The earth is becoming sick of being pregnant and is nearing evermore to her time of travail. She's at the point where she is starting to groan and complain about the pregnancy, the last days. There's still some time left yet, but it's not too long. It won't be long before it's the very last days where each day drags out in which she begs for travail to bring forth, just to escape being pregnant any longer.
Her frame aches from all the heavy movement and weight, as her inside is also tapped largely for resources to keep her children living, developing, and growing. She is nearing the point where she is ready to be shaken with the violent force of contractions within that will open the surface to bring forth.
She will burn with heat as a result of such powerful labor. She'll eventually open and push forth the new creation.
Will she love the still-living children from her last birth after this one? Will she love these children? Will she become bloodthirsty and murder her children as Kali Ma in the pagan Hinduism? Will the world become dark and cold...and dead? Or will she be past the pregnancy hormonal outbursts and return to a peaceful, loving, and nourishing mother? Will the world vibrate with a new light and warmth...life?
Just as God is the Father of creation, the earth is depicted as the mother he chose to bring forth many living creatures, humankind included. But the scriptures speak of a different kind of birth in the future:
Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? says the ETERNAL ONE: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? says your God (Isaiah 66:8-9).
The Lord spoke about being "born again." We are first begotten/conceived with the Spirit/Sperm/Seed of God, and at the last trumpet at Christ's return, we will be born as new spirit beings, just as Salvation (Jesus/Yeshua) the Firstborn of God is, and help him reign during the new age--the Kingdom of God age, the next world.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (I Cor. 15:50-53).
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt. 24:31).
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever (Rev. 11:15).
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (I John 3:2).
The nation of Israel will live up to its name in that day. And God will open the earth to "bring forth" his new spirit-bodied children. People will come up from their graves and their physical bodies will be replaced in a flash with spiritual bodies when Christ returns with their spirit minds that were returned to God upon death (see Ecc. 12:7).
Under the reign of God's firstfruits--his Firstborn and those called in the Church age--the earth will eventually transform into paradise condition, as the original Paradise of Eden was. There will be no wilderness with evil beasts and poisonous plants and thorns and thistles. Evil acts will not be tolerated. The earth will be a peaceful, loving, and nourishing mother.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the ETERNAL ONE (Isaiah 65:25).
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. (Isa. 11:6).
The waters and trees in the holy land:
Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine (Ezekiel 47:7-12).
At the end of that time period, this earth will be destroyed, there will be a new heaven and earth, and God the Father will come down with the new Jerusalem. The truth of this can be read in Revelation chapters 21 and 22.
Before the JOY of the saints' receiving their new bodies and eternal life in God's family and the JOY they will bring to this earth and its inhabitants, there will be SORROW. This world is full of sorrows, and the greatest sorrows are yet to come. It can be likened to a woman's labor and birth. First comes the sorrow, but then comes the joy! The latter makes the former worth the trouble.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. (John 16:20-22).
And so may we the saints ENDURE the sorrow and hardships in this world and especially those suffered for the saints living during the last three and half years of this age, so that we can receive the overwhelming JOY of a new birth--our individual spiritual births and the birth of the perfect nation of Israel.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:13).
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
"Forever" in the Old Testament: Does it Always Mean Eternal?
There is a growing number of people in Christendom coming to see the truth that the religion of Christianity started by Rome is a mixing of the truth with pagan/heathen doctrines. Many are coming to understand many truths, such as the true Sabbath being the seventh day of the week--not the first, and that God's seven annual feasts and seven holy days are the ones found in Leviticus 23 and do not include the pagan Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and other wicked days in disguise that are listed on the Roman calendar.
However, a large number of these people, rather than carefully PROVE ALL THINGS, put themselves under the old carnal covenant. Many of them are in effect rejecting, at least in part, the new better spiritual covenant. They are still blind, having a veil over their eyes. They do not understand the teachings of Salvation (Jesus/Yeshua) our Savior, the Firstborn of God, the Word. They do not understand the teachings of Paul. Some of them go on to reject Paul, which is dangerous, because truly to reject Paul, one must also reject Salvation, for Salvation's teachings and Paul's are one and the same. Yea, I recently found that one friend of mine no longer believes Salvation was the Messiah/Christ/Savior. But, as the scripture in both the old covenant times and new covenant times teach, you don't really know the Father if you do not know the Son. You can't have one without the other, because they are one, just as Salvation and Paul are one. And all that are Spirit-begotten and are walking in the Spirit, growing in grace and knowledge, recognizing Christ as their head and Father as Christ's head, should all be at one.
I'm about to explain one of the things that seem to so confuse those who have decided to throw away their love of the new covenant and what our Savior did, and so rather than keep the law (including the holy days) under new covenant law, they believe they are to keep the old covenant, which is INSANE, because it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep it perfectly. There are many things that are impossible to do. There is no temple, no Levitical priesthood, etc. These people MISS THE BOAT! They teach penile flesh circumcision is still a must. They teach wearing tassels is a must. Oddly enough, though, though they condemn themselves with their own WORDS that they must keep ALL OF THE LAW OF MOSES IN LETTER, I don't know any of them that wear scriptures on their hands and foreheads. Oh, there are Jews who still wear phylacteries on their foreheads. Looks absolutely ridiculous! Just do a Google image search. Does that honestly help them keep the law? Certainly not the way God expects one to. ONLY having the begettal of the God Spirit helps keep the law in spirit as God intends. The person always is WANTING to do what is right and is so properly led to do righteousness. My almost-eight-year-old son is just a child, and even he understands. He says, "Momma, it's hard to not do the wrong thing." And I did a video interview with him regarding penile circumcision, and he revealed how absolutely carnal and ridiculous the people with carnal covenant mindset are. He understands one must be changed IN THE HEART. Carnal people are concerned with OUTER SHOW.
FOREVER! The carnal covenant people are stuck on this word "forever" in the old covenant scriptures. Some of them seem to even think it means "eternal." Well, I'm sure we'd all agree that we should NEVER commit adultery. We should ALWAYS/FOREVER keep our marital vows. Right? But, what does NEVER, ALWAYS, and FOREVER mean? Man marries. God does not. When we are no longer in the family of man but are in the family of God, there will be no marriages. No need for such a law for eternity, is there? Even in the family of man, FOREVER does not literally mean FOREVER, does it? What if the covenant is broken by death? Is not the person freed from the covenant to his or her spouse?
If I told my young children to ALWAYS hold my hands or hold each other's hands before walking across the road or parking lot, to NEVER not hold my hand, what does that mean? Are they expected to be attached to me literally ALWAYS/FOREVER until I die? When they become adults, does that rule still apply, even though I said ALWAYS/FOREVER? Of course not! People who actually REASON in their heads know this is not the case.
I'm now to going to quote what I said in another recent blog post that discusses the "forever" issue:
AND
Do you now understand that "forever" doesn't mean "eternal" like some will have you believe? Yesterday, a friend of mine posted something on FB about Passover being a commemoration of the exodus of the [physical] Israelites from the Egypt. I commented and said that the old covenant Passover was a commemoration of that event, but the new covenant Passover is a commemoration of our Savior's death, and it has new symbols. HE is our Passover Lamb, and we now partake of unleavened bread and wine as the symbols to symbolize his body and blood. We don't eat his physical body. Those things SYMBOLIZE partaking of his divine nature. In the carnal covenant, people ate a carnal (fleshly) animal--a lamb without physical blemish, but the new covenant Passover is all about remembering the spiritually unblemished Lamb of God who rescued us from SIN. Being released from the bondage of Egypt was a TYPE of being released from the bondage of sin. Another person commented on the post and said that the Passover was commanded to be an "eternal ordinance." I simply replied and said the scriptures taught no such thing. And they don't. Once the plan of salvation, as pictured by the seven feasts and holy days, is complete, there will be no need for the Passover. There won't even be the sun and moon for our times and seasons. There will be no such thing as a solar year, so definitely no Passover in its season. No need for that. The former things will be passed away, our sadness forgotten. And as for THIS TIME, while the Passover DOES still stand, the old covenant one has been REPLACED by the new covenant one.
Of which Passover will you partake? Will you be having a meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and herbs and be spending your time thinking of the physical nation of Israel being led out of Egypt, or will you eat your meal of whatever before you partake of the new covenant Passover, which is not a meal but the partaking of unleavened bread and wine while meditating on Christ's death and how we need to partake of his Godly spiritual nature? Old covenant law or new covenant law? If you do the former, you break the latter. You decide. The old covenant is DEAD, just as a husband of a wife can die. I'm betrothed to Christ. Which covenant have you entered?
However, a large number of these people, rather than carefully PROVE ALL THINGS, put themselves under the old carnal covenant. Many of them are in effect rejecting, at least in part, the new better spiritual covenant. They are still blind, having a veil over their eyes. They do not understand the teachings of Salvation (Jesus/Yeshua) our Savior, the Firstborn of God, the Word. They do not understand the teachings of Paul. Some of them go on to reject Paul, which is dangerous, because truly to reject Paul, one must also reject Salvation, for Salvation's teachings and Paul's are one and the same. Yea, I recently found that one friend of mine no longer believes Salvation was the Messiah/Christ/Savior. But, as the scripture in both the old covenant times and new covenant times teach, you don't really know the Father if you do not know the Son. You can't have one without the other, because they are one, just as Salvation and Paul are one. And all that are Spirit-begotten and are walking in the Spirit, growing in grace and knowledge, recognizing Christ as their head and Father as Christ's head, should all be at one.
I'm about to explain one of the things that seem to so confuse those who have decided to throw away their love of the new covenant and what our Savior did, and so rather than keep the law (including the holy days) under new covenant law, they believe they are to keep the old covenant, which is INSANE, because it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep it perfectly. There are many things that are impossible to do. There is no temple, no Levitical priesthood, etc. These people MISS THE BOAT! They teach penile flesh circumcision is still a must. They teach wearing tassels is a must. Oddly enough, though, though they condemn themselves with their own WORDS that they must keep ALL OF THE LAW OF MOSES IN LETTER, I don't know any of them that wear scriptures on their hands and foreheads. Oh, there are Jews who still wear phylacteries on their foreheads. Looks absolutely ridiculous! Just do a Google image search. Does that honestly help them keep the law? Certainly not the way God expects one to. ONLY having the begettal of the God Spirit helps keep the law in spirit as God intends. The person always is WANTING to do what is right and is so properly led to do righteousness. My almost-eight-year-old son is just a child, and even he understands. He says, "Momma, it's hard to not do the wrong thing." And I did a video interview with him regarding penile circumcision, and he revealed how absolutely carnal and ridiculous the people with carnal covenant mindset are. He understands one must be changed IN THE HEART. Carnal people are concerned with OUTER SHOW.
FOREVER! The carnal covenant people are stuck on this word "forever" in the old covenant scriptures. Some of them seem to even think it means "eternal." Well, I'm sure we'd all agree that we should NEVER commit adultery. We should ALWAYS/FOREVER keep our marital vows. Right? But, what does NEVER, ALWAYS, and FOREVER mean? Man marries. God does not. When we are no longer in the family of man but are in the family of God, there will be no marriages. No need for such a law for eternity, is there? Even in the family of man, FOREVER does not literally mean FOREVER, does it? What if the covenant is broken by death? Is not the person freed from the covenant to his or her spouse?
If I told my young children to ALWAYS hold my hands or hold each other's hands before walking across the road or parking lot, to NEVER not hold my hand, what does that mean? Are they expected to be attached to me literally ALWAYS/FOREVER until I die? When they become adults, does that rule still apply, even though I said ALWAYS/FOREVER? Of course not! People who actually REASON in their heads know this is not the case.
I'm now to going to quote what I said in another recent blog post that discusses the "forever" issue:
2. Under the old covenant, per the law of Moses, a person is commanded to choose a physically unblemished lamb, a male yearling, on the tenth day of the first month of the year and keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, take the blood and paint the doorposts of his home, roast the lamb whole (no boiling) and eat the flesh of the entire lamb along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Ex. 12:13). It was to be an ordinance throughout Israel's generations, forever, to remind them of God's saving power to deliver them from Egyptian bondage (vs. 14, 17). However, under the new covenant, Salvation the Anointed King is our spiritually unblemished (I Pet. 1:19) Passover lamb, and he commanded us to keep the NEW covenant Passover with unleavened bread and wine to symbolize his broken body and shed blood and that we are to keep it to remind us of his death, which is God's saving power to deliver us from bondage to sin (Luke 22:20; Matt. 26:28). Do you keep the old covenant Passover or the new covenant one?
Uh-oh! Those old-covenant teachers MUST reject Salvation's teaching, if they are going to reject Paul for adding or taking away from the law of Moses, because Salvation did it!!!!!!!!! THEIR MOUTHS NEED TO BE SHUT! They keep leading people astray. This goes back to the scriptures Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the Jews were so foolish that they could not see in the reading of the old covenant that the old ordinances were to come to an end. They were TEMPORARY! A daughter is to obey her father FOREVER! But, unless you are a complete fool, you know that the meaning of "forever" that I just used is not as long-lasting as some would like to make you believe that the "forevers" in the old covenant are. When a daughter is given in marriage, she then belongs to her husband and obeys him! IT NEEDS NOT TO BE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND!
AND
6. Under the old covenant, it was commanded that we hate certain enemies, for example the Ammonites and Moabites (modern-day Jordanians) were not to enter into God's congregation forever (Deut. 23:3). Oh, look! There are those words "for ever" again (even though it had just said ten generations, so we can use LOGIC and conclude that "for ever" in this verse meant that UNTIL the ten generations were up, the people were forever not to let those people in God's congregation). The Lord Salvation taught that we should love our enemies (Matt. 5:43-48) and be forgiving and merciful. We shouldn't judge anyone by what their ancestors did.
Do you now understand that "forever" doesn't mean "eternal" like some will have you believe? Yesterday, a friend of mine posted something on FB about Passover being a commemoration of the exodus of the [physical] Israelites from the Egypt. I commented and said that the old covenant Passover was a commemoration of that event, but the new covenant Passover is a commemoration of our Savior's death, and it has new symbols. HE is our Passover Lamb, and we now partake of unleavened bread and wine as the symbols to symbolize his body and blood. We don't eat his physical body. Those things SYMBOLIZE partaking of his divine nature. In the carnal covenant, people ate a carnal (fleshly) animal--a lamb without physical blemish, but the new covenant Passover is all about remembering the spiritually unblemished Lamb of God who rescued us from SIN. Being released from the bondage of Egypt was a TYPE of being released from the bondage of sin. Another person commented on the post and said that the Passover was commanded to be an "eternal ordinance." I simply replied and said the scriptures taught no such thing. And they don't. Once the plan of salvation, as pictured by the seven feasts and holy days, is complete, there will be no need for the Passover. There won't even be the sun and moon for our times and seasons. There will be no such thing as a solar year, so definitely no Passover in its season. No need for that. The former things will be passed away, our sadness forgotten. And as for THIS TIME, while the Passover DOES still stand, the old covenant one has been REPLACED by the new covenant one.
Of which Passover will you partake? Will you be having a meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and herbs and be spending your time thinking of the physical nation of Israel being led out of Egypt, or will you eat your meal of whatever before you partake of the new covenant Passover, which is not a meal but the partaking of unleavened bread and wine while meditating on Christ's death and how we need to partake of his Godly spiritual nature? Old covenant law or new covenant law? If you do the former, you break the latter. You decide. The old covenant is DEAD, just as a husband of a wife can die. I'm betrothed to Christ. Which covenant have you entered?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
New Covenant Does Not Abolish Law But Does Abolish Old Covenant
This is somewhat of a continuance of my last post. Friends, are we humble and wish to honestly grow in grace and knowledge?
Those who claim with their lips and the words of their mouth that they accept Salvation--Jesus Christ/Yeshua Messiah--but who then turn around and teach that all must still keep the entire old covenant law are in actions rejecting Salvation. Some openly reject Paul and all his writings, but since Paul was very much at one with Salvation, they also reject Salvation's teachings with their actions, though they don't dare do so with their words.
Friend, are YOU one being deceived by such teachers? Are YOU then turning around and teaching others they must do the same?
First, you must identify whether you truly are a Paul-rejector or not. Some openly reject Paul, but others know if they reject Paul's writings, the validity of all the scriptures then comes into question, so they accept Paul's teachings with their lips, but in their actions and their teachings to others, they in fact reject Paul. In rejecting Paul, people are truly rejecting Salvation, too, although they may not realize it. Now, read the following words of my sleeping brother Paul, and ask yourself whether you are allowing yourself to be blinded and whether you ACCEPT or REJECT Paul's words:
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart (2 Cor. 3:14-15).
Before I write more, I want to share the commentary on verse 14 by Albert Barnes, the 19th century Protestant theologian, as his commentary on this is very applicable (my bold and underlining for emphasis):
But their minds were blinded - The word used here (πωρόω pōroō) means rather to harden; to make hard like stone; and then to make dull or stupid. It is applied to the heart, in Mark 6:52; Mark 8:17; to persons, in Romans 11:7; and to the eyes, in Job 17:7. Paul refers here to the fact that the understandings of the Jews were stupid, dull, and insensible, so that they did not see clearly the design and end of their own institutions. He states simply the fact; he does not refer to the cause of it. The fact that the Jews were thus stupid and dull is often affirmed in the New Testament.
For until this day ... - The sense of this is, that even to the time when Paul wrote, it was a characteristic of the great mass of the Jewish people, that they did not understand the true sense of their own Scriptures. They did not understand its doctrines in regard to the Messiah. A veil seems to be thrown over the Old Testament when they read it, as there was over the face of Moses, so that the glory of their own Scriptures is concealed from their view, as the glory of the face of Moses was hidden.
Of the Old Testament - Greek, "of the old covenant." See this word "testament," or covenant, explained in the notes on 1 Corinthians 11:25. This, I believe, is the only instance in which the Scriptures of the Jews are called the "Old Testament," or covenant, in the Bible. It was, of course, not a name which they used, or would use; but it is now with Christians the common appellation. No doubt can be entertained but that Paul uses the terms in the same manner in which we now do, and refers to all the inspired writings of the Jews.
Which vail is done away in Christ - In the manifestation, or appearance of Jesus the Messiah, the veil is removed. The obscurity which rested on the prophecies and types of the former dispensation is withdrawn; and as the face of Moses could have been distinctly seen if the veil on his face had been removed, so it is in regard to the true meaning of the Old Testament by the coming of the Messiah. What was obscure is now made clear; and the prophecies are so completely fulfilled in him, that his coming has removed the covering, and shed a clear light over them all. Many of the prophecies, for example, until the Messiah actually appeared, appeared obscure, and almost contradictory. Those which spoke of him, for illustration, as man and as God; as suffering, and yet reigning; as dying, and yet as ever-living; as a mighty Prince, a conqueror, and a king, and yet as a man of sorrows; as humble, and yet glorious: all seemed difficult to be reconciled until they were seen to harmonize in Jesus of Nazareth. Then they were plain, and the veil was taken away. Christ is seen to answer all the previous descriptions of him in the Old Testament; and his coming casts a clear light on all which was before obscure.
Adam Clarke's commentary may be even better, and it's shorter and more to the point:
But their minds were blinded - By resting in the letter, shutting their eyes against the light that was granted to them, they contracted a hardness or stupidity of heart. And the veil that was on the face of Moses, which prevented the glory of his face from shining out, may be considered as emblematical of the veil of darkness and ignorance that is on their hearts, and which hinders the glory of the Gospel from shining in.
Until this day remaineth the same veil - They are still ignorant of the spiritual meaning and intention of their own law, called here παλαια διαθηκη, the old covenant. See the word explained in the preface to St. Matthew.
In the reading of the Old Testament - Here is an evident allusion to the conduct of the Jews in their synagogues: when they read the law they cover their whole head with a veil, which they term the טלית tallith, veil, from טלל talal, to cover; and this voluntary usage of theirs, the apostle tells us, is an emblem of the darkness of their hearts while they are employed even in sacred duties.
Which veil is done away in Christ - It is only by acknowledging Christ that the darkness is removed, and the end and spiritual meaning of the law discerned.
Aha! The false teachers out there who are into this "Messianic Judaism" religion and others who teach the new covenant is not really the new covenant but rather a "renewed" old covenant are BLIND like the Jews, not understanding the meaning of the old covenant scriptures. They do not want to accept the new covenant so that they can have the veil removed, because they are too concerned about LOOKING OUTWARDLY RIGHTEOUS TO MEN! (Note: I blow to pieces the false teaching of the "renewed covenant" by going to the actual Hebrew. Click here for my study article. It's the first point after the introduction.)
If a person would just READ the gospels and Hebrews and Paul's writings, I would think the confusion would go away, mostly, anyway, but I'm not sure what people are doing. I think they are too busy listening to their false teachers and desiring to look outwardly righteous, instead of actually READING and STUDYING the scriptures.
Let's look at some of the laws that CONDEMN the false teachers out there who teach we must go by ALL the law as given to Moses, the written law that was given as what we now call the old covenant. Remember first, the promise of the Savior was given to Abraham 430 years BEFORE the old covenant, so the old covenant could not annul the new covenant (see Gal. 3:15-29). Please get your bible, and CHECK the scripture references. PROVE what I'm saying, whether it's right or wrong:
1. Under the old covenant, the law states that gentiles must be circumcised (in the penis) in order to partake of the Passover (ref. Ex. 12:48). The new covenant Passover was instituted by Christ (ref. Luke 22:20; Mark 14:24; Matt. 26:28). Under the new covenant, gentiles who wanted to join God's covenant, circumcision is not required (ref. Acts 15:24; Rom. 2:28-29; I Cor. 7:19; Gal. 5:12-13, 15) and for those of Israel or Judah who enter the new covenant, at that time it would have been irrelevant to discuss circumcision, because such men were already circed in the penis from infancy. What our parents do to us during infancy has no bearing on what kind of person we end up being and whether we choose to serve God when we become adults. We are to examine ourselves before partaking of the new covenant Passover so that we do not partake of it unworthily. If the old covenant regulations still stand, then an uncircumcised male (regardless of blood heritage) would be partaking of it unworthily.
2. Under the old covenant, per the law of Moses, a person is commanded to choose a physically unblemished lamb, a male yearling, on the tenth day of the first month of the year and keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, take the blood and paint the doorposts of his home, roast the lamb whole (no boiling) and eat the flesh of the entire lamb along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Ex. 12:13). It was to be an ordinance throughout Israel's generations, forever, to remind them of God's saving power to deliver them from Egyptian bondage (vs. 14, 17). However, under the new covenant, Salvation the Anointed King is our spiritually unblemished (I Pet. 1:19) Passover lamb, and he commanded us to keep the NEW covenant Passover with unleavened bread and wine to symbolize his broken body and shed blood and that we are to keep it to remind us of his death, which is God's saving power to deliver us from bondage to sin (Luke 22:20; Matt. 26:28). Do you keep the old covenant Passover or the new covenant one?
Uh-oh! Those old-covenant teachers MUST reject Salvation's teaching, if they are going to reject Paul for adding or taking away from the law of Moses, because Salvation did it!!!!!!!!! THEIR MOUTHS NEED TO BE SHUT! They keep leading people astray. This goes back to the scriptures Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the Jews were so foolish that they could not see in the reading of the old covenant that the old ordinances were to come to an end. They were TEMPORARY! A daughter is to obey her father FOREVER! But, unless you are a complete fool, you know that the meaning of "forever" that I just used is not as long-lasting as some would like to make you believe that the "forevers" in the old covenant are. When a daughter is given in marriage, she then belongs to her husband and obeys him! IT NEEDS NOT TO BE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND!
3. Under the old covenant law of Moses, a person was commanded to pay damages for physical hurt done to another human being (Ex. 21:24-25; Lev. 24:20), but the Anointed One pointed out that we should have mercy for those who deserve it (Matt. 5:38-40).
4. Under the old covenant law of Moses, it was permissible for a man to write a bill of divorce to his wife, if she did not find favor in his eyes and that she could then be another man's wife (Deut. 24:1-2; Matt. 19:7). But, Salvation said that unless she was put away for fornication, one should not divorce, and if one does and marries another, it is adultery and causes the woman to commit adultery if she marries another (Matt. 19:9; 5:31-32). He said, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts allowed you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so (Matt. 19:8). DID YOU CATCH THAT? READ IT FROM YOUR BIBLE. MEDITATE ON IT. FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO! JUST LIKE FROM THE BEGINNING, A LOT OF THINGS DONE UNDER THE OLD COVENANT WAS NOT SO. IT WAS A CARNAL COVENANT MEANT TO BE A TEMPORARY SCHOOLTEACHER, BUT SO MANY STILL DON'T GET IT.
5. Under the old covenant law of Moses, vows were to be sworn unto Jehovah by His name (ref. Deut. 23:23). Salvation, however, when he came to preach the Kingdom of God (Matt. 11:13; Luke 16:16), taught that we should not swear by the name of God nor anyone or anything else, but let our yes be yes and our no be no (Matt. 5:33-35).
6. Under the old covenant, it was commanded that we hate certain enemies, for example the Ammonites and Moabites (modern-day Jordanians) were not to enter into God's congregation forever (Deut. 23:3). Oh, look! There are those words "for ever" again (even though it had just said ten generations, so we can use LOGIC and conclude that "for ever" in this verse meant that UNTIL the ten generations were up, the people were forever not to let those people in God's congregation). The Lord Salvation taught that we should love our enemies (Matt. 5:43-48) and be forgiving and merciful. We shouldn't judge anyone by what their ancestors did.
7. Under the old covenant, in order to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, you were commanded to take the fruit of good trees, the branches of palm trees, fruits of thick trees, and willows of the brook. (Wonder how I'd obey, when there are no palm trees here. Lev. 23:40) Under the new covenant, of course, a visit to Jerusalem is not required to keep the feasts of God, and the new covenant temple are the members of the Church, the Body of Christ. Jesus, our Lord Salvation, said that the Father sought those to worship him in SPIRIT and TRUTH, and so would not be worshiping in Jerusalem (John 4:21-24). This applies to everything else festival-related that was required under the old covenant to be done in Jerusalem. Are you reading the scriptures? Are you checking these things out for yourself? Are you either blindly agreeing with me or blowing off what I say so that you can continue on believing as you are setting your heart to do so, or are you putting away your laziness and checking these scriptures?
8. Under the old covenant, the priesthood was of the tribe of Levi (Deut. 18:1; 21:5; 31:9). Priests were to be chosen only from the Levites. In addition, such men were not to bear any physical blemishes, such as blindness, lameness, flat nose, hunch-backed, scarred or scabbed up, etc. (Lev. 21:18-23). Under the new covenant the priesthood is headed by Christ (who was of Judah), his being the high priest and all those during the Church age who are begotten with God's Spirit--the Holy Seed--make up the new covenant priesthood. Whereas the Levitical priests offered up physical sacrifices of grain, flesh, etc., we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices. Study the following scriptures: 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rom. 12:1; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 1:6; 5:10. Salvation (Jesus/Yeshua) was prophesied by Isaiah not to be a good-looking man that any person would naturally desire him for his looks (Isa. 53:2). It says no where that he had any deformities, but he was not handsome. It was to be deliberate. God desires sons who look at things as He does, judging the spiritual things and not the physical. Believe it or not, this was revealed here and there throughout the old covenant writings! It was repeated that one should circumcise his heart and that one should not judge outer appearance and that God didn't desire sacrifice but obedience and on and on.
If you read and study carefully, you'll notice the very few people you read about in old covenant times who possessed God's Spirit were not carnal. David did not even visit the priests for sin sacrifice after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah (Psa. 51:16-17). He spoke to Heavenly Father and said that he knew God did not desire burnt animal sacrifice, OTHERWISE HE'D GIVE IT, but he knew God wanted a broken spirit (over his sin) and a contrite heart. He and the priest also broke the law of Moses at another time when he was running away from Saul, by eating the shewbread (I Sam. 21:1-6; Matt. 12:1-7). Yet, David has been chosen to be the king heading the entire twelve tribes of Israel during the Kingdom of God age on this earth (Eze. 34:23-24). Of course, Salvation shall be the top King of all, and there will be ranks. Underneath David, but also over the twelve tribes of Israel, will be the original twelve apostles (not Judas Iscariot but Matthias, his replacement) over each tribe, and so on. David was truly a man after God's own heart, and he could see past the old covenant rituals. He understood that they were a schoolteacher for carnal men. He knew it was a man's covenant, a carnal covenant, to point out the fault of the way a man thinks and judges things, all based on OUTWARD SHOW in the FLESH. Then the new covenant shows God's heart, His view, the perfect way God thinks and judges things, all based on the INWARD HEART in the SPIRIT.
9. Under the old covenant, Israel was commanded not to eat an animal that died of itself. We who live with our modern advanced knowledge don't need an in-depth explanation of this. We know why it's not a good idea to do this. The animal may have died of a bad disease, which could then be passed on to you. Now, it was allowed, however, to be given to the gentiles who lived within Israel's borders (Deut. 14:21). Now, if you have a Godly heart, I would hope that you do not have BLINDERS on your eyes, that you cannot see a problem--a FAULT--with this. Now, as I explained in my recently published book God's Law of Love, The Perfect Law of Liberty: Jehovah's Ten Commandments Still Apply Today, for a very poor gentile neighbor, if he had nothing to eat and would otherwise be starving, eating the flesh from such an animal might be a better risk than not having anything to eat at all, but if you truly have the HEART OF A SON OF GOD, and you could afford to do so, then you would rather let the death of such an animal be a REMINDER to offer a GOOD and SAFE animal's flesh to your foreigner neighbor who is living in poverty. What true Christian person thinks with the mind of, "My cow just died, and who knows what caused it, but I'm going to give it to my black neighbor to eat. He's just a Blackie. He's not as clean as I am, all white and sanctified by God because of my white flesh. It may not be safe for me to eat, but ol' Blackie can eat it."
How SICK, if you actually think this way! Do you not READ through the law of Moses and see the GOOD principles, but do you not also see the FAULT, the SHORTCOMINGS of some of it??? Are you BLIND to it all, as Paul said of the Jews of his day? Are you so carnal? Some things were ALLOWED under the old covenant, because of the HARDNESS OF THEIR HEARTS, the CARNALITY of the people. But those who possessed Godly hearts lived more Godly than what the law of Moses allowed. They did not seek divorces over little things. They did not seek out multiple wives. They did not give animals that died of themselves to their foreigner neighbors. They did not feel the need to wear phylacteries on their foreheads (ironically enough, Jews still do this today, as seen here, but I've YET TO SEE those who insist on penile circumcision of their sons and wearing of tassels in their clothes wear phylacteries on their foreheads. INSANITY!!!!!! HYPOCRITES, HYPOCRITES, HYPOCRITES! CAN YOU SAY, "HYPOCRITES?!" Oh, yeah, of all those who hurl their condemnations at me because I live the new covenant and will not live their old covenant ways and teach others to do so (b/c they won't to make a boast in the flesh--Gal. 6:13), NOT ONE have I seen wear phylacteries on their foreheads and things attached to their hands!
Now, is it SIN to circumcise your sons or to wear tassels or any of these other things? NO, absolutely NOT! But, it is a sin to reject the new covenant by mandating that others keep the old covenant (the promise of Messiah was BEFORE the old covenant, do not forget). And they are certainly putting themselves under a CURSE, because CURSED is the person who enters the old covenant and who fails to do all the things commanded therein. Many of the things are IMPOSSIBLE to keep right now, for there is no temple in Jerusalem, and many could not visit three times a year, every year, even if there was. Just CRAZY, the things people believe and teach.
10. The last example I care to give time to give (ten is enough) is that under the old covenant women who gave birth to a child were to go through a cleansing period (Lev. 12:1-8). Now, it is true that a woman should rest and recover, and it is true that a woman should abstain from sex until she is finished bleeding and goes through her physical cleansing. Usually the bleeding lasts no longer than six weeks (or around the 40 days the law of Moses prescribed for cleansing for a male child). The law of Moses, though, prescribed EIGHTY days for a female child. In addition, during the entire time of this cleansing, a woman was not allowed to go to worship services or to touch ANY HALLOWED THING. Can you imagine that God, who wants to be worshiped in SPIRIT and in TRUTH, would mandate a woman under the new and better covenant not to touch her bible so that she can read the Word of God for six to twelve weeks? The HOLY Word of God. Do you believe a woman is to stay away from her congregation (if she has one) for six to twelve weeks? What about the sacrifice that she is to make at the temple afterward? You are not doing a good job of keeping the old covenant if you are not visiting the Jerusalem temple to make the commanded sacrifices! A bit of a dilemma, wouldn't you say?!
Of course, if you are reading this and have any sense at all, and especially if you have the heart of God, if you are truly a begotten son of God and know or are learning to know how to please God, you surely realize how UTTERLY RIDICULOUS some people can be, and they are DECEIVING many. False prophets abound!
The bottom line is this: The new covenant does not do away with doing good, keeping the law in the spirit, but it does do away with the old covenant! People loved God and their fellow man BEFORE the establishment of the old covenant. People kept the Ten Commandments BEFORE Moses delivered them at Sinai, BEFORE all those added old covenant things were enacted. People put God first, worshiped Him in Spirit and Truth without bowing to images, they did not worship him in vain or blaspheme His Holy Name, they kept the Sabbath holy, they honored their parents, they did not murder, they did not commit adultery, they did not steal, nor did they lie, nor did they covet. They kept the dietary and agricultural regulations that were given from the beginning. All that was done by righteous men BEFORE the old covenant, and it can surely be done now.
Those who claim with their lips and the words of their mouth that they accept Salvation--Jesus Christ/Yeshua Messiah--but who then turn around and teach that all must still keep the entire old covenant law are in actions rejecting Salvation. Some openly reject Paul and all his writings, but since Paul was very much at one with Salvation, they also reject Salvation's teachings with their actions, though they don't dare do so with their words.
Friend, are YOU one being deceived by such teachers? Are YOU then turning around and teaching others they must do the same?
THE NEW COVENANT CERTAINLY DOES NOT DO AWAY WITH THE LAW OF GOD, BUT THE NEW COVENANT DOES DO AWAY WITH THE OLD COVENANT!
First, you must identify whether you truly are a Paul-rejector or not. Some openly reject Paul, but others know if they reject Paul's writings, the validity of all the scriptures then comes into question, so they accept Paul's teachings with their lips, but in their actions and their teachings to others, they in fact reject Paul. In rejecting Paul, people are truly rejecting Salvation, too, although they may not realize it. Now, read the following words of my sleeping brother Paul, and ask yourself whether you are allowing yourself to be blinded and whether you ACCEPT or REJECT Paul's words:
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart (2 Cor. 3:14-15).
Before I write more, I want to share the commentary on verse 14 by Albert Barnes, the 19th century Protestant theologian, as his commentary on this is very applicable (my bold and underlining for emphasis):
But their minds were blinded - The word used here (πωρόω pōroō) means rather to harden; to make hard like stone; and then to make dull or stupid. It is applied to the heart, in Mark 6:52; Mark 8:17; to persons, in Romans 11:7; and to the eyes, in Job 17:7. Paul refers here to the fact that the understandings of the Jews were stupid, dull, and insensible, so that they did not see clearly the design and end of their own institutions. He states simply the fact; he does not refer to the cause of it. The fact that the Jews were thus stupid and dull is often affirmed in the New Testament.
For until this day ... - The sense of this is, that even to the time when Paul wrote, it was a characteristic of the great mass of the Jewish people, that they did not understand the true sense of their own Scriptures. They did not understand its doctrines in regard to the Messiah. A veil seems to be thrown over the Old Testament when they read it, as there was over the face of Moses, so that the glory of their own Scriptures is concealed from their view, as the glory of the face of Moses was hidden.
Of the Old Testament - Greek, "of the old covenant." See this word "testament," or covenant, explained in the notes on 1 Corinthians 11:25. This, I believe, is the only instance in which the Scriptures of the Jews are called the "Old Testament," or covenant, in the Bible. It was, of course, not a name which they used, or would use; but it is now with Christians the common appellation. No doubt can be entertained but that Paul uses the terms in the same manner in which we now do, and refers to all the inspired writings of the Jews.
Which vail is done away in Christ - In the manifestation, or appearance of Jesus the Messiah, the veil is removed. The obscurity which rested on the prophecies and types of the former dispensation is withdrawn; and as the face of Moses could have been distinctly seen if the veil on his face had been removed, so it is in regard to the true meaning of the Old Testament by the coming of the Messiah. What was obscure is now made clear; and the prophecies are so completely fulfilled in him, that his coming has removed the covering, and shed a clear light over them all. Many of the prophecies, for example, until the Messiah actually appeared, appeared obscure, and almost contradictory. Those which spoke of him, for illustration, as man and as God; as suffering, and yet reigning; as dying, and yet as ever-living; as a mighty Prince, a conqueror, and a king, and yet as a man of sorrows; as humble, and yet glorious: all seemed difficult to be reconciled until they were seen to harmonize in Jesus of Nazareth. Then they were plain, and the veil was taken away. Christ is seen to answer all the previous descriptions of him in the Old Testament; and his coming casts a clear light on all which was before obscure.
Adam Clarke's commentary may be even better, and it's shorter and more to the point:
But their minds were blinded - By resting in the letter, shutting their eyes against the light that was granted to them, they contracted a hardness or stupidity of heart. And the veil that was on the face of Moses, which prevented the glory of his face from shining out, may be considered as emblematical of the veil of darkness and ignorance that is on their hearts, and which hinders the glory of the Gospel from shining in.
Until this day remaineth the same veil - They are still ignorant of the spiritual meaning and intention of their own law, called here παλαια διαθηκη, the old covenant. See the word explained in the preface to St. Matthew.
In the reading of the Old Testament - Here is an evident allusion to the conduct of the Jews in their synagogues: when they read the law they cover their whole head with a veil, which they term the טלית tallith, veil, from טלל talal, to cover; and this voluntary usage of theirs, the apostle tells us, is an emblem of the darkness of their hearts while they are employed even in sacred duties.
Which veil is done away in Christ - It is only by acknowledging Christ that the darkness is removed, and the end and spiritual meaning of the law discerned.
Aha! The false teachers out there who are into this "Messianic Judaism" religion and others who teach the new covenant is not really the new covenant but rather a "renewed" old covenant are BLIND like the Jews, not understanding the meaning of the old covenant scriptures. They do not want to accept the new covenant so that they can have the veil removed, because they are too concerned about LOOKING OUTWARDLY RIGHTEOUS TO MEN! (Note: I blow to pieces the false teaching of the "renewed covenant" by going to the actual Hebrew. Click here for my study article. It's the first point after the introduction.)
If a person would just READ the gospels and Hebrews and Paul's writings, I would think the confusion would go away, mostly, anyway, but I'm not sure what people are doing. I think they are too busy listening to their false teachers and desiring to look outwardly righteous, instead of actually READING and STUDYING the scriptures.
Let's look at some of the laws that CONDEMN the false teachers out there who teach we must go by ALL the law as given to Moses, the written law that was given as what we now call the old covenant. Remember first, the promise of the Savior was given to Abraham 430 years BEFORE the old covenant, so the old covenant could not annul the new covenant (see Gal. 3:15-29). Please get your bible, and CHECK the scripture references. PROVE what I'm saying, whether it's right or wrong:
1. Under the old covenant, the law states that gentiles must be circumcised (in the penis) in order to partake of the Passover (ref. Ex. 12:48). The new covenant Passover was instituted by Christ (ref. Luke 22:20; Mark 14:24; Matt. 26:28). Under the new covenant, gentiles who wanted to join God's covenant, circumcision is not required (ref. Acts 15:24; Rom. 2:28-29; I Cor. 7:19; Gal. 5:12-13, 15) and for those of Israel or Judah who enter the new covenant, at that time it would have been irrelevant to discuss circumcision, because such men were already circed in the penis from infancy. What our parents do to us during infancy has no bearing on what kind of person we end up being and whether we choose to serve God when we become adults. We are to examine ourselves before partaking of the new covenant Passover so that we do not partake of it unworthily. If the old covenant regulations still stand, then an uncircumcised male (regardless of blood heritage) would be partaking of it unworthily.
2. Under the old covenant, per the law of Moses, a person is commanded to choose a physically unblemished lamb, a male yearling, on the tenth day of the first month of the year and keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, take the blood and paint the doorposts of his home, roast the lamb whole (no boiling) and eat the flesh of the entire lamb along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Ex. 12:13). It was to be an ordinance throughout Israel's generations, forever, to remind them of God's saving power to deliver them from Egyptian bondage (vs. 14, 17). However, under the new covenant, Salvation the Anointed King is our spiritually unblemished (I Pet. 1:19) Passover lamb, and he commanded us to keep the NEW covenant Passover with unleavened bread and wine to symbolize his broken body and shed blood and that we are to keep it to remind us of his death, which is God's saving power to deliver us from bondage to sin (Luke 22:20; Matt. 26:28). Do you keep the old covenant Passover or the new covenant one?
Uh-oh! Those old-covenant teachers MUST reject Salvation's teaching, if they are going to reject Paul for adding or taking away from the law of Moses, because Salvation did it!!!!!!!!! THEIR MOUTHS NEED TO BE SHUT! They keep leading people astray. This goes back to the scriptures Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the Jews were so foolish that they could not see in the reading of the old covenant that the old ordinances were to come to an end. They were TEMPORARY! A daughter is to obey her father FOREVER! But, unless you are a complete fool, you know that the meaning of "forever" that I just used is not as long-lasting as some would like to make you believe that the "forevers" in the old covenant are. When a daughter is given in marriage, she then belongs to her husband and obeys him! IT NEEDS NOT TO BE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND!
3. Under the old covenant law of Moses, a person was commanded to pay damages for physical hurt done to another human being (Ex. 21:24-25; Lev. 24:20), but the Anointed One pointed out that we should have mercy for those who deserve it (Matt. 5:38-40).
4. Under the old covenant law of Moses, it was permissible for a man to write a bill of divorce to his wife, if she did not find favor in his eyes and that she could then be another man's wife (Deut. 24:1-2; Matt. 19:7). But, Salvation said that unless she was put away for fornication, one should not divorce, and if one does and marries another, it is adultery and causes the woman to commit adultery if she marries another (Matt. 19:9; 5:31-32). He said, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts allowed you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so (Matt. 19:8). DID YOU CATCH THAT? READ IT FROM YOUR BIBLE. MEDITATE ON IT. FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO! JUST LIKE FROM THE BEGINNING, A LOT OF THINGS DONE UNDER THE OLD COVENANT WAS NOT SO. IT WAS A CARNAL COVENANT MEANT TO BE A TEMPORARY SCHOOLTEACHER, BUT SO MANY STILL DON'T GET IT.
5. Under the old covenant law of Moses, vows were to be sworn unto Jehovah by His name (ref. Deut. 23:23). Salvation, however, when he came to preach the Kingdom of God (Matt. 11:13; Luke 16:16), taught that we should not swear by the name of God nor anyone or anything else, but let our yes be yes and our no be no (Matt. 5:33-35).
6. Under the old covenant, it was commanded that we hate certain enemies, for example the Ammonites and Moabites (modern-day Jordanians) were not to enter into God's congregation forever (Deut. 23:3). Oh, look! There are those words "for ever" again (even though it had just said ten generations, so we can use LOGIC and conclude that "for ever" in this verse meant that UNTIL the ten generations were up, the people were forever not to let those people in God's congregation). The Lord Salvation taught that we should love our enemies (Matt. 5:43-48) and be forgiving and merciful. We shouldn't judge anyone by what their ancestors did.
7. Under the old covenant, in order to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, you were commanded to take the fruit of good trees, the branches of palm trees, fruits of thick trees, and willows of the brook. (Wonder how I'd obey, when there are no palm trees here. Lev. 23:40) Under the new covenant, of course, a visit to Jerusalem is not required to keep the feasts of God, and the new covenant temple are the members of the Church, the Body of Christ. Jesus, our Lord Salvation, said that the Father sought those to worship him in SPIRIT and TRUTH, and so would not be worshiping in Jerusalem (John 4:21-24). This applies to everything else festival-related that was required under the old covenant to be done in Jerusalem. Are you reading the scriptures? Are you checking these things out for yourself? Are you either blindly agreeing with me or blowing off what I say so that you can continue on believing as you are setting your heart to do so, or are you putting away your laziness and checking these scriptures?
8. Under the old covenant, the priesthood was of the tribe of Levi (Deut. 18:1; 21:5; 31:9). Priests were to be chosen only from the Levites. In addition, such men were not to bear any physical blemishes, such as blindness, lameness, flat nose, hunch-backed, scarred or scabbed up, etc. (Lev. 21:18-23). Under the new covenant the priesthood is headed by Christ (who was of Judah), his being the high priest and all those during the Church age who are begotten with God's Spirit--the Holy Seed--make up the new covenant priesthood. Whereas the Levitical priests offered up physical sacrifices of grain, flesh, etc., we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices. Study the following scriptures: 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rom. 12:1; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 1:6; 5:10. Salvation (Jesus/Yeshua) was prophesied by Isaiah not to be a good-looking man that any person would naturally desire him for his looks (Isa. 53:2). It says no where that he had any deformities, but he was not handsome. It was to be deliberate. God desires sons who look at things as He does, judging the spiritual things and not the physical. Believe it or not, this was revealed here and there throughout the old covenant writings! It was repeated that one should circumcise his heart and that one should not judge outer appearance and that God didn't desire sacrifice but obedience and on and on.
If you read and study carefully, you'll notice the very few people you read about in old covenant times who possessed God's Spirit were not carnal. David did not even visit the priests for sin sacrifice after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah (Psa. 51:16-17). He spoke to Heavenly Father and said that he knew God did not desire burnt animal sacrifice, OTHERWISE HE'D GIVE IT, but he knew God wanted a broken spirit (over his sin) and a contrite heart. He and the priest also broke the law of Moses at another time when he was running away from Saul, by eating the shewbread (I Sam. 21:1-6; Matt. 12:1-7). Yet, David has been chosen to be the king heading the entire twelve tribes of Israel during the Kingdom of God age on this earth (Eze. 34:23-24). Of course, Salvation shall be the top King of all, and there will be ranks. Underneath David, but also over the twelve tribes of Israel, will be the original twelve apostles (not Judas Iscariot but Matthias, his replacement) over each tribe, and so on. David was truly a man after God's own heart, and he could see past the old covenant rituals. He understood that they were a schoolteacher for carnal men. He knew it was a man's covenant, a carnal covenant, to point out the fault of the way a man thinks and judges things, all based on OUTWARD SHOW in the FLESH. Then the new covenant shows God's heart, His view, the perfect way God thinks and judges things, all based on the INWARD HEART in the SPIRIT.
If you want to please God, you need to start thinking the way Salvation did, the way David did, the way Paul did, the way all God's true Spirit-begotten servants think. You need to stop thinking carnally, because you cannot please God that way, though you may be deceiving yourself and others that you can.
9. Under the old covenant, Israel was commanded not to eat an animal that died of itself. We who live with our modern advanced knowledge don't need an in-depth explanation of this. We know why it's not a good idea to do this. The animal may have died of a bad disease, which could then be passed on to you. Now, it was allowed, however, to be given to the gentiles who lived within Israel's borders (Deut. 14:21). Now, if you have a Godly heart, I would hope that you do not have BLINDERS on your eyes, that you cannot see a problem--a FAULT--with this. Now, as I explained in my recently published book God's Law of Love, The Perfect Law of Liberty: Jehovah's Ten Commandments Still Apply Today, for a very poor gentile neighbor, if he had nothing to eat and would otherwise be starving, eating the flesh from such an animal might be a better risk than not having anything to eat at all, but if you truly have the HEART OF A SON OF GOD, and you could afford to do so, then you would rather let the death of such an animal be a REMINDER to offer a GOOD and SAFE animal's flesh to your foreigner neighbor who is living in poverty. What true Christian person thinks with the mind of, "My cow just died, and who knows what caused it, but I'm going to give it to my black neighbor to eat. He's just a Blackie. He's not as clean as I am, all white and sanctified by God because of my white flesh. It may not be safe for me to eat, but ol' Blackie can eat it."
How SICK, if you actually think this way! Do you not READ through the law of Moses and see the GOOD principles, but do you not also see the FAULT, the SHORTCOMINGS of some of it??? Are you BLIND to it all, as Paul said of the Jews of his day? Are you so carnal? Some things were ALLOWED under the old covenant, because of the HARDNESS OF THEIR HEARTS, the CARNALITY of the people. But those who possessed Godly hearts lived more Godly than what the law of Moses allowed. They did not seek divorces over little things. They did not seek out multiple wives. They did not give animals that died of themselves to their foreigner neighbors. They did not feel the need to wear phylacteries on their foreheads (ironically enough, Jews still do this today, as seen here, but I've YET TO SEE those who insist on penile circumcision of their sons and wearing of tassels in their clothes wear phylacteries on their foreheads. INSANITY!!!!!! HYPOCRITES, HYPOCRITES, HYPOCRITES! CAN YOU SAY, "HYPOCRITES?!" Oh, yeah, of all those who hurl their condemnations at me because I live the new covenant and will not live their old covenant ways and teach others to do so (b/c they won't to make a boast in the flesh--Gal. 6:13), NOT ONE have I seen wear phylacteries on their foreheads and things attached to their hands!
Now, is it SIN to circumcise your sons or to wear tassels or any of these other things? NO, absolutely NOT! But, it is a sin to reject the new covenant by mandating that others keep the old covenant (the promise of Messiah was BEFORE the old covenant, do not forget). And they are certainly putting themselves under a CURSE, because CURSED is the person who enters the old covenant and who fails to do all the things commanded therein. Many of the things are IMPOSSIBLE to keep right now, for there is no temple in Jerusalem, and many could not visit three times a year, every year, even if there was. Just CRAZY, the things people believe and teach.
10. The last example I care to give time to give (ten is enough) is that under the old covenant women who gave birth to a child were to go through a cleansing period (Lev. 12:1-8). Now, it is true that a woman should rest and recover, and it is true that a woman should abstain from sex until she is finished bleeding and goes through her physical cleansing. Usually the bleeding lasts no longer than six weeks (or around the 40 days the law of Moses prescribed for cleansing for a male child). The law of Moses, though, prescribed EIGHTY days for a female child. In addition, during the entire time of this cleansing, a woman was not allowed to go to worship services or to touch ANY HALLOWED THING. Can you imagine that God, who wants to be worshiped in SPIRIT and in TRUTH, would mandate a woman under the new and better covenant not to touch her bible so that she can read the Word of God for six to twelve weeks? The HOLY Word of God. Do you believe a woman is to stay away from her congregation (if she has one) for six to twelve weeks? What about the sacrifice that she is to make at the temple afterward? You are not doing a good job of keeping the old covenant if you are not visiting the Jerusalem temple to make the commanded sacrifices! A bit of a dilemma, wouldn't you say?!
Of course, if you are reading this and have any sense at all, and especially if you have the heart of God, if you are truly a begotten son of God and know or are learning to know how to please God, you surely realize how UTTERLY RIDICULOUS some people can be, and they are DECEIVING many. False prophets abound!
The bottom line is this: The new covenant does not do away with doing good, keeping the law in the spirit, but it does do away with the old covenant! People loved God and their fellow man BEFORE the establishment of the old covenant. People kept the Ten Commandments BEFORE Moses delivered them at Sinai, BEFORE all those added old covenant things were enacted. People put God first, worshiped Him in Spirit and Truth without bowing to images, they did not worship him in vain or blaspheme His Holy Name, they kept the Sabbath holy, they honored their parents, they did not murder, they did not commit adultery, they did not steal, nor did they lie, nor did they covet. They kept the dietary and agricultural regulations that were given from the beginning. All that was done by righteous men BEFORE the old covenant, and it can surely be done now.
Monday, February 21, 2011
What "The Law Was Added Because of Transgression" Means
There is a great deal of confusion surrounding the meaning of Paul's words to the Galatians when he said:
Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; [and it was] ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator (Gal. 3:19).
It's really simple, though. Of course, I encourage each one to read the entire context. Here, though, I simply want to lay it out for those who still don't get it, even after reading the context and reading the entire bible.
In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve on the sixth work day. He didn't lay out an endless number of statutes for them. He didn't overwhelm them with a lot of rules. Anyone who honestly just reads the opening of Genesis can see that he put them in the garden, told them to take care of it and told them what they could eat for food. The tree of life was also in the garden, and then there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and God told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat from that tree, or else they would die. We then know the next day was the seventh day that was sanctified and hallowed, so right from the beginning we see the Sabbath day, the signature mark of the Creator. So things started out in a very BASIC way.
Now, we must ask, WHAT is the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil?" WHAT is the knowledge of good and evil? What do we call something that lets us know what is good and what is evil? Would we not call that law? Of course! Adam and Eve were alive and well, and everything was going smoothly, until they allowed themselves to be deceived by the serpent. Notice what happened. Back in Genesis 2:25 Adam and Eve were naked but were not ashamed, just as young children that do not yet know good from evil are not ashamed. They thought nothing of it. No one TOLD them it was wrong. God did not say, "Oh, and make sure you stay dressed with clothes, because it is not good for you to be naked." But, after they had eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly realized they were naked and covered themselves. They later told the Lord (the one who is the Firstborn of the Father) they were hiding from him because they were naked. He replied, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree from which I told you not to eat?"
Does this not remind you of what Paul said several thousand years later? Read Romans chapter 7, where he talks about how the law gives knowledge of what is good or evil and that he was alive once without the law, but then the commandment came, sin revived, and he died.
EVERY person on this earth, since Adam and Eve ate from the fruit, if they live long enough, comes to a point where their eyes are opened, and they know good from evil. Infants start out innocent and UNKNOWING of good and evil. Small children do not know that being naked in front of others is bad. They do not know that putting their fingers into electric sockets is evil. Little kids do not realize that crawling off the high bed is evil. They don't know these things bring bad consequences! Not until they transgress! THEN once they transgress, they know there is good and evil! Was killing and stealing and lying and such wrong from the beginning, before Adam and Eve knew it was wrong, before they ate from that tree? Of course it was! Did they have such ideas? Was there any written law with judgments laying all this out? No, there was not! Would it have been good for them to have clothes on from the beginning? Yes! But, were they at fault for not having on clothes? No, they had never been given any idea that it was wrong!
If you read my study on the tree of life, you will learn that the tree of life represents Christ. How do we get eternal life? There is only ONE way to salvation, and that is through Salvation the Anointed One, Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). It's his sacrifice in our place that gives us the gift of eternal life for those who repent of sin [transgression of the law], are baptized, and the receive the Holy Spirit (the seed of God so that we can be born as sons of God at the resurrection).
I try to keep it as simple as possible for my children. The Ten Commandments are summed up by love God with all your heart, mind, and life and love your neighbor as you love yourself. I tell them the Ten Commandments teach us how to do these things. I do not bombard them with a laundry list of things they should do, though, to protect themselves, to protect others, and to protect property. BUT, if they transgress in some way, it becomes needful at times that I ADD LAW.
Just last night my husband was saying to my parents, concerning buying a third game controller, "I've been needing to buy another one, anyway, in case the kids tear up one." This was said in front of our children. This is a no-no, of course, but who is not guilty of doing this at some point? Most parents realize that suggesting this sort of thing in front of our kids puts the idea into their head to do evil. Whereas before, doing such a thing probably would not have crossed their minds, now they are tempted to do just that. Now, does this also sound familiar? Remember what Paul said about the law killing him, because we tend to want to do the opposite of what it says? Any experienced parent knows this is the case with children.
Would I tell my young child, "I just put some matches up in this cabinet. Now don't get into these and start a fire?" NO! I would put the matches up there in hopes that my child will not be snoopy and get into such a thing. I am not going to put the idea into his head to get into the matches. Most children will have a strong temptation to do the exact opposite of what you commanded. Not all children would actually follow through with it, but there would be a strong temptation, whereas if you kept your mouth shut, it would likely not be an issue. Now, let's say nothing was said, but one day the child got into the cabinet for one reason or another, and he happened to see the matches then. It was an unlikely event, but it happened. He was then tempted to use them. Still, a child could make the choice not to do so. But, sometimes a child does. If the latter occurred, THEN law would have to be added. YES! That's right. Oral or written law added AFTER transgression. The law is holy, just, and good, meaning what is good is good, but what was good was good before the giving of the law in a written organized form, full with judgments and then the added rituals. There were faithful and obedient people serving God BEFORE the added law. There were already people following the spiritual law, as written on their hearts, not killing, fornicating, stealing, etc. Yet, some transgressed, so it was needful for an ADDED law in written form, complete with JUDGMENTS for transgression. The animal sacrifices, human priesthood, etc. was to REALLY POINT OUT TO CARNAL-NATURED PEOPLE HOW SERIOUS TRANSGRESSION WAS.
Is that not why so many statutes are ADDED to the U.S. law code (or ANY law code)? The invention of motor vehicles, for example, as a new thing here. AFTER transgression, namely wrecks that caused people's bodies to be flung through the windshields, law was ADDED to include use of seat belts. At some point, law was ADDED for babies and young children to be put in car seats. Is someone foolish enough to say that this law is bad? What fool is willing to say this is a bad law? Is it for the GOOD? Is it to save lives? YES! Now, would there be some fool out there who claims that this is wrongful adding to God's law? Probably so. Now, it is indeed BETTER, as it is under the new covenant, to be led by the Spirit, to have God's law written on our HEARTS, choosing good because we want to do what is right, NOT because there is some written law that has judgments if transgressed. In that case, all that would have to be done is seat belts and car seats would be invented, proven to save lives, and then what fool would not want to use them? A wise person uses them, because he is following God's law of love as written on his or her heart, NOT because the U.S. law mandates them, for we know that not all man made laws are good. SOME are, though, and if it's a life-giving law, then why wouldn't a person follow it?
With increase of KNOWLEDGE, there is more to be decided on what is good and evil. I've written explanation time and again of this. If Moses lived today and was told to give a written law to Israel, it would NOT simply say, concerning safety in housing, "You must build a rail around the top of your roof so that no one falls off." Why, that would likely not even be included, because it DOES NOT APPLY. We do not have flat roofs that we walk upon and use in our every day lives, like people did in ancient Israel. However, there would be statutes like, "Don't let bare wires be exposed in your homes," and "Do not leave electric sockets exposed so that young children do not stick their fingers in them." It would not be just, "Eat only animals that have split hooves and chew the cud," etc., but it would likely be, "Do not eat McDonald's french fries," etc. What fool is there out there who would actually say that the food regulations as given in the law of Moses is good enough and everything else is fine to eat without control? We do not live in that age!
Of course, those of us who are Spirit-led and have God's law written on our hearts, following the law in the spirit, understand this. Believe it or not, though, there are folks out there who believe ONLY what was written by Moses for that day is what applies and that there is no new covenant, only a renewed old covenant. Makes you wonder why those people even bother claiming they have faith in the Messiah, for what would the point of his coming and sacrifice be if the old covenant was simply going to be renewed. That could have been done by any prophet, and there would have been no need of Salvation's sacrifice. There would be no need of a new covenant Passover Lamb. If the old covenant was good enough, some prophet simply could have come on the scene to remind people to be circumcised in the penile flesh, go to the temple in Jerusalem for the feasts, have the priests offer animal sacrifices for the people's sins and their own, etc.
If people would READ the words of people like David, who lived in the time of the old covenant, but who had the Spirit of God, they would see that those few people who lived in that time who had God's Spirit had a new covenant mindset. I don't think people are reading the scriptures for what they say!
Yes, the fact is that most people are CARNAL. They are fleshly-minded. Many do not care to follow any law, certainly not to have it written on their hearts. But, there are others who like others to THINK they are righteous (think of the carnal Pharisees whom Jesus criticized over and over), and so they cling to the old covenant things like penile circumcision, wearing fringes in the garments, etc. so that they appear righteous to others and so they can say to those who don't do those things, "Look at us. We are pleasing to God." Really? What goes on in their hearts, we must wonder. What kind of daily fruit do they bear? In my experience, those who believe old covenant regulations are binding (like penile circumcision) are so much like the Pharisees that Jesus called hypocrites.
Those who believe the law was not ADDED because of transgression need to get studying the scriptures. They need to get a solid understanding of the first two chapters of Genesis, because they obviously do not already understand it. Christ is even recorded of giving examples of where the law of Moses fell short. He said certain things, like a man divorcing a wife if he was not pleased with her, was allowed for the HARDNESS OF THEIR HEARTS (yes, that's right, they may have had circumcised penises, but they had uncircumcised hearts), but FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO. YES!!!!!!!!!! Even the Lord said with his own mouth that the law of Moses was ADDED. Obviously is was, if something was not so from the beginning, but it was then allowed in the old covenant law of Moses to be more lax. Obviously penile circumcision was not from the beginning. Of course not. That would mean God would have made a mistake with the penis, since he could have just made the penis without the foreskin that extends beyond the head of the penis. It was ADDED. It was given to Abraham as a sign of the covenant. Then later some of his descendants (namely the children of Israel) became slaves to Egypt, and so God worked out a way for them to be freed from bondage, and then he had Moses give them the law and the Levitical priesthood, etc. That was the beginning of the old covenant. BEFORE the Levitical priesthood, there was a different priesthood. People offered to the high priest Melchisadek, which was really the Lord. NOW it is as before. The old covenant with its law, priesthood, sacrifices, etc. were TEMPORARY. They were to last UNTIL it was replaced with something better.
I hope that if you have not before grasped what "the law was added because of transgression" means, that you now understand it. God did NOT bombard Adam and Eve with a bunch of regulations. He kept it simple. They ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, sin entered this world, and much later the law of Moses was ADDED because of all the transgression. Yes, there was law that was being broken BEFORE the law being added in a written form (along with additional rituals and sacrifices), just as if a child does something he shouldn't, but just because the transgression occurred doesn't mean the law had been given. If there is transgression, law then becomes needful so that if continually transgressed, punishment can be given.
BUT, if people have God's Spirit to circumcise their hearts and so have the law written on their hearts, there is LIFE. There is no need for the old covenant set-up, because the promise was given--Christ. And the PROMISE OF THE MESSIAH WAS GIVEN TO ABRAHAM HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE THE OLD COVENANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As the law states, and Paul repeated, one is CURSED to not do all the things in the law of Moses, if one chooses to enter that covenant. Many of those things are IMPOSSIBLE to do, seeing as we have no temple in Jerusalem, etc. Now, does this all make those things wrong? Is penile circumcision wrong? No, but it is wrong to say it must be done for salvation. That was the old covenant that said, "Cursed is the man who does not do all the things of the law." Of course, no one could ever do it perfectly, and the death of animals and penile circumcision (especially when done to a child who did not make a conscious choice of having it done) does not save a person. Only the Spirit of God and obeying Him in Spirit will save a person, under the new covenant that was instituted with Christ's blood being shed.
The law of Moses was indeed ADDED because of transgressions. People like Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham all served God in obedience in faith (looking forward to the promise) BEFORE the law of Moses was added. So it is now no different under the new covenant. Many obey God--putting Him first, not bowing down to images, not holding up His name in useless worship, keeping the seventh day holy, honoring their parents, not killing anyone, not committing sexual sin, not stealing, not lying, and not coveting what is not rightfully theirs--all in its spiritual intent. That means they are not even thinking of these evils. They don't need some judgment clause in a written law to keep them from committing acts. No, they do NOT WANT to even think about doing those things. They hate evil in their hearts. They do not feel the need to have outer symbols in the flesh that only serve to receive praise from men. Only God fully knows our hearts, and regardless of how good we act on the outside, if we're not clean on the inside, the outside stuff doesn't matter.
Even the other nations who do not have the knowledge of the fourth commandment passed down, if following the law as written on their hearts (knowing there must be a Creator and so being thankful to Him, taking care of the earth, honoring their parents, not killing, not fornicating, not stealing nor destroying property, not lying, nor wanting something not rightfully theirs). When they are raised up to life during the "Great White Throne Judgment," they will have their eyes opened to the truth of who God is and what his Sabbath was, etc. These people who did what was right in their hearts, because they wanted to do what was right, will put to shame those who had penile circumcision yet did not have the right heart.
Just as those BEFORE the law was added obeyed, we obey.
My closest co-worker in Christ, Keith Hunt, has written more about this, found within his expounding of Galatians. The part which deals with the law being added because of transgression is found here: http://www.keithhunt.com/Ntacts21.html. If you want to study further, I recommend the link.
Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; [and it was] ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator (Gal. 3:19).
It's really simple, though. Of course, I encourage each one to read the entire context. Here, though, I simply want to lay it out for those who still don't get it, even after reading the context and reading the entire bible.
In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve on the sixth work day. He didn't lay out an endless number of statutes for them. He didn't overwhelm them with a lot of rules. Anyone who honestly just reads the opening of Genesis can see that he put them in the garden, told them to take care of it and told them what they could eat for food. The tree of life was also in the garden, and then there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and God told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat from that tree, or else they would die. We then know the next day was the seventh day that was sanctified and hallowed, so right from the beginning we see the Sabbath day, the signature mark of the Creator. So things started out in a very BASIC way.
Now, we must ask, WHAT is the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil?" WHAT is the knowledge of good and evil? What do we call something that lets us know what is good and what is evil? Would we not call that law? Of course! Adam and Eve were alive and well, and everything was going smoothly, until they allowed themselves to be deceived by the serpent. Notice what happened. Back in Genesis 2:25 Adam and Eve were naked but were not ashamed, just as young children that do not yet know good from evil are not ashamed. They thought nothing of it. No one TOLD them it was wrong. God did not say, "Oh, and make sure you stay dressed with clothes, because it is not good for you to be naked." But, after they had eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly realized they were naked and covered themselves. They later told the Lord (the one who is the Firstborn of the Father) they were hiding from him because they were naked. He replied, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree from which I told you not to eat?"
Does this not remind you of what Paul said several thousand years later? Read Romans chapter 7, where he talks about how the law gives knowledge of what is good or evil and that he was alive once without the law, but then the commandment came, sin revived, and he died.
EVERY person on this earth, since Adam and Eve ate from the fruit, if they live long enough, comes to a point where their eyes are opened, and they know good from evil. Infants start out innocent and UNKNOWING of good and evil. Small children do not know that being naked in front of others is bad. They do not know that putting their fingers into electric sockets is evil. Little kids do not realize that crawling off the high bed is evil. They don't know these things bring bad consequences! Not until they transgress! THEN once they transgress, they know there is good and evil! Was killing and stealing and lying and such wrong from the beginning, before Adam and Eve knew it was wrong, before they ate from that tree? Of course it was! Did they have such ideas? Was there any written law with judgments laying all this out? No, there was not! Would it have been good for them to have clothes on from the beginning? Yes! But, were they at fault for not having on clothes? No, they had never been given any idea that it was wrong!
If you read my study on the tree of life, you will learn that the tree of life represents Christ. How do we get eternal life? There is only ONE way to salvation, and that is through Salvation the Anointed One, Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). It's his sacrifice in our place that gives us the gift of eternal life for those who repent of sin [transgression of the law], are baptized, and the receive the Holy Spirit (the seed of God so that we can be born as sons of God at the resurrection).
I try to keep it as simple as possible for my children. The Ten Commandments are summed up by love God with all your heart, mind, and life and love your neighbor as you love yourself. I tell them the Ten Commandments teach us how to do these things. I do not bombard them with a laundry list of things they should do, though, to protect themselves, to protect others, and to protect property. BUT, if they transgress in some way, it becomes needful at times that I ADD LAW.
Just last night my husband was saying to my parents, concerning buying a third game controller, "I've been needing to buy another one, anyway, in case the kids tear up one." This was said in front of our children. This is a no-no, of course, but who is not guilty of doing this at some point? Most parents realize that suggesting this sort of thing in front of our kids puts the idea into their head to do evil. Whereas before, doing such a thing probably would not have crossed their minds, now they are tempted to do just that. Now, does this also sound familiar? Remember what Paul said about the law killing him, because we tend to want to do the opposite of what it says? Any experienced parent knows this is the case with children.
Would I tell my young child, "I just put some matches up in this cabinet. Now don't get into these and start a fire?" NO! I would put the matches up there in hopes that my child will not be snoopy and get into such a thing. I am not going to put the idea into his head to get into the matches. Most children will have a strong temptation to do the exact opposite of what you commanded. Not all children would actually follow through with it, but there would be a strong temptation, whereas if you kept your mouth shut, it would likely not be an issue. Now, let's say nothing was said, but one day the child got into the cabinet for one reason or another, and he happened to see the matches then. It was an unlikely event, but it happened. He was then tempted to use them. Still, a child could make the choice not to do so. But, sometimes a child does. If the latter occurred, THEN law would have to be added. YES! That's right. Oral or written law added AFTER transgression. The law is holy, just, and good, meaning what is good is good, but what was good was good before the giving of the law in a written organized form, full with judgments and then the added rituals. There were faithful and obedient people serving God BEFORE the added law. There were already people following the spiritual law, as written on their hearts, not killing, fornicating, stealing, etc. Yet, some transgressed, so it was needful for an ADDED law in written form, complete with JUDGMENTS for transgression. The animal sacrifices, human priesthood, etc. was to REALLY POINT OUT TO CARNAL-NATURED PEOPLE HOW SERIOUS TRANSGRESSION WAS.
Is that not why so many statutes are ADDED to the U.S. law code (or ANY law code)? The invention of motor vehicles, for example, as a new thing here. AFTER transgression, namely wrecks that caused people's bodies to be flung through the windshields, law was ADDED to include use of seat belts. At some point, law was ADDED for babies and young children to be put in car seats. Is someone foolish enough to say that this law is bad? What fool is willing to say this is a bad law? Is it for the GOOD? Is it to save lives? YES! Now, would there be some fool out there who claims that this is wrongful adding to God's law? Probably so. Now, it is indeed BETTER, as it is under the new covenant, to be led by the Spirit, to have God's law written on our HEARTS, choosing good because we want to do what is right, NOT because there is some written law that has judgments if transgressed. In that case, all that would have to be done is seat belts and car seats would be invented, proven to save lives, and then what fool would not want to use them? A wise person uses them, because he is following God's law of love as written on his or her heart, NOT because the U.S. law mandates them, for we know that not all man made laws are good. SOME are, though, and if it's a life-giving law, then why wouldn't a person follow it?
With increase of KNOWLEDGE, there is more to be decided on what is good and evil. I've written explanation time and again of this. If Moses lived today and was told to give a written law to Israel, it would NOT simply say, concerning safety in housing, "You must build a rail around the top of your roof so that no one falls off." Why, that would likely not even be included, because it DOES NOT APPLY. We do not have flat roofs that we walk upon and use in our every day lives, like people did in ancient Israel. However, there would be statutes like, "Don't let bare wires be exposed in your homes," and "Do not leave electric sockets exposed so that young children do not stick their fingers in them." It would not be just, "Eat only animals that have split hooves and chew the cud," etc., but it would likely be, "Do not eat McDonald's french fries," etc. What fool is there out there who would actually say that the food regulations as given in the law of Moses is good enough and everything else is fine to eat without control? We do not live in that age!
Of course, those of us who are Spirit-led and have God's law written on our hearts, following the law in the spirit, understand this. Believe it or not, though, there are folks out there who believe ONLY what was written by Moses for that day is what applies and that there is no new covenant, only a renewed old covenant. Makes you wonder why those people even bother claiming they have faith in the Messiah, for what would the point of his coming and sacrifice be if the old covenant was simply going to be renewed. That could have been done by any prophet, and there would have been no need of Salvation's sacrifice. There would be no need of a new covenant Passover Lamb. If the old covenant was good enough, some prophet simply could have come on the scene to remind people to be circumcised in the penile flesh, go to the temple in Jerusalem for the feasts, have the priests offer animal sacrifices for the people's sins and their own, etc.
If people would READ the words of people like David, who lived in the time of the old covenant, but who had the Spirit of God, they would see that those few people who lived in that time who had God's Spirit had a new covenant mindset. I don't think people are reading the scriptures for what they say!
Yes, the fact is that most people are CARNAL. They are fleshly-minded. Many do not care to follow any law, certainly not to have it written on their hearts. But, there are others who like others to THINK they are righteous (think of the carnal Pharisees whom Jesus criticized over and over), and so they cling to the old covenant things like penile circumcision, wearing fringes in the garments, etc. so that they appear righteous to others and so they can say to those who don't do those things, "Look at us. We are pleasing to God." Really? What goes on in their hearts, we must wonder. What kind of daily fruit do they bear? In my experience, those who believe old covenant regulations are binding (like penile circumcision) are so much like the Pharisees that Jesus called hypocrites.
Those who believe the law was not ADDED because of transgression need to get studying the scriptures. They need to get a solid understanding of the first two chapters of Genesis, because they obviously do not already understand it. Christ is even recorded of giving examples of where the law of Moses fell short. He said certain things, like a man divorcing a wife if he was not pleased with her, was allowed for the HARDNESS OF THEIR HEARTS (yes, that's right, they may have had circumcised penises, but they had uncircumcised hearts), but FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO. YES!!!!!!!!!! Even the Lord said with his own mouth that the law of Moses was ADDED. Obviously is was, if something was not so from the beginning, but it was then allowed in the old covenant law of Moses to be more lax. Obviously penile circumcision was not from the beginning. Of course not. That would mean God would have made a mistake with the penis, since he could have just made the penis without the foreskin that extends beyond the head of the penis. It was ADDED. It was given to Abraham as a sign of the covenant. Then later some of his descendants (namely the children of Israel) became slaves to Egypt, and so God worked out a way for them to be freed from bondage, and then he had Moses give them the law and the Levitical priesthood, etc. That was the beginning of the old covenant. BEFORE the Levitical priesthood, there was a different priesthood. People offered to the high priest Melchisadek, which was really the Lord. NOW it is as before. The old covenant with its law, priesthood, sacrifices, etc. were TEMPORARY. They were to last UNTIL it was replaced with something better.
I hope that if you have not before grasped what "the law was added because of transgression" means, that you now understand it. God did NOT bombard Adam and Eve with a bunch of regulations. He kept it simple. They ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, sin entered this world, and much later the law of Moses was ADDED because of all the transgression. Yes, there was law that was being broken BEFORE the law being added in a written form (along with additional rituals and sacrifices), just as if a child does something he shouldn't, but just because the transgression occurred doesn't mean the law had been given. If there is transgression, law then becomes needful so that if continually transgressed, punishment can be given.
BUT, if people have God's Spirit to circumcise their hearts and so have the law written on their hearts, there is LIFE. There is no need for the old covenant set-up, because the promise was given--Christ. And the PROMISE OF THE MESSIAH WAS GIVEN TO ABRAHAM HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE THE OLD COVENANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As the law states, and Paul repeated, one is CURSED to not do all the things in the law of Moses, if one chooses to enter that covenant. Many of those things are IMPOSSIBLE to do, seeing as we have no temple in Jerusalem, etc. Now, does this all make those things wrong? Is penile circumcision wrong? No, but it is wrong to say it must be done for salvation. That was the old covenant that said, "Cursed is the man who does not do all the things of the law." Of course, no one could ever do it perfectly, and the death of animals and penile circumcision (especially when done to a child who did not make a conscious choice of having it done) does not save a person. Only the Spirit of God and obeying Him in Spirit will save a person, under the new covenant that was instituted with Christ's blood being shed.
The law of Moses was indeed ADDED because of transgressions. People like Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham all served God in obedience in faith (looking forward to the promise) BEFORE the law of Moses was added. So it is now no different under the new covenant. Many obey God--putting Him first, not bowing down to images, not holding up His name in useless worship, keeping the seventh day holy, honoring their parents, not killing anyone, not committing sexual sin, not stealing, not lying, and not coveting what is not rightfully theirs--all in its spiritual intent. That means they are not even thinking of these evils. They don't need some judgment clause in a written law to keep them from committing acts. No, they do NOT WANT to even think about doing those things. They hate evil in their hearts. They do not feel the need to have outer symbols in the flesh that only serve to receive praise from men. Only God fully knows our hearts, and regardless of how good we act on the outside, if we're not clean on the inside, the outside stuff doesn't matter.
Even the other nations who do not have the knowledge of the fourth commandment passed down, if following the law as written on their hearts (knowing there must be a Creator and so being thankful to Him, taking care of the earth, honoring their parents, not killing, not fornicating, not stealing nor destroying property, not lying, nor wanting something not rightfully theirs). When they are raised up to life during the "Great White Throne Judgment," they will have their eyes opened to the truth of who God is and what his Sabbath was, etc. These people who did what was right in their hearts, because they wanted to do what was right, will put to shame those who had penile circumcision yet did not have the right heart.
Just as those BEFORE the law was added obeyed, we obey.
My closest co-worker in Christ, Keith Hunt, has written more about this, found within his expounding of Galatians. The part which deals with the law being added because of transgression is found here: http://www.keithhunt.com/Ntacts21.html. If you want to study further, I recommend the link.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Review of the Movie "Stone"
Recently, I watched a newly-released-to-video movie called Stone. I want to first say, as I do in any movie review I do, if you do not want the details of the movie spoiled, if you plan to watch it, then do not read this until after you've watched the movie. Furthermore, I want to state that this movie is an adults-only movie. Not only is there a violent stabbing scene, numerous calling down of curses from God and many profane words, but there is sexual content and partial nudity that is better off not seen by anyone.
Wikipedia calls the movie a "box office bomb," stating that it brought in only a third of its production budget. I do feel that this is a disappointment, because it has a message that most in our nation really need to grasp. I have observed, though, that though I and a minute few others actually get something out of movies, most only seek to be entertained by the violence, sexual content, the looks of the actors and actresses themselves, etc. and do not really pay attention to the underlying MESSAGES that so many movies reveal.
The movie's four main characters are about-to-retire Jack Mabry, Jack's wife Madylyn, 20-or-30-something Gerald "Stone" Creeson, and his wife Lucetta. The movie starts out with a non-introduced young Jack and Madylyn Mabry and their young daughter. The woman carries her daughter to her bed upstairs and kisses her so that she can continue her nap. She sits on the bed for a minute staring at a fly buzzing around the screen of the open window. She then goes downstairs and tells her husband something to the effect of, "You're keeping my soul in a prison. I'm leaving," to which the non-introduced Jack responds by jumping out of his chair and storming upstairs.
Obviously worried, Jack's wife runs up the stairs after he's gone up, shouting after him. She finds him in their daughter's room, hanging his daughter out the window and threatening his wife that if she leaves him, he'll drop their daughter. She says she won't leave and pleads for him to bring their sleeping daughter back inside. After he lays the girl back on the bed, the wife hurries to the window and slams it shut on the fly, which kills the latter. I think the fly's death is something most won't even think much about, but I find it interesting that it was included. A creature with a nasty job, viewed as a nuisance was killed by the woman who saved her daughter from being killed. It was if it was a just substitute. The man had removed the screen, so the fly then had the opportunity it wanted to leave, but it must have swarmed around the room. Before it could finally be free, it was killed.
Then the movie moves to the present, showing scenes of an Episcopalian (Protestant Christian) Jack Mabry and his wife attending church services; scenes of Jack, a corrections officer, in his office talking to Gerald Creeson; scenes of Jack and Madylyn in their home, often with prayer and devotionals at meal times, it being clearly evident that Madylyn is serious about her faith, whereas Jack is not so much; scenes of Jack driving in his car, usually listening to radio with Christian broadcasting; scenes of Lucetta calling Jack or meeting Jack; and scenes of Lucetta visiting Gerald in prison.
Toward the beginning of the movie, Jack meets with Gerald in Jack's office. Gerald has served eight years of eleven sentenced for arson. He's available for possible parole, so Jack is reviewing his case. Gerald demands to be called "Stone," because that is what everyone who knows him calls him. He talks with an attitude, and his language is heavily laced with profanity. His hair is in rows of tight braids. He tells Jack that he's ready to get out, and Jack asks him whether it's because he's reformed, to which Gerald says that he's paid time, and he's ready to get out. He has not really gone through any change for the better, though he does say something interesting to Jack. He inquired why he had to be in the prison and why Jack could be free, and Jack said that he hadn't "broken the law." Stone (Gerald) basically said, "You mean to tell me you haven't done anything wrong in your life?"
Stone calls his wife from prison and urges her to talk to Jack and do anything she could to get Jack to give Gerald a good report so that he could be released. Lucetta more or less stalks Jack, calling him at home and stopping him outside his workplace. He finally agrees to meet privately with her. She plays the sweet and seductive role very well. Long story short, she persuades him to go to her house, and she gets him drunk and has sex with him.
Meanwhile, Stone is having a difficult time being in prison. He desperately wants out. He goes to the prison library and starts sorting through religious literature. Poor guy. There are so many things from which to pick, he's not sure where to start. He finally chooses a pamphlet on a religion Zangkugor or something. I can't remember the name of it, nor do I know whether it's a real religion or made for the movie. It teaches a doctrine of karma and reincarnation and that humming a certain way will help you get in a certain zone where then you can hear a natural sound, like a bee buzzing and find harmony or God in it.
It is not within the scope of this review to deeply discuss such religions as Zangkugor or whatever it was called, and the true God does not call everyone to understand truth during this phase of his seven-step plan of salvation for mankind. But, the main point is that Gerald did go through a spiritual change. He finally felt guilty for burning his grandparents' house down. He started asking questions like, "What is forever?" He cleaned up his speech tremendously. It was no longer filled with profanity, and he spoke more intelligently. He got his hair out of braids (certainly not to say that braids are sinful).
At the same time, Jack feels convicted of his adultery with another man's wife and clearly feels very uncomfortable around both his own wife and around Gerald. The tables have turned, and Jack is the one whose language is filled with profanity and yelling, where Gerald sits calmly and asks Jack questions out of concern, which only enrages Jack more. Jack is obviously a tormented soul, and Gerald is at peace. He said it didn't matter now whether he was in prison or out. Gerald's spirit was free within him, where Jack's spirit was in tormenting bondage to his sin, because he really did believe there was a God but wanted to deny it in order to justify his sin to himself and so to avoid confessing his sin and apologizing to those he wronged and repent--change, get on the right track.
Jack's wife is visibly hurt but also disgusted with Jack's behavior. She has her womanly instincts and wise discernment and asks Jack whether there is anything he needed to tell her. He's very short and profane with everyone with whom he has contact now.
Jack decides he wants to change the good report on Gerald, even though now it should be clear to a wisely discerning judge that Gerald has true grounds to be released. He's truly gone through a spiritual change, serving in liberty under some law in which he believed.
Madylyn leaves Jack, after burning their home down and getting away with it (the same crime Gerald had done for other reasons), and goes to their daughter's home. The daughter says to her mother that she is so surprised that she waited so long and didn't leave a long time ago. She said, "I tried once..." as she stares into another time, not answering her daughter's inquiry, "What happened?" We're left to wonder whether Madylyn tells her daughter the story about her father hanging her out the window.
It also appears that Gerald left his whorish wife Lucetta. I find it interesting that the name Lucetta was chosen for her character. Her name means "light," but she's very deceptive and seductive, only appearing as a person of light. In one scene she showed to be at work at a daycare or school, out on the playground with young children, and she was very patient and gentle-spoken. She was sugary sweet when seducing Jack. In truth, she was full of darkness. She verbally expressed to Jack, upon being asked, that she did not believe in God. She made her own good and bad, delighting in what she saw right in her own eyes.
Jack is driving down a street one night and happens to see Gerald walking. He stops, takes a gun from his car, gets out of the car, and chases Gerald down. He has him in a place of darkness and starts cursing him and pushes him up against the wall of a building. He presses the barrel of the gun to Gerald's forehead and falsely accuses Gerald of ruining his life. Gerald is calm throughout the whole scenario, which pisses off Jack even more. He threatens, "You don't think I'll kill you?!" Gerald calmly replies, "No, I don't." He's right, as Jack eventually takes the gun away and leaves. Jack (meaning "man") has an exceedingly sinful heart, but he does not want to break the PHYSICAL law of the land and so be imprisoned physically. Nevertheless, he's in SPIRITUAL bonds, spiritually imprisoned, in bondage to his sin.
A person can be free in God's eyes while in physical bondage (in prison), and a person who is physically free can be in spiritual bondage. There are many who care about what man thinks and so will put on outward show of being righteous, but they are not fooling God who judges the heart and mind. Many do not want to humble themselves and repent of their sins. They have hearts of stone. Gerald started out as "Stone," and he was indeed hardened. But, he underwent a spiritual transformation, and his heart softened. In the end, it was Jack who had the stony heart and chose to remain in tormenting spiritual bondage, rather than humbly confess his sins and repent. There are many who sit in buildings made by man, imprisoned who are spiritually free, and there are many, many more who, although physically free, are imprisoned by their sin and their refusal to free themselves by humbly repenting.
At the age of 18 I was charged with credit card fraud across interstate lines. When I was 20, I was served papers by the Secret Service and a U.S. marshal and summoned to court a U.S. district court to enter a plea. I entered a plea of guilty. I had shown a complete turnaround. In the end, I was not convicted of the crime, though I was guilty and had pled guilty. I received GRACE upon my repentance. Many looked down on me with great judgment for one of the lesser sins of the Ten Commandments, one of the only sins that did not require the physical death penalty if physically transgressed. Those same people were guilty of greater sins and great sins of the heart, sins of which they do not repent. But, those physical sins and those greater sins of the heart are not punished by the law in place by man of this land. Though those same people claim to be Christians, they care more about the law of man and what man thinks than what God thinks.
Which are YOU? Were you a Stone that is now changed, or are you a Jack who is physically free and looked upon through the eyes of man as "a good person" but are in spiritual bondage to your sin and "wicked" through the eyes of God?
Wikipedia calls the movie a "box office bomb," stating that it brought in only a third of its production budget. I do feel that this is a disappointment, because it has a message that most in our nation really need to grasp. I have observed, though, that though I and a minute few others actually get something out of movies, most only seek to be entertained by the violence, sexual content, the looks of the actors and actresses themselves, etc. and do not really pay attention to the underlying MESSAGES that so many movies reveal.
The movie's four main characters are about-to-retire Jack Mabry, Jack's wife Madylyn, 20-or-30-something Gerald "Stone" Creeson, and his wife Lucetta. The movie starts out with a non-introduced young Jack and Madylyn Mabry and their young daughter. The woman carries her daughter to her bed upstairs and kisses her so that she can continue her nap. She sits on the bed for a minute staring at a fly buzzing around the screen of the open window. She then goes downstairs and tells her husband something to the effect of, "You're keeping my soul in a prison. I'm leaving," to which the non-introduced Jack responds by jumping out of his chair and storming upstairs.
Obviously worried, Jack's wife runs up the stairs after he's gone up, shouting after him. She finds him in their daughter's room, hanging his daughter out the window and threatening his wife that if she leaves him, he'll drop their daughter. She says she won't leave and pleads for him to bring their sleeping daughter back inside. After he lays the girl back on the bed, the wife hurries to the window and slams it shut on the fly, which kills the latter. I think the fly's death is something most won't even think much about, but I find it interesting that it was included. A creature with a nasty job, viewed as a nuisance was killed by the woman who saved her daughter from being killed. It was if it was a just substitute. The man had removed the screen, so the fly then had the opportunity it wanted to leave, but it must have swarmed around the room. Before it could finally be free, it was killed.
Then the movie moves to the present, showing scenes of an Episcopalian (Protestant Christian) Jack Mabry and his wife attending church services; scenes of Jack, a corrections officer, in his office talking to Gerald Creeson; scenes of Jack and Madylyn in their home, often with prayer and devotionals at meal times, it being clearly evident that Madylyn is serious about her faith, whereas Jack is not so much; scenes of Jack driving in his car, usually listening to radio with Christian broadcasting; scenes of Lucetta calling Jack or meeting Jack; and scenes of Lucetta visiting Gerald in prison.
Toward the beginning of the movie, Jack meets with Gerald in Jack's office. Gerald has served eight years of eleven sentenced for arson. He's available for possible parole, so Jack is reviewing his case. Gerald demands to be called "Stone," because that is what everyone who knows him calls him. He talks with an attitude, and his language is heavily laced with profanity. His hair is in rows of tight braids. He tells Jack that he's ready to get out, and Jack asks him whether it's because he's reformed, to which Gerald says that he's paid time, and he's ready to get out. He has not really gone through any change for the better, though he does say something interesting to Jack. He inquired why he had to be in the prison and why Jack could be free, and Jack said that he hadn't "broken the law." Stone (Gerald) basically said, "You mean to tell me you haven't done anything wrong in your life?"
Stone calls his wife from prison and urges her to talk to Jack and do anything she could to get Jack to give Gerald a good report so that he could be released. Lucetta more or less stalks Jack, calling him at home and stopping him outside his workplace. He finally agrees to meet privately with her. She plays the sweet and seductive role very well. Long story short, she persuades him to go to her house, and she gets him drunk and has sex with him.
Meanwhile, Stone is having a difficult time being in prison. He desperately wants out. He goes to the prison library and starts sorting through religious literature. Poor guy. There are so many things from which to pick, he's not sure where to start. He finally chooses a pamphlet on a religion Zangkugor or something. I can't remember the name of it, nor do I know whether it's a real religion or made for the movie. It teaches a doctrine of karma and reincarnation and that humming a certain way will help you get in a certain zone where then you can hear a natural sound, like a bee buzzing and find harmony or God in it.
It is not within the scope of this review to deeply discuss such religions as Zangkugor or whatever it was called, and the true God does not call everyone to understand truth during this phase of his seven-step plan of salvation for mankind. But, the main point is that Gerald did go through a spiritual change. He finally felt guilty for burning his grandparents' house down. He started asking questions like, "What is forever?" He cleaned up his speech tremendously. It was no longer filled with profanity, and he spoke more intelligently. He got his hair out of braids (certainly not to say that braids are sinful).
At the same time, Jack feels convicted of his adultery with another man's wife and clearly feels very uncomfortable around both his own wife and around Gerald. The tables have turned, and Jack is the one whose language is filled with profanity and yelling, where Gerald sits calmly and asks Jack questions out of concern, which only enrages Jack more. Jack is obviously a tormented soul, and Gerald is at peace. He said it didn't matter now whether he was in prison or out. Gerald's spirit was free within him, where Jack's spirit was in tormenting bondage to his sin, because he really did believe there was a God but wanted to deny it in order to justify his sin to himself and so to avoid confessing his sin and apologizing to those he wronged and repent--change, get on the right track.
Jack's wife is visibly hurt but also disgusted with Jack's behavior. She has her womanly instincts and wise discernment and asks Jack whether there is anything he needed to tell her. He's very short and profane with everyone with whom he has contact now.
Jack decides he wants to change the good report on Gerald, even though now it should be clear to a wisely discerning judge that Gerald has true grounds to be released. He's truly gone through a spiritual change, serving in liberty under some law in which he believed.
Madylyn leaves Jack, after burning their home down and getting away with it (the same crime Gerald had done for other reasons), and goes to their daughter's home. The daughter says to her mother that she is so surprised that she waited so long and didn't leave a long time ago. She said, "I tried once..." as she stares into another time, not answering her daughter's inquiry, "What happened?" We're left to wonder whether Madylyn tells her daughter the story about her father hanging her out the window.
It also appears that Gerald left his whorish wife Lucetta. I find it interesting that the name Lucetta was chosen for her character. Her name means "light," but she's very deceptive and seductive, only appearing as a person of light. In one scene she showed to be at work at a daycare or school, out on the playground with young children, and she was very patient and gentle-spoken. She was sugary sweet when seducing Jack. In truth, she was full of darkness. She verbally expressed to Jack, upon being asked, that she did not believe in God. She made her own good and bad, delighting in what she saw right in her own eyes.
Jack is driving down a street one night and happens to see Gerald walking. He stops, takes a gun from his car, gets out of the car, and chases Gerald down. He has him in a place of darkness and starts cursing him and pushes him up against the wall of a building. He presses the barrel of the gun to Gerald's forehead and falsely accuses Gerald of ruining his life. Gerald is calm throughout the whole scenario, which pisses off Jack even more. He threatens, "You don't think I'll kill you?!" Gerald calmly replies, "No, I don't." He's right, as Jack eventually takes the gun away and leaves. Jack (meaning "man") has an exceedingly sinful heart, but he does not want to break the PHYSICAL law of the land and so be imprisoned physically. Nevertheless, he's in SPIRITUAL bonds, spiritually imprisoned, in bondage to his sin.
A person can be free in God's eyes while in physical bondage (in prison), and a person who is physically free can be in spiritual bondage. There are many who care about what man thinks and so will put on outward show of being righteous, but they are not fooling God who judges the heart and mind. Many do not want to humble themselves and repent of their sins. They have hearts of stone. Gerald started out as "Stone," and he was indeed hardened. But, he underwent a spiritual transformation, and his heart softened. In the end, it was Jack who had the stony heart and chose to remain in tormenting spiritual bondage, rather than humbly confess his sins and repent. There are many who sit in buildings made by man, imprisoned who are spiritually free, and there are many, many more who, although physically free, are imprisoned by their sin and their refusal to free themselves by humbly repenting.
At the age of 18 I was charged with credit card fraud across interstate lines. When I was 20, I was served papers by the Secret Service and a U.S. marshal and summoned to court a U.S. district court to enter a plea. I entered a plea of guilty. I had shown a complete turnaround. In the end, I was not convicted of the crime, though I was guilty and had pled guilty. I received GRACE upon my repentance. Many looked down on me with great judgment for one of the lesser sins of the Ten Commandments, one of the only sins that did not require the physical death penalty if physically transgressed. Those same people were guilty of greater sins and great sins of the heart, sins of which they do not repent. But, those physical sins and those greater sins of the heart are not punished by the law in place by man of this land. Though those same people claim to be Christians, they care more about the law of man and what man thinks than what God thinks.
Which are YOU? Were you a Stone that is now changed, or are you a Jack who is physically free and looked upon through the eyes of man as "a good person" but are in spiritual bondage to your sin and "wicked" through the eyes of God?
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Books, Courses, and Documentaries of 2010 and a Look at 2011
This post lists the books, documentaries, and courses I read and watched during the course of the last Roman year, and then I'm posting my planned books-to-read and courses-to-watch for this Roman year. This does not include the various scientific and historical studies and articles I've read, scientific magazines, things read to the children, nor any other educational reading, nor does it include my bible readings and studies. This kind of post each year is helpful to me and is not necessarily helpful to anyone else.
Books I Read in 2010:
Finished reading Nature Got There First: Inventions Inspired by Nature by Phil Gates
What a Difference a Daddy Makes by Dr. Kevin Leman
DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Dr. Rick Strassman
Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels
The Truth Shall Set You Free: Herbert Armstrong's Empire Exposed by John Tuit
Women in the Church: A Biblical Study on the Role of Women in the Church by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi
The Story of V: A Natural History of Female Sexuality by Catherine Blackledge
The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Jenkins (does not include reading all the recipes included)
Almost finished with Married for Life by Bill Morelan (reading along with Nathan)
I wrote and published the book God's Law of Love: The Perfect Law of Liberty
Courses I Watched in 2010:
Linguistics: The Science of Language by Professor John McWhorter
The Story of Human Language by Professor John McWhorter
The History of the English Language by Professor Seth Lerer
and part of Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution by Professor Richard Wolfson
Documentaries I Watched in 2010:
11th Hour
Love, Hate, and Propaganda
Botany of Desire
Collapse
I.O.U.S.A.
Constantine's Sword
***************************
Books I Plan to Read in 2011:
To finish Married for Life by Bill Morelan (reading w/ Nathan)
In Search of Dad by Charles Newbold, Jr.
DNA and the Criminal Justice System: The Technology of Justice edited by David Lazer
Adam, Eve, and the Genome edited by Susan Thistlethwaite
Girls! by William Beausay & Kathryn Beausay
Faith Training: Raising Kids Who Love the Lord by Dr. Joe White
And re-reading the content of what is about to become the book The Biblical Prophets for Today by Keith Hunt
Courses I Plan to Watch in 2011:
To finish Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution by Professor Richard Wolfson
Biology and Human Behavior: The Neurological Origins of Individuality by Professor Robert Sapolsky
Understanding the Brain by Professor Jeanette Norden
Understanding Genetics by Professor David Sadava
and The Joy of Science by Professor Robert M. Hazen
Documentaries I Plan to Watch in 2011:
I AM (will be released in theaters Feb. 18)
and whatever else I decide through the coming months
Books I Read in 2010:
Finished reading Nature Got There First: Inventions Inspired by Nature by Phil Gates
What a Difference a Daddy Makes by Dr. Kevin Leman
DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Dr. Rick Strassman
Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels
The Truth Shall Set You Free: Herbert Armstrong's Empire Exposed by John Tuit
Women in the Church: A Biblical Study on the Role of Women in the Church by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi
The Story of V: A Natural History of Female Sexuality by Catherine Blackledge
The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Jenkins (does not include reading all the recipes included)
Almost finished with Married for Life by Bill Morelan (reading along with Nathan)
I wrote and published the book God's Law of Love: The Perfect Law of Liberty
Courses I Watched in 2010:
Linguistics: The Science of Language by Professor John McWhorter
The Story of Human Language by Professor John McWhorter
The History of the English Language by Professor Seth Lerer
and part of Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution by Professor Richard Wolfson
Documentaries I Watched in 2010:
11th Hour
Love, Hate, and Propaganda
Botany of Desire
Collapse
I.O.U.S.A.
Constantine's Sword
***************************
Books I Plan to Read in 2011:
To finish Married for Life by Bill Morelan (reading w/ Nathan)
In Search of Dad by Charles Newbold, Jr.
DNA and the Criminal Justice System: The Technology of Justice edited by David Lazer
Adam, Eve, and the Genome edited by Susan Thistlethwaite
Girls! by William Beausay & Kathryn Beausay
Faith Training: Raising Kids Who Love the Lord by Dr. Joe White
And re-reading the content of what is about to become the book The Biblical Prophets for Today by Keith Hunt
Courses I Plan to Watch in 2011:
To finish Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution by Professor Richard Wolfson
Biology and Human Behavior: The Neurological Origins of Individuality by Professor Robert Sapolsky
Understanding the Brain by Professor Jeanette Norden
Understanding Genetics by Professor David Sadava
and The Joy of Science by Professor Robert M. Hazen
Documentaries I Plan to Watch in 2011:
I AM (will be released in theaters Feb. 18)
and whatever else I decide through the coming months
Monday, January 17, 2011
Some Miss the Rebellious Years in the Prison School System
Recently, I've been carefully meditating on the prison school system and the adolescent rebellion that is common in mainstream society, as well as the difference between those who are glad those years of sin and rebellion are behind them and those who miss them with a yearning to be able to go back.
These reflections are a result of a lot of comments over the years by various individuals about missing public school. Well, I am one who can't imagine what is wrong in the head of someone who would actually miss being locked away in an institution for eight plus hours a day, five days a week, where you are made to sit in desks and be force-fed information you may or may not care about or of which may or may not be true, where you are punished for talking or questioning and for needing to visit the toilet, where you are not allowed to keep water or chew gum or eat a snack or, or or...
I've noticed a common theme, though, among most people who miss those days. They miss things like the memories of cheating on school work, sneaking this or that, and getting away with numerous other things. In other words, they miss themselves and their fellow peers all acting in rebellion with each other and getting a kick out of it. Interesting, I thought. Then I thought of the many in prisons who actually enjoy being there, because they have criminal minds, and they enjoy fighting, stealing, doing drugs, engaging in fornication, etc. inside the prison walls. These are the same things that are increasing in public schools. Even when locked away, they get away with evil.
I chose to do a quick research on people who actually enjoy an adult prison, and a blog with an article on the child and adolescent prison school system caught my eye. I agree very much with his post.
I've for many years called the public school system a prison. There is no freedom and no joy in learning, and so the love of learning dies in most people by the time they finish their sentence. Thank God I survived. I always loved learning and exploring, and I feel as if I was VERY robbed of precious time during those years. I also was not spending my adult-training years learning beside my mother how to be an adult woman. Instead, I spent my time being force-fed repeated basics and then nonsense that I would never use in my life, and then getting in trouble with my peers, both in and out of school.
So then I was thrown into the world with a major handicap, plus I'd been morally defiled. By God's grace, I chose to live as a truth-seeker, ever-growing in knowledge, and I chose to keep my children at home where they can function normally, learning in a normal environment. They learn the basics of reading, writing, and math, and they learn everything else by asking and exploring and reading. They learn to follow the law of God, and they go with me to places so that they can learn how to do things in the real world. When they enter their teen/adolescent years, they should be ready to start their adult training, beside the parent of the same sex.
My adolescent years, just like the adolescent years of most people in this nation, are stained terribly by SIN and REBELLION. I remember in my elementary school years, my best friend and I were called "Goody Two Shoes" and were often persecuted for being studious and well-behaved. As we entered our adolescent years, things became much more difficult. We were under tremendous pressure to "be cool," and to be cool among your peers, you had to be bad. Adolescents dishonor their parents, fight and say hateful things to others (some even kill others), abuse food and drugs, engage in sexually immoral behavior, steal, lie and cheat, and are never satisfied with what they already have.
Oh, I feel just AWFUL about my adolescent years. It's a time I want to ERASE from my memory. I sure do NOT want to return to those days of imprisonment and sin.
The public school system really is much like the prison system, even down to the poor quality food. Just as criminals in our society are looked upon as "cool" if they've done time in prison, and the more they've done, the "cooler" they are, adult sinners of my generation and the one that followed crave the time of crime once again. They look on those days as "the good ol' days," but most of us who have turned to God look back on those imprisoned and sinful years and loathe them. We remember our sins, and we remember being locked up, and we are glad to have been set free.
These reflections are a result of a lot of comments over the years by various individuals about missing public school. Well, I am one who can't imagine what is wrong in the head of someone who would actually miss being locked away in an institution for eight plus hours a day, five days a week, where you are made to sit in desks and be force-fed information you may or may not care about or of which may or may not be true, where you are punished for talking or questioning and for needing to visit the toilet, where you are not allowed to keep water or chew gum or eat a snack or, or or...
I've noticed a common theme, though, among most people who miss those days. They miss things like the memories of cheating on school work, sneaking this or that, and getting away with numerous other things. In other words, they miss themselves and their fellow peers all acting in rebellion with each other and getting a kick out of it. Interesting, I thought. Then I thought of the many in prisons who actually enjoy being there, because they have criminal minds, and they enjoy fighting, stealing, doing drugs, engaging in fornication, etc. inside the prison walls. These are the same things that are increasing in public schools. Even when locked away, they get away with evil.
I chose to do a quick research on people who actually enjoy an adult prison, and a blog with an article on the child and adolescent prison school system caught my eye. I agree very much with his post.
I've for many years called the public school system a prison. There is no freedom and no joy in learning, and so the love of learning dies in most people by the time they finish their sentence. Thank God I survived. I always loved learning and exploring, and I feel as if I was VERY robbed of precious time during those years. I also was not spending my adult-training years learning beside my mother how to be an adult woman. Instead, I spent my time being force-fed repeated basics and then nonsense that I would never use in my life, and then getting in trouble with my peers, both in and out of school.
So then I was thrown into the world with a major handicap, plus I'd been morally defiled. By God's grace, I chose to live as a truth-seeker, ever-growing in knowledge, and I chose to keep my children at home where they can function normally, learning in a normal environment. They learn the basics of reading, writing, and math, and they learn everything else by asking and exploring and reading. They learn to follow the law of God, and they go with me to places so that they can learn how to do things in the real world. When they enter their teen/adolescent years, they should be ready to start their adult training, beside the parent of the same sex.
My adolescent years, just like the adolescent years of most people in this nation, are stained terribly by SIN and REBELLION. I remember in my elementary school years, my best friend and I were called "Goody Two Shoes" and were often persecuted for being studious and well-behaved. As we entered our adolescent years, things became much more difficult. We were under tremendous pressure to "be cool," and to be cool among your peers, you had to be bad. Adolescents dishonor their parents, fight and say hateful things to others (some even kill others), abuse food and drugs, engage in sexually immoral behavior, steal, lie and cheat, and are never satisfied with what they already have.
Oh, I feel just AWFUL about my adolescent years. It's a time I want to ERASE from my memory. I sure do NOT want to return to those days of imprisonment and sin.
The public school system really is much like the prison system, even down to the poor quality food. Just as criminals in our society are looked upon as "cool" if they've done time in prison, and the more they've done, the "cooler" they are, adult sinners of my generation and the one that followed crave the time of crime once again. They look on those days as "the good ol' days," but most of us who have turned to God look back on those imprisoned and sinful years and loathe them. We remember our sins, and we remember being locked up, and we are glad to have been set free.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
By Grace We Are Saved, Not by Works: A Lesson to My Son
This week when the children and I went to the market, my seven-year-old firstborn son exhibited behavior with which I was displeased. He is usually my superstar helper when we go to the market. I had to repeatedly remind him to do his responsibilities as he should and to not fool around.
I told him after we left that I was going to give a bad report on him to his daddy. It's close to an hour's drive back home, and when we were about twenty minutes away from home, Will said, "Momma, if a person does bad works, and then if he does more good works, does that [cancel out] the bad works?"
I knew why he asked. He had been sitting back there formulating a plan to get out of the probability of being punished by his father. He wondered whether he could get home and do all sorts of good works to get me on his good side, and then I would just cancel out his bad works with the good works of which he would have more, and so then he'd be saved from punishment.
I responded to his question, "No, sweetie, it doesn't work that way. That would be salvation by works. A person cannot be saved from punishment for bad works by doing more good works than he did bad. Salvation from punishment can only come from grace."
I continued, "However, a person who does not stop his bad works and start doing good works won't receive that grace, but the fact remains that he did bad works. Think of it this way. Say I go out and murder someone. I say to the judges that I am sorry, and I'll now do only good works. I'll do the good works of not killing anyone else and will do all manner of other good works. But, not killing other people doesn't and cannot make up for the person I did kill. Only if the people who were hurt by that person's death gave me pardon, gave me grace can I be saved from punishment. But people don't give grace to a murderer who feels no remorse and clearly has the mindset of murdering again."
Will said, "I need grace! Momma, will you please give me grace and not tell Daddy?"
I told him that I knew he was usually well-behaved and that he needed to make sure it didn't happen again; next week when we go to the market, he'd better act the right way. I added that he also needed to make sure he walked the path of righteousness for the remainder of the day, to the time his daddy would get home. I ended by telling him that I forgave him and that I wouldn't bring charges against him to his daddy.
Well, much to my disappointment, Will let his own will get out of control for the rest of the day. He can be so wonderful, but that day was not one of those days. I told him he'd be getting a bad report. I did give his daddy a bad report, and it included the market details. The promised grace was no longer valid, because he had fallen from grace.
Our relationship with our Holy Father and with our Lord Brother, Salvation, is no different. We are saved by grace, because we have all sinned, and the Perfect Firstborn, Salvation, sacrificed for us. Big Brother took the blame for our wrongdoings. He took the punishment from Father. The punishment did not belong to him. Salvation did no wrong in Father's eyes. He was Father's Perfect Firstborn, playing a life out in human flesh without sin. Salvation is Number 1 in Father's eyes, his most beloved Son. None of us will ever come close to comparing, and certainly no number of good works is going to cancel out any bad works. ONE bad work, ONE sin, and we come SHORT of God's glory, and Salvation, the Firstborn, is Father's glory. We should all bow the knee to Salvation, because he's EARNED his right to be Father's Top Son. None of us have EARNED anything...but death. We all have at least ONE sin. Salvation had NO sin. We had better all bow to Salvation and do our best to be like him, and he'll give a good word to Father. Father will see that we are trying to be like Salvation, though knowing we'll never be as good as Salvation, and honor Salvation before Father.
That is how we get GRACE. We have to have the heart of wanting to do everything right and trying to walk on the path of righteousness the way our Elder Brother Salvation did. If we are not even trying to obey Father's household law the way Salvation did and do not care or only care about some commandments but not others, then we shall not get grace from Father.
It's interesting to me that most of those who call themselves "Christian" shout to those who keep Father's commandments and do not play the whore in Father's household but keep themselves as a virgin in his Royal Household, "We're not saved by works! We're saved by grace." Well, those of us who keep Father's commandments are not seeking to be saved by works. We are seeking to be saved by grace. We truly were remorseful that we had broken Father's commandments--all ten of them--and we turned to good works. No matter how many times we don't steal, it won't make up for the time(s) we have stolen. No matter how much we do not murder, it won't make up for the times we did (even in heart). We're not saved by works. But, we know we're not going to get covered by that promised grace through Salvation before Father's throne if we do not change our ways.
If Will acts up at the market next week, he'll really be in trouble, because it is known that he can conduct himself properly and make me very proud, and so if he does not even try to do what is right and instead acts out of line--off the right path--he won't receive grace. It'll be even worse. It's pretty bad when someone gives a transgressor grace, and then he goes back to the evil deeds he had claimed to be remorseful for and turn away from.
So, those saved by grace won't be those who shout loudly to Father's righteous sons that they're "saved by grace, not by works," but those saved by grace will be the ones who sought grace and then stopped breaking the commandments. Most of those "saved by grace" shouters agree that one should not murder, steal, commit adultery, lie, etc. It's mostly the fourth commandment with which they hate. They prefer to fornicate--to play the harlot in Father's Royal House--by keeping pagan-originated holidays, like the weekly "Sunday" first day of the week and the annual holiday feasts of Easter and Christmas, etc. They do not want to walk as Salvation did, keeping the commanded holy days of Father that outline our plan of salvation. Father and Salvation are not pleased that those who claim to be in their Household do not keep Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and 8th Day. This reveals the true Salvation, the true Christ.
Oh, how I LOVE the TRUTH...how I love and meditate daily in Father's royal law. I aim to please him daily. I cry when I fail miserably to compare to my Brother Salvation. Oh, but I then THANK Father for his grace and Salvation for his name, because he is my Salvation. I have FAITH that I am under the loving GRACE of my Holy Father, because I invite him to search my heart so that he knows I love him and aim to please him and follow Salvation's footsteps and because I honor Salvation as the rightful TOP HEIR and am just thankful that I even am called worthy enough through grace to co-inherit my Father's possessions.
PRAISE you, Father, Most High, and my Beloved Lord Salvation. Blessed are you both by those in your Royal Household who LOVE and SERVE you in SPIRIT and in TRUTH!
Amen!
I told him after we left that I was going to give a bad report on him to his daddy. It's close to an hour's drive back home, and when we were about twenty minutes away from home, Will said, "Momma, if a person does bad works, and then if he does more good works, does that [cancel out] the bad works?"
I knew why he asked. He had been sitting back there formulating a plan to get out of the probability of being punished by his father. He wondered whether he could get home and do all sorts of good works to get me on his good side, and then I would just cancel out his bad works with the good works of which he would have more, and so then he'd be saved from punishment.
I responded to his question, "No, sweetie, it doesn't work that way. That would be salvation by works. A person cannot be saved from punishment for bad works by doing more good works than he did bad. Salvation from punishment can only come from grace."
I continued, "However, a person who does not stop his bad works and start doing good works won't receive that grace, but the fact remains that he did bad works. Think of it this way. Say I go out and murder someone. I say to the judges that I am sorry, and I'll now do only good works. I'll do the good works of not killing anyone else and will do all manner of other good works. But, not killing other people doesn't and cannot make up for the person I did kill. Only if the people who were hurt by that person's death gave me pardon, gave me grace can I be saved from punishment. But people don't give grace to a murderer who feels no remorse and clearly has the mindset of murdering again."
Will said, "I need grace! Momma, will you please give me grace and not tell Daddy?"
I told him that I knew he was usually well-behaved and that he needed to make sure it didn't happen again; next week when we go to the market, he'd better act the right way. I added that he also needed to make sure he walked the path of righteousness for the remainder of the day, to the time his daddy would get home. I ended by telling him that I forgave him and that I wouldn't bring charges against him to his daddy.
Well, much to my disappointment, Will let his own will get out of control for the rest of the day. He can be so wonderful, but that day was not one of those days. I told him he'd be getting a bad report. I did give his daddy a bad report, and it included the market details. The promised grace was no longer valid, because he had fallen from grace.
Our relationship with our Holy Father and with our Lord Brother, Salvation, is no different. We are saved by grace, because we have all sinned, and the Perfect Firstborn, Salvation, sacrificed for us. Big Brother took the blame for our wrongdoings. He took the punishment from Father. The punishment did not belong to him. Salvation did no wrong in Father's eyes. He was Father's Perfect Firstborn, playing a life out in human flesh without sin. Salvation is Number 1 in Father's eyes, his most beloved Son. None of us will ever come close to comparing, and certainly no number of good works is going to cancel out any bad works. ONE bad work, ONE sin, and we come SHORT of God's glory, and Salvation, the Firstborn, is Father's glory. We should all bow the knee to Salvation, because he's EARNED his right to be Father's Top Son. None of us have EARNED anything...but death. We all have at least ONE sin. Salvation had NO sin. We had better all bow to Salvation and do our best to be like him, and he'll give a good word to Father. Father will see that we are trying to be like Salvation, though knowing we'll never be as good as Salvation, and honor Salvation before Father.
That is how we get GRACE. We have to have the heart of wanting to do everything right and trying to walk on the path of righteousness the way our Elder Brother Salvation did. If we are not even trying to obey Father's household law the way Salvation did and do not care or only care about some commandments but not others, then we shall not get grace from Father.
It's interesting to me that most of those who call themselves "Christian" shout to those who keep Father's commandments and do not play the whore in Father's household but keep themselves as a virgin in his Royal Household, "We're not saved by works! We're saved by grace." Well, those of us who keep Father's commandments are not seeking to be saved by works. We are seeking to be saved by grace. We truly were remorseful that we had broken Father's commandments--all ten of them--and we turned to good works. No matter how many times we don't steal, it won't make up for the time(s) we have stolen. No matter how much we do not murder, it won't make up for the times we did (even in heart). We're not saved by works. But, we know we're not going to get covered by that promised grace through Salvation before Father's throne if we do not change our ways.
If Will acts up at the market next week, he'll really be in trouble, because it is known that he can conduct himself properly and make me very proud, and so if he does not even try to do what is right and instead acts out of line--off the right path--he won't receive grace. It'll be even worse. It's pretty bad when someone gives a transgressor grace, and then he goes back to the evil deeds he had claimed to be remorseful for and turn away from.
So, those saved by grace won't be those who shout loudly to Father's righteous sons that they're "saved by grace, not by works," but those saved by grace will be the ones who sought grace and then stopped breaking the commandments. Most of those "saved by grace" shouters agree that one should not murder, steal, commit adultery, lie, etc. It's mostly the fourth commandment with which they hate. They prefer to fornicate--to play the harlot in Father's Royal House--by keeping pagan-originated holidays, like the weekly "Sunday" first day of the week and the annual holiday feasts of Easter and Christmas, etc. They do not want to walk as Salvation did, keeping the commanded holy days of Father that outline our plan of salvation. Father and Salvation are not pleased that those who claim to be in their Household do not keep Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and 8th Day. This reveals the true Salvation, the true Christ.
Oh, how I LOVE the TRUTH...how I love and meditate daily in Father's royal law. I aim to please him daily. I cry when I fail miserably to compare to my Brother Salvation. Oh, but I then THANK Father for his grace and Salvation for his name, because he is my Salvation. I have FAITH that I am under the loving GRACE of my Holy Father, because I invite him to search my heart so that he knows I love him and aim to please him and follow Salvation's footsteps and because I honor Salvation as the rightful TOP HEIR and am just thankful that I even am called worthy enough through grace to co-inherit my Father's possessions.
PRAISE you, Father, Most High, and my Beloved Lord Salvation. Blessed are you both by those in your Royal Household who LOVE and SERVE you in SPIRIT and in TRUTH!
Amen!
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