On Friendships

KEY VERSES: ...The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul…  Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. (1Sam 18:1,3).

  “Soul” in this case, is transliterated from the Hebrew word nephesh. That same word is interpreted various ways throughout scripture such as: soul, life, person, mind, heart, body, and so forth.  It directly means “with all his living creature, or vitality” (Strong’s Dictionary). Where else has that been written?

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. (Luke 10:27)

  What is “vitality?” It is all the enduring power of a highly developed physical and mental vigor of a person (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). In other words, it is with all the strength of a living creature. Therefore “soul” used in the context of David and Jonathan was life, person, mind, heart, and body. It seems that all those ways of loving encompass what Luke wrote.
  “Knit” applied to David and Jonathan, and was uniting or binding together in a covenant. “Holy matrimony” is meant to endure forever, and it is written, “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mat 19:6). Man and wife are knit together just as David and Jonathan were. Of course, they were not married, but their friendship was much like the friendship within matrimony. That type of knitting together should be called Holy Friendship. Like the marriage covenant, David and Jonathan established a covenant of friendship. Like marriage, they were to even endure forever, Jonathan even placing David above his parent, King Saul.
  The covenant was a triangulation: Jonathan, David, and God. Their friendship was more than person to person, but knit together under God. They were covenanted together: They were pledged to love God (Commandments 1-4) and each other (Commandments 5-10). As I have written before, those “commands” not commands at all, but precepts, but more appropriately “prescriptions.” Why would there need be prescriptions? To heal hateful hearts. They are the prescriptions, items of the covenant, to turn degenerate hearts into loving hearts, and through “Doctor” God who came to heal the nations (Psalm 67:2; Rev 22:2)!
  Jonathan and David loved each other as Christians are to love one another. They are to love each other as they love themselves, and God more than themselves. Jonathan and David – a man after God’s own heart – lifted up God and diminished themselves by their mutual love. That was the Greatest and Second Greatest Commandment of which Jesus spoke! Their covenant was a picture of The Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it, as well as the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants, with the “Ten Words” or “Ten Prescriptions” being the terms of the contract. Contracture terms often have implied terms of fact, law, and custom.
  Implied Fact: People are capable of loving (Mat 22:39), although they are inclined to hate (Mat 6:24).
  Implied Law: There are punishments for infractions of the law (Job 19:29).
  Implied Custom: God always loves us (John 3:16) the way we should love Him (Mat 22:37).
  Thus, covenants have “capability” implied, although ease of complying is not implied. In fact, loving as God loves, is extremely hard work! Covenants do not have easy terms or a contract would not be needed! For instance, I must be very difficult to love because of few friendships. However, the friendships that I do have are much like Jonathan’s and David’s.
Some quit befriending when things get tough. When David lusted and sinned, Jonathan still loved David. That is Godly love and tough love. Friends don’t forget that, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Some who claim friendship easily forget that they too have sinned, and neither do they deserve to be loved. God forgets when we unfriend Him, as long as we are contrite. Christians seem to never forget sin, and such behavior exposes their lack of friendship.
Sure, Christians abridge friendships often but they can be reconciled, and must be for true Christians:   “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col 3:13). Christian brothers and sisters should not need to reconcile because there should be no infringement on the contract which requires reconciliation.
There was a quote in a movie: “Love is never having to say you’re sorry.” I once took issue with that but now it is clearer. Love is not hurting others in the first place to require being sorry. That applies to God and others. Can it be done? Jesus did it! He never had to say that he was sorry! Of course, we will offend both God and friend, but we don’t have to do that!
  Another quote is, “I will forgive, but I’ll never forget!” Re-read Colossians 3:13 above. It says, “Forgive one another… even as Christ forgave you!” What if Christ forgave but never forgot? Would he had even forgiven if the held it against you? Forgiveness includes forgetting; just as God blots your sin from His mind, we are to blot others sins from our minds.  Some Christians even hate without a cause. Some people violate covenants without a reason, just because they can. That is human nature that is implied in the covenant. Christians with new natures must not be that way!
I have had Christian brothers “unfriend” me on Facebook merely because we had different opinions. I have had loved ones unfriend me because they didn’t like me quoting scripture of which they disagreed. I have had others unfriend me because of presumed sin.
  Let’s look at “presumed sin” for a moment: Party one assumes that party two abridged their space, and presumed they were guilty of an infraction affecting their friendship. As can be seen, there is an assumption and then presumption. That was the sin against Christ; the religious leaders assumed that Jesus was not God, and presumed him guilty of claiming to be so. He was really God, and as they say, “assume makes an ass of u and me.” Well, Jesus rode his ass to his death, but the real asses were assuming and presuming religious leaders. That type of unfriending is still at work today. Friends don’t assume nor do they judge with a different metric than they would have done to themselves (Mat 7:2).
  Friendship is an enduring covenant, not to be broken when even the terms are. Friendship means forever regardless of violation of the terms. That was the type of friendship that Jonathan and David had. They were knit together as one, each loving the other as each loved themselves, and God more than either of them loved themselves or each other!

Unsaved

  When God picked Saul to be king, he selected a humble man (1 Sam 9:21). Saul was so meek that when Samuel went through the selection process, Saul hid behind the farm implements. Obviously, he did not feel worthy to be king. David eventually wrote, and Jesus repeated it when he said, “The meek shall inherit the Earth” (Psalm 37:11; Mat 5:5). Spiritually, the meek shall inherit the Kingdom of God, and also New Jerusalem when it returns to Earth.

  Meek Saul inherited kingship over Israel. God blessed him with the entire country. Originally, Saul was only a Benjamite, the smallest of the twelve tribes, but under him Israel became a nation in spite of Saul! Before long, Saul elevated himself from king to royal priest in Samuel’s absence. God had elevated Saul to king (step 1), then shortly Saul elevated himself to priest (step 2). When Saul began to rout the enemies of Israel, he failed to credit God, and had a monument made of himself (step 3 in his elevation of himself.) Like Dr. Frankenstein who created a monster who turned on him, Saul became a “beast” who turned on God!

  Saul was somewhat humbled and contrite, but it seemed that his humble nature had changed. He went from meekness to prideful over just a few years. We must remember that God changed Saul: “And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man” (1 Sam 10:6). God would rebirth Saul and make him a new creature. Shortly, “The Spirit of God” came upon Saul (1 Sam 11:6). People would say today, “Saul got saved!”

  That is a misconception. Theologically speaking, neither was Saul regenerated. Saul’s attitude had changed from one not confident even in himself to trusting the Lord. It would have been better for Saul if he had remained meek than king! If Saul had been regenerated, his attitude would have been like Adam’s before his sin which was “very good” (Gen 1:31), in the image of God. Saul, according to scripture, surely was “born again” (John 3:7), but he was not “saved.” Even Arminian preachers use the term “saved” too loosely. Salvation is for those whose faith endures to their end: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Mat 10:22).

  Firstly, Saul’s faith reverted to his own actions. He failed to follow orders in two significant blunders. He was hated, but not for God’s Name sake, but because of Saul’s name. Likewise, although a believer in the Lord, he failed to trust God and do God’s Will. King Saul was typical of many “Christians” today, and throughout history. If it could be, Saul was half-saved, but that is not possible. Christians are entirely saved if they endure to the end. Saul failed the endurance test.

Saul had contrition and confessed to Samuel, “I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice” (1 Sam 15:24). Saul even sacrificed animals to the Lord, but at his own initiative, although he was told to destroy everything after the battle with Agag. Samuel told him:

Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (1 Sam 15:22-23).

  Some would say that Saul only disappointed God and was rejected as king. However, Samuel pointed out that Saul’s sin was as witchcraft and his refusal to do God’s will as iniquity and idolatry. If Saul had been saved, then it seems that he became unsaved! Actually, unsaved is oxymoronic although Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as, “not absolved from eternal punishment,” and “not regenerated.” You may see the ambiguity here.

  “Regenerated” is a return to the generated or created state. Scripturally, no one can be regenerated but once: “If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Heb 6:6). If regeneration equals salvation, then it would be impossible to be saved, unsaved, and saved again since salvation is only at death when steadfast Christians are saved from eternal punishment: “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end” (Heb 3:14). Saul did not remain steadfast. It seems that Saul was not saved in the end!

  After God forbade it, Saul finally went to a medium to consult with a spirit posing as Samuel. Saul ended up trusting the medium and an apparition. (Note: I have explained before that the siting could not be Samuel, but an evil spirit posing as Samuel.) Obviously, King Saul elevated himself over God and was not saved from either the Philistines (representing the principalities of Satan) or from Satan himself! Although Saul had been “born again” by the grace of God, he still did not trust God for victory either in this life or into the next. Saul even died of his own initiative whether it was by the spear or sword.

  The point is that the Calvinistic doctrine of “preservation of the saints” (eternal security) does not fit this narrative. Some may say, “Well, that was in the Old Testament.” God’s Will is unchanging; what the Word, Jesus, said in the patriarchal days remains true in apostolic times and even until today. God did a work of grace with Saul. He changed him and stood by him. However, gradually Saul began to elevate himself over God. It was a slow process, perhaps forty-years, but in the end his narcissism was his demise, both physically and spiritually. Unlike David, Saul was not a man after God’s own heart, but a man after his own heart’s desire.

Which Leader to Follow?

KEY VERSE: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephes 6:12).

  The world has always feared dictators because dictators always use fear to control people. Kings are dictators. Some were fair but others horrendous. They all, however, had the power over life and death and freedom and servant-hood.

  During the time of the judges in Israel and Judah, for they had begun to diverge into regions much as the American North and South, all the other peoples had kings, but Israel did not. They did not depend on God and essentially governed themselves with judges who were military leaders and settled controversies with other peoples and within the Israelite nation.

  “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Jud 17:6). The judge system was maximum freedom. The only authority in Israel were judges and priests whose role was to keep “the Garden of Israel” safe and secure. Both of those groups were to serve and preserve the Israelites to keep them from outside harm, or harming themselves. “Serve and preserve” is just another way of saying, “dress and keep” the Garden of Israel (Gen 2:15), and Israel was surely the location of the Garden of Eden as tradition indicates, and scripture reveals. (I have written on that many times. See my blog or my book, The Skull of Adam.)

  In those days, the stronger nations were those whose gods appeared to be stronger. The pagan kingdoms feared Israel because Yahweh had demonstrated His power many times, and those nations knew that. In the time of Samuel, the Israelites had become evil and did not look to God for safety and security. At that time, mainly the Ammorites and Philistinians were a threat to Israel. The people were afraid and asked Samuel for a king to rule over them. Time and time again, God had demonstrated to Israel that He is a powerful and trustworthy king, but the people turned to other gods and worshiped them in high places. Rather than God, they felt they needed a king!

  Then the elders of the Israelites got what they asked for:

Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Sam 8:5-7)

  The Israelites had complete freedom as they could do whatever they pleased. God had covenanted with them to please Him and He would provide safety and security. Their pleasure was other gods to which they turned. God was sorely displeased with His chosen people, but He was graceful; He allowed them to have a king over themselves. Note that the Israelites traded their freedom for servitude to an earthly king, and had no idea who it would be. For them, any king would do!

  1 Samuel 8:10-18 describes kingship. God tells the elders that they would no longer be free but must serve the king. The description given describes the feudal fiefdom in its entirety. God was telling them that they were giving up their freedom for safety and security, and He even mentioned free things: “And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants” (1 Sam 8:14). Compare that to socialism with Karl Marx’s slogan: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

  It turns out that for Marxism to operate, they too need a “king” to judge who has the ability and who has the needs. Usually, it turned out not to be needs but wants. Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao turned out to be the various Marxist “kings.” Socialism has much in common with the feudal system of kings (See my latest book: A Day On the Democrat Plantation.) It turns out that the elders of the Israelites would trade away their freedom for the false security of having a king, along with nourishment they thought he would provide.

  God would not allow His people to be destroyed. He picked their king – Saul – who was not a righteous man, but God made him righteous. Saul showed humility and willingness (1 Sam 9:21). In God’s time, Saul would change: “And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man” (1 Sam 10:6). God would rebirth Saul and make him a new creature as he did his namesake – Saul to Paul – long afterward! Shortly, “the Spirit of God” came upon Saul (1 Sam 11:6). God did all the changing with commoner Saul into King Saul. Saul was willing at that time and humbled by it. His nature would change in time when his status got to him.

  Saul was not only at war with his enemies, but with their gods. Now is the time to mention other “gods.” First off, there can only be one god to be a god. Gods (small “g”) would have to be almighty and creators. If truly a god, only one real God would be required. Thusly, only Yahweh is the One True God. Who are the other gods? Some had powers as the pharaoh’s magicians demonstrated. The Philistines defeated Israel and demonstrated the power of their god as did the Ammonites.

  “Gods” of other peoples do have power! However, they are not gods. If you’ll reread the key verse, Paul said that Christians fight “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Likewise, the Hebrew people have always done that. Righteous people are at war with demons – dark angels – and it is spiritual warfare. The idea of “high places” is not only in the spiritual realm but evil in the world. Fiefdoms, socialism, slavery, Sharia Law, and division (people hating people and God) are examples of spiritual warfare. In the end of time, they will all join forces and battle against God and Christians.

  It’s not progressive Democrats who we should fear, but their “king.” The king of the world at the present is the Prince of the Power of the Air named Satan. Socialists and other evil forces are merely Satan’s servants. He is their father, the lying Devil, and like him, they will deceive to gain power for him and themselves! The war within the world at the present is us Christians and Jews against the others. We must take care to turn to God with our bequests, unlike the Israelites who turned to kings.

God supplied a king for their safety, and made a new man of him. Not a perfect new man but one willing! At the present time, Donald Trump sounds very much like King Saul, and I have written on that before in my blog. However, unlike King Yahweh, he is an imperfect king, but he is still anointed by God. In my blog, I wrote that after Saul, God provided a better version – a man after God’s own heart. That man was King David. Perhaps a President Pence will be the new “King David!”

Many people rejected Saul, and were wont to overthrow God’s choice. Like it or not, Trump was God’s choice, as was Obama. God uses evil and persecution to demonstrate that people need the Lord. I believe that Obama is the reason that Trump was miraculously elected. “Draining the swamp” was what Saul did with those who rejected him! That’s what Trump is doing.

  Socialism is evil and Democrat leaders are purveyors of evil! Let us be patient and see what God has in mind, as all the people now insist that they can do what is right in their own eyes whether it is same-sex marriage, hedonism, abortion, or free love.

  My intent this morning was to write on the spiritual change within Saul, but my typing fingers had other ideas. It became apparent to me that the main lesson in the story of Saul is that dependence on the government is folly whether it be Saul, Trump, or judges. We must have trust in the Lord for nourishment, safety, and security.

  Without God, Saul was nothing. Without God, Trump would be nothing. It is God who changes things and kings are his mere instruments. We must always credit God, which the Israelites did not, and understand that the person is only anointed to do what God wills. Trump needs prayer for God’s Will. Rather than harass the man as Saul’s opponents often did, we should ask that God guide and protect him from the forces of evil!

On Irreverence

KEY VERSE:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (1 Tim 3:16).

  “Scripture” is canon and is the written Will and Purpose of God. “Canon” means it is authentic and recognized as such by the Church. Excepting the Ten Words (Ten Commandments), all scripture was written by the hand of men, but men inspired by God. The Ten Words were meant for perpetuity, thusly they are on stone and written by the finger of God. They were not merely for the Hebrews in patriarchal times, but The Ten Words are the metrics for how to love God and others – The One Greatest Commandment appended with a Second Greatest Commandment (Mat 22:36-40). To exercise those two commandments means keeping the precepts of the Ten Words. They are the articles of both the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenant, and surely include the Adamic Covenant as well!
  The purpose of God’s inspired words is enumerated in the key verse: (1) for doctrine, (2) for reproof, (3) for correction, and (4) for instruction in righteousness. People don’t care for the part about reproof and correction, and they feel free to ignore doctrine and instruction in righteousness. Many people believe in God, but “he” is a “god” they have fabricated in their minds as their own doctrine is deemed superior to God’s. God knew that would be the case:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:8-9)

  Those who perceive their ways as superior to God’s Way portend to be “as gods” just as the Serpent acknowledged to Adam and Eve, knowing better than God “good and evil” (Gen 3:5). A great demonstration of this was in my conversation with a friend yesterday. I was explaining to him that “good works” is as “filthy rags to God” (Isa 64:6), and also that one need only be “born again” (John 3:7). I explained to him that it is the only “must be” in the New Testament! That is that he must realize that he is not God, has no power to save himself, but God can and will.
I thought that I was getting the concept of “grace” over quite well, and that its reception was welcome. Why would I do that? Because I so loved that man and  I want that he never perish but have everlasting life. (My own paraphrase of John 3:16 substituting my love for God’s. That is the Second Commandment of loving others.)
  Then I mentioned why I disagree with homosexuality. For some reason, that is his hot spot. My guess is that someone he loves is homosexual. With that said, love is wanting that homosexuals not perish, and here are God’s exact words on homosexuality (not mine):

(Thou) shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (Lev 18:21:23).

  Carnal knowledge of the same sex profanes the Name of God which is Jesus. “Profane” is irreverence for God (Merriam Webster Dictionary). How is homosexuality irreverent to God? It is an “abomination” to God. Abomination is “disgusting” to God (ibid). How disgusting is it? God then brought up bestiality, which is another profane and disgusting act. The point is that both behaviors are unnatural. “Lying down” is an action, and is thus behavioral. They are NOT to do such things; that implies self-control. Genetic characteristics are beyond control, but behaviors are controllable, and God expects people to control their lusts. Control lusts? Certainly:

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. (Rom 1:26-28).

  Homosexuality is called a “vile affection.” According to Webster, “vile” is “morally despicable or abhorrent,” and behaviors which are “physically repulsive.” I’m not saying those things. Those accusations are the inspired word of God. Those who do those things or think otherwise have “reprobate” minds. I hate to be harsh, but their thoughts compared to God’s Thoughts are self-damning (reprobation). We need to be careful that we neither condone sin nor defend it because to do so is damning.
  In the case of homosexuals, should Christians just remain quiet and tolerate their vile behaviors and thoughts? No! We are to love them so much that we want that they not be damned! (From John 3:16). Remember that scripture is for “reproof and correction.” Reproof is rebuking them and correction is attempting to change their wrong-thinking and wrong-doing. Is that insensitive and cruel? It may seem that way, but in Hell there is no sensitivity except to pain, and torment is eternal cruelty. Would you rather offend someone for a moment to save them, and is it better for them to hurt for a day to save their pain for eternity? Rebuking sin and correcting behaviors to save lost people is the Second Greatest Commandment. Is it hard? It sure is because everyone knows a homosexual which they claim they love, but not enough to save those persons from Hell!
  My loved-one has been addicted to drugs. Because he is mine and I don’t want to offend him, does that make drug usage okay? No; because I love him so, I want that he not perish, and God says he should remain sober so as to face reality. Because we love someone does not make their sin acceptable to God. That is foolish-thinking and places our thoughts superior to God’s Thoughts, that is irreverent to God, and is also an abomination as we see from Leviticus 18:21). We must control our thoughts as well as behaviors!
  The argument with this friend was not with me. He argued with God. He even diminished God! Some of his points were:

1.       “I don’t care what it says, this is what I think.” That is irreverence.

2.       “You can make the Bible mean anything you want it to mean.” I ask, “How ambiguous is the word abomination?”  Mr. Webster defined it as “disgusting.” How hard is it to understand that God finds homosexual behavior disgusting? It does not matter that my friend does not… God does. He places his standards of morality above God’s That too is irreverence and is damning. I don’t want my friend to go to Hell, so I corrected him but he rejected correction.

3.       “It is not a behavior. They can’t help it.” That implies that my friend believes they were born that way. Would God command that they cease being homosexuals if he created them that way? That is just foolish talk. Scientifically, there is no research which proves that theory, yet people accept that lie because they are easy to deceive.

  There was much more to the conversation, but my greatest point to my friend, was that to be a Christian, he must trust God for doctrine, not the doctrine of men, as is written:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” (Ephes 4:13-15)

  How can people love homosexuals? By wanting them NOT to perish in Hell. Tough-love is rebuking and correcting their thoughts and behaviors. I made my friend angry and things got excited. The nature of men is to reject the Word of God in favor of their own words and their own doctrine. When I saw that I was getting nowhere, although I still love my friend, scripture tells me to “shake the dust from my feet and depart” (Mat 10:14). That I did, so as to not offend further. I shook the dust from my feet but not from my pen. A copy of this will be given to my friend to help him understand that the ways of men are not the Way of God.

Samuel: A Picture of Christians

KEY VERSE: Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Pet 2:9)

  In that passage, Peter (the writer) spoke of “the appointed” (1 Pet 2:8). The Hebrew word means specifically, “placed in an upright position.” God “places” by calling (2 Tim 1:9), “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Mat 22:14), or as well said, selected. Likewise, in the key verse “chosen” is as well said, selected. God calls, and some criteria is used for selection. We find from Jesus’s own words that “born again” is what one “must be.” (John 3:7). Although faith is a gift from God, like any gift it must be used to have utility. To be saved requires a life-time of using the gift of faith (Mat 10:22). Therefore, although Jesus paid the price (redemption), covenants have parties of two parts. Christians must want to be freed from the chains of sin.
  The way Satan works is deceiving people into believing that they are free moral agents, doing as they please – “what is right in their own eyes” (Jud 17:6). That attitude takes us back to the time of judges wherein the sons of the priest Eli were doing what was right in their own eyes – eating uncooked raw meat as their portion rather than boiled meat with the blood removed. God demands respect, and laws were meant for people to respect God. In modern times, as back then, most take God’s Will flippantly, doing as they please. Eli’s sons - Hophni and Phinehas - were heirs to the priesthood and Eli was about to die. They were not worthy, and God placed a curse on them. The lives of them and their descendants would be cut short, and by the way, God would create a new priest worthy of the position. Eli's sons were appointed by reason of lineage, but Samuel was afterwards selected by God.
  As He did in many miracles, God chose Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, to bear a worthy priest. What was so miraculous about that? Hannah’s womb was “closed.” A closed womb is a biological condition of the cervix and fluids wherein sperm cannot enter to impregnate. It was physically impossible for Hannah to conceive by natural means. That didn’t stop God. He answered Hannah’s prayer request, and Samuel was conceived by Elkanah. Not only a child, but a peculiar child! How was Samuel peculiar? It appears that he was born a Nazerite, as was Samson, whose life was dedicated to the Lord. Unlike Samson, though, there is no record of Samuel breaking the vows of a Nazarite. He endured to the end.
  Samuel was to become the first “royal priest” to Saul, and then to King David. Look at the key verse. Those selected by God are of “a royal priesthood.” Implied with that, is that those selected were to be like Samuel – Nazarites. Not to focus on the hair-cutting, but to be sanctified as Samuel was. Sanctification is maintaining faith to the end, refraining from sin, and living a life dedicated to God. Samuel did that, and so can contemporary Christians, because they too are selected by God. Calvinism seems to disdain holiness because they fail to understand the purpose of The Law (That is the Antinomialism heresy.)
  Samuel was called. God called him from the womb. That was not peculiar in itself because all are called! The “peculiarity” is because so few hearken to the call. If you’re remember, Adam did not hearken to God with original sin, he hearkened to Eve (Gen 3:17). Samuel heard God’s voice and hearkened to His call.
  Eli’s sons did not hearken to The Law, and certainly failed to detect God’s calling. “Born again” is persuaded that we can’t save ourselves, but trusting in God that He can. It is diminishing ourselves and elevating God (Luke 16:31). It is dependent upon Christians to use their reasoning to be persuaded to follow God, and trust Him for safety and salvation. Now compare God’s selection of Samuel after the appointment of Hophi and Phinehas:

And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. (1 Sam 2:35)

  That was God choosing Samuel, and what made him peculiar, was that he would praise God rather than reject His tenants as Hophi and Phinehas who did their own will. Note that how God called Samuel is how Christians are called in the key verse! Also, from the key verse, it says, “Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” Those called must see the light, of course, the truth about God and from God. Seeing the light is born again (John 3:19-21). In Samuel’s case, it is written:

And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here am I; for thou didst call me.” And he (Eli) answered, “I called not, my son; lie down again.”  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. (1 Sam 3:6-7)

  God called Samuel. He selected him to be the royal priest. Eli had nothing do with Samuel’s calling; it was all God’s calling and His Words! Preachers and deacons make a big ado about their “calling.” They are not any more peculiar than any other Christian.  We all are called to be of the royal priesthood. Preachers are called to be Christians, but the position of bishop is appointed. Samuel was appointed as prophet by the Israelites and as judge by the Israelites, but chosen by God. Saul appointed Samuel royal priest, then Saul tried to perform that duty himself. The king appointed royal priests. With no king today, THE KING Jesus appoints royal priests, and bishops and deacons have no part in that.
  Samuel had the Word revealed to him by God. “The Word” is Jesus. Again I say, God revealed (manifested) is who Jesus Is. Jesus selected Samuel, and the Holy Ghost of Jesus selects Christians. (Assigning different personages to the Holy Trinity is the heresy of Arianism. There is but one God with three aspects or substances: Mind, Spirit, and Flesh).
  When God revealed the light (truth) to Samuel, he finally knew the Lord (Jesus is Lord.)  He was set free from deception when he saw the light. Again, examine the key verse: “from darkness into His marvelous light.” Samuel was selected by God, but he too had to be persuaded. When he listened to God’s Voice, he became persuaded.
  That’s the same for Christians: God calls, we hear His silent Voice, realize the truth; then it is on our shoulders. Using our God-given free will, God must be accepted as King to reign over ourselves. That truth was revealed to Samuel and throughout his life, God reigned, even unto his death. Samuel had enduring faith, not just a moment of contrition. Faith is time dependent; it varies throughout life, but faith (trust in God) must be maintained. In 1 Samuel 2:5 above it is written, “He (Samuel) shall walk before mine anointed for ever.” That is a lifetime walk, not just a short walk to the altar then a turnaround. “Forever” is endurance to the end! That’s the same duration of faith that Christians are to have!
  Samuel did not need to endure on his own. The same passage says, “I will build him a sure house.” Samuel was not alone. His priesthood was aided and abetted by God. Samuel’s temple prevailed until his end. Christians have God’s house within. Our “house” is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16).
  What was Peter thinking when he assigned Christians to the royal priesthood? He was thinking of Samuel. How should Christians live? As God directed Samuel, He likewise directs us. Royal priests are to be like the Nazarites because they were like Jesus. Yes, Jesus was surely a Nazarite as well as John the Baptist. God ordained them Nazarites at birth. God sanctifies those who become Christians at rebirth.

  On a personal note, why do I write commentary? When I was alone with God one day years ago, He revealed to me Jesus. I saw Jesus in all the Old Testament. Then I became angry! Why was I never taught that the Voice in the Garden and the Word who spoke to the prophets was Jesus? Why did they not preach and teach that what was good for Samuel was good for us? I write because the gospel story was revealed to the prophets throughout ancient times. For instance, when I read Genesis 1-3, I am revealed the gospel of Jesus! I write of these things because our appointed bishops and deacons most often fail to have the truth revealed. The Lord of Samuel is also my Lord. That persuades me to be a Christian and endeavor to allow God to maintain my spiritual “house.”

Why Ruth Deserves a Book

     Ruth was a righteous woman who was not Jewish. Rahab was a prostitute, who also was not Jewish; she was a Canaanite. Ruth was a Moabite whose god was Chemosh (the fish god whose name means “destroyer”). The Canaanite gods were Baal and Ashteroth – the sun and moon god and goddess, respectively.

     What did Rahab and Ruth have in common? They were both “ancestors” of Jesus. Rahab was Joseph’s ancestor through King David as was Ruth! Joseph was Jesus’s legal father. Since the genealogy of Jesus in Books of Matthew and Luke are slightly different, without going through the provenance, theologians believe that the Matthew account is Joseph’s line and Luke, Mary’s. I believe that to be correct because to be the “son of David” would require a blood line back to David. Since Joseph did not sire Jesus, Mary must have been of the line of David as well.

     It took both Rahab the harlot and Ruth the righteous for Jesus to be who he Is. I have often wondered, What if one of my ancestors, maternal or paternal, had died before giving birth to my ancestor? I would not exist, and even if someone else had sired my ancestor along the way, I would not be who I am. For Jesus to be Jesus, both Rahab and Ruth were necessary, although one was a harlot and the other a faithful wife, even unto death. However, this commentary is not about Rahab but about Ruth.

     Chilion, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, was likely the son who was married to Ruth, but he and his brother Malon died before producing an heir for Elimelech who had also died. Levirate marriage required the closest relative to marry the widow of the deceased. Since both her sons had died, Ruth had no betrothed since usually the brother married the widow. That is important: God promised a Messiah to the Israelites in the Abrahamic Covenant. The name Elimenech means “God is my King.” He was an Ephrathite living in Bethlehem. Ephrathites were descended from Ephrah whose name means “fruitful.” It seems that God meant for the Messiah to be born to Ephrah. But how could that be with Elimilech dead and with Naomi too old to produce a male heir on time? The answer was Boaz. The name Boaz means “in him who is strong” (All from the Online Etymology Dictionary). It seems that for him, one of the pillars of the Temple was named “Boaz.”

     Boaz provided the missing heir who would grandfather Jesus. He was substitutionary for Elimelech since his line died out. Legally, the child Obed was Elimelech’s as implied by Naomi mothering the child by breast-feeding him, and not Ruth. That feeding was an Old Testament miracle because Naomi was old and had not naturally produced milk in scores of years! It was Ephrah who was to be fruitful, but God knew all along it would be Perez through Boaz who great-grandfathered King David.

     However, Mary wasn’t important enough to even know for sure who were her parents or lineage. There is much ambiguity about the Luke account being her genealogy. In fact, scripture presents genealogies as vanity (1 Tim 1:4). Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, and Mary likely not the biological mother. There was no coitus involved with Mary, hence no sperm. Without sperm, there would be no need for ova. In other words, God created Jesus as he did Adam, and Jesus was without an earthly father or mother (It is believed that Melchizedek’s description fits Jesus’s.) Mary may have been only a surrogate and her womb an incubator. If that’s not the case, there is no disrespect intended, but Jesus existed before the foundation of the world (1 Pet 1:20). Jesus’s birth was his “manifestation” wherein God made His own flesh. The root word for manifestation in the Greek is “rendered.” God rendered, or “produced a copy of Himself” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) just as he made Adam in His own image.

     I like Christian symbolism. Ruth and Boaz are important. They are types of Mary and Joseph, and Obed a type of Christ, as far as genealogy is concerned. Only two things are known of Obed: (1) His name means “worshipper,” so it can be implied that he worshipped Israelite God, and (2) he was David’s grandfather. As such, Obed was the intended ancestor for Jesus when the Abrahamic Covenant was divulged. Other than that, genealogies do not matter because both Joseph and Mary served God’s purpose as did Boaz and Ruth.

     We think of the virgin Mary as righteous, and she was. Ruth may have not been a virgin, but she was righteous. Rahab was unrighteous but because of her act of faith, that made her righteous. Ruth had faith as well. Maybe she was aware of her role for Jesus; maybe not, but God used her and she followed God’s will whether He spoke and explained it to her or not. Likewise, Boaz did the decent and righteous thing. God produced them (their natures and vessels), and they in turn produced Jesus, not necessarily biologically, but spiritually.

     Ruth and Boaz are exceptional examples from the Bible in what Holy Matrimony should be. They willingly obeyed the law of Levirate marriage, and although she slept at his feet before the betrothal, she did actually sleep specifically at Boaz’s feet. Boaz was honorable in that he could have selfishly taken Ruth as a wife, but he did so legally. He gave the closest relative first chance to buy Naomi’s land and birthright, before he did so himself. His marriage was honorable and holy, and the reason that particular genealogy matters is because it is a prime example of what a marriage should be based upon.

     The Church is the Bride of Jesus and Jesus the Bridegroom. Ruth represents the purity and fidelity of the Church, and Boaz is symbolic of Joseph to whom her purity and fidelity were reserved. She could have any of the younger men in the field, but she chose the older one, Boaz. She could have chosen her own family who did not worship God, but she chose a God-worshipper!

Who we marry is important! Perhaps she was unaware that at that moment she was part of the Plan of God to render Jesus unto the world. Righteousness is always the best way because regrets are not built on righteousness. I bet that right now, Ruth has no regrets as to how she and Boaz consummated Holy Matrimony. Just think of the honor of being the one of the “vessels” which rendered Jesus!

Mankind: To Be or Not To Be

     Four times in the Book of Judges, it says, “There was no king in Israel” (Jud 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25) and in two of those, “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Liken that to Adam’s original sin; he denied God as King and did what was right in his own eyes. He knew the “King” but made himself  “as god” (Gen 3:5), and learned evil. Adam knew the Law (Do not eat of the Tree of Knowledge) and in spite of the threat of dying, he ate anyway.

     Ultimately all “sin” is the same, in the beginning, in the time of the judges, in Jesus’s day, and now. People do what they want to do without regard to God’s will. That is sin. We think of “sin” as transgressing the Will of God. The root definition is “to be” (Online Etymology Dictionary). When Moses asked God’s Name, he replied “I Am.” I Am and to be are essentially the same “existence.”
      Therefore, “doing what is right in our own eyes” is indeed presuming to be “as god.” The Israelites never abandoned God, and Adam didn’t either, but original sin is basically presuming to be as God.

     Adam didn’t actually commit the first sin; Lucifer did, as it is written: “Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.” Lucifer presumed to be “as God” and he knew quite well that Adam and Eve also presumed to be “as gods.” People, when they sin, presume to be as God is, but in actually, they are as Lucifer!

Jesus even made the comparison when he said:

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44).

     When people sin, they mimic Lucifer who is the Devil. They are not as God but as the Devil. The Devil cannot make you do anything. It is you who willingly sins – or presumes to be your own god. The Devil does not control you. As a “devil” you damn yourself to the place wherein devils are cast downward. In other words, Satan doesn’t send anyone to Hell, and neither does God. As the Devil, you condemn yourself to Hell (unless you are born again.) Satan’s role is always to tempt by providing the evil choice rather than the good one. Thus sin, because you do as you want to do, is always a choice. Jesus indicated that no one can serve two masters (Mat 6:24) and gave the two: God and Mammon, or the Lord and “gain.”

     Christians are to serve the Lord. That diminishes themselves and elevates God. Seeking gain is elevating oneself and diminishing the Lord. It’s not Satan who is made the “master” but sinners become the “existence” (sin – “to be’). God will not Be as you sin and assume for yourself the “be.” To be “born again” means that God is your existence, and you exist by His grace.

Yes, God’s first act of grace for his human creature was creating him and allowing him (and her) to continue to exist although they still sin and assume His Authority as their own. “Born again” is when we hang our existence on the “tree” and give it to THE Existence, who is God. “Born again” is relinquishing the esteem of oneself and esteeming Christ. (New Agers are all confused about “self-esteem” and the Church has bought into that lie.) Everyone’s problem is that they esteem themselves too highly and God not enough. Scripture says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (Jas 4:10).

     God does the lifting-up, not us, and if we are to “be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness” (Jas 4:9). Does that sound like self-esteem or Christ-esteem? You know the answer!

     As part of presuming to be God, people want pleasure. In Gibeah the men of the tribe of Benjamin wanted pleasure with men: “As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him” (Jud 19:22). That is carnal pleasure or homosexual sexual intercourse. “As gods” people always seek to pleasure the flesh, and it may be that original sin included sexual intercourse, not for “multiplication” but for pleasure. A further aberration of carnal sin is wanting to pleasure with the flesh of those of the same sex. In the Book of Judges, they again tried to do the same as the men of the city of Sodom in Lot’s time.

     The men of Benjamin were satisfied with less than what they wanted: “The man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning” (Jud 19:25). They were bi-sexual in that any carnality was okay, but they preferred the flesh of men.

     There was no law in those days… they did what was right in their own eyes. After all those years and harsh punishment, nations still do as they want to do without fear of the law. The same situation existed in Noah’s time, and near the end, it will be as in the days of Noah (Mat 24:37). The Benjaminites were wiped out under God’s direction. All the women were killed, and by grace, the Israelites found the few remaining Benjaminites wives so they would not perish.

Benjaminites represent today’s sinners as well. They were found new brides. Sinners are not “as gods,” they are as Benjaminites. Israel found for us a bride as well. It is the Church. As we are not truly gods, and don’t deserve the Church, Jesus is the Bridegroom, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev 22:17), and we know that, that “Spirit” is Jesus and the “Bride” is the Church from the gospels.

     Furthermore, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:2). Jerusalem was the harlot of the tribe of Benjamin. The man whose concubine was raped, cut up her dead body and distributed it to all Israel – twelve pieces for twelve tribes. She had been the harlot against that man, and paid the price by perishing. The division of her parts was a re-consecrating of Israel to God because that was a mode of sin offerings. Likewise, God will clean up the “harlot Babylon” (Jerusalem, I believe) and New Jerusalem will come down out of Heaven to a re-consecrated foundation (Jerusalem). The tribe of Benjamin were given wives by grace, and in the end, they will be given a new bride – Holy Jerusalem.

Samson On His Cross

     I’ve been told that unless teaching does not deal with salvation, do not teach it. That is ignorance for the entire Bible is about Jesus, grace, and salvation. All the reader need think while reading is, What has this to do with Jesus? Today we’ll study Samson, not his entire life, but the most important event in his life:

And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.  And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” (Jud 16:28-30)

     Samson was a Nazarite judge. Judges were deciders of the law, governors, and generals. There job was to serve and preserve the Israelite people, or in the King James Version, “to dress and keep” the Garden with the Garden representing the living souls of God’s “peculiar” people. (Note that Christians are called “peculiar” from the Greek, and Jews “chosen” from the Hebrew, but the Hebrew word also means “peculiar.”)

     Usually, the people went to the person and chose him or her (Debora) as judge. In the case of Samson only, his position as judge was ordained by the Lord before he was ever conceived. Of course, all the judges were chosen by God, but Samson was groomed for that position and the Holy Spirit grew within him as he grew.

     Samson was born of a barren woman – the wife of Manoah – who was told by “Jesus” that Samson would be a Nazarite. “The Angel of the Lord” was revealed to Manoah and his wife as the Lord Himself. Anytime in scripture wherein God is manifested, that “manifestation” is pre-incarnate Jesus. It is important to note that God is not one in three “persons” but three substances with one Person and one Personality. The Flesh of God was Jesus, or God in Person. The manifestation of God in the Old Testament was God in Angel form. Both God’s Person and His Angel were His messengers. Jesus’s purpose was to present the gospel “message” and then die to redeem mankind.  It is imperative to understand the nature and supra-nature of God. Jesus IS God. To think otherwise is the Arian heresy.

     Jesus, then, ordained Samson to be a Nazarite to serve and preserve the Israelites. It is to be noted that Jesus is the Supreme Judge, and as such, he was surely a Nazarite of which Samson was an imperfect copy, made only in the image of Jesus. We see from his experiences that he was an imperfect Nazarite: He failed on all three Nazarite ordinances. Yes, he likely drank wine at the feast (Jud 14:10), he touched a dead animal and became unclean, and he allowed his hair to be cut. By grace, God still used Samson to defeat “Satan.” The Philistines are symbolic of Satan just as were the Egyptians in earlier times.

     Before we get to the key verse, although Samson is the only named Nazarite (see Numbers 6 for the description), other prophets may have been as well. Samuel may have been and John the Baptist and Jesus surely were as they were both ordained for the Lord before they were conceived. (No, Jesus never drank wine; he was only accused of doing so!)

Jesus the Nazarene, born of a virgin, was certainly a Nazarite. Like Manoah’s wife, Mary was born “clean” but in both a spiritual and physical sense. (Note: That Mary was by immaculate conception is not scriptural; it is a catholic supposition.)

     Samson was symbolic of Jesus. Both were “king of the Jews” because in the time before kings, judges were the rulers. Samson was set apart or sanctified for his position. Likewise, Jesus was born to save mankind as Samson was born to save the Israelites. Samson’s salvation was for one time only to keep the promise of a Savior alive through his people. Jesus’s salvation was one time for all time for everyone. Jesus died on the Holy Cross to finalize his mission. Samson died on an unholy cross to serve and preserve his people. Now read the key verse again. He stood under the pillars and said, “Let me die with the Philistines.”

     If you remember from the Passover story, the Hebrews who painted their doorposts and lentels with blood would be safe from the Angel of Death. (Exod 12). Structures such as the doorposts and the building pillars around the main door of their fortress represent the cross of Jesus. Samson bore the weight of the pillars which supported the entire fortress to save the Hebrews and the promise of Jesus, just as Jesus bore the weight of the sins of all mankind to save them from perishing.

Samson did what all “peculiar” people are to do:

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Mark 8:34).

     Samson was taking up his cross – the burden of serving and preserving the Hebrews – and followed what The Angel of the Lord (Jesus) ordained him to do. “Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.” What do you see in that passage? I see Samson’s arms stretched out in the form of a cross, the very position in which Jesus was nailed to the Cross. Samson the Nazarite was a foreshadowing of Jesus the Nazarene.

     Nazarite and The Nazarene are important. Both represent being set apart from the world and purity. That is called “sanctification” in scripture:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thes 5:23), and Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. (Hebrews 13:12)

     Samson was sanctified by God to be holy and pure… and he failed. However, he was redeemed of failing when he denied himself and took up his cross and died with the Philistines. How he lived was of little consequence to God but what he was willing to do. When Samson bore the cross for Jesus, God forgot all his impurities. When we live for God, he forgets all our sins if we are willing to die for the love of Him. (Heb 8:12). Samson usurped Satan’s plan to displace God when he sacrificed himself. When Christians are set apart (sanctified) they also usurp Satan’s plan to replace God as king. Samson failed at sanctification; he was imperfect. Likewise, when Christians are sanctified, that does not mean perfection!

     What did Samson’s willingness to die for God do?

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. (Isa 14:12-13).

     Samson put Satan down, and Jesus cut Satan down to the ground! When we die for Christ, we live for Jesus, and when we live for Christ, we diminish Satan. Ironically, our flesh represents Satan and when we diminish ourselves, we diminish Satan. Samson did the ultimate diminishing of himself. He elevated God by dying as a service to Him – to preserve the promise of Jesus.

Sold Unto Perdition

  Recently I became fed-up with the reticence of Christians to learn more about God, and gave up on The Great Commission. A short time ago I quit commenting in my blog. However, because there is no one to "listen" does not mean that I can quit "shouting" the Words of God! Thus, I continue my job that the Lord has assigned me. Now read today's commentary about the cycles of sin and forgiveness:

The Israelites had seven cycles of sin in the time of the judges. Sin is cyclic and works this way: “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (Jas 1:14-15).

That’s why the Lord’s Prayer asks that God not lead us into temptation. (Luke 11:4). God does lead unto temptation, but temptation is not from Him! (Jas 1:13). God allows temptation to test His people. The period of time of the judges (over 300 years), God tested the fidelity of His people with cycles of sin, contrition, and pardon. He did that for them seven times, but for us, seventy times seven (Mat 18:22) since he expects from us what he does himself.

6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord…  7 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel… 10 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God. 13 Ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. 15 And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. (Jud 10)

After several times, God tired of Israel’s sinning, and sold them into the hands of the Philistines. In scripture, Philistine represents “perdition” or “utter destruction.” In other words, Philistine represents the Devil. Apply those passages from Judges to what Paul said:

1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God… 13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth… 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. 16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace… (2 Thes 2)

I hope that when you read the two passages together that you find that God always worked by grace, and what he did in patriarchal times is what He does in apostolic times, and yet today! The Israelites gradually fell away until they were fallen, and once fallen, by grace God lifted them up. They “cried out” to the Lord and admitted that they were sinners because they had forsaken Him!

The old saying goes, “When in Rome do as the Romans do.” That’s what the Israelites did. Whoever’s land they were in, they did what the people therein did. Each kingdom had their own gods, and it was customary to honor their gods, even for those who had their own god!

“Syncretism” in the case of religion is having no problem worshiping various gods at the same time.

It is to be noted here what defines a “god.” Gods are those with creative power. If truly a “god” then they need no one to assist them. In other words, the term “gods” is oxymoronic. To be God, there can only be One! Having more than one god is cognitive dissonance. Mankind must delineate who to serve. Jesus said that man cannot serve two masters, but must inevitably select one. (Mat 6:24). Well, it was decision time for the Israelites, and they cried out to God. They chose God as their Master.

Man cannot serve God and mammon. We think of “mammon” as men or wealth. However, it is essentially doing what we want to do: When in Rome serve the Roman gods. When in Canaan, serve the Canaanite gods, when traveling to distant cities, serve yourself. Being a Christian is allegiance to God when no one you know is present. It’s when in Rome do as God would have you to do. God took them to Philistine. Finally, when they thought they were free from God, they were in bondage to the Devil, and they cried out.

People, when they secretly sin, are convicted by God, and if they truly love God and feel sorrow for disappointing Him, they cry out for forgiveness. God will do so “seventy times seven” or endless times. There were seven cycles of pardon to the judges, but throughout the history of Israel, God has surely forgiven them seventy times seven times.

Being put into the hands of the Philistines was not the last cycle of punishment for Israel. They were put into the hands of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Turks, Russians, and many more until they were finally contrite with the re-establishment of their homeland in 1948. The last time God has grace on the Israelites is in the end of time when 144,000 are delivered out of the hands of the Beast, who I believe is some Muslim religious leader assuming the name Isa (Jesus).

Now back to the sin cycle: There are cycles of temptation, lust, then sin. Then once sin is finished it brings forth death. Before sin is completed, God allows infinite cycles, but only until the person no longer cries out to God. When a Christian quits crying out to God that is called reprobation. God, by grace, saved the Israelites from the Philistines, but they still cried out: “We have sinned against thee because we have forsaken our God.” Doing what we want to do without regard to God’s Will is forsaking God. Christians can apostatize when they continue in sin and fail to ever cry out in remorse.

Because God is graceful, He will never leave or forsake us, but we can Him. Christians are “safe” as long as they have fidelity to God, and that is enduring faith to the end of our days. (Mat 10:22). 144,000 Jews will endure to the end during The Great Tribulation.

Christians must also endure to the end because “Goliath” still tries to slay us. That Philistine giant still taunts us as he did the Israelites. God slayed Goliath one time with the arm of David, and on the Holy Cross at Calvary, Jesus slew the “giant” Satan. And you thought God died on the Cross! You are looking at the wrong “tree.” Judas, symbolic of Satan, died on his tree. The Holy Cross and the Man on it slew the old Serpent on his tree when Judas hung himself. Note that Jesus could have saved Judas but Judas took it upon himself to do what he willed. The central point of being born again is that we can neither judge nor save ourselves.

The mystery of God is that salvation was by Jesus during all times, for all people, and always by grace. When are the Jews going to learn that they and Gentiles are “peculiar people” and when in Gentile land, we still do what God would have us do!

The Second Impetus for Islam

Gideon was an early judge of Israel and a devout follower of God. He diminished himself and elevated God (Jud 22-23) which is a hallmark of Christianity. God chose him to defeat the Medianites using merely 300 men against thousands so as to not elevate the Israelites in their own minds. As a result of triumphing over the Medianites, a specific group of Israelites desired that Gideon rule over them as well. The following passage relates that incident:

22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you. 24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks. 27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. 28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. (Jud 8:22-28)

There is no consensus by theologians on the reason for the construction of the ephod in those passages, but it became a snare (stronghold) for those particular Israelites. Herein is my own idea to its pertinence. Let me start with two clarifications:  (1) An ephod was a priestly garment worn on by the Levite high priest in ceremonial duties, and there was only one needed for the entire Israelite nation, and (2) in this particular case “Israelites” is used to describe, not the descendants of Jacob, but Ishmael. The problem therein is that Gideon, without God’s guidance, endeavored to make Arabs into Israelites and create a new religion because they were not heirs to the true one.

If you recall, Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Sarai’s Egyptian hand-maid, Hagar. God blessed him as well. He was to have his own kingdom with twelve tribes, consisting of the lineage of his twelve sons. Think on that; Jacob (Israel) was to rule the Promised Land with twelve tribes – his own twelve sons. There was a nation (Hebrews) and an evil mirror counterpart (Israelite Arabs) with each having twelve tribes.

Gideon, a righteous man, but without God’s instruction, endeavored to include the Ishmaelites in the Abrahamic Covenant. That was not God’s plan! History reveals that Arabs are mostly descended from Ishmael and are half Hebrew and half Egyptian. If you also remember, the golden calf god was from the Hebrew experience in Egypt.

Hebrews were forbidden to wear golden jewelry, specifically earrings, whereas we see here that Ishmaelites wore them as they were pagans. Gideon attempted to set up a separate congregation of the Hebrew religion, obviously with him as priest and the ephod for his wearing. It seems that since God had directed him and though he elevated God, he still felt worthy of being a priest. As such, Gideon endeavored to legitimatize a sect not ordained by God. It didn’t last but 40 years because in Judges 8:33-35 which followed, that new sect had become sacrilegious – playing the harlot – making Baal-Berith (Beelzebub of the Philistines) their god. (Jud 33).  (Palestine comes from the word Philistine.)

Now consider this: In the Book of Revelation (chapter 2) a reference is made to “the harlot Babylon” in reference to the end-of-time (apocalypse) religion. Somehow at this early date Ishmaelites had migrated from Arabia to Shechem in Israel and had identified with the Hebrew people, but they were bastard Hebrews not of Jacob. They were not included in the Abrahamic Covenant or the Promise of redemption. You may see where I’m headed.

The descendants of that group of people populate Palestine to this day and are Muslims. I’ve written commentary before wherein I identified the “harlot Babylon” as Islam’s residence in Jerusalem. Islam is eclectic – a blend of Judaism, Christianity, paganism, and Mohammad’s inspiration from some false god. Gideon somehow, I believe, had set the stage for Islam a thousand or more years before Islam came into existence.

Islam claims Ishmael and Hagar as Mohammad’s ancestors. Arabia and Palestine are part of Ishmael’s promise from God:

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. (Gen 17:20)

God did not have in mind creating a nation within a nation or a religion within a religion. It seems that he planned Islam! That ephod, representing a new sect of the Hebrew religion, was a “snare to all the Israelites.” It is implied that true Israelites were ensnared by the cult accidentally initiated by the pious Gideon… with good intentions of course.

Islam grew by ensnaring Jews and Christians who were at odds in Mohammad’s time about Holy Scripture. Islam snared, not only Jews, but Christians to found a new religion. I believe that those verses from Judges are symbolic of the advent of Islam which means “voluntary submission to God” (Etymology Online). You see from those verses that the Ishmaelites voluntarily submitted to God because of Gideon’s military prowess. Surely, not by coincidence, Islam is militaristic, and “submission” was not voluntary as conversion was by the blade.

Gideon was party, it may be, to the implementation of God’s plan for Ishmael’s descendants. Why would God purposely ordain Islam? For the same reason he allowed Lucifer to exist; he created Islam to test the nations. Shall God’s people remain true or will they not? Islam, as the end of time religion, is based on their Jesus (Isa) returning with a vengeance (from the Quran) and the type of vengeance – beheading (Rev 20:4)! God will use Islam to test the 144,000 Jews in the apocalypse just as he did the Jews in Gideon’s time.

Unwittingly, and with good intentions, Gideon set the stage for Islam. Just as God used Ishmael as the “father” of Islam, Gideon was also used by God to further the religion of Mohammad. It is not a coincidence that Islam has elements of both Judaism and Christianity (monotheistic in an area once abounding with pantheism) because it is an aberration of God’s Will just as Gideon’s newly form cult!

Seven Cycles of Grace

     Throughout biblical times there were many covenants but they were all essentially the Adamic Covenant with the promise of an Edenic Covenant... a return to Paradise.
     Of course, before the fall of Adam and Eve, there was still a covenant - The Edenic Covenant, often called "The Covenant of Innocence." That covenant was formulated with the generation of mankind. What theologians call "regeneration" is not conversion, but glorification. Glorification is a return to complete innocence and perfection; a return to the image of God.  Perhaps "regeneration" pertaining to conversion is the Calvinism showing in theologians! That event is "Spiritual Enlightenment" which Jesus called "born again" (John 3:7). Regeneration is a return to the condition existing at the time before sin... back to the generation when mankind was innocent.
     The Adamic Covenant was the "Covenant of Grace." The mystery of God is that the Covenant was always the Covenant of Grace no matter what theologians call it. The Covenant of Grace is that regeneration was for all people of all times and was because of the grace of the Word... Jesus Christ. Those in the Old Testament will be glorified because they saw the redeeming death of Jesus from afar and in the future, whereas those after the crucifixion from the testimony of eye-witnesses. Abraham saw Jesus crucified in his mind's eye just as I do this moment!
     The Abrahamic Covenant was a rewording of the Adamic Covenant because the Edenic Covenant had already been violated. There were essentially two parts to the Edenic Covenant:

1. You may not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or you will die, and 
2. You may eat of any of the other trees.

     Those "trees" were doctrines in addition to real trees. Disobedience would result in death; that is the death of the living soul. Obedience to those ordinances implied life; that the eternal soul would continue eternally living.
     The centerpiece of the other "trees" was the Tree of Life. That "Tree" represents Jesus. They could eat of "The Jesus Tree" for it was the "bread of life." All they had to do was to "dress and keep" The Jesus Tree and the ones like unto it... the other trees which represented other living souls which were to come!
     "Dress and keep" could have been translated, "serve and preserve."  Serving and preserving Jesus and our "neighbors" are the Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it. That's what Jesus was talking about! "Serving and preserving" are how Christians are to exhibit love. "The Ten Words" (Commandments) are Jesus's Words on how to accomplish the Covenant of Grace. Thus, the Mosaic Covenant is metricizing the Adamic and Abrahamic Covenants.
     God never changed covenants to suit the times ("Economy" in theological terms.) He just reworded them even more clearly each time to make them understandable so people were without excuse.
    The Adamic Covenant is given in Genesis 3:16-19, but let's focus on the following verse:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Gen 3:15).

    That verse is the promise for keeping the Adamic Covenant which followed. I'm not going to explain it word for word for I wrote an entire book on that one verse, The Skull of Adam. Essentially, that verse means that sin and Satan would be stepped on by Jesus thousands of years later at Golgotha - the place of Adam's skull. Tradition has it that Adam is buried beneath Calvary and Jesus death bruised Adam's head. Adam of course represents sin and Satan. Metaphorically, it was Satan's (symbolized by Judas Iscariot) who died when Jesus was crucified because Jesus still lives today! Satan was vicariously crucified and knows of his own doom which is coming!
     Throughout the time of the judges in Israel, there were seven cycles of grace: apostasy, oppression, supplication, and deliverance. "Seven" is a holy number. In the time of judges, there were only seven cycles before God delivered a king. (Keep in mind that the first king could have represented Saul for King David is representative of Jesus.) Jesus had grace in those days seven times covering forty-years each.  Now read what Jesus said about forgiveness:

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. (Mat 18:21:23)

     Jesus (God) had shown grace to the Israelites in seven cycles of disobedience and forgiveness. Now Peter wondered how many times that he should forgive, and Jesus made plain that seven times was just a start. It would be seventy times seven. Perhaps, the time of the judges were indicative of 40 x 7 = 280 years, and to the end, seventy times that or 19,600 years. In other words, be prepared to forgive until I return!  That is not to say that the end will come in those years, but prophecy indicates that it will be around 6000 years from creating before Jesus "rests" on the "seventh day" which may be the thousand-year reign when Jesus comes back. In other words, Jesus's grace and Covenant of Grace is until the King comes to reign just as after the period if the judges. That period represents the judgment for the disobedience of God's people up until King Jesus comes to reign.
     How many cycles of grace? Not seven, but seventy times that... 490 cycles of grace! The reign of judges were overlapping and some judges ruled at the same time. The Covenant of Grace would cycle 490 times from the Adamic Covenant until King Jesus comes again to snatch up those dead in Christ as well as living Christians. The present cycle seems to have commenced with the Great Awakening in the 1700s, or perhaps with the second "awakening" around 1802. Those were times of  forgiveness. We are now in a time of disobedience. Has another cycle started? Will this be the last cycle?
     Like it or not, disobedience in the time of judges was a result of the false Canaanite gods. God commanded that the Canaanites be destroyed, and the Israelites disobeyed. Those people live until this day and are a thorn to Jews and Christians. God knew and forewarned of Islam, and they failed to heed the warning. In the present cycle, the disobedience of the judges is the reason for calamity in the present times. The Canaanites still haunt Jews and Christians with their false god Allah.
     Islam has caused calamity in the world in cycles. Christianity and Judaism has suffered near extinction several times by Islam resurrecting the Beast Judas. He is, I believe, their Isa (Jesus). With their attempt for a global caliphate today, will it be the last cycle? I believe Jesus will come soon, and am prepared to meet him in the sky, although it may be my children or grandchildren.

The Rest of the Story of Salvation

People believe in God, accept the fact that Jesus died in their place, but fail to serve Him! Those people are not entirely Christians. They have been persuaded, usually as fire insurance against the terrible heat in Hell, but that's it! 

     Let's think for a moment: You are told by the doctor that you only have days to live because your heart is failing. By coincidence, the doctor only has days to live because he has cancer. The good doctor decides to donate his heart to you upon his death. He soon dies, you have heart surgery, and survive. He is no longer extant to thank but he has a son who is now without a father. What would you do? Well, there are two choices: (1) You could flippantly go on your way after a short thank you, or (2) you could show gratitude to the son on behalf of the father. 

     Most people, being nice, would say "thank you" and move on. That is the humane thing to do. It is polite and honorable. However, those who are sincerely grateful would serve the son and nourish him until he prospers. Some who were thankful, if it were them, would provide sustenance, safety, and honor to the son because of what his father did. That is graciousness.

     The problem with many Christians is that Satan tried to kill God. He waited patiently until God had flesh to do the dirty deed. Then Satan provoked people into crucifying God's Flesh. God did not die, but his flesh lives on because it was regenerated. The Father died! God suffered death but because He is infinite, He did not die. He made new flesh for Himself and lives in Heaven in form and on Earth in Spirit. 

     God sacrificed Himself just as the good doctor did. His Flesh was His "organ" for doing so. Like the good doctor who is in Heaven, God sits there on His throne. How should gracious people serve God? By serving and preserving His Flesh, namely Jesus in body and in Spirit.

    You say, "Serving and preserving; I have not heard that before!" Yes you have. God told Adam (man) to "dress and keep the Garden." Well, The Tree of Life was in the midst of it, and still is (Rev 2). Christians are to "dress and keep" The Tree of Life, or Jesus. As good a translation for "dress and keep" is to serve and preserve The Tree of Life. Christians are to serve Jesus and preserve the Doctrine of Christ. 

     With that background, examine what Joshua told the future Christians:

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods. (Josh 24:15-16)

    Joshua said to serve the Lord. The Israelites answered by saying, "Forbid that we should forsake the Lord."  Those passages indicate that the Hebrews were willing to serve and preserve the Lord. "The Lord" is Jesus. (That they are separate is the Arian heresy.) They as well have said, "We shall always dress and keep the Tree of Life!" 

     They were believers for they had heard about and seen the miracles of God. What if they had stopped short there? What if they had not pledged to serve and preserve the Lord? The memory of God and the hope of a Savior - and salvation - would have died right then! But Joshua, symbolic of Jesus, said, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

     In Christian terms, that means not only to believe, but to serve... just as the gracious recipient of the heart would serve the son to honor the father. As Christians, we need not honor the Father because we have the Son. When we see Jesus, we see God. Jesus said that. When the donor recipient sees the son, he sees the graciousness of his father. To be blunt, its not Christlike to accept the heart that God gives us, then go on our merry way! We must serve the Son and preserve the Father through His Son.

     There are no half-way Christians. It's nice to believe, and even trust God, but niceties are not efficacious. How well you serve God and preserve His prescriptions for longevity is what God expects. After all, He donated His Organ, His very own Heart, that yours may be circumcised of the virus of sin!

     What is sin? Ultimately, it's root is "to be." Rather than God who IS, it is you who are! "To be" means existence. Rather than God, those who "sin" assume the identity of God, and do as they please. They exercise their will, rather than favor God's Will. 

     Probably by chance, but perhaps part of God's Plan, is that the antecedents of Abraham served the moon god "Sin." Rather than serve the One True God, they served a pantheon of gods headed by Sin. In those days, dishonoring God was by honoring Sin. The point I'm making is that when one sins they as well be honoring the moon god. "But that god does not exist!"  you exclaim. Yes, he does. He is you. Sinners represent the moon god. We keep him alive each time we sin. He never really existed but we make him real by sinning. "For me and my house," sin isn't real... and "we will serve the Lord" who IS!