Archive for July, 2011


When We All Get To Heaven

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July 23, 2011

Let not your heart be disturbed.  Believe in God, and believe in Me.  In My Father’s house are many abodes; yet if not I would have told you, for I am going to make ready a place for you.  And if I should be going and making ready a place for you, I am coming again and I will be taking you along to Myself, that where I am, you also may be.  And where I am going you are aware, and of the way you are aware.  Thomas is saying to Him, “Lord, we are not aware whither Thou art going, and how can we be aware of the way?”  Jesus is saying to him “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one is coming to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.  And henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.”  John 14:1-7 Concordant Version of the New Testament

          It is the prevailing view in the United States, that if one is “good” he will go to “heaven”, and if one is “bad”, his ultimate destination is “hell.”  Each sect and/or denomination has its own definitions of “good” and “bad”, as does each un-churched person.  And the general consensus is that “heaven” is a desirable but largely-unknown utopia, and “hell” is an equally unknown very bad place.  However, anyone with an open heart and an open mind can, with a little study and effort, quickly determine that the origins of each of these propositions is pagan from ancient times.  After the edict of Constantine, when all the pagan temples became Christian cathedrals and all the pagan priests became Christian priests by fiat, the Church incorporated these pagan ideas into mainstream Christianity as doctrines where they have remained firmly entrenched to this day, and scriptures (such as the above passage from the gospel of John) are mistakenly interpreted to justify these wrong ideas.

          Hear the Lord’s words:  don’t trouble your hearts with notions of streets of gold and whether there are golf courses in heaven (as we have heard one man say), or with fears of torture and burning and other ideas associated with that hideous doctrine.  Believe in God and believe in Me. 

          We are not intending to prove the falsity of that which is false, but instead to lift up and magnify that which is true.  So, open your hearts and minds, and ask the Lord Spirit to reveal the truth of these matters to you.  Believe Him, not us.

          The word “abodes” in the above translation is alternatively rendered “dwelling places” (NASB), “mansions” (King James Version), “homes” (Amplified Bible), “rooms” (New International Version), and “dwellings” (Wycliffe Bible).  The problem, however, is NOT with the translation of “abodes”; instead, the problem begins with assuming that “My Father’s house” is in heaven.  The Lord Jesus has never said that His Father’s house is in heaven, nor has it ever been His goal to bring a select few, chosen or believing (according to the Calvinist view or the Arminian view), into heaven and leaving the large majority of humanity behind to endure their “just” reward of “great tribulation” as a preview of eternal torment in hell.  Rightly decide the location of “My Father’s house”, and the Lord’s meaning of what He said above becomes clear and simple.

          Beloved of God, if you are wondering, “Well, where is God’s house?” you are not alone.  Do you notice that Thomas didn’t get it, either?  Let’s begin by speculating what was going through Thomas’ mind and see if it sheds some light for us 2,000 years later.  Notice also how the Lord had previously used the phrase:

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:19 English Standard Version (ESV)

And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”  John 2:16 ESV

          And so we can see that Thomas believed, like so many since that time have believed, the word “house” referred to Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, or some other man-made structure.  Thomas was naturally curious about where Jesus was referring, if not to Herod’s temple, to which the Lord had previously referred when speaking of “My Father’s house.”  Later, the Holy Spirit began to reveal that God had chosen to place His name not in a structure made by man, but in another place of His own choosing.

          When  Stephen was brought before the Jewish religious judges (the Great Sanhedrin) for allegedly speaking words “against Moses and God“,  he spoke prophetically of God’s ultimate rejection of Herod’s temple, noting that King David had asked to build God a dwelling place but that Solomon his son had carried it out, and that arrangement was not intended to be permanent.  Stephen quoted the prophet Isaiah’s famous passage about the Kingdom of Heaven:

However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:  Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; what kind of house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what place is there for My repose? Was it not My hand which made all these things?  Acts 7:48-50  New American Standard Bible (NASB)

          The Lord Jesus had implicitly and explicitly stated that Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the implications of such destruction were revealed by the Spirit to Stephen and others, such as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews.  Many years later, but again prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the author to the Hebrews discussed the obsolescence of the temple and sacrifice system (the “old covenant”) and its replacement with a new covenant.   He clearly states that the new covenant is based upon the blood of Jesus and a temple “not made with hands”.

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete.  But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear…Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary…But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;…  Hebrews 8:13-9:1-2, 11-12, and 23-24 NASB

          We have quoted from this passage at length because some say the place being prepared is in the heavens, where Christ made His offering.  But we wish to point out that the author is referring to “the holy place”, not to “My Father’s house”.  We do not dispute there are heavenlies and that Christ entered there–we contend that Father prefers things that are not “made with hands” and that heaven is not the believer’s final destination.  Instead, “My Father’s house” is the New Jerusalem, a spiritual temple, coming down out of the heavens and ultimately filling the entire earth.  It is a living temple, not made with hands, but made with living stones.  Each stone is an individual who has tasted the kindness of the Lord and whose heart is a dwelling place, an “abode” for Father and the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

          Christ in you, the hope of glory….a mystery now revealed, the promise of the Father, that He would indwell each believer, was the “place” referred to by the Lord Jesus in our opening scripture.  And yes, there are many of them.  Later on in the same chapter of John, the Lord said:

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you (all)…If anyone loves me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.  John 14:18, 20, 24 NASB

          Every one of these “abodes” has been prepared by Jesus, just as He said.  It was the purpose of His going, as well as the destination of His going.  It is a part of His promise that He would come again and receive each one to Himself.  Thus, those who believe that heaven is the ultimate destination point to passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, contending that the Lord will return, rapture the believers in the air, and proceed directly to heaven. 

          We will indeed “meet” the Lord in the air, just as the scripture says, but the word “meet” in Greek is apantesis, which means to meet a visiting dignitary on the outskirts of town and accompany him back to the visited city, NOT to accompany the dignitary back to the origin of his journey, as is evident from the other two passages in the New Testament using this verb.  (See Matthew 25:1-10 and Acts 28:15-16.)  For example, when Paul was being delivered to Rome for his appeal to Caesar, the brothers came out from Rome some considerable part of the 112 miles to Puteoli to meet Paul and escort him back to Rome.  They did NOT meet Paul and escort him back to Caesarea!  Respectfully, in the same way, we will not meet the Lord in the air and escort Him back to heaven.

          Isaiah also prophesied that Messiah Jesus would be like a nail securely driven into a “place” and it would be a glory to His Father’s house.  Take a look at this remarkable scripture, and understand that it refers to your heart, dear reader.   It is the place where God has caused His name to be remembered and the place which God has chosen.  It has always been His plan, a mystery which was hidden from past ages and generations, to present every man complete in Christ!

          Messiah Jesus intends to take up His throne in the earth, at which time the prayer which He Himself instructed us to pray, will be fulfilled:

Pray then this way:  Our Father who is in heaven–hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Matthew 6:9-10 NASB

          Could there be a prayer that the Lord would teach us to pray, for which Father’s answer would be “No”?  We think not.  Dear reader, if your heart is troubled, or you are searching, look no further.  Your redemption is drawing near–call to Him, He will answer!  Why wait?  Ask Him to make ready your heart NOW.

Blessed are You, O Lord, lover of our souls.  Blessed are You for you have promised better things to come and to prepare the places in our hearts, and if there weren’t MANY, You would have told us so.  How great is Your love and how unfailing is Your purpose! Complete Your preparation in every man!  Make our hearts ready to receive you.  We say Amen to all Your ways. 

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Jonah and Nineveh: A Sample of Bigger Things to Come

Filed Under: Uncategorized by Jamie — 2 Comments
July 19, 2011

“And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”  Jonah 4:11

This verse is the last verse in the book of Jonah, but it captures the heart of God in this story, and shows His purpose: to redeem and restore those who have been against Him, and to have mercy upon all.

The story of Jonah follows a prophet who receives a call from God to go the most heathen of heathen: the Ninevites, idol worshippers living in the Assyrian capital.  Jonah’s message is one calling for repentance from wickedness, that God might be gracious to them and relent from the calamity He planned to bring on them.  Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah decides to flee in the opposite direction and hopefully dodge his duty.  In an interesting side note, Jonah flees to the city of Tarshish, the name of which means “refinement.”  God had to refine Jonah in the belly of the whale, where he learned afresh to trust God and willingly come into agreement with Him.  After three days in the whale, God gives Jonah a second chance to go and preach to the Ninevites, and he goes and proclaims God’s message.

When the Ninevites hear Jonah’s message, they immediately turn to God in fasting and repentence, from the king down.  And it says in verse 10, “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” 

Jonah actually gets upset with God for His mercy on these people, but fittingly describes God’s handling of the Ninevites: “I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” (4: 2).

Jonah unfortunately responded in the way many people do today at the thought that God actually could and would redeem all people.  We wonder how people as horrible as Hitler could ever come into the kingdom of God.  But here we see how God’s heart is to bring all people, especially the worst, to Himself.  Jonah’s name means “dove”, which is a symbol of peace, restoration, and the Holy Spirit.  God plans to bring restoration to even the worst of the worst.  He is ABUNDANT in lovingkindness, having compassion on those who “do not even know their right hand from the left.” God is saying that these people are spiritually dead: they are too spiritually “dumb” to even know one hand from the other.  Paul calls these kind the “natural man”-those who have no spiritual discernment whatsoever: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1 Cor. 2:14

We are all dead in our trespasses and sins until God in His mercy makes us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1-5).  He came and opened our darkened minds and hearts so that we could be aware and understand the things of the Spirit of God.  God extended mercy to the Ninevites in kindness. He did not immediately bring calamity on them, for He does not delight in that.  What He DOES delight in is a contrite heart.  And it was His kindness that led them to repentence (Rom. 2:4). 

Does God have to correct and discipline? Yes.  We can choose to rebel and take the long way around, as Jonah did. But ultimately, God’s will prevails.  Nineveh was a glimpse into the plan of God to bring all people to Himself, because of His unfailing love.

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Losing or Gaining Citizenship

Filed Under: Christ's Predominance and Supremacy, God's Laws/Teachings by admin — Comments Off on Losing or Gaining Citizenship
July 17, 2011

Any man, ANY man of the House of Israel who slays an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp or who slays it outside the camp, and to the entrance of the Tent of Appointment does not bring it, to bring-it-near as a near-offering to YHWH before the Dwelling of YHWH; bloodguilt is to be reckoned to that man, blood he has shed, that man is to be cut off from amid his kinspeople–in order that the children of Israel may bring their slaughter-offerings that they are slaughtering in the open field, that they may bring them to YHWH, to the entrance of the Tent of Appointment, to the priest and slaughter them as slaughter-offerings of shalom (greeting) to YHWH.  The priest is to dash their (animal’s) blood against the slaughter-site of YHWH, at the entrance of the Tent of Appointment, and is to turn the fat into smoke as a soothing savor to YHWH–that they may slaughter no longer their slaughter-offerings to the hairy (goat demons) after whom they go whoring.  A law for the ages shall this be for them, throughout their generations.  Leviticus 17:3-7 Schocken Bible

Boiling it down to its essentials, here is what Moses was saying:  when you slay an animal that was supposed to be a sacrifice, WHEREVER the animal is killed (either in the camp/city, or outside the camp/city) you must be very careful to make certain that the blood of the animal, and its other parts, are brought to the priest and offered in the manner prescribed for the Sacred Gift of Greeting, (of which we wrote earlier) and have the blood applied to the altar.   If you decide NOT to apply the blood to the altar, you are legally “cut off” from your kinspeople.  This means that under God’s law, you are no longer a citizen of Israel.  If you were of the tribe of Judah, you are no longer a Jew.  If you were of the tribe of Reuben, you are no longer a Reubenite.  If you were of the tribe of Benjamin, you are no longer a Benjamite, and etc.  Note that there are no exceptions.  The seriousness of this matter can hardly be overstated.

Whatever else may be said of this law, one should carefully note that it is “a law for the ages” and not be in too big a hurry to declare that it is “Old Testament”, meaning that it has been abolished and is no longer of any effect.  Moses clearly states that its effectiveness will continue through more than one age.  Therefore, we admonish you, dear reader, with all earnestness not to be guilty of this legal offense, even though you are nearly 2,000 years removed from the destruction of Herod’s temple and the end of sacrifices.  As we shall discuss below, you are not excused merely because God sent His armies to destroy Jerusalem and the temple.

The altar was always intended as a picture and an example of the altar of the heart:  made of earth and uncut stones not shaped by man, and in “every place where I cause My name to be remembered“, and approached without steps so that anyone may come.  Moses was told by YHWH/Jesus to build all things according to “the pattern shown to you on the mountain.”  This heavenly pattern is fulfilled by applying the blood of the sacrifice to one’s heart when God causes His name to be remembered there, and this law is satisfied in the exact same place–a place made of the dust of the earth, and shaped by God, not man.  And thus we come to one of the main reasons God caused the temple to be destroyed–so that all men of the descendants of Israel may have the opportunity, no matter where they are in the “field” (which is the world), to decide to figuratively apply the blood of the sacrifice to their hearts.

What sacrifice, and what blood?  Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  Has it not been told to you from the beginning?  Simply stated, the blood of Christ Jesus, who was the paschal lamb offered for the sins (hamartia, in Greek) of the whole world.  The apostle John makes it clear that Yeshua the messiah was the propitiation, or sin offering, whose blood was to be applied to the altar for the entire world.  Exactly how is the blood applied to an individual’s heart?  By simply asking the new high priest, the one who is a priest forever, according the new order of Malki-Zadok, who also happens to be Yeshua the messiah.  For, He is both the sacrifice and the priest who applies the blood to the altar.  When God causes you, dear reader, to remember His name, ask Jesus to apply the blood to the altar of your heart.  When you do this in sincerity of heart, let us be the first to welcome you as a new citizen to the Kingdom of God!

Those who wish to build a Third Temple in Jerusalem, and who wish to re-institute the sacrifice of animals in that temple, have decided NOT to apply the blood of the Christ-sacrifice to the altar God has instructed.  The effect of this is that their individual citizenship as Israelites is revoked.   The King of the Jews and of Israel is Jesus the messiah who is the son of David; therefore, to Him belongs the kingship and the kingdom!  In Him is citizenship; one cannot break this law and remain a part of the people of whom Jesus is king!  He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and neither is circumcision outward, in the flesh, as of old.  Instead, he is a true Jew who is one inwardly, whose heart has been “circumcised“.  We urge our brothers:  cease your hostility against Messiah; turn again to God, and He will remember His promise:  At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son!

On the other hand, ANYONE wishing to have the law fulfilled upon the altar of their heart may do so by merely asking.  In this way, one who is not physically descended from Judah (a Jew) or one of the other tribes may become a “true Jew” by complying with God’s law and may simultaneously make Jesus his king.  Moreover, one is not excluded from this common wealth merely because one is not physically descended from Israel, to which descendants it was first offered.  No, “Israel” includes many who are not descended from Israel.  The sons of Israel are those about whom God has sworn, by His own mouth, that all men will be saved.  This means, of course, that all men will–sooner or later–apply the blood of Christ Jesus the sacrifice to the altar of their hearts.  God will win them over to take this action of their own free will.  So great is His mercy and love, and so effective are His judgments!

We refer to you the teachings of Dr. Stephen Jones, whose writings are of singular importance and definitive on this matter, an exemplar of which may be found at this page.  As a final note, one may ask why this law should be kept NOW, if in the end all men will end up following the law.  Frankly, we do not view it ultimately as a matter of choice, except such choice as Father puts on the heart (by calling to remembrance) of each person.  For those whom God uses this post to spur to action, we are glad.  For those who end up waiting, God will work His judgments effectively and with mercy to cause you to change your mind in His time.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who has given us the law of Moses as a pattern of things as they exist in Your holy habitation, and who has given all those who receive King Jesus the right to be called sons of God!  Praise You, Lord.

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More on Missing the Mark

Filed Under: God's Laws/Teachings, Love of God by admin — Comments Off on More on Missing the Mark
July 16, 2011

And you, being dead to your offenses and sins, in which once you walked, in accord with the eon of this world,… Ephesians 2:1 Concordant Version of the New Testament 

          One of our readers, Dave, has commented on Notes on Missing The Mark with several criticisms that we gratefully view as constructive.  His general observation is that hamartia is a noun (which we contend the apostle John meant as legal offenses against God’s law), and hamartano is a verb (which we contend John meant as missing the mark).  Therefore, since the noun and the verb derive from the same basic word, they should not be interpreted with such markedly divergent meanings.  We think it is fair to say that Dave’s chief objection to the post is the view that one may miss the mark without committing a legal offense against God’s law.  Here is Dave’s comment in his own words:

“Scripture does not divide sin between small failures and legal condemnations.  Even small things are deserving of unending death (Matthew 5:21-22) precisely because any sin at all is not just a failing (“missing the mark” in your nomenclature) but enmity towards God.  (Romans 5:10)”  (scripture references cited by Dave)

          We wish to clearly state at the outset that Dave’s opinion represents the mainstream; that is, it is the predominant view of most of the Church today.  Our view is NOT the mainstream; we trust God will change the Church’s collective mind when He is ready.  Because of this fact, we intend for this post to give an account for the faith we have, with gentleness and reverence, for it is based upon hearing God’s word, knowing God’s mind, and rightly dividing the word of truth. 

           Setting aside for the moment the manner of punishment, does God punish all wrongdoing the same?  The idea that He does is essentially a priori, meaning that it is not based upon experience  and observation, but instead is based upon thought.  It appears nowhere in nature or in any civilization (even where sharia law is practiced), and no one would seriously argue that any father should execute his child for disobediently sneaking a cookie.  In the same way, no one would seriously argue that the punishment for stealing a cookie should be the same as for stealing a car.  Indeed, no one in the Church can accuse Father of treating themselves or anyone else in such fashion.  Finally, such an idea does not appear in Scripture, as we shall see; rather, the witness of Scripture is that the punishment fits the crime.

          One cannot rightly divide the word of truth in the New Testament by disregarding the Old Testament, specifically God’s laws and His teachings.  Most, if not all, of the New Testament had underpinnings from the Old Testament.  Think about it:  when the Lord Jesus referred to “the Scriptures”,  to what was He referring?  (See, for example, Matthew 21:42, Matthew 22:29, Matthew 26:54, and Luke 4:21.)  The concepts of sin and punishment did not originate in the New Testament.  Instead, they were part of the careful, continuing and unfolding revelation from Father that was delivered by Moses to the Church in the wilderness which gave specific instructions to restore the lawful order depending upon each situation–that is, the Old Testament, in general and Torah, in particular.  These instructions have been abandoned today as hopelessly irrelevant with not even the slightest thought to what was in Father’s mind when He gave them to the people.

          In Leviticus 4:2-3, if a person sinned (chata, a Hebrew verb) unintentionally or in ignorance, a bull was to be offered to YHWH (chatta’ath, a Hebrew  noun), the blood sprinkled upon the altar, the blood applied to the horns of the altar, the fat and the kidneys offered up in smoke (just like the Sacred Gift of Greeting of which we wrote earlier), and the rest of the bull removed to a clean place outside the camp and burned.  See by comparison, Leviticus 6:1-7, where the guilty party not only takes an animal to the priest to be offered up, he must also “make restitution” and add one-fifth to the amount in controversy.  This is where the guilty party comes forward on his own; if he is caught before he repents, he is to pay double according to Exodus 22:3-4.  If he has no means to make restitution, he is sold into bondage to pay the debt, for all sin is a debt.  For other crimes against Father and man, the matters were presented to the local leaders, who were to judge all men fairly without partiality and bribes, regard to wealth, and status as a citizen or alien.  Exodus 23:1-9 

          Where the misdemeanor warranted it, a man was to be beaten on the spot, but with the important limitation that the strokes could not exceed forty, “so that…your brother is not degraded in your eyes.”    Deuteronomy 25:1-3  When a culprit refused to submit to the judge’s decision, or in the case of a felony, the culprit was stoned and submitted to Father for correction.  See, for example, Deuteronomy 17:12 and Deuteronomy 19:11-13.  Much more could be said about the restorative and corrective nature of God’s laws and instructions.  However, the point is, not all wrongdoing is to be punished the same by Father, unless Father is guilty of instructing us to do one thing while He does another.  This is a grievous charge, and we insist that Father is innocent of it.  Romans 3:4

          Dear reader, note the verse with which we began this post:  do you think Paul, the author, was being intentionally redundant by saying “offenses and sins” or was he trying to describe two different things?  Take a look at this page and ask yourself if all the different Hebrew and Greek words for which “sin” is given as a gloss definition really mean the same thing.  (Hint:  click on the tab next to “Primary Results” that says “LexiConc.”)  You do not need to be the proud owner of The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon to see that different meanings are intended both in substance and in effect.  Open your heart to the teaching and leading of the Lord Spirit–He will lead you into the truth of it as you dig deeper.  Frankly, most of the time such fine tools will confirm His leading.  Can you see that to ascribe the punishment of “unending death” to every offense and every missing of the mark is “degrading your brother in your eyes”? Understand the reason for the rule and you will see that it doesn’t matter who administers the punishment, whether God or man.  Father wants us to judge with mercy, not degradation.

          Back to hamartia and hamartano:  we contend that you can miss the mark without committing a legal offense against God’s law, but you cannot commit a legal offense without missing the mark, also.  We also contend the apostle John wrote from a Hebrew background and understanding of Torah and the sacrifice system.  He understood that His Lord (and yours) had fulfilled the laws of that system, because He said that He had come to accomplish that very thing–not to abolish those laws.

          Approximately 250 years before the common era, also called the Christian era (“B.C.E.”) that commenced with the birth of Messiah Jesus, a translation of various books now comprising the Old Testament into Greek from the original Hebrew was undertaken in Egypt.  It is called the “Septuagint”.  Although not entirely without controversy, it does provide a basis for comparison of Greek and Hebrew words that cannot be claimed to have a pro-Christian bias, since it was accomplished about two centuries before Christ was born.  Using this tool, anyone who cares to dig deeply enough can see how the translators used hamartia and hamartano.  That is, by finding the places where the translators used those two Greek words, we can see if they agreed with Dave’s position.  In other words, did the translators ever use hamartano (the verb) in more than one way?  The answer is:  yes, they did.

          Without exception, the translators used hamartia (legal offenses) in place of the Hebrew noun chatta’ath in every instance the latter word appears in the Old Testament.  This remarkable consistency is even more noteworthy when we understand that chatta’ath itself means not only the sin, (that is, the offense), but also is used to mean the sin offering, or that which was offered to God to expiate the offense.  This bears witness to the wonderful truth that Christ became sin (chatta’ath) in order to become the sin offering (chatta’ath) for us and in our place!

          Now for the verb (chata) from which the noun (chatta’ath) derives:  In approximately 93 different verses where the original Hebrew word is chata, the translators used a word other than hamartano;  and in approximately 56 different verses, hamartano was used where the original Hebrew word was NOT chata!    All of these examples are too numerous to list here.  The point is, the ancient translators felt that hamartano had a broader range of meanings than simply the one word we now call “sin”.  Therefore, we are justified in assigning a broader meaning to the verb hamartano to allow for a range of the degree of severity.  Furthermore, we may loosely refer to this assignment of meaning as a “translation” without intending the technical usage of scholarly translation, although scholarship vindicates the meaning we have assigned.

          We are sincerely grateful to Dave, because he required us to dig in and prove that which we have believed.  No part of the body of Christ is less important than any other part, and when one part hurts, the whole body hurts.  In the same way, no man hates his own body, or says to one part “I have no need of you”, but instead nourishes and cherishes it–all  of it.  For the word of the Lord is:  He will be all in all.  Praise you, Lord!

Blessed are You, O Lord, our wonderful and giving God, who knew no sin or offenses, and who was offered up for all of our failures!  All men will rise up and call you righteous, wise and blessed!  Thank you for always leaving us a witness, lover of our souls.  Baruch ata.

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