The Language of God.

 

Many years ago, I was reading through the Psalms and came upon the verses below. The part I have underlined bothered me. It said God’s people would never be left to the power of evil people and be condemned. I knew this wasn’t true. There are history books and the Bible itself that tell us how Jews and Christians have been persecuted, condemned and killed all through time.

Psalm 37:32-34

Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

and seek to slay them,

the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned under judgment.

Wait for the LORD and keep His way,

and He will raise you up to inherit the land.

When the wicked are cut off,

you will see it.

 

I told God my misgivings and it came into my mind that this promise was made for the far future, when the judgement of God comes upon the world. At that time, we will not be condemned and not only that God will raise us up from our graves or from the earth to inherit our own land.

 

I thought about all the promises I’d read in the Bible and it all became clear to me why Jesus said things like, “Whatever you ask for in my name, you shall receive it.” Because I knew that didn’t happen in a literal sense. If it did, we would all be millionaires.

 

God and Jesus speak in a Spiritual sense. They speak to us about the deep things of life through poetry and the use of similes, metaphors, personification and hyperbole. Jesus’ disciples had a very hard time understanding what Jesus was trying to convey. This is just one example from the Bible:

 

“When the disciples reached the other side of the lake, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.   Matthew 16:5-12

 

The rulers of the church of that time didn’t understand a lot of what Jesus was teaching, but they did know that their influence of the people was waning while Jesus’ influence was gaining and they hated him for that.

 

I have noticed that whenever a person asked Jesus what he meant, he always answered and explained. He did this for the disciples and this has been true for me when I have had questions about spiritual things. The Lord always brings the answer to my mind. I know it is him because it is usually something I wouldn’t have thought of. My sister says the same thing. She brings a problem to God and says, “You could do A. B. or C.” She told me he almost always does D. Something that surprises her. We laugh a lot about how God answers our prayers.

 

The Book of Revelation uses personification throughout. Symbols, imagery and poetry abound. Even though the title of the book means, “to reveal,” scholars disagree on what the book means. There are probably hundreds of interpretations and I won’t go into that. However, there is one part of Revelation most people have heard of and that is the number 666.

“And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people. Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.”

The Mark of the Beast

“And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

“Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.” Revelation 13:11-18

I believe all scholars agree that the number 7 in the Bible signifies perfection. God gave us 7 days, the Sabbath was made for us to worship God on the 7^th day. In the book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus the number 7 was referred to over and over.

“Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.” Leviticus 8:10,11

Jesus referred to the number 7 when talking about forgiveness: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!”

In saying this, Jesus was telling us to always forgive. He told us that if someone sinned against us 7 times in one day and asked for forgiveness, we must forgive them.

666

So, most have concluded that the number 7 symbolizes spiritual perfection. In the case of the number 666, it is close to perfection, but it is off by one number three times. In my opinion, this means it is an entity which is close to spiritual perfection but is not. It looks spiritually perfect, but it is not. The Bible text tells us it deceives the people of the world and will try to force people to worship it or they will be killed. This entity will not allow people to buy or sell unless they worship the way they want. Most scholars see this as the time near the end of this world.

“And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”  Revelation 14:9-11 (There is no spiritual rest for these people at the end. They have accepted a lie because they liked the spirit of that lie.)

 

When I started writing, I had no plans to write about 666 or the end of the world. But sometimes this is the way it goes, and it seems God wants me to write about it.

 

One last thing. There are about 500 verses in the Bible that describe death as a sleep or being in the grave. Jesus himself said death was a sleep. There is no hell to go down to. There is no eternal punishment. God says, “All the wicked I will destroy.” Period. Destroy does not mean keeping people alive in a place to torture.

 

There are a few verses that people believe says there is a hell like the one I described. They are wrong. Personally, I could never worship a God who could invent such a thing. The verse above which says, “…the smoke of their torment arises forever,” is symbolic. The smoke lasts forever, which symbolizes their sin, and the result of their sin will never, ever be forgotten so that no one in the universe will desire to sin again. We will remember what rebellion against the Lord of the Universe brings: heartache, destruction, pain, vile evil and death.

Evil Begins with One Thought.

 

I was watching a British show about Sherlock Holmes the other day and noticed that in the story a whole family was destroyed by one person with one evil thought that turned into an obsession.

The story was about three sisters who lived together. One of them got married and one of them wanted her husband. It ended in murder of one sister and the other two sisters estranged.

That day, I also listened to a podcast called, Joyce Meyer’s Talk it Out. Three of Joyce’s friends talk about a subject that affects their lives. It’s a lovely podcast.

They talked about “thoughts” and how when they were first Christians, they didn’t understand that thoughts are not always our own, but many can come from God or Satan. I had felt the same when I was first a Christian. I would have evil thoughts and was horrified by them. I wondered if I was really a Christian. But eventually I came to see that the thoughts were temptations from Satan.

I do know the Bible supports this theory. I will share some Bible verses with you.

How Satan speaks to us:

The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.  John 13:2

 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.

The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

But Jesus answered, “It is written:

Man shall not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Matthew 4:1-4

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.   Ephesians 6:10-17

How God speaks to us:

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.   Isaiah 30:21

 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”  Matthew 16:23

… some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”

But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” 

Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”  And the man got up and went home.   Matthew 9:3-7

Jesus said, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. “  Matthew 6:1

How we speak to ourselves:

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires, he is lured away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  James 1:13-15

Like the woman in the Sherlock Holmes story, she had a desire. She desired her sister’s husband.

The remedy to these temptations is easy: quote the Bible, as Jesus did, say to God and yourself, “I will not think about this anymore”, and pray for God to help you to throw that thought into the sea.

The quotes I use the most are: “You are a shield around me, my glory and the lifter of my head.”  “May everything that breathes, praise the Lord.” “The Lord is a strong tower I run to and am safe.” “The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.”

Evil thoughts don’t hang around when the Lord is praised.

Why Read the Bible?

Photo by: Ken Horn:   https://www.flickr.com/photos/hornkl/3024796815

“In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and was God.” Genesis 1:1

Two definitions for “word:”

“The expressed or manifested mind and will of God.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary

“A speech sound, or series of speech sounds, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning...” Merriam-Webster Dictionary

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” Psalm 33:6

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.  Hebrews 11:3

“For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”  Psalm 33:9

This is what makes God be God. No one else in heaven or earth can speak a word and create something.

“Remember what happened long ago,

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like Me.

I declare the end from the beginning,

and ancient times from what is still to come.”   Isaiah 46:9,10

 

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.   Hebrews 4:12

God’s word is alive and active: His words in the Bible are alive because as we read them the Holy Spirit takes the words and imbues them with energy or life itself. Then puts these words in our minds. He makes the words meaningful and relevant to our lives. We can sometimes think, “This is beautiful. This is interesting. This is something I always want to remember.” Later on, God will remind us of these words which will help us in our lives.

This was how John saw Jesus in a vision, “He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.”

God's Word judges our thoughts and attitudes.

This is a marvelous work of the Word of God. When we read the Bible, we can become convicted of what we are doing wrong. But not only doing, what we are thinking! If the Bible says we are to love our enemies and we know we don’t, then the words of God convict us we are in the wrong.

Our attitudes can be destructive. If we have an attitude of pride for ourselves and contempt for others, we don’t even have to say a word, that attitude can be seen through our body language. We can sneer, roll our eyes, turn and walk away etc. There are so many ways our attitudes can hurt people and God doesn’t miss a trick.

 Our Words have power too:

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Matthew 12:34

Solomon wrote, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”   Proverbs 18:21

This has been shown to be true in this world of sorrow. People lie on the witness stand, they bully people online, they gossip or spread lies either online or to other people.

These kinds of words have caused people to die for a crime they didn’t commit. They have caused people to commit suicide. They have caused people to become depressed, angry, and vengeful.

Jesus said to the religious rulers of his day, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure. (God’s words are like a treasure you store in your mind.) But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”   Matthew 12:33-37

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers says:

(36) Every idle word that men shall speak.—The teaching, though general in form, still looks back to the hard, bitter words of the Pharisees which had been the starting-point of the discourse. Our Lord does not speak, as we might have expected, of “every evil word,” but of “every idle—i.e., useless and purposeless—word,” the random utterances which, as being more spontaneous, betray character more than deliberate speech. Such an “idle word” had been the passing taunt, “He casts out devils by Beelzebub.” It is not said, however, that for every such random speech a man shall be condemned, but that he shall give an account for it. It will enter into that great total which determines the divine estimate of his character, and, therefore, the issues of the great “day of judgment.”

On the other hand, our words can help heal a person who is going through a difficult time. We can bring happiness, gratitude, love and all the good things to others with our words.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.  Psalm 19:4

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.  Proverbs 15:1

The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.   Ecclesiastes 10:12

A person finds joy in giving an apt reply-- and how good is a timely word!   Proverbs 15:23

Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances.   Proverbs 25:11

God’s words are always life. He himself embodies life and love. We can trust his words.

‘Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”   Psalm 119:105

Faith to Forgive.

Sycamore Tree in Israel.

One of my problems in reading the Bible is that I take many things Jesus said as being literal. The disciples had this problem too. When Jesus said to sell your cloak and buy a sword, it sounded like advice to have a sword in case people persecuted you. But this flies in the face of the other things Jesus said about turning the cheek and loving your enemies.

Most commentators of the Bible say Jesus was not being literal. And I believe they are right since when Peter cut off the ear of one of the men who came to arrest Jesus, Jesus healed the man and told Peter not to use the sword.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary:

 “At the time the apostles understood Christ to mean real weapons, but he spoke only of the weapons of the spiritual warfare. The sword of the Spirit is the sword with which the disciples of Christ must furnish themselves.” 

 Whenever I would read what Jesus said about moving a mountain into the sea if we had enough faith, I would wonder what he really meant. Then I read someone say the mountain represented difficulties in our lives. They said in the Old Testament, mountains represented difficulties, and that made sense.

Today, I was reading Luke 17 and Jesus spoke about the Sycamore or Mulberry tree. He said, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea and it would obey you.’”

He said this in answer to his disciples who had asked him, “Increase our faith.” And they asked him to do this after he had spoken about forgiveness, the kind of forgiveness they thought impossible for them.

“Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins against you, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn to you, you shall forgive him.”

So, uprooting a sycamore tree is impossible for anyone to do; therefore, if you think it is impossible for you to forgive over and over, you are wrong. Faith in God will make it possible for you.

This is what I read in some commentaries this morning:

Pulpit Commentary

“The Lord signifies that a very slight real faith, which he compares to the mustard seed, that smallest of grains, would be of power sufficient to accomplish what seemed to them impossible. In other words, he says, “If you have any real faith at all, you will be able to win the victory over yourselves necessary for a perpetual loving judgement of others.”

Barne’s Notes on the Bible

“This sycamore is a remarkable tree. It not only bears several crops of figs during the year but these figs grow on short stems along the trunk and large branches, and not at the end of twigs, as in other fruit-bearing trees. The figs are small and of a greenish-yellow color.

It is easily propagated, merely by planting a stout branch in the ground and watering it until it has struck its roots into the soil. This it does with great rapidity and to a vast depth. It was with reference to this latter fact that our Lord selected it to illustrate the power of faith.”

Thinking of all this reminds me of the fires of hell preachers talk about. I believe the fire is symbolic of something else. What would be the point of God burning people who are lost? Punishement? Punishment is supposed to be restorative. Actual, physical burning? I don’t think so. Being burned is very painful, and I think when the wicked realize they are lost, it is like a burning in their soul. A terrible pain in their heart at seeing what they have given up because they loved darkness rather than light.

Don’t Follow the Crowd to See Jesus on Earth.

When I am on Christian social media, I have noticed many believe Jesus will come to earth and appear in his temple or perhaps somewhere else. I have read some say Jesus will walk upon the earth again for the thousand years mentioned in Revelation.

I feel inside me Jesus saying, “Warn them, warn them.” I could be wrong, but these are the thoughts I had this morning. Jesus warned us there would be false Messiahs and false prophets.

“…Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light.”  2 Corinthians 11:14  

“It (the beast) performs great signs to cause even fire to come down to earth in the presence of men.” Revelation 13:13

Like Israel misunderstood Jesus’ first coming, many Christians misunderstand Jesus’ second coming. The disciples thought the Messiah would come to fight their enemies and make Jerusalem powerful. They were taught that and they believed it.

Even when Jesus returned to heaven, the disciples were expecting to be rescued from Rome.

Acts 1:6

Then they gathered around Jesus and asked him, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He told them it is not for them to know times and dates the Father has set up.”

The teachers back then read the verses that apply to the new heaven and new earth, where righteousness dwells. They thought the Messiah would bring that to pass. God will indeed rule earth and the universe. But that will be after the holy city comes down from heaven and lands on earth, as it says in Revelation. That will be the great judgement day when the wicked are raised and punished for what they have done. The Bible says what they have done to others will be done to them. Then they will all die the second death. They will hurt others no longer.

Jesus’ followers asked him about his second coming. This is found in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. I haven’t put every verse here. We all need to read and understand these chapters for ourselves.

Luke 21

Jesus said:

25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Matthew 24

²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^[b]

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth^[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.^[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Revelation 1:7

“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him…”

Acts 1:11

“Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand looking into heaven. This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Mark 14:62 at his trial

“…and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Years ago, I had a dream. I looked out my dining room window and saw it was a desert land outside. Then thousands of people were walking past my house. I went outside to see what was happening. I looked toward where the people were walking. There was a large, beautiful, white building with pillars. There were women in front of the building dressed in white. I decided not to follow the people.I looked out my window again and all the people were gone. I went out the door and saw the building swallowed up by the sand. It was gone and so were the people.

From Robbing Banks into God's Arms.

Photo by:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:AgnosticPreachersKid

One of my followers has asked me to write about my family and how God worked in their lives. For many in my family, it has been a slow growth from child to adult, always believing in God. However, there is one family member who met God while he was in prison.

He doesn’t want me to share his name so I’ll call him Stephen. Stephen was raised in a home of physical abuse and neglect. His father beat him and his siblings, later his step-father did the same. Both fathers were alcoholics. They also beat Stephen’s mother.

Stephen started getting into trouble with the law and went to prison for the first time for robbing a postal office. He got a year hard labor for that. He never went back home to live. He moved from city to city, getting arrested and sentenced for assault. He was in lots of fights. He sold drugs.

When he was 24, he lived in a large city. He met a man who came from a small prairie town. This man knew when the town bank received it’s money. The nearest police were many miles away. It looked like a sure thing to rob this bank and get away. Stephen said he was in.

Another man joined them. They bought rifles and duffel bags for the money. They drove to the town. They got out of the car with the rifles and went through the first door. But Stephen said, “Something’s wrong.”  He said later, he just felt something strange. He told his friends to follow him and leave. As they walked back through the front door they were surrounded by police and arrested. It turned out the third man had ratted on them to get a lesser sentence on a previous crime. The police had been waiting for them.

At the trial, Stephen expected to get 8 years. He was surprised to get only 2 years. Apparently, if they had walked through the second door, their sentence would have been much harsher. 

Stephen was used to going to jail, but he hated it there. You had to be tough and fearless and make the other inmates afraid of you. He did that in every jail. He was an expert fighter and would have killed someone if he had to.

The warden of this large prison was a Christian. There was a punishment room called, “The Hole,” that you were sent to if you caused trouble. Stephen was sent there for fighting in the cafeteria. The warden had a Bible put in each of these cells. That is all that was in the room besides a cot and toilet.

Stephen started reading the Bible and finished reading it the month of his detention. One night, while he was sleeping, he heard God call out his name, “Stephen, Stephen.”

The next day, he was back in population, but had been sent to a part of the prison that had a lot of Christians in it. A Christian said something to him and Stephen came towards him to hit him. He heard the same voice say to him, “Stephen, if you hit him, I will come down on you like a ton of bricks.”  (This is what Stephen would say to people.) Stephen stopped walking towards the man. He was stunned. He turned around and went to his cell and cried, “like a baby,” he said. He was amazed God would speak with him. He gave himself to God that moment.

So, that is the story of a man in our family. He got out of that prison and 40 years later is still a Christian. He had strong faith in God right away. He brought other inmates to Christ. Three of them were baptized when they got out.

Turn to me and be saved,

all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.   Isaiah 45:22

"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD,

"Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.

I, the LORD, have spoken!"      Isaiah 1:18-20