My Goal is Safety

     I saw a Spectrum repairman's truck yesterday. It bore a plaque which said, "My goal is safety." That seemed ludicrous to me. If he wanted to merely be safe he would have stayed at home! His actual goal was reward for his work, and safety was a strategy in obtaining the goal. I worked for General Motors for years, and they had to same slogan. Safety is much more than a slogan; it requires caring, planning, effort, and methodology.
    Why write about slogans? Because Christians' goals are more than safety. Remember all the times you have heard, I'm saved. Actually, they are not, but they are "safe." (Greek sosos; "safe"). Safety is not their goal; saved is. Safety is the strategy to obtain the goal. The actual goal is to be saved from Hell and the strategy for that is to endure to the end. (Mat 10:22). The enduring part must be done safely to be saved. Safety is protection from Satan and his demons. Demons are much more powerful than humans, so for those who see the need, God grows a hedge of safety about the faithful (Job 1:10).
    The hedge of safety is available to all who need it. Regeneration, or "born again" is when sinners are enlightened to the fact: I can't save myself but Jesus can, and then trust Jesus to do the saving! (John 3). Regeneration, then, is willingly asking God for safety, trusting that he has that ability, and then living in safety. Safety has strategies, just as the Spectrum repairman; that is to live a safe life by being cautious. They don't do stupid things like holding onto voltage leads for the thrill of it!
     Neither do Christians do stupid things, like lascivious behavior for the thrill of it. To not be killed by stupidity, the repairman stays away from high voltage - the potential for current to flow. For the Christian to be safe, he or she stays away from temptation - the potential to sin.
     Sometimes the repairman needs a second eye to remain safe. Christians can't stay safe alone either. They always need the second set of eyes, ears, and service. Christians are to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Mat 6:13). That is, Lord, keep me in safety from the high voltage so that I won't be shocked by sin! Sin kills. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). Not to die is the goal. Living safely is the way not to die. By not entering into temptation keeps Christian safe from the Devil until they are ultimately saved by profitability - "To die is gain" (Phil 1:21). Death is the goal, then, for salvation is the prize. It's not safety which is the goal but salvation! What is salvation from? The wiles of the Devil and deliverance from eternity in Hell. Death is the time of salvation; that's when Jesus grabs you from the fiery furnace and provides new indestructible flesh.
     Words mean things. It should be obvious that safety is not your goal. There is more to the reward than the enlightenment about salvation. The goal is to stay safe until the end to obtain the prize (1 Cor 9:24). The goal is salvation. Staying safe is walking the narrow way through the straight gate (Mat 7:13-14).  It is a short walk for some, and a long walk for others, but for both, it is safety until salvation is achieved.

The Prosperity Gospel

   God made a covenant with his people, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Mat 24:12-14). The covenant is for parties of two parts; to wit: God shall save when and if Christians "endure to the end." Endure what? Tough love or tribulation. Loving God and others is necessary. "Waxing cold" is apathy toward God and others, not necessarily hatred.
     God made a similar covenant with Abraham, but Jews missed the point. examine the Abrahamic Covenant, known as "the Brit bein HaBetarim, the "Covenant Between the Parts" in Hebrew. Calvinists accept that covenant as one part - the person does  nothing, and God does it all. The term for that is sola gratia which means "by grace alone."  Note that nobody but Jesus died because of your sin. You were not on the cross but Jesus was. That is sola gratia. The other part of the  "parts" of the Covenant is, What you do with that grace? The correct answer is that you appreciate Jesus for that and love him for it. It is not graceful to be given a gift, then reject it. It is necessary for anyone to accept the gift of grace and love God for it. 
     If given a new cell phone for Christmas, it is appreciated if it works because a non-working cell-phone has little value. If one works and the recipient has a need for it, normal people would love the giver and appreciate the working gift. Given that allegory, for people to love and appreciated God, they must believe that his death on the cross was efficacious.; that Jesus's spilled blood and water was an acceptable propitiation for their own sins. If one truly believes that, they are born again (John 3:7). They must trust that Jesus's sacrifice of himself was sufficient, and there is no need to do anything themselves just to make sure! 
     The trust and gratitude they have must endure to the end. Five minutes of faith is not enduring. "The end" of which Jesus spoke is when the gospel is preached to all the nations; then the end will come. Most people will not make it to the end; their end comes at the time of death. Thus, Christians who trust Jesus until they die "shall be saved." Once converted or born again, "shall be"  is sometimes in the future from then. That time is when Satan can  no longer influence the Christian. Death prevents Christians from any further persuasion, and regardless of what preachers say, the dead cannot be preached or prayed into heaven if they have not first believed (John 3:16)! "Belief" was translated too generally. The Greek word " pisteuw" means "faith." Faith then, must endure to the end. That entails loving Jesus until death as the dead cannot change their belief.
     The point is that the two party Covenant of Grace is Jesus dying in your place, and you keeping the faith unto the end. The promise is "shall be saved." Nowhere in the scheme of salvation is property, health, money, or worldly pleasures offered. "Prosperity" is limited by the Covenant of Grace to salvation at the time of death. True Christians will appreciate that and accept that prosperity at face value. True Christians can expect nothing else! Not even is tomorrow promised (Jas 4:13-14), let alone any other material or emotional prosperity. In fact, Christians can expect persecution for Jesus's name sake (Mat 5:10), and "Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor 4:9). Just as with Job when God kept him safe (Job 1:10), He will not allow Satan to destroy the believer (Job 1:12). That is the "safety" (Greek sosos) in which Christians are kept until saved in the end.
     Now back to the Abrahamic Covenant: It too was a Covenant of Grace, the same Covenant. It was just misunderstood. The prosperity the Hebrews was promised was the the land which became the Kingdom of David. To this day, Jews believe that was the Covenant, and the land shall remain theirs until the end since it is an eternal covenant (Gen 15:19-21). To fill the land, Abraham's line would be made a great nation (Gen 12:1-3). For them, that prosperity for them was salvation.
     Also, that land was to be for all of Abraham's descendants (Gen 17:2-9) and was sealed for perpetuity by circumcision (Gen 17:9-14).  What they read but failed to comprehend was the part about, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen 12: 1-3). You may have missed that promise for prosperity yourself because you fail to consider the Word "blessed" to any extent!
     The keyword in the Abrahamic Covenant is not "land," but "blessed," meaning "of or enjoying happiness, specifically, Christianity: enjoying the bliss of heaven" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The Hebrews focused on Canaan land even though Abraham was focused on the true place of milk and honey - Heaven. He made it there whereas many Hebrews did and will not. Scripture refers to prosperity in Heaven as "Abraham's Bosom" (Luke 16:22). I believe that the paradise of Israel is the place of the Garden of Eden and New Jerusalem when Heaven comes down (Rev 21:2).
     The Hebrews saw Israel as the prize, but Abraham saw the unseen. His destiny was the paradise of Heaven and to this day, Jews think it was the promised land. Judaism, as practiced, is the prosperity gospel, little different from what televangelists preach. Judaism itself, however, looked toward Jesus, and is early Christianity since Abraham's "prosperity" was obtained by his great faith:

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. (Rom 4:16-17).

     The faith of Abraham is our faith. His brand of Judaism is Christianity! Paul, in the scripture above, pointed out to the Romans that the faith of the spiritual Jews is the same as the Covenant of Grace through Jesus. He even paraphrased the Abrahamic Covenant to make his point.
     Many Romans got the point (the Gentiles) as the Jews still missed the point in that the "promised land" was not really the paradise of Canaan but the Paradise in Heaven. Abraham knew where they were going but most did not. He focused on death at the place of the skull (Golgotha) as most focused on the prosperity of the land.
     I fear that too many Christians are followers of Jesus for the wrong reasons. Although, the Comforter assists Christians in tribulation, He did not promise to provide riches. Remembering that the love of money (avarice) is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10), and that "avarice" is prosperity from that love, then the prosperity anti-gospel is evil. Prosperity Christianity misses the point. They are the Jews who would never see the promised land, and who died in the wilderness. They failed to endure tribulation to the end! Theirs is a false gospel.

Identifying Trees of the Garden

     It occurred to me one day: I see men's souls as "trees". I had believed for quite some time that Adam, who was assigned to, "dress and keep the Garden" (Gen 2:15), was given the responsibility to attend to the other living souls who would come through multiplication. Why was it not the Garden? Because the Garden didn't need attended, but people do! 

     In the midst of the Garden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He was to attend those trees as well. The Tree of Life represents Jesus Christ, and the other tree philosophies. I have renamed it "The Philosophy Tree." Dressing and keeping the Garden" entails right doctrine (The Tree of Life) and the doctrine of the world (The Philosophy Tree). They each have their place, one is the Doctrine of God and the other knowing the difference between good doctrine and evil doctrine - the Law of God and the law of sin, respectively.

     My thoughts about the trees in the Garden was verified when I read about blind Bartimaeus's healing. He saw, "men as trees walking." (Mark 8:24). Later on, I discovered that Isaiah heard men as trees singing:

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isa 55:12).

     Then, to my astonishment, Isaiah clarified it more:

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isa 6:3)…  For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isa 61:11).

     Speaking of Zion - Old Jerusalem - what I believe is the location of the Garden, the people of Zion are called "trees of righteousness." Isaiah went on to validate "dressing and keeping" those trees when he wrote, "the Lord... will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." In other words, God will grow the Garden by the "trees" within it. Who is to dress and keep it? God's people will minister or superintend the "trees" of the Garden:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound... (Isa 61:1).

     Dressing and keeping the Garden is, "preaching good tidings to the meek."  Since only God is good (Mat 19:17), the "news" then is preaching "the good news," or the gospel of salvation.
    Who are the meek? Those who diminish themselves (born again; John 3:7) in front of God, and by that, will "inherit the Earth" (Mat 5:5).
     Do you not see? Isaiah was preaching the gospel! Who are the "preachers" to whom he was referring? You Christians - assigned to dress and keep living souls because of the royal priesthood (1 Pet 2:9). According to plan, Christians all have the same job assignment as Adam; we are to serve and keep a hedge of safety (Strong's Dictionary; "dress and keep") about the "trees" of the Garden.
    Serving and keeping safe is agape-type love - the way God intends for His people to love the other "trees." When God made that assignment, it was His way of saying the following:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Mat 22:37-40). 

     Why do you suppose that Matthew used the expression "hang all the law and prophets." I believe he was referring to Jesus hanging on his "tree" - the cross. (Acts 5:30) which was in Old Jerusalem - the midst of the Garden of Eden. 

     God spoke the Greatest Commandment back in the Garden of Eden and Isaiah commented on it! One can find the entire gospel of Jesus within the chapters of Genesis, mostly in chapters one through three.

     Throughout scripture, mankind is always punished by death by hanging from trees (Gen 40:19; Deut 21:22; Josh 8:29, and so forth). Judgment is about whose "tree" people choose to hang on. Faithful people hang from the Tree of Life, vicariously in Jesus, and the iniquitous from the Philosophy Tree, or hanged vicariously from the unrepentant sinner's cross or "tree."

     If people know the New Testament, they can understand the Old Testament if they look for Jesus in God's Word. Holy Scripture is all about Jesus. The Doctrine of Christ (Heb 6:1) was in the Tree of Life and the doctrine of men under the Tree of Knowledge, hence "The Philosophy Tree."

    If royal priests don't serve and keep safe other "trees of the Garden," the hedge God puts around the faithful (Job 1:10) will not be there to keep men safe. 

     There was a gate around the Garden protected by cherubim. That implies that there was a hedge of safety about the Garden for there to be a gate. Inside the Garden of God is where the faithful are safe. Since Jesus is in the midst of the Garden, and His "Tree" is the center point, then those who stand under Jesus's Tree - the Cross - are kept safe from the evil one. The unrepentant sinner was symbolic of Satan crucified on his Tree - the Philosophy Tree of the Doctrine of Men. Choose "trees" wisely people; your life depends on it!

Memorial Day – In Remembrance

Memorial Day has historically been to honor military veterans who have died. My early childhood memories, though, included all the deceased. Memorial Day was the day to visit the graves of all deceased family members – to have remembrance of them. Taking “communion” is a “memorial day” of sorts, remembering Jesus. The bread and wine are remembrances of his body and blood, respectively.

Memorial Day is a remembrance of veteran’s bodies and blood that they were willing to shed for others. Those who served in the armed forces and risked their lives deserve to be honored. They thought it fit to shed their blood for the nation, indubitably for freedom. Jesus died for the freedom from sin and from the chains of Satan. It is noble to fight for just causes and freedom has always been just. Although many came home from war or were safe from the roar of artillery, they were still willing to be there if necessary. We the people, are still free today because others were willing to risk their lives on our behalf. None of them knew they were coming home. Many merely deflected those thoughts, but many more depended on God for their safety.

Christians are admonished to love God, not only for his willingness to die, but his very plan to die. Jesus knew all his life his purpose. The Third Commandment can be interpreted to mean, to not take Jesus’s purpose vainly. Neither should we take the soldier’s, sailor’s, airmen’s, or marine’s purposes vainly. If they are dead, they deserve your respect; if they are alive, they deserve your embrace.

Never forget the ultimate “soldier.” We usually think of Jesus as Savior, Judge, or Teacher; but he was also a soldier because he faced sin on our behalf. He defeated principalities, demons, and even Satan so that we would need not ourselves as we are unable to. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. Jesus’s flesh died instead of ours. On another “tree,” Satan’s flesh was vicariously killed. Jesus’s blood did that!

In the last great battle, Jesus will lead the armies of Armageddon. Blood will flow profusely, but he will defeat the forces of the Antichrist on our behalf. Memorial Day as all days, should be in remembrance of Jesus for he too is our Soldier!

Some Christians fight alongside Jesus daily, not against him but with him. Many come to church alone. Perhaps Memorial Day is legitimately for those widows and widowers who suffer alone. Perhaps also for those whose spouses are spiritually dead but are still alive in the flesh. Not to undermine the veterans, but indeed, those who come to church alone are brave warriors as well. I have a friend whose spouse died about two years ago. She feels so alone, even in a crowd. Church is her refuge and God is her companion. She deserves honor as well. They are veterans in the war with principalities and freedom in Heaven is their reward. Not that they deserve Heaven, but that they need comfort.

Today take the time to thank and hug a veteran. They didn’t risk their lives for attention, and certainly not for appreciation, but to keep us all safe from harm; the same reason that Jesus died!

Hug those who are alone because daily they face tribulation without helpmates. Hug those with someone because inside they may be alone. Dead veterans can’t be hugged, but they can be remembered. Those veterans of war and tribulation are among you; hug them while they are alive.

Larry R. Herrin – Memorial Day 2019

About the Election

     Kentucky has been blessed with a godly governor. He has adopted several children, is strongly pro-life, and a sincere Christian. He passed legislation for a strong pro-life bill which Democrats would never let out of committee. He has been the very representative Christian which Christians have always wanted. Why, then, would Christians turn on one of their own with words such as, Anybody but Bevin? Should not Christians support other Christians?
     Something stands in between Christians and their candidate; the love of money or personal gain.They are concerned more what is good for themselves rather than for the good of the people. Years ago, Clinton pointed that out to dense people with his slogan, It's the economy, stupid. People usually do vote their pocket-book because everyone wants prosperity for themselves. Personally, I always enjoyed prosperity while working for General Motors. I did warn my colleagues, especially union members that the money will run out when we are too greedy. Eventually, due to high wages, great benefits, and the economy in general, the money did run out! For me, it was satisfaction with an comfortable income then, over no income later. In other words, workers must be realistic; there are limits to what can be expected.
     In Kentucky, just as General Motors, Democrats for years spent as if there was no tomorrow, borrowing from one fund to pay another. They endangered the retirement fund of public workers by overspending and misappropriating funds. No one complained as things were good for them. They worried little about tomorrow, and let Democrats do their socialistic thing - buy votes with taxpayers money and indulge public workers. Democrats were poor stewards of God's money.
     With time, just as I thought, the retirement fund was in jeopardy and near collapse. Along came Matt Bevin who tried to save the retirement of public workers. The fair thing to do was share the sacrifice. The workers would need to take a reduction in their expected pay raises. They hated Bevin for saving their retirement because they would have to share the responsibility.
     Remembering that few had complained with overspending, now they all complained at fiscal responsibility. Bevin's duty was to preserve their retirement, and he did the hard thing. He was a good steward of the public's money. Now people hate Bevin for doing his job. Christians even hate their Christian brother for being a good steward of their money! The time to complain was not at its "salvation" but when greed expended the money.
     Christians betrayed Bevin for a few pieces of "silver." Of course, Bevin is not Jesus, and didn't do everything perfect, but he fulfilled his purpose. He made the retirement fund safe again. Because he did a good thing, even the religious hates him. Does that not sound familiar?
     Who is the Devil in this situation? The public service unions who took truth and twisted it as usual. They used propaganda to crucify the governor, and Christians call for his crucifixion. For the love of money, they will betray an innocent man. That manner is socialism. Rather than depending on God to take care of them, they depend on the government to use the peoples' "thirty-pieces of silver" for their own gain. The perpetual Abrahamic Covenant is essentially, trust God for prosperity and He will take care of you. Christians wont even trust God and have a little grace for a man of God in doing hard things. Preserving the retirement fund for the people was tough love. Does anyone really think that it was evil to do that, and that it was an easy thing for Bevin to do?
     The Democrat machine runs the unions. Cannot people see that they are doing the Democrat will, and think they are doing the right thing. How about trusting God for a change rather than the government? Inevitably, it is the government which will destroy Christians, but God who will save. Why not heed the voice, for a change, from a man of God? Why allow propagandists to continue manipulating you?
    Although, this rant is about the attack on the Kentucky governor, it could just as well be about the national election as well. Trump is dong the right thing, and evil forces are trying to impede him. Impeachment is a vicarious type of crucifixion, at least the mocking and humiliation of being publicly crucified. Just like David and Saul, Trump was not a good person. King David and the apostle Paul became faithful stewards for God, holding fast to God's will and promise. Why not let Trump do what he was elected to do which was to benefit the most, just not the special few!
     The division we see in the world right now is evil. Neither Bevin nor Trump are responsible for the division. Jesus himself did not come to bring peace to the world, but dissension, as it is written:

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. (Mat 10:34-35).

     Jesus knew that peace would not come; that even family members would be at variance over his will for the nations. Jesus seemed to be the "divider" rather than Savior, but it was Satan who had already established a divisive mindset. Jesus just knew that the world would not accept good things because they were so accustomed to the fruits of the forbidden tree. Christians even go after the fruit of the world, rather than the fruits of the spirit. People like Bevin and Trump stand in the way of  what deceived people think is good fruit, and they get angry for it!

Seeing the Future from the Past

     Isaiah wrote much of the gospel and Revelation into chapter sixty. Books could be written about the meaning and accuracy of the prophecy therein! I have selected a few examples for consideration.

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. (Isa 60:6)

     Compare that with the following New Testament story:

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem... 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was... 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. (Mat 2: 1-11).

     Isaiah named the countries from the East: Sheba which is Saba in southern Arabia, Ephah is believed to be northern Arabia, and Midian was surely in the northwestern part of Arabia. It was not Persians who brought the gifts as normally assumed, but Arabians and north Africans. Shebans were Hamites (Berber, Cushitic, and Egyptia), and Ephah the son of Midian, the son of Abraham and Kuturah. The name Keturah actually means "incense." 1Kings 10 indicates that the queen of Sheba brought King Solomon, "precious stones, spices and gold." Those nations, when Jesus was born, were the sources of gold and the incenses of Frankensense and myrrh.
     There is significance in that: The Jews did not bring gifts but their semetic cousins did, those who were not of Jacob, and so did the Arabians who were traditional enemies of the Jews. That reinforces, what Isaiah was getting across in that chapter; that salvation was not merely for the Jews but Gentiles as well. The bringers of gifts were part of the "whosoever" in John 3:16.

     Now look at the following passage from Isaiah chapter sixty:

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. (Isa 60:13)

     That passage appears to refer to Jesus and his "sanctuary" on the crucifixion cross - where the glory of Lebanon would come unto the people. The glory of Lebanon was their lumber. Isaiah named three woods: fir, pine, and boxwood. The cross is believed to be made of different woods. I have written on that before, but herein three woods are named. Boxwood, also called "dudgeon" represents a dagger, ready to plunge into the enemy. It appears that Jesus's feet during crucifixion rested on boxwood. Isaiah saw the crucifixion from his perch in the past! He believed in Jesus because he saw him die before he was ever born.

18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. (Isa 18:21).

     In these last passages, Isaiah saw New Jerusalem come down to Jerusalem. He saw the apocalypse just as the apostle John did in his Revelation. (Refer to Rev 21).  Israel is so important to people because that shall be the eternal abode of Christians. Revelation 21 is regeneration of the Earth, back to the original generation (Gen 1:1). Adam will come home again, and bring his seed with him!
     Why did Isaiah view "their land" - Israel as Paradise? Because therein "it shall be called righteous" and "they shall inherit the land forever." Israel is more than a small piece of property in an ocean of barbarism. It is eternal Paradise, while at the same time, the original Paradise.

The Cockatrice

      The subject today is "cockatrice" which, of course, everybody is familiar with (sic) as hen houses must all have them. No, surely nobody knows what cockatrices are as they are legendary. However, from scripture, the cockatrice traits can be identified:

Your iniquities have separated between you and your God... They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. (Isa 59:2,5)

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. (Isa 11:8)

Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. (Isa 14:29)

For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. (Jer 8:17)

• Iniquitous people are cockatrices (Isa 59:2). Those are they who sin against God. The greatest sin is denying God, is it not?
• Cockatrices have"eggs." (Isa 59:5)
• Those sinners "weave the spider's web" or are deceitful. (Isa 59:5)
• The cockatrice's eggs causes death. (Isa 59:5) The cockatrice's eggs hatch into a viper. (Isa 59:5).Children, apparently, will play with the cockatrice as if it is not harmful (Isa 11:8). They will not fear its bite or venom. The cockatrice is from the seed of the Serpent (Isa 14:29).
• Once hatched, the egg shall transform into a fiery flying serpent. (Isa 14:29). That is dragonlike.
• God will send cockatrices among the wicked; not merely vipers, but those specific species (Jer 8:17). God will use them to punish sinners. Unlike vipers, they cannot be charmed (Jer 8:17). Or probably induced to a domesticated creature by men.
• Cockatrices shall bite sinners. (Jer 8:17). The bite shall cause death it is assumed because their eggs are poisonous. (Isa 59:5). 

     Let's be honest, there is no known creature existing in reality with those characteristics. There are no dragons, flying vipers, or anything like them in the physical realm. However, Isaiah and Jeremiah confirmed their existence. Then one of two things: (1) They are symbolic, or (2) they are beasts in another realm, or the supernatural. A third option, is that they are allegorical of behaviors of wicked people!

    All types of unfamiliar creatures exist in the supra-natural. They are too numerous to mention them all, but there are cherubim who guard and seraphim who praise and sing. There are all types of demons, principalities and so on. The heavens are full of unseen creatures. Enoch, in his Book of Secrets, indicates that the second heaven is the spiritual pathway for all types of creatures. They can only be seen by people with special spiritual vision. 

     Allegories are symbolic. In this case, it seems logical that cockatrices are allegorical. I believe they represent certain types of wicked people since Isaiah indicated that iniquities have separated them from God. Let's examine what the world believes about cockatrices because that word is a late invention for some unknown Hebrew RTV (pronounced tseh'-fah). Although Strong's Dictionary calls them "adders, poisonous vipers, and snakes," they were written about in addition to those creatures. They were not adders, vipers, nor snakes.

Wikipedia describes cockatrices from the world's viewpoint:

A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a rooster's head.
The ichneumon lay in wait for the crocodile to open its jaws for the trochilus bird to enter and pick its teeth clean.
The cockatrice was the product of an egg laid by a cock (a male chicken) and incubated by a toad; a snake might be substituted in re-tellings.
It has the reputed ability to kill people by either looking at them—"the death-darting eye of Cockatrice"—touching them, or sometimes breathing on them. It was also thought that a cockatrice would die instantly upon hearing a rooster crow, and according to legend, having a cockatrice look at itself in a mirror is one of the few sure-fire ways to kill it.That the cockatrice is a basilisk, a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, which was hybrid from a rooster and a serpent, who can cause death with a single glance.

     Albeit, the RTV was called a cockatrice by the translator John Wycliffe, that must be only a comparison using extant descriptions. The reader must be satisfied that the translators identified that legendary beast the best they knew how. However, Wycliffe used the passages from scripture to arrive at his conclusion; that the Hebrew RTV was much like the legendary cockatrice of mythology. 

     However, its traits can be applied to men - specifically sinful ones. With that deduction, I conclude that it was befitting of people in prophecy since Isaiah and Jeremiah were prophets. One person comes to mind. Peter! Not the righteous Peter who was crucified upside down, but denying Peter who vicariously crucified Jesus and was so ashamed later that he would not allow his executioners to crucify him  right-side-up (Foxe's Book of Martyrs).

     Why Peter? The greatest sin is blasphemy - not being reverent to God. Peter did that to Jesus when he denied him three times! Peter's denial was coincidental with the cock crowing three times. Cocks crowing announce the dawning of a new day - a time of transition from darkness to light. The cock crowing was saying, It is time for Jesus to die. When Peter denied Jesus, it was announced by the cock. Why would a cock crow in scripture unless it had meaning? Perhaps, that was the cockatrice the prophets saw in their vision. The most obvious candidate for crowing when Jesus death was eminent was the Serpent. Perhaps, the Serpent crowed in pride when he heard Jesus's own apostle deny him!

     When Jesus died, the Earth turned to darkness. As the self-proclaimed angel of light, Lucifer was defied when Jesus's death caused darkness. The light of the cock was defied, and soon after the Light of God shined. It was finished! 

     Peter's denial of Jesus was the greatest sin. Peter at that time followed Jesus but had not been converted. Guess who else followed Jesus? The Serpent! He too believed in Jesus enough that he wanted him destroyed. Why would the proud cock crow? To announce a new king perhaps.

     How about cockatrice eggs? I believe that implies the doctrine of sin called the "law of sin." Peter had the Serpent's "egg" - original sin - within him, just as Judas did. That "egg" is the propensity to sin. David in Psalm 51 called it "shapen in iniquity." Although Peter was called (to hatch or be converted) he was imbued with the Serpent''s attributes. His spirit was as the Serpent's, not really as God's. 

    The Serpent was crocodilian in the beginning. From Genesis it was condemned to crawl on it's belly, implying that originally it had legs. Fossil specimens have purportedly been found of snakes with numerous short legs, thus validating scripture. The Egyptian god was for a long time a crocodile. Egypt represents sin in the Bible, and Pharaoh the Devil (Serpent). When Peter denied Jesus, spiritually, as did the Hebrew people, their hearts went back to Egypt and Pharaoh. He chose iniquity over truth. 

     Peter wove a spider's web. When he denied Jesus he made up lies to cover his tracks. Although he lied, he was still recognized by observers. His lies didn't save him from death for his time had not come. Jesus had better plans for him. He would convert Peter from a cockatrice to a martyr. Jesus acknowledged in advance how Peter would die! 

    Cockatrices can not be charmed. That would be by the devices of men. Peter was converted upon seeing Jesus die. Peter's conversion was not like Simon the magician, but a miracle. Peter was remade from a Serpent crowing into a new creature. That is what trusting Jesus does to all sinners. Everyone who has not repented are much like Peter; they too are cockatrices. 

     None of the apostles, at the time Peter denied Jesus, had been converted. They were as the poisonous snakes who bit the Hebrews in Moses's time. The apostles were special kind of snakes. He sent all the apostles among the wicked just as Isaiah foresaw. Only the miracle of the new birth (born-again) changed all the apostles of whom Peter was the chief sinner at that time. (Later Paul would claim that distinction.) 

    Cockatrices will bite other sinners. Their poison is contagious, just as sin is a contagion. Imagine, the impact Peter had on those to whom he denied Jesus. What would they think? Even his followers deny him!

     Cockatrices undergo transformations. The thought (egg) turns into a fiery flying serpent. That, according to scripture, is how sin develops. 

     I believe that Peter confessed to being a cockatrice when he wrote, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Pet 4-12-13). For a period, Peter was that fiery serpent, then Christ changed him, not a magician! 

     Simon the magician changed many people. As the father of Gnosticism, half were convertd to Simon Magus and  half to Christ. Simon remained a cockatrice. The people accepted Simon Magus much as children will. However, I believe that it was Peter specifically that Isaiah and Jeremiah saw because of the cock crowing, especially since Peter was changed by the Lord Jesus.

     In scripture, words means things or they would not be there. Scripture must be applied. Cockatrices were mentioned four times because those traits are important. I easily recognized the cockatrice in Peter, and then added Simon the Sorcerer. Only later did I see the cockatrice in myself!

     The cockatrice examples apply more than to Peter but to everyone because we all have sinned because our nature is like the Serpent's. When the "egg" is hatched, everyone becomes a cockatrice - a product of the Serpent. Like the proud cock, pride is our manner. When we look in the mirror and see that serpent with the head of a cock, we should see ourselves. We cannot be charmed and changed by our own efforts or others, but the born again experience changes our natures from the old cockatrice creature to a new creation!

America and the Covenant of Grace

     Isaiah had 20-20 spiritual vision; he saw through the transparent sea of glass between the Earth and Heaven (Rev 15:2). He saw Jesus's hand saving; the same "hand" that John saw creating (John 1:3). 

     Jesus is God in the flesh. His hand is symbolic of that flesh. What is so important is that Jesus's hand created and it also saves or re-creates. The people brought little children unto Jesus, and he laid his hands on them and prayed (Mat 19:30). Jesus put his hand on the leper, and said, "I will; be thou clean" and as soon as he had spoken, the leper was clean (Mark 1:40-42).

      Jesus heals by willing it, and his hand (or flesh) transmits the healing immediately. His hand defied time as healing ordinarily takes time. As quickly as Jesus willed and touched, everyone became healed. The transmission of health is "virtue" which flows from him to others and other things (Mark 5:30).

     What is virtue? The goodness of God (Mat 19:17). When God created the heaven, the Earth, and life; it was all "very good." (Gen 1:31). The hand of God - Jesus by name - allowed his virtue to flow and goodness generated material and life. That "virtue" is the Holy Spirit of God. 

     When Jesus's flesh died on the cross, he was drained of virtue as he gave up the Ghost (Luke 23:46). Jesus, as he died, felt that his Father had forsaken him. The loss of virtue was that great! The draining of virtue had commenced at his agony, when he sweated blood for mankind. (Luke 22:44). His virtue was emptied when Jesus gave up his Spirit, making that Spirit which had dwelled within him his "Ghost." That was the plan all along; regeneration of mankind was when Jesus's water and blood flowed from the Lord in Heaven through the cross onto the Earth's ground (Mark 19:34).

     Salvation was by water and the blood (1 John 5:6). Jesus on the cross, was the "lightning rod" between the Heaven and the Earth when Light came down, turned to water, mingled with Jesus's blood, and propitiated the Lord Himself for the sins of mankind. 

     Light turned to water? Yes, it became dark when it occurred (Mat 27:45). Of what significance is that? When Jesus began to preach, Gentiles beyond the Jordan toward the sea saw a great light. (Mat 415-17). That Light was Jesus (John 1:5) and the Gentiles to the West saw the Shekinah of God aglow on the Earth.

      Isaiah saw that same light. He saw the affect that Jesus would have on the people of the West. Examine what Isaiah saw. Perhaps he saw the Gentiles to the West - Europe and the Americas - seeing the Light of Jesus:

1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear... 11b We look for judgment, but there is none; but salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them... 16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak... 19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. 20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. (Isa 59)

     Isaiah saw that there was no Intercessor. Jesus is the "one Mediator" between  Heaven and Earth - between mankind and God (1 Tim 1:5). Heaven is his throne and the Earth his footstool (Isa 66:1). The cross bridged that space when Jesus died on it. It was not only "Jacob's (Israel's) Ladder" between the Earth and Heaven, but "Japtheth's ladder" as well with Canaan holding the ladder!
     The cross is the ladder for all mankind to reach unto the heavens as the people of Babel tried to do with their tower!
     In verse seventeen it is written, Isaiah saw Jesus put on the whole armor of God as Christians would later be called to do (Eph 6:14-17). I believe that David had long before declined Saul's armor, and put on the whole armor of God. David's five stones represented God's armor, and the one that killed Goliath, the sword of Word of God!
     Isaiah saw God's plan for me (Jer 29:11). I'm referring to the people of the West of which Isaiah spoke in verse nineteen above. The Redeemer - Jesus - would come to Zion - Old Jerusalem to those who would turn from the Jews transgression (Jacob or Israel).
     Isaiah saw Jesus on the cross as he was crucified for "whosoever" (John 3:16). Isaiah saw the Covenant of Grace on Calvary and explained it in verse twenty-one: (1) God put His Spirit onto whosoever believes in Him and His Word, (2) to those who never forsake Him, (3) nor their household, and (4) that the covenant is forever (eternal).
     The "seed" and "the seed's seed" are important. Jesus not only heals individuals but heals the nations as well (Rev 22:2). The prophets judged not only individuals but more so, the nation of Israel. God chose the nation of Israel as His. In the Covenant of Grace, he also chose the Gentiles, and specifically us to the West.
     It is important for everyone to remain faithful, but it is also imperative for the nations to do so as well.  America will perish when it loses its soul. That day will come when the people of this country trade their souls for the things of the world. Isaiah saw that day of judgment as well, choosing not to hear those whose sins (iniquity) are great (verse 11-12). Today the West is there; how much longer will God be patient with the iniquity of this wicked nation? It depends on us Christians, and how faithful we are.
     The East has concluded that the West will be destroyed from within. I believe Isaiah saw that, but he also saw Jesus interceding for the West. Not only will Jesus heal those western nations at Armegeddon, but will save them as well when he reigns for a millennium. Isaiah not only heard, but he saw. At a minimum, we are expected to hear (verse 2).

The Sabbath and the Lord's Day

Keeping commandments are not the way to salvation as the Pharisees soon found out who dismissed it as lesson not learned. There is no salvation in following any commands but one: The Greatest Commandment and its corollary - to love God and others. The problem, however, is not in the Ten Commandments; it lies within people. First off, God did not call the ten commandments, "commandments." They were "words of the covenant" (Exod 34:28). The Covenant is in reference to the Abrahamic.

Think of the Law of God, compared to Mosaic Law, as terms of the contract or covenant. Remember that the promise in the Abrahamic Covenant was twofold: (1) prosperity in Canaan and (2) eternal prosperity in Paradise. In my commentaries, I have concluded that Canaan land and heavenly Paradise is the same place, and both are the Garden of Eden in Paradise on Earth. Abraham was promised a Savior for the latter; God would become flesh and save mankind personally.

Calvinists conclude that the Abrahamic Covenant was without conditions; that people do not need do anything for salvation. That is correct, but their attitude should be changed. The Ten Words of the Covenant is a much better expression than "commandments" because the Hebrew word "XAC" (pronounced daw-baw'; BibleExplore), is more of an idea or precept (teaching) than a commandment. Commands are enforced whereas the student either accepts teachings or not using the faculty of the will. The Ten Words are not what Christians must do, but what they are willing to do. The only thing anyone "must do" in the Bible is to be born again (John 3:7).

Keeping the Ten Words does not obtain salvation. Those who thought so were called "vipers" by Jesus. The Ten Words are what Christians should be willing to do. Do you see the difference? It's between having to and willingness. We find from the New Testament that the Ten Words are metrics for love. By an attitude of willingness to do Ten Things demonstrates love in Two Ways. (I.e., the first four commandments are Ways to fulfill the Greatest Commandment, and the last six are Ways to love others, and since loving God is more difficult to communicate, it is demonstrated vicariously by loving others as yourself.)

The Ten Words are Ways to love God. For what? For saving the souls of degenerate men and women. Should not people have gratitude for God saving them by suffering death Himself? The Ten Words are Ways to show God gratitude for his grace. The first four are grace toward God and the last six are grace toward others. Those who neglect the Ten Teachings in the Ten Words neglect God in ten ways. 

Few Christians argue with the commandments with the exception of one - the teaching to "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God" (Exod 20:8-10a). Note what that teaching does not say:  

You must go to church.

You must not do any work.

 You must not have any fun.

 And many other hidden "you must nots" which the Pharisees added! 

It does say that the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord. “Sabbath” means "to rest" (Online Etymology). God rests on that day, not Christians! What are Christians to do on the sabbath? "Keep it holy." How can that be done? Hebrew - YCW - keep it morally clean. Keeping the sabbath is keeping the teachings of God which are the Ten Words. In other words, don't sin on the sabbath, and let God rest. That's a fine thing to do on all days of the week! 

God has a job. He generates, what is called "create." He creates all things "very good" (Gen 1:31), using His own attribute "goodness" or virtue. As God keeps his creatures safe, virtue flows from Him, as in the case of Jesus healing the woman with a blood issue (Mark 5:30). When Jesus died, to cover all the sins of the world, he healed the blood issue of all mankind - the virus of sin infused into our forebears. Jesus's loss of virtue drained him until he experienced death. God's Person died for mankind, but the Creator aspect and Jesus's Spirit experienced death on the cross. 

Resurrection was Jesus's virtue restored. God did the hardest work which He ever did when He died on the cross; even more difficult than creating the universe! That did not drain God's goodness as much as the blood sacrificed for all mankind, then he faced the Devil and dumped all of the sins of the world off in Hell. All that work was done on Friday evening and Saturday. On Sunday morning Jesus's finished his work and then it was time to rest. With Jesus's death on the cross and resurrection, God no longer rested on Saturday but Sunday. Christians are to honor that day and keep it holy.

Jesus was transfigured in preparation of death. The cross transfigured mankind - those willing it. The Sabbath was to honor the Creator; the Lord's Day - Sunday - is to honor Jesus. Christians can honor both days, and are called to honor all days of the week by keeping God's Word. The Lord's Day is a day of remembrance for what God did on the cross. Communion is taking the elements in remembrance of Jesus. (Luke 22:19). Remembrance is recollection of what Jesus did on the cross. The elements are symbolic of God's Body and Blood. The Lord's Day is honoring the time when God offered His own Flesh and Blood on the behalf of all mankind.

 Why would Christians not want to honor the Lord on His day? Why would they not want to be in the Lord's House in sanctuary from the world? Why would they prefer to work and pleasure rather than honor the Lord? Perhaps they did not take Jesus's death seriously!   

I have written many times that the Fourth Word - "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," means to not take Jesus's purpose (dying for mankind) flippantly. In six days, God generated everything, but on the sixth day, he generated mankind. That would be on a very good Friday. Jesus regenerated mankind on Good Friday, but that time while God seemed to rest in the tomb, He was far from resting. Handling sin is hard work, and on Sunday, Jesus was regenerated. His work, although finished on the cross by his flesh (John 19:3), his Ghost left him and carried on. Jesus's Ghost, absent from his body, carried all the sins to Hell. Finally, on Sunday, God in three substances was finally able to rest.

Unknown to the reader, this commentary was from the prophet Isaiah who truly understood the Sabbath:

If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words (Isa 58:13).

The sabbath is for rest and honor, not for pleasure. Pleasure came from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Rest came from the Tree of Life. Honoring the sabbath, of course, is to honor God but people reap the rewards as well. Note that the sabbath was "not for doing your own ways" nor "for your own pleasure", nor even to "speak your own words." It is for keeping God's Words - all of the Ten Words. The Lord’s Day is for the same.  Grateful Christians will do that!

Intelligence, Knowledge, and Wisdom

      Intelligence is the capacity to constructively use knowledge according to reality. Folly is having that capacity but the inability to understand reality. Many intelligent people cannot discern truth from falsehood. Adam and Eve were created with intellect. Satan's chore was merely to short-circuit their knowledge base. They only knew what living was, even with an intellect in the image of God. Their knowledge base contained nothing about death. Those two smart people were outsmarted by the Serpent. He used truth to deceive. Although they were quite intellectual; Adam and Eve were not smart. If so, they would have been wary of the Serpent's motives.
    The two needed God for protection, because their knowledge base included only "good" things. They didn't know what they were doing because they had no concept of evil. Once they did, they felt foolish, and endeavored to cover their naivete with fig leaves, not realizing that, that was silly! Adam and Eve were intelligent but their knowledge was limited. Knowledge should not be confused with intelligence. Smartness is knowledgeable - using intelligence for improvement. Using intelligence to support falsehoods is foolishness. Thus, smart and foolish are antonyms.
     But to understand intelligence, knowledge must be understood. It is the accumulation of information. Most people have only knowledge of natural things. They have limited knowledge. They refuse to admit that they are only half smart, or like the proverbial glass - half foolish. Being half smart or half foolish is impossible. People are either smart or foolish!
     Adam and Eve were not God. They only had half the knowledge available. They knew only of good. Satan took advantage of what they did not know, and used their limited knowledge to scam them, They needed protection from their own ignorance. They thought that they could cover their own sin with creating their own protective shield; in this case aprons of fig leaves. That was not efficacious for safety, and God made them cloaks of skin. Fig leaves were foolishness and skins were reasonable. They discarded their fig leaves and remained clothed in skins. That endowed them with wisdom. They quit depending on their own limited intelligence and trusted God. That was the beginning of wisdom as the wise man wrote, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding" (Prov 9:10).
    Fearing the Lord is not what people think; it is fearing the inability of themselves to do what God can do. Fearing God is diminishing oneself while elevating God. That is what regeneration is all about. God holds the keys to salvation, and people don't. Christians must please God to obtain salvation. That "fear" is of not pleasing God; not that his penalty is feared. God does not desire to whip people into submission, but that they take up and carry their own cross for Him (Mark 8:34). That fear is wisdom because it leads to salvation.
     It is foolish to not believe in the creation, because only the Creator can save. Many educated people have great intellect and are smart, but do not have knowledge of God. Usually, the greatest minds deny God because they can admit that there are things unseen. Therefore, they just won't submit to God because they have no way and no idea how to operationalize God. Intelligent people are most often "fools." They half only half the knowledge available and are enslaved to ignorance.
    What does scripture mean? "The truth will set you free." Free from ignorance.
     Intelligence is narrow. Knowledge has breadth, and includes the seen and unseen. Knowledge, thus, includes faith - "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb 11:1).  Knowledge includes things seen, and also things that cannot be seen. Intelligent people are not usually "smart" but "foolish" because they know only half the truth.
     I called my pastor "knowledgeable." I said that because he is a man of faith, and his knowledge-base includes all things - seen and unseen. While that is a smart thing to be, wisdom better describes that because smart people usually need tangible evidence. The "smartest man on Earth" - Stephen Hawking - has only half the knowledge that wise men have. It was not wise for him to deny the unseen just because he could not see those things. Hawking had faith in himself rather than God. That's not smart, and thus, smartness and knowledgeable must not be equated.
     IQ is measured by tests of intelligence. IQ tests are measures of smartness. Wisdom, however, cannot be measured with the tools of psychology. The measure of wisdom is measured by faith. God created a scale for faith calibrated from "no faith" to "the faith of God." In between, are those of  little faith, faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, the faith of Abraham, and great faith. The faith of God is only achievable with glorification when wise people regain their image of God. The faith of Abraham is a measure of the greatest human faith possible. Why? Because Abraham believed in the effectiveness of the blood of Jesus before Jesus was ever born! People today, only need to believe what is past, but Abraham believed what was promised! Perhaps the wisest an who ever lived was not Solomon, and certainly not Hawking, but Abraham whose bosom now comforts those souls now dead in Christ.
     Intelligence is capacitance. It's the ability to absorb, retain and sort, and store knowledge. Smart people are great with cognition but often fail to derive truth. Something inside creates chaos in their mental capacity. That is the virus of sin inherited from Adam and transmitted from Satan who short-circuits the ignition of the cognition, or their absence of the "spark" to see the Light of God.
    Wisdom is understanding truth and applying it. TRUTH: Regardless of suicidal thoughts, everyone loves themselves so much that they desire not to perish (Ephes 5:29). TRUTH: Most people will foolishly accept eternal death because they just won't submit to truth. Smart people effectually kill themselves each and ever day! If not for God, Adam and Eve would have died, even while thinking they were smart! TRUTH: Accepting the full knowledge-base can provide eternal life. So you don't believe in the Creator? Well, then, how did existence come about. Foolish people believe it happened by chance, and wise people recognize that it must have been created intelligently. TRUTH: That conclusion is the beginning of wisdom.
    The conclusion, then, is that knowledgeableness and smartness are not the same. Some of those with IQ's of 85 are wiser than others with IQs of 180 because their knowledge-base is broader.

The Temptress

Today's commentary is especially difficult to write because it applies to me, you, and even to preachers. Righteous men and women seem to be attacked more intensely than the unrighteous in the manner presented today. 

The news is full of married politicians who have been unfaithful. Before this decade, it was kept under wraps but even presidents were philanderers. What once was disgraceful is now socially acceptable. Indeed, this sin has become institutionalized and marginalized.

The males have always been looked upon as the most wrong, and oftentimes the females the victims. The feminist movement has sought to give women the same sexual independence as men. That is not really a new thing; it has merely come out into the open. 

Radical feminists credit a legendary "screech owl" named Lilith as the first sexually independent woman. Lilith was created out or misinterpretation of Genesis chapter one and this passage in Isaiah:

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. (Isa 34:14; underlined for emphasis).

The Hebrew word from which "screech owl" is transliterated is "liyliyth"; pronounced lee-leeth' (Lilith) and is known as the "night monster" (Blue Letter Bible). Early writers of the Kabala sect of Judaism identified Lilith as Adam's first wife, believing that the first two chapters of Genesis are two creations. 

The first woman was Lilith, an independent woman, created not from Adam, but independently (Gen 1:27) in contrast to their notion of the second creation where Eve was taken from Adam's side (not rib, by the way) (Gen 2:21). (Note: There is no evidence for the two-creation theory and the account in Genesis chapter one is a summary of the account in Genesis chapter two which God was wont to do throughout the Books of the Law.)

 Screech owls are animals of prey and eat about anything - some prey as large as skunks. They are known to often eat their young, and deplinish their own species. Lilith is demonic and appears in the Book of Zohar 1:5a as "the woman of whoredom" and is Satan's counterpart. Proud feminists use Lilith as a mentor. 

Abortion is endorsed by most feminists, and Lillith is their goddess, not replacing Margaret Sanger, but preceding her! Feminism claims to be about equal opportunity but propagates sexual freedom to act the part of "women of whoredom" which seems to be paramount to the radicals. Eating of their young (aka abortion) is merely collateral damage as the night owls screech!

Lilith, then, is a temptress. Since Adam and Eve covered their genitalia with an apron of fig leaves, many believe the partaking of forbidden fruit was sexual in nature. King David even said that he was "shapen in iniquity" (Psalm 51:5). It may be that rather than focusing on reproduction as God told them to do, the alternate activity may have been pleasuring their libidos. That is merely a hypothesis, albeit based on scripture, but everyone is well aware that sexual pleasuring has always been problematic for both men and women! 

Lust takes many righteous men to the ground. The bait for lust is immodest and provocative women, for the men; and flirtatious men, for the women.

In the story of Joseph, son of Jacob, Potiphar's wife was the temptress according to the following:

Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. (Gen 39:7)

Satan goes after pure people with that tactic. The nature of men is that they are more prone to lust than are women. Ladies, don't blame the men entirely; thanks to Adam they cannot help their temptations, but of course, can their actions! 

Behavior is a reaction to temptation. It is classical conditioning; in the lexicon of psychology - when a potent stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus. The potent stimuli are aggressive behaviors, let's say of the female, and the neutral stimulus is their femininity. Men react to women merely because they are biologically different. When the sexual instinct becomes pronounced, lust ensues. That is measured by some type of "salivation." Oftentimes men express their charms and respond to the flattery by flirtation. All the species have types of flirtation. Those of the female gender in the animal kingdom all flirt with the male species and vice-versa. 

Because Joseph was male, and likely a handsome one, Potiphar's wife commenced the flirtation process. She was more brazen than most, eyeing him provocatively, and actually saying, "Lie with me." Assuming that Potiphar's wife was beautiful, how many men could have the self-control to suppress their lust in favor of righteousness? Not many but Joseph did because he was a truly righteous man!

 King David was tempted by visualization. A clothed woman is tempting, but a naked woman is tantalizing. Never think that Bathsheba was an innocent bather merely being hygienic. Because of God's punishment by the loss of her child, Bathsheba was surely as guilty as David. She was likely a temptress, but merely more subtil than Potiphar's wife! 

Subtilty is the method of Satan (Gen 3:1). That process is to tempt without being caught, or appearing to be innocent. Temptresses do it that way. Whores say, "Come lie with me." Nice women prey on men less obviously; Bathsheba, for instance, seemed to be merely bathing. How naïve can we be? However, David wasn't quite as naïve. He was certain that the role-playing was for his entertainment and perhaps hers.

Probably, Bathsheba was merely flirting. That's what those seeking validation do. They want to be desired; the motive seems not to be for coitus but lust. Bathsheba may have only wanted to imagine that the king desired her. Perhaps she was a faithful wife who merely wanted some excitement in her life as her husband was away at war. It can only be imagined what kindled her fire to exhibit her wares! 

Whores usually pursue wealthy men or those who will spend time with them. The everyday women usually don't care about money; they may admire men for their social status, personalities, body builds, talents, or even things like popularity. Some women may pursue men to demonstrate to other women that they are more desirable. Women flirt to "prove" to themselves that not only do their husbands desire them, but other men do as well.

Of course, what I write applies equally to male tempters as well, but this discourse uses women temptresses as the example. It is imperative that Christians realize that they can be both tempters and the tempted; they are not immune from the wiles of the Devil, but are easier targets because Satan is well aware of the libido of mankind. Of course, God generated the libido to enable reproduction, but Satan misused, as usual, what was once "very good."

The world is full of temptresses and tempters. Lilith still haunts the night. Faithful men still hear and respond to her screech, echoing forth in the darkness of night. Satan can't lay a hand on faithful Christians (Job 1:12), but as a demon, Lilith can. She can lie with the men, and the male "Liliths" can encourage righteous women to lie with them. At the present, a huge problem within the church is sexual sins - fornication and even adultery. Think not? "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Mat 5:28). That also applies to women. 

Preachers don't preach on this subject often, and teachers neglect it as well. Because no one is exempt from temptation, and most Christians want to seem perfect, people fear addressing what is a huge problem. Lust does not mean that someone does not love their spouse, but they are weak in the flesh. Satan knows that, and uses it against Christians. Have you Christians noticed; when you are studying the Word, you are less prone to lust? 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (Jas 4:7-8)

Most Christians fear being exposed as carriers of original sin. They want to be perceived as perfect because perfection is what God desires. By admitting they are human, with human desires, exposes their weaknesses. Sexual temptation is mankind's "kryptonite," and as Superman found out, it's safer not to be exposed to the element which can kill the spirit, if not the flesh!

What can be done in practice? Of course, study the Word of God, but also remove yourselves from temptation. The Lord's Prayer is yours; you are to pray, "Deliver me from temptation." Then what do Christians do? Enter into temptation! Yes, everyone is influenced by what they watch, enjoy, and dwell on. Entertainment is readily available and sexuality infused into all types of movies and television programs. 

How people dress and present themselves are also manners of temptation. Never dress the part of the temptress or tempter. Cease acting, if you do, as if you need attention. Flattery promotes you and provides a flamingo-like spread of your beautiful wings. It's not worth it, for eventually you'll be the "bird" in some demon's oven!