fiery, tortuous punishment”.  In this post, we revisit the Hideous Doctrine to find out more about the justification by religious insiders of this false accusation and slander against our heavenly Father.

 

We noted in our first post that the organized Church has used the Hideous Doctrine to perpetuate a non-biblical definition of hell so as to create a fear-based need among religious outsiders to “get saved” (and avoid being burned forever). Whether the insiders are “well-meaning” or not in so doing is hardly the point; they have knowingly and deliberately created a Hobson’s Choice–turn or burn–using a methodology that Father has never commanded, has never spoken of, nor has it even entered his mind, as we shall see.  (We are sorry for all of our insider friends who think that this practice is acceptable or pleasing to Father; we urge you to cease this practice and commence preaching that Jesus Christ has destroyed the works of the devil [which would include the “hell” of which you speak], has bound the strong man, and has set all of the oppressed free. You will never run out of good things to say about Father and our Lord Jesus!)

 

We gladly proclaim the good news to all religious outsiders, and to you, dear reader, that the widely accepted Hideous Doctrine is wrong.  It’s not slightly wrong, it’s totally wrong.  Nothing could be further from the truth! So if you have found yourself wondering how a supposedly merciful and loving God could create and utilize “hell” as is popularly claimed, congratulations!–you were correct, He didn’t.

 

Here is a hint, dear reader.  Our Father is omni-present, all-knowing, and all powerful–why would He need to create such a place in the first instance?

 

So, who originally came up with the accusation that our heavenly Father would send the vast majority of mankind from all ages to such a place the likes of which are not described anywhere in the Bible?  If you guessed the ancient pagans or others who didn’t know Father, you guessed correctly!

 

Our usual practice is to point to Him who is The Truth, and to encourage you to ask Him of the truth of any matter.  In fact, we especially urge it in this case.  However, because the concept of “the good go to heaven, the bad go to hell” (from which the turn-or-burn fear paradigm originated) is of ancient pagan origin and is so widely adopted by the organized Church, we will depart briefly from our practice of not debunking what is false.

 

To recap the translations from the original languages to “hell”, there is Gehenna, Jerusalem’s ancient city dump. Then there is Sheol/hades, the place of the unseen or some similar place under the earth. (Wikipedia notes that Hades was god of the underworld [complete with pitchfork/bident] in ancient Greek mythology and religion, and the place became synonymous with his name.  The New Testament writers were undoubtedly generally referring to the place by comparison to Sheol.) Finally, there is Tartarus, a multi-level subterranean place of Greek mythology.

 

I. Let’s look first at the claim that Father punishes or torments eternally, forever, or however else one may state it.  It should be noted in fairness, that there is no simple statement by Jesus or any of the New Testament writers that Father punishes forever.  However, as we noted in the opening scripture, Jesus himself said if there were only a few dwelling places in Father’s house, (because the majority of mankind was going somewhere else), he would have told us.  So where do the insiders get this idea?

 

A. First, they point to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.  Here is the passage from Luke 16:

19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” NASB (emphasis added)

 

Limiting our initial focus solely to the text (without reference to the setting, what precedes the passage, or what follows it), we see that the Lord plainly made a reference to Hades, that the “rich man” was in “torment”, and was in “agony in this flame.”  But it is equally plain that there is no direct or implied reference to punishment, unless the rich man is being tormented just for being “rich” or receiving “good things” in his life and Lazarus is being rewarded for being poor; there is no direct or implied reference to eternal duration; and the conversation does not involve Father or Jesus, but is instead between Abraham and the rich man.

 

The Doctrine’s proponents point to this fact:  the rich man does not “turn”, that is, repent–therefore, he deserves this agonizing treatment (notice, however, neither the Lord nor Abraham even hint that the failure to repent is a bad thing).  Does it seem plausible to you, dear reader,  that the story is adequate proof of the doctrine when the “turn” half of formula is missing? Nevertheless, the parable cannot fairly be said to be a statement that unless you do x, y or z, you will end up like the rich man, in Hades, in torment, and in agonizing flames.  If that were the point of the story, would it not have been easy, even predictable, for the Lord to say so?

 

Looking beyond the text to the setting, we can see that the parable is a prophetic story directed to the Jewish priests and Pharisees (the rich man) to whom Jesus is speaking in the immediately preceding verses.  The other tribes of Israel (Lazarus, the poor man) had been deported (outside the “gate”) and were unable to access the temple, the priests or the word of God (longing for the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table).  Dr. Stephen Jones’ excellent teaching on this subject is well worth the time to read it.  A full explanation is beyond the scope of this post; the point is, the passage does not substantiate the Hideous Doctrine.

 

B. Also, they rely upon the parable of the sheep and the goats.  Here is the passage from Matthew 25:

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  NASB (emphasis added)

 

At least now we see some of the elements of the Hideous Doctrine: eternal fire and eternal punishment; but did you notice the offenses for which this “punishment” results?  Not feeding the hungry with food or water, not inviting strangers in, not clothing the naked, and not visiting the sick or those in prison.  These offenses do not seem worthy of being burned alive in torment forever! If you are wondering: where is the turning/repenting? where is joining the church? where is getting “saved” by faith?  You are again correct–those elements of the Hideous Doctrine are not in the parable.

 

So you may also be beginning to wonder if this parable (being the last of a string of parables) is like our last example–taken out of the context originally intended to make a specific or prophetic point, and twisted beyond its plain words to mean something else.  If so, we congratulate you for thinking critically.

 

The real point of the parable is beyond the scope of this post, but we feel it is fair to look at the words and phrases “eternal fire” and “eternal punishment”.  Are they really accurate translations, or more to the point, were they translated in that manner to support the Hideous Doctrine?

 

“Eternal” in both cases is aionios, or aionian, meaning pertaining to a eon, or pertaining to an indefinite but long period of time with a finite ending.  It cannot have the alternate meaning: having no beginning and no end, because clearly it has a beginning at some point in the future.  In other words the Greek definition for perpetual duration won’t work because of the existence of a beginning point. Thus, we can confidently conclude the correct meaning in this case is an indefinite period with beginning and ending points; i.e., not eternal.  We will return to this important point later.

 

“Fire” is pyr, or pur, from which we get our English words pure, purify and purification.  This word for fire, as we shall see in an upcoming post, can be literal fire or figurative fire.  For reasons we shall set forth from the Bible, the fire is figurative and not literal, redemptive/restoring and not destructive.

 

“Punishment” is kolasis, the first definition of which is “correction”.  Don’t the “offenses” sound to you like an unspecified period of “correction” is needed rather than burning forever?  We maintain that Father does not punish to destruction, but he corrects to accomplish proper behavior, in the precisely the same way as any loving earthly father does.  We will have more to say about this in an upcoming post, but the point is:  the parable of the sheep and the goats likewise fails to substantiate the Hideous Doctrine.

 

C. Lastly, they rely upon the day of the great judgment, called the “Great White Throne” judgment.  Here is the passage from Revelation 20:

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. NASB (emphasis added)

 

It is to be fairly noted that there is indeed a day of judgment.  But notice the missing elements:  no mention of punishment, no mention of destruction, no mention of torture and no mention of eternity.  Also notice that, here, Hades is not translated “hell”.  Otherwise, we would have “hell” being thrown into “hell”–and that simply won’t support the doctrine.  Accordingly, the proponents of the Hideous Doctrine simply omit verse 14 as though it were not there.  But there is a relatively simple explanation which requires some knowledge of Israel’s history.

 

Israel’s third king, Solomon (David’s son), built a magnificent temple for Father. In front of the priestly entrance into the holy place, Solomon built (in accordance with the pattern set down by Moses) a very large, bronze, cast metal laver that held an enormous amount of water and that was used by the priests for purification to “wash their hands and feet that they may not die.”  As the water was stirred by partial immersion of the priests under the sun, the bronze laver had the appearance of fire and thus came to be called “the lake of fire”.

 

The bronze laver was built as a prophetic pattern after something in heaven before Father’s throne that represents purification not destruction.  This same item is called “the sea of glass” earlier in the book of Revelation.  The difference is that those whose names are “written in the book of life” stand upon the sea of glass (without disturbing the water which is perfectly still, like glass); i.e., they need no purification.  Thus, the purpose of the “lake of fire” in Revelation is for purification for those whose names are not written in the book of life.  None of the language of the text mentions destruction.  Failure to understand the connection between Revelation’s “lake of fire” and Exodus’ “bronze laver” has led to this incorrect support for the Hideous Doctrine.

 

Dear reader, if your life is a train wreck, may we recommend Father’s correction and purification?  We emphatically state, it is not to be feared!  Simply stated, He repairs anything that is broken, and it all begins with a heart-felt call to the Savior.  (Check the preceding link for His number.) Why wait? You have nothing to lose except the wreckage.

 

(For a wonderful analysis of the early Church’s adoption of the Hideous Doctrine see the excellent work of Dr. Stephen Jones here.)

Blessed are You, O Lord, for you have clearly shown us the Truth in the person of Yeshua/Jesus, our wonderful savior and lord, who is the exact representation of Your nature and who only said what he heard You saying and only did what he saw You doing.

 

 

How to Hear God’s Voice: Part 1–Don’t Be Afraid

          My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…John 10:27 King James Version

          My sheep recognize my voice.  The Message

          My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. The New Living Translation

When Jesus was in the midst of his ministry, he often spoke allegorically about smaller, four-footed tame animals that are accustomed to grazing such as sheep or goats in contrast to larger animals such as cattle, horses or donkeys. It was one of these lost sheep (Gr. probaton) for whom he would leave the 99 in the pasture, to search without ceasing, to find, and to return with rejoicing from the place of no pasture to the place of pasture, in Luke 15:1-7 and about which we wrote in CHESED–The Prophetic Mercy of God. It is a prophetic figure of speech about people whom he has retrieved from being lost to being found, and people who as a result know him and are known by him.

Literally translated, Jesus said these “sheep” are continually hearing his voice, using a verb tense that can take place in the past, in the present and in the future. By using the verb tense he chose, he could have said, “My people have heard my voice in the past, they are hearing it now, and they will hear again in the future.”   This may be news to you but Jesus hasn’t stopped looking for the religious outsiders who are in the place of “no pasture”, so they can know him (because he already knows them; after all, he created them–that’s why he’s looking!).  And he has already stated, he will keep on looking for them until the last one is “found”.  And as he finds them, he begins conversing with them and these conversations are the subject of our post.

Don’t you think this is wonderful news? Can’t you imagine anything you would like to ask Jesus?  How about talking directly to God the Father?  Most people tend to think that Father is silent and never says anything.  But please take our word for it (until you can prove it to yourself by your own conversations with him), Father is very talkative and responsive.  If you don’t believe us, here is what Jesus said:

          But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’  Matthew 4:4

          And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me.  Matthew 5:37

          It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. John 6:45

          Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 18:19

You may be asking, Why don’t we hear God’s voice? or, If we do hear God’s voice, why don’t we recognize it? Our post today is the first in a series about definite and practical steps to conversing with your heavenly Father. At the outset, we concede there was once a famine on hearing the words of God, as recorded by the prophet Amos.  But we believe that time is over, and based upon the above words of Jesus, anyone who wants to talk to Father may do so.

Sooner or later, the thought is going to occur to you that you should be afraid of talking to God.  There are reasons for the idea that go beyond the scope of this post, but generally this fear originates in guilt, actual or induced by others.  You have probably heard from some of our friends who are religious insiders that Father’s holiness requires him to send somebody to hell and also prohibits him from talking to such people, and you religious outsiders are prime candidates.  So forget about talking to God, because he is not interested in talking to you; instead, be afraid, be very afraid.  This kind of thinking is so far from the truth as to be laughable! It is certainly not found in the Bible!  Jesus came into the world to re-open the communication lines between the Godhead and all mankind.

Step number 1 is to get this straight in your head:  Father loves you and ain’t mad at you!  We have repeatedly pointed out because of what Jesus did on the cross, Father is no longer counting your wrongdoing against you.  Guilt should not keep you from starting to talk to Father or Jesus.  Do not allow guilt to prevent you from asking Father yourself if what we are saying is true.  Either bow your head and close your eyes if that’s how you were raised, or walk outside and look up into the sky–but ask him!

To all of our friends who just asked Father, both religious insiders and religious outsiders, we sincerely say:  Congratulations! You just took the first step to hearing God’s voice!

Please indulge a brief history lesson to underscore our encouragement not to be afraid of hearing his voice.  The story begins all the way back at Mount Sinai, in Saudi Arabia, when the first Pentecost occurred.  The Israelites had been led out of Egypt by Moses in early April, and 50 days later were camped in the northeastern part of Saudi Arabia.  At the appointed time, Father spoke through fire, clouds and thick darkness–the top of the mountain was actually on fire.  Father caused everyone to hear him in their own language.  Years later, Moses recounted the story in Deuteronomy 4:10-12:

          Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear (Heb: yare’) me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.  And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.  And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire:  ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.  KJV

Did you catch the word “fear”?  We have gone back to one of the earliest versions to show you where this alleged fear comes from–but notice in the link that the word also means “reverence“.  Which definition is correct?  The religious insiders put it this way:  To demonstrate his “holiness”, God set the rocky mountain on fire, pierced their ears with a trumpet sound, rumbled through the clouds, smoke and darkness, to scare the snot out of them for the rest of their lives, so that they could in turn scare the snot out of their kids for the rest of their lives.  The support for this position results from the fact that it actually did scare the snot out of them, although not for the rest of their lives–they simply said, “we don’t want to talk to him anymore, because if we do we will die; Moses, you go talk to him and tell us what he says.”

Try this for a different perspective:  “Instead of worshiping snakes, fish, the sun and moon, and crocodiles (all of which you can see), I will set a stone mountain on fire, announce my arrival with a trumpet and speak to you in your own language, so that you will know I am alive even though you cannot see me, and so that you will reverence me as the true God and will teach your children to do the same.”

Which perspective makes the most sense to you? The god that frightens children, or the God that wants to have relationship and conversation with you?  The people had just heard God’s voice–why did they say “if we hear God’s voice we will die”?  Has anyone ever heard God’s voice and died from it? Is that the kind of god you have? God is love and he doesn’t kill people by talking to them!

And so we have come to the first important lesson about hearing from Father:  the people did not mean that they would die physically–they understood that hearing Father’s voice usually means your will has to die to itself, sometimes a little and sometimes a lot.  Do not ask to hear God’s voice until you are ready to agree with what he has to say.  As one of the brothers says sometimes:  maybe you are not sure you are ready, but you are willing to be ready.

This is why they were afraid to hear his voice.  Someone who is unwilling to agree with whatever Father says will generally be afraid to hear his voice.  So, make up your mind to agree with him quickly.  We say, be confident in his love for you and you will see that whatever he says will always be for your good–you can trust your Father!  Try him and see for yourself!

Blessed are you O Lord, the Father from whom every family gets its name.  How faithful are your love and your words and how we live and breathe in them.  Thank you for speaking to us!  We repent of falsely believing that you are silent and angry. We had a false image of you, and thank you for freeing us from it, and for the joy of your fellowship!

         

The Sad Situation of Ivy the Plant

He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature… 2 Peter 1:4

As a life form, our friend Ivy is a plant–a grape ivy to be exact, growing for many years near our back door.  Through circumstances that are not important for purposes of our post, Ivy has memorized all the words and the tune to the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah.  From the bottom of her roots to the tips of her white flowers, Ivy desires to sing the chorus and really, to sing it better than it has ever been sung before.

However, Ivy has a problem that is immediately apparent–Ivy has no mouth and no vocal cords.  You see, the capacity to sing is not indigenous to her species, Cissus Rhombifolia.  In fact, you must go up the biological chart two whole levels to get to a life form where the capacity to sing IS indigenous to the species.  That is, you must move from plant life, past animal life and come to human life to find the capacity to actually sing.

Isn’t it sad that Ivy’s great desire cannot somehow be fulfilled?  Imagine for a moment that you, dear reader, had the ability to give Ivy some of your capacity to sing but in such a way that Ivy would still be Ivy the plant, only now Ivy would be able to do something that was simply impossible before.  You may be thinking, why go to all the trouble?  It’s only a plant! And think of how many plants there are in the world; why do it for just one plant?  Might as well do it for all of them.  Now it is beginning to sound like a job it would take God to accomplish–and indeed it would!

Would it make a difference to your opinion if you had planted Ivy; had pruned Ivy’s dead branches after a bad frost; had noticed and sprayed when there was a bug infestation; or had added fertilizer to help Ivy grow and blossom? Would it make a difference to your opinion if you actually knew Ivy, even though Ivy might not be aware of you? Who would give of themselves to re-arrange the “natural” order of things?

Let’s turn to the great desire in your heart, dear reader.  You know the one to which I am referring–the desire to change your life from what you feel is an ugly train wreck to something, anything, less ugly and more beautiful.  Everything you have tried to accomplish that transformation has failed, and you have grown weary of the wake of destruction you leave behind everywhere you go. What you are lacking is called “holiness“, and here is where your situation becomes as sad as Ivy’s.

Here is the parallel:  “holiness” is not indigenous to the human species!  Oh, you may know the “words” and the “tune” and may desire it with all your heart but no amount of human effort is going to produce holiness in any of us.  Dear reader, you are not the only one who has tried and failed–all of us have also tried and also failed.  In this regard, there is no difference at all between the religious insiders and those of us who are religious “outsiders”.  Remember this:  no amount of human effort or religiosity can gin up holiness, because it simply doesn’t originate in this realm. If your holiness depends upon you, you’re in trouble–but you already know that.

Holiness comes from one source and one source only.  Just like in Ivy’s case, you have to go up the biological chart two life forms to get to the capacity of holiness–from human life, past angelic life (lumping all the angels together, they are all created beings) to come to divine life.  Holiness is the essence of the divine nature of God himself.  The holiness that Jesus has originated from his, and your, Father.  Father is the one and only source of all holiness.

Divine life is usually referred to in the Bible as “eternal life”, and sometimes as “abundant life” and “everlasting life”. These descriptions are not wrong, but they tend to focus the attention more to the duration of the life rather than to the species of the life.  Jesus was emphatic that his principal message was about the original source of this divine life, and not its duration. “I live because of the Father.” (John 6:57)  For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;…(John 5:26).

Becoming a Christian is not about giving mental assent to a list of beliefs and creeds, and then trying your best to gin up holiness through religiosity for the rest of your life.  Instead, it is about the transfer of the divine nature of your heavenly Father into the core of your being, or to use our previous example, changing the natural order by giving Ivy a mouth and a voice to begin singing!  Thus Peter said, He (Father) has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.  If you are determined to give mental assent to a belief, this would be a great place to start–you can start by believing Father’s precious and magnificent promises.

Jesus’ conception and birth by Mary are a prophetic illustration of the way this process begins.  Mary was informed by the angel that she would conceive and give birth–talk about going against the “natural” order of things!  How can this be, she logically asked, since she was sexually a virgin?  The answer:  the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, and the seed of God will be deposited into you.  In Mary’s case, it was a natural birth; but because of the resurrection of Jesus, for you it is a spiritual birth, what Jesus called being born again.  In each case, it is Jesus who is living inside of you, “growing” and bringing about the change in our lives each of us so desperately desires.

He said this repeatedly to us:  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. This is the hope we have, that Jesus Christ lives in you–he is the indwelling Christ, and it is his responsibility to cause the divine nature within you to grow and flourish, and not only you but everyone who has ever lived, even if that life was only in the womb.  Because his very nature is holiness, it is that divine nature that will eventually produce the holiness that results in a beautiful life!  If you were raised to believe that you should contribute to this effort in some kind of a way, here is what you may do:  believe in him who Father sent. John 6:29

Dear reader, remember when we asked why go to all that trouble just for Ivy, and why not every plant in the world? Why would Father go to all the trouble he has just for a few people?  The logical answer is, he didn’t.  The truthful answer is, he created each one of us for this purpose.  It was his plan from the beginning to bring about the salvation of every human being he ever created, not just a few.  We apologize if we have offended those of our friends who believe that Father is only able to save a few and the rest of mankind ends up in hell.  No, Father actually knows Ivy and he knows you, too, dear reader.  Sooner or later, he intends to bestow his divine nature upon you.  Why wait? Ask him to do so now, and join Ivy in the Hallelujah Chorus!

Blessed are you O Lord our wonderful Father!  Your magnificent promises give us hope for living.  Thank you that you have the power and the plan and the provisions to pull it off.  Only you can change us. Baruch ‘ata!

The Ultimate Source of Evil in the World

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness”  Genesis 1:26 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

To all of our friends who consider themselves to be religious “outsiders”, we happily say:  YOU are not the ultimate source of evil in the world, and GOD AIN’T MAD AT YOU!

We sincerely apologize for our disagreement with all of our friends who consider themselves to be religious “insiders”, and who strive mightily to convince our other friends that the world would be a better place if they would just “get right with God” or “get saved” or “repent”.  To be sure, YOUR world would be better if you were able to do those things, but would THE world be better?

In our post today we take a controversial look at the ultimate origin of evil–WHO is responsible for the existence of evil in the world?  Where does evil come from?  Does it spontaneously combust?  Was it part of the “big bang”?  And perhaps in a later post, WHO is going to get rid of it, and how?

If evil existed in the world before any of us who are now alive, dear reader, does it make sense to you that ANY of your actions (or inactions) could get rid of it?  Of course not.  Let’s go right to the controversial part:  the source of evil in the world is NOT sinful people! and that includes you, the religious outsider.

It is popularly believed that evil is a force of nature that fights, wars, struggles, with an opposing force of nature–the goodness of God.  And so you have the Devil fighting against God, darkness vs. light, evil vs. good, the Yin and Yang.  We mention the last one to highlight the fact that this back and forth nonsense is ancient pagan superstition.  It was co-opted by the early Roman church for purposes of controlling the masses.  But it did not derive from the Bible or the teachings of Jesus.

Unfortunately, just about every major denomination today embraces some version of this “turn or burn” mentality, that if you are “good” you get to go to heaven, and if you are “bad”, you go to hell, or are utterly destroyed in some fashion.  Each group has slightly different definitions of “good” and “bad” and what is necessary to migrate from one group to the other, but from 30,000 feet, they all look pretty much the same.  The reason is:  they ARE essentially the same.  Here is the problem with the whole mentality:  it fails to understand the reason and purpose of evil.

The ultimate source of evil in the world is the Creator, who created it.  Yes, that is correct, God Himself, with the able assistance of Christ (who later was born on earth and named Jesus).  Read it for yourself from the gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 3:

All things came into being through Him (Jesus), and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  John 1:3 NASB

You want to talk about light vs. darkness, then check this out:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.  Isaiah 45:7 King James Version

In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider–God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discovery anything that will be after him.  Ecclesiastes 7:14 NASB

If calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?  Amos 3:6 NASB

If one considers the Bible to be authoritative, if not instructive, (and we consider it to be both), one could reasonably be surprised that our premise is so controversial!  It seems clear that the Creator created evil.  Therefore, let’s next consider how the religious insiders got off the correct path, and let’s start with Adam.

You remember Adam and Eve, the first man and woman?  In the garden of Eden?  You may remember that they ate an apple, or some other fruit, or whatever, the point is:  they disobeyed God; they sinned.  You’re probably thinking/remembering (because it has been pounded into your sub-conscience) that they died as punishment because they sinned.  Add in the old good vs. evil superstition/motif, and voila!  Adam created evil, and because we are all descended from Adam, we are responsible for evil in the world.  And because we insiders have repented, that only leaves you outsiders.  See how it works?

Yes, Adam and Eve did indeed sin. But did Father kill them for it?  See for yourself:

Then to Adam He said,…Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.  Both thorns and thistles (weeds) it shall grow for you. Genesis 3:17 NASB

This is a classic example of God’s punishment fitting the crime:  you disobeyed me in eating what I provided, so now you will have to work for it.  This is why you have weeds in your garden, and bugs in your fruit trees.  Adam and Eve did indeed eventually die, but not in punishment.  Legally speaking, the punishment was applied to the earth–the ground would no longer blossom absent some good, hard work. The “curse” was not applied to Adam; instead, Adam’s correction was that he had to make restitution.

To find out what happened, we must piece together the story from several places, and in so doing we can see what Father had in mind by creating evil in the world.

Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through (by means of, as a result of) sin, and so death spread to all men, upon which (Gr. “eph ho”) all sinned.  Romans 5:12 NASB

So when Adam sinned, Father sent death as the ultimate form of evil into the world.  All “lesser” forms of evil are subsumed by and culminate in the pinnacle of evil–death.  Men don’t die because they sin; they sin because they are dying.  (Think about this for one moment, and you can easily see the truth of it.  A baby starts “dying” the moment it is born, before it can take any kind of action that can be called wrongdoing.)

Father used the occasion of Adam’s sin to send death (evil) into the world, and allowed it to spread to all men.  Why did He do that?  Because His plan was to send another man, and by the actions of the second man, He would cause righteousness (the opposite of evil) and life to spread to all men.  The name of this man?  Jesus/Yeshua, the messiah.

For since by a man (Adam) came death, by a man (Jesus) also came the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15: 21

Know anyone who is not dying?  They will all be made alive by Christ Jesus.  All means all; all die and all will be made alive.  How does that work?  This is why those of us who know Jesus love him so much:

For as through one transgression (wrongdoing, sin) there resulted condemnation (an eventual death sentence) to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.  Romans 5:19 NASB

Dear reader, do you know what the “one act of righteousness” was?  Jesus the innocent one paid with his own life upon the cross for all the wrongdoing from Adam until the last of it has occurred.  And to top it all off, He agreed to this plan before Adam was ever created.

You might say that Adam gave us a “gift” of a cursed earth and mortality (eventual physical death for all).  But Jesus gives us all the free gift of divine life (unending and righteous) which sooner or later (why wait?) all receive.  This is a species of life that comes from the very nature of God–His plan has always been to MAKE us in “Our image and in Our likeness”.  You may be glad to know that it is not your responsibility.

For if by the transgression of the one (Adam), death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the (other) one, Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:18 NASB

(This) gift is not like that which came through the one (Adam) who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment (sentence of eventual death) arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. Romans 5:16 NASB

What a gift!  Think of it in parallel terms:  one wrong action by Adam, and all the world starts dying.  But one righteous act by Jesus undoes eons of wrongdoing by billions of people, and moreover makes them righteous in God’s eyes, and all the world starts living by the power of an unending life of which we wrote earlier.

Father and Son planned this from the beginning, because of their great love for you, dear reader, yes the religious “outsider”.  They knew you would wonder about it, puzzle over it, and question why they didn’t do something about it.  Well, they did.  Father introduced evil into the world so He could be glorified by removing it all in one fell swoop.  Can you see why He ain’t mad at you?  Why should He be?

As those of us who have come to trust in Him, and as we know Him more and more, to call Him merely “God”, His most common name, is simply too impersonal.

To as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,…” John 1:12 NASB

As the old song goes, to know Him is to love Him.  Calling Him “God” while not incorrect, fails to recognize the profound love which He has for each of us, so as His children, we want to call Him “Father”, or even more lovingingly, “Daddy”.  Those who have a conception (incorrectly) of Him as an angry, vengeful deity have trouble with such familiarity.

As always, we do not ask or expect you to believe us–ask Him yourself.  How?  Either silently in your mind and heart, or out loud with your mouth, simply ask Him if what we have said is true.  You can even bow your head and close your eyes if that will help you believe He is listening, but we assure you it is not necessary.  We want to be the first to welcome you to Father’s family!

Blessed are you, O Lord our wonderful God, the king of forever!  Great is your wisdom and wise are your orderings of all things, from the rising of the sun until its going down.  But greater still is the love you have borne for us all, especially the one who has never belonged.  Show your love to the prodigal son, and let the party begin!

For God Loved The World So Much…

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  John 3:16-17 The Living Bible

If you are a regular reader of these posts, you know that our outreach is especially to those who feel that they are “outsiders” to religion in general, and to the organized church in particular.  There are a number of reasons outsiders feel they way they do, but the main reason is the religious system at its core requires separation and division to exist.  The outsiders are the separated ones.

The etymology for the word “denomination” derives from about the 14th century, meaning “a naming, the act of giving a name to” according to dictionary.com.  In the early 18th century, it came to mean the naming of a religious sect. Currently, it has come to mean a group having a distinctive interpretation of a religious faith and usually its own organization.  In practical terms, it means that the distinctive interpretation is a wall, a barrier, a separator beyond which those with different interpretations may not pass.

A comprehensive review of the ancient origins of this practice in religious circles is beyond the scope of this post.  But, believe us, outsiders know all too well the exclusion they feel exuding from most religious establishments.  Its primary hallmark is an air of superiority for the insiders, and guilt and inadequacy for the outsiders.  “Just agree with us, and you can be an insider, too!”

We are ecstatic to announce some good news for all of you outsiders!  It was never Father’s intention, desire or will for you to be outside of His blessings–and you are not outside of His blesssings!  Our opening passage, one that is well-known, albeit not always accurately translated, plainly declares that Father now loves, has loved, and always will love, the entire world–and that includes all of you who feel you are “outsiders”!  You may in fact be an outsider to the church organization, but you are most definitely NOT an outsider to God or God’s love.

(We sincerely apologize to everyone who has been taught that God is about to burn up the inhabitants of the world because He is so mad at them.  We regret to inform you that you have been taught an untrue image of the heavenly Father. We respectfully suggest that you ask Him if those are His intentions, and do not believe it until He tells you it is true.)

Continuing our practice of presenting the facts, and teaching the ability to find the facts for yourself, we first turn to the word “love”.  Regrettably, most translators lump several words used in the original text into a single English word in the translation.  Several different Greek words, having markedly different meanings in Greek, are all translated “love” in most bible translations.

These meanings range from friendship (“phileo” as in Philadelphia) to sexual love (“eros” as in erotic) to unconditional love with no strings attached (“agape” for which there isn’t a readily recognizable English word).  Dear reader, do you want to guess which word was used in reference to God’s love?  If you guessed “no strings attached”, you are correct!

Here’s how you can learn to check these things out for yourself. There is a free online resource called blueletterbible.org.  From the home page you can enter a bible word like “love” and find out its correct meaning and compare how it has been used in other places in the bible.  You are no longer dependent on the translators–the wonderful folks at this website have done all the hard work for you.  May Father bless each one of them!

As this post is written, the box at the top is entitled “Search The Bible”, and one of the examples is John 3:16!  But for practice, enter “loved” in the box and click the magnifying glass.  The website will gather all the verses in the entire bible where the word “loved” is used in that translation. Look to the right, for a listing by each book in the bible–here, we’re looking for the book of John (Jhn).  Click on it.

The first entry is John 3:16.  To the left is a button called “Tools”.  If you click on that button, you will get either a drop down list offering an interlinear version or another box where each word is interlineated into several categories.  The first column, called “Strong’s” is a dictionary with numbered entries; further to the right is the Greek root word and an English transliteration.  Click on the Strong’s number, G25, and it will take you to the definition of the word.  If you cannot find it, here is the link.

You will notice when the reference is to people, it means “to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly.”  So God is welcoming someone He loves dearly, but you may be asking, “Does that include me?”

The next word we look at is the word “world”.  Does that mean the planet?  Does that mean the people of the world, or the religious people of the world?  Let’s follow the same procedure.  Enter “world” in the search box.  Again, find John, and click on it, and then scroll down to John 3:16.  Click the “Tools” button and find the word “world”.

If you went to the right place, you saw the Strong’s number G2889, and if you clicked on it, you found out the Greek word is “kosmos“.  You probably recognized right away its similarity to our word “cosmos”–same idea, it is in fact the entire universe!  But in a micro sense, it also includes all humanity. The sheer breadth of meaning of this one word is eye-popping, and yes, it even includes God’s enemies!  (We welcome you, if you happen to be one of those.)

Yes, dear reader, Jesus came to help, to put the entire universe right again, and that includes you, as well as that exclusionary church on the corner.  He does this by implanting His divine nature into you and teaching you, through the circumstances of life, to trust Him to get you through them.

It all begins with deciding you would rather live in the light, rather than in darkness; deciding you are tired of getting it wrong, and that you’d like to get it right for once in your life.  All you have to do is decide to make Jesus the boss, and trust Him to work it out.

We are seriously saying that Jesus has the power to make the entire universe right again, and to include you in the restoration process. We respectfully ask:  what have you got to lose?  Is it all that cool bumping around in the dark?  We further say we are convinced that He is going to accomplish exactly what He came for.  In our next post, we will explain how you can ask Him for yourself.

Blessed are you, O Lord our wonderful God.  What great love you have shown to us! When it is fully seen, and the reality of how little we deserve it hits us, we fall to our knees in grateful tears.  Your unconditional love, with no strings attached, never fails.  Baruch ata!

Babylonian Captivity and Slave Mentality-Part 2

So if (Jesus) the Son (of God) makes you free, you will be free indeed.  John 8:36 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

It might be hard to imagine that there is actually a bigger problem than the majority of humanity being enslaved for two and one half millennia.  But the truth is out:  all of creation is enslaved and has been since Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.  The Babylonian captivity is just a “small” part of the entire problem, since all of creation includes the entire universe.  Perhaps that will put our problems in proper perspective!

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God…For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.  Romans 8:20,24-25 NASB

The apostle Paul, writing to believers in Rome, explained that the record of Genesis reveals that Adam’s sin caused the entire creation to be subjected to “slavery to corruption”, meaning essentially that everything is proceeding from order to chaos, from fitness to ruin, from organization to dis-organization.  You can easily see this everywhere–just imagine what your yard would look like after a few years of no effort.

But when Father subjected the creation, He also gave it hope for a glory change.  And that glory change is on its way!  It is a change that will be revealed, in a way that can be seen.

The word “glory” is the Greek word doxa (pronounced “dock-sa”).  It has a wide variety of meanings, as can be seen here.  But we believe it hearkens back to the shekinah glory that radiated outward from Father’s presence in heaven or wherever He chooses to dwell.

When Solomon dedicated the Temple which he had constructed in Jerusalem about 3,000 years or so ago, the priests brought up the coffer of testimony, usually called the “ark of the covenant” from the part of Jerusalem known as the “City of David” where it was kept in the Tent of Meeting constructed during the much-earlier time of Moses.  After the priests deposited the coffer in the most holy place (the very inner sanctuary) and withdrew, the shekinah glory (a luminous cloud) filled the entire temple to such a degree that no one could even stand, and the priests could not minister–everyone was face down.  Here is how it was recorded:

It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. 1 Kings 8:10-11

Our poor description in no way does justice to something which is beyond comparison, but the point is:  it will soon be seen, because it is going to be revealed.  The creation will be moved away from slavery and into freedom.  In short, the curse will be removed.  We realize that many religious insiders believe that very soon, the “great tribulation” will begin which will be anything but “glorious”.  We apologize if we are contradicting their doctrine, but we do not believe hell-fire, brimstone, widespread death and destruction are what the Lord and Paul had in mind when he penned Romans 8.  Most importantly, the doctrine of “Great Tribulation” does not lend itself to the hope Paul wrote about (or any other kind of hope, for that matter).  We do not believe anyone is “eagerly” waiting for the Great Tribulation.

The pieces go together like this:  Radiating light from God–Sons of God–freedom–curse removed–creation released–slavery of every kind is banished.

We would like to point out that Jesus, the firstborn and predominant son, revealed this glory when He walked the earth.  Read it for yourself:

And He (Jesus) is the radiance of His (God’s) glory and the exact representation of His (God’s) nature…Hebrews 1:3 NASB

The “sons of God” will, in just the same way Jesus did, become the radiance of God’s glory change.  Paul says this glory will unveil something not seen at least since the subjection of creation by Adam’s sin, if ever.  Jesus Christ, although He is the pre-eminent son, chose NOT to reveal this glory himself, but instead waited to allow his brothers (and sisters) to reveal it.  These brothers and sisters are the ones who have found freedom in the Messiah, the one who came to set us all free.

By trust, and by faith, they have received the gift of salvation, and have become partakers of the divine nature  of which we wrote earlier, and are believing Jesus to change them from the inside out and make them holy.  The glory change will be revealed into these believers and will somehow break out into a transforming freedom that will literally remove the curse from the earth.  We don’t know about you, dear reader, but we can’t wait to meet these people!

They gave up the slave mentality long ago.  What about you; why wait?  Are you, dear reader, one of the ones the entire creation is waiting upon?  If so, we urge you to be reconciled to God.  Call upon the Messiah and tell him you are ready to do your part, whatever that may be.  May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and favor you!  May the Lord lift his face toward you and give you his shalom!

Blessed are you, O Lord our wonderful God.  Elohim baruch ha shem.  All creation shouts your praise:  beautiful is our God!  The universe will sing:  Hallelujah to you, our King!

 

 

Babylonian Captivity And Slave Mentality

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Romans 8:18-22 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

There has been a lot of political talk in recent years about “hope” and “change”.  Dear reader, do you have any hope that anything significant in the world system will really change, meaning, for the better?  Have you found yourself wondering why things are the way they are?  Are you looking for change, and what do you think “change” would look like?  Do the words “Babylonian captivity” mean anything to you?  Check out this conversation from The Matrix (1999)(courtesy of imdb.com):

Morpheus: I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I’m talking about?

Neo: The Matrix.

Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?

Neo: Yes.

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

We propose to you that what Morpheus referred to as the “Matrix” is actually the world-wide Babylonian captivity that has enslaved the world for many centuries.  It is a monetary, religious, political and military system coordinated and controlled by many very wealthy elites whose rule has now been judicially declared terminated in Father’s divine court.  We are happy to announce that “change” is coming!  It is a change that was prophesied about two millennia ago, when the apostle Paul wrote the above words to the believers who then lived in Rome, Italy, during the Roman empire.

Our post today is to discuss what this “change” will look like.  As stated in an article by Kevin Jackson, entitled The Slave Mentality, slave mentality is acquired slowly, bit by bit, over an extended period of time, and constitutes “the worst kind of prison:  the prison of the mind.”  He says, “Escape is as simple as walking away, yet few people leave.”  If all you have known for your entire life is a slave mentality, and one that you cannot see, taste or touch because the world has been pulled over your eyes, how will you free your mind from it?

First, know that the author of this change, and its revealer, is none other than Jesus the Messiah.  It is He who will free your mind–all you have to do is ask Him to do so.  Here is what He said about himself:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the LordLuke 4:18-19 NASB

A coming “glory” is going to be revealed “in us”.  Setting aside briefly the question of “who”, a more important question is “what”.  Paul begins by telling us in verse 18:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to (Greek: eis–into) us.

Paul describes this glory change by first saying that present sufferings (for him, it included the Roman Empire) are not worthwhile enough to form the basis of a comparison.  So unique is this glory that it is incomparable–there is simply nothing to which to compare it.  That sounds like a change worth hoping for!

Paul secondly says it is something “that is to be revealed into us”, or in other words, a revelation or an “unveiling”.  The Greek word “eis” means motion from the exterior to a stopping point on the interior.  Think of drawing a straight line from the outside of a circle into the middle of the circle and stopping–that’s the idea of “eis”.  In other words, this is not something someone is going to think up in their own mind.  Instead, it is something revealed, seen, and understood.

In short the glory change seems to be unveiled as it is moving into us.  The next verse makes it clear that all creation (not just mankind, or even some of mankind) is anxiously watching, and even longing for this unveiling.  Please note that Paul has directly connected the glory change to the revealing of someone he calls “the sons of God.”

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 

It seems clear that Paul has equated “the glory that is to be revealed into us” and “the revealing of the sons of God.”  Since God first determined to make mankind in His image, He has planned to reveal His own glory through mature sons of whom Jesus was the first-born.  These sons will not be divine as Jesus was, but will be redeemed sons of fallen Adam.  The glory will be that which inhabited Eden before the fall.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into (Greek:  eis) the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

The entire creation is anxiously watching and longing because of the stakes, which for us Paul says are an insufficient basis for comparison.  However, creation has taken the brunt of Adam’s sin, since God put the sin debt upon the earth, causing it to groan and travail.  So whatever else may be said about our “present sufferings”, here are 2 points:  one, they do not merit comparison to the glory change, and two, they are not connected to the involuntary subjection that was placed upon the creation by God and which has lasted since Adam was ejected from the Garden of Eden.

When Father subjected creation, he also gave it hope!  Talk about merciful!  A hope not speculative, but instead certain and inevitable, of a coming freedom that will be found only in this “glory”.  We are talking about a glory change that will not only free all of mankind, but also all of the creation!

Say goodbye to slave mentality, and hello to freedom mentality! In part 2 we’ll examine the source of this glory and how the awesome light that radiates from Father’s presence sets creation free.

Baruch ata Adonai.  I will love you, Lord my strength.  I belong to you and I will bless you while I live, and I will lift my hands up in your name.

 

The Medes and Persians Win Again

Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land:  “May your peace abound!  I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”  Daniel 6:26-27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

If you are unfamiliar with the story, here is what happened in brief:  The second world kingdom (from a Judahite point of view) was set up after Babylon’s fall–the Medo-Persian empire, headed by King Darius.  In order to trap Daniel, a righteous Jew, who served the king, jealous colleagues prevailed upon King Darius to pass a law that no man could petition any man or god except King Darius under penalty of being thrown into the lions’ den.

The colleagues did this because they knew Daniel prayed to God every day, and the Medes and Persians had a law:  once the King issued a decree, it could never be changed.  Daniel 6: 12 says “…according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

Sure enough, Daniel prayed to God in disregard of the law, and his colleagues got what they wanted–Daniel was thrown into a pit, a “den”, with hungry lions, shortly after King Darius realized his mistake.  Daniel made it through the night, reporting that Father sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths.  King Darius gave orders that Daniel be removed and that the colleagues, their wives and children be immediately thrown to the lions, whose mouths by now had been released, and all of them were killed.

King Darius issued the decree that opens this post.  As Dr. Stephen Jones has pointed out on numerous occasions, that decree has never been revoked and by the law of the Medes and Persians, it may not ever be revoked.

So who were the Medes and Persians, anyway?  According to Wikipedia, the Medes and Persians were the ancestors to modern Iran, with the Medes being the northern relatives and the Persians being the southern relatives.

The Medes and Persians overthrew the Babylonian empire established by Nebuchadnezzar, and were themselves later overthrown by Alexander the Great.  Each empire was ultimately set up by God for an appointed time to accomplish His purposes, all as prophesied by the angel to Daniel.  However, as is often the case, such prophecies have more than one fulfillment.

The “Babylonian” banking-political-religious worldwide system, which is more symbolic than geographic, has far outgrown its original boundaries in what is now modern Iraq.  So look for modern Persia, i.e., Iran, to play a significant role in again defeating the Babylonian system.  The Babylonian system has run out of time and Father has decreed that the world systems have had their chances and run their courses, and the time has come to establish the Stone kingdom that “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Look at how Daniel himself described what he saw in a prophetic vision:

13 I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
14 “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.  Daniel 7:13-14 NASB

Do you notice, dear Reader, that Daniel used the same language that Darius had used when addressing his subjects:  all the peoples, nations and men of every language.  Here’s an important thing to learn:  when Father says “All”, He means all!  All the Sunnis, all the Shi’ites, all the Jews, all the Moslems, all the peoples, all the nations, and all the men of every language–in short, the whole earth.

We respectfully believe that Iran will play a major part in bringing this news to the whole earth.  Yes, some time will pass, because they must first learn that political influence/power and the world’s riches, both of which they have been deprived for so long, will not satisfy or fill the aching abyss in their collective hearts.  (If you don’t believe us, ask the Republicans and the Democrats!)  Only Jesus the Messiah can fill that emptiness.

If Iran has not already been demonized by the Western press to the point of no return in your mind, consider the following quote, and see if you can guess who said these words:

  1. The World:

God Almighty purposefully created the world….No phenomenon, creature, or indeed anything has been created in vain. Together they all pave the ground for the flourishing of mankind in a complex and purposeful system, and they are, each, one of the signs of God Almighty. All are His creations and He is the sole creator and ruler of the world. All existence including power, knowledge and wealth come from Him.

2.  Humankind:

God created the world for humans and humans for Himself. He created humans from mud and in the soil, but He did not want them to remain in the soil and with animal instincts. He kindled the light of guidance in their souls and asked them to rise from the soil to the heavens and to Him with the help of wisdom, prophets and perfect men. The world will ultimately disappear, but God has created man for eternity and has made them a manifestation of Himself.

Creativity, mercifulness, kindness, knowledge, wisdom, zeal, concealment of sins, splendor, justice, bounteousness, generosity, greatness, love, glory, dignity, forgiveness, insight, kingship and all other goodness and beauty are attributes of God.

The foregoing are excerpts from a speech delivered by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, to the United Nations on September 24, 2008.  We apologize for the lengthy quote, but say in all sincerity:  Not bad, Mr. President, not bad!  One might even say that President Ahmadinejad’s words are a second witness to the words of King Darius–and by the mouths of two or more witnesses every fact is established.

You have heard it said that God loves his friends but hates his enemies, but we say Father loves his enemies, does good to them, causes the sun to rise on them, and sends rain to them.  For God so loves the world (including Iran) that he gave his only son Jesus, that whosoever believed into him would not perish, but have everlasting life!  Because of Christ Jesus’ sacrifice, Father has conciliated the world to Himself, no longer counting their trespasses against them!  If you don’t believe us, click on the preceding link and see for yourself!  It is the kindness of God that leads men to repentance.

We respectfully suggest a new approach to foreign policy.  Instead of bombing them to smithereens, perhaps believers in America could pray for Iran’s blessing instead.  Perhaps it is time to petition Father to carry out the law of the double witness, fulfill the words of these two leaders quoted above, and grant repentance to Iran and, moreover, send them forth into the rest of the world proclaiming the name of Jesus.  Allah would be very pleased.

Rachem, Adonai, rachem!  Grant repentance to all who live in Iran, that they may seek for you, find you, and reconcile themselves to you through the blood of Jesus.  We say Amen to the words of King Darius, that your glory may go forth from Iran and other places and fill the whole earth.