The Keys to Forgiveness

Are you too bad to be saved? Likely, but God has mercy on the person who's sorry and repents. King David, "a man after God's own heart" lusted, lied, usurped authority, committed adultery and had the husband of his desire murdered! When confronted by Nathan the Prophet who cleverly used a metaphor, David accused himself. When he found out that the person he was condemning was himself, David felt remorse! The 51st Psalm is David's repentance. If he can be forgiven anybody can! You can too.

Psalm 51:1 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar."

Keys to forgiveness are embedded in this psalm. It's the Old Testament equivalent to the Lord's Prayer.

1) God is loving.
2) God is merciful.
3) David confesses his sin.
4) David knows that God can cleanse him
5) David confesses that he's a sinner and that his sin is his responsibility.
6) David admitted that he sinned against God and only God.
7) David acknowledges that God has the right to judge him.
8) David recognized that he is a sinner born in sin.
9) David acknowledged that he was conceived in sin. (Meaning that from the time he was conceived sin was his destiny).
10) David knows that God desires an inward truth. One must confess even sins unknown to others.
11) Wisdom is searching the heart for wrong and coming to terms that we are indeed are evil.
12) God can purge sin and make the sinner clean.
13) David knows that the sorrow he feels is of the Spirit of God.
14) David asks for joy and gladness to be restored. (This implies he's has guilt and desires to deal with it).
15) David asks that his murder of another be forgiven.
16) David acknowledges God's authority to save.
17) David makes a covenant with God to praise him when he's forgiven.
18) David asks God to empower him to praise God.
19) David knows that God doesn't seek a sacrifice of anything, but self.
20) The sacrifice of self is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
21) God desires true introspection.
22) David asks God to do good for his kingdom with his own timing.
23) Then after honest introspection and confession God will again be please with sacrifices.

For anyone who sins, this is a sinners prayer!  That means his a prayer for all of us. We're not all murderers, etc., but if we confess our rebellion, we'll find that our hearts are much different than David's. This is my prayer right now. It's an ongoing prayer because as each day proceeds we fail God. If we "keep on top" of our sins and continually ask forgiveness with a sincere heart, God is merciful!

For those who've tried to "clean up their act" before they seek salvation, this is your roadmap. Take that road less traveled. Thanks, David!

Moses Led by Jesus: How can it be?

What's this got to do with Jesus? When reading the Old Testament always ask that question! Why? It has everything to do with Jesus because the Old Testament is all about Jesus. If you've read my previous posts on the Trinity and the nature of God, you know that whenever God revealed himself in the Old Testament, it was the Word speaking... Jesus is the Word!

Moreover, Moses is a "picture" of Jesus. Albeit, he was a dim picture, yet his entire life points toward Christ, especially from the time he spent in as a common man after killing an Egyptian. Right now I'm not going to point out all the different pictures of Christ, but will focus on the parting of the Red Sea.  Where do we find out "the rest of the story"? On "page 2", according to the late Paul Harvey. We turn to the New Testament:

1 Corinthians 10:1 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."

Paul was enlightened by Jesus Christ. Jesus was with Moses. Jesus knew Moses and Moses is not Jesus (He disobeyed when striking the rock)! However, Paul was enlightened about the purpose of the escape from slavery in Egypt!  Egypt represents "the world" and the world is material. Sin is in the world. In Egypt there also was the "Plain of Sin". It's plain to see that Egypt represents sin. Sin enslaved the Hebrews. Their life in slavery represents the bondage of sin. As Satan rules this world, Pharaoh represents Satan.

In that Moses was sought by the Pharaoh to kill him, that's a parallel to Herod seeking Jesus for his murder. Moses was saved by water (Moses means water) and Jesus was baptized by John in water. Both were set apart for God by water. To escape harm Jesus and his family went down to Egypt.  To escape Pharaoh, Moses hid out in Egypt. Moses delivered the Jews from the hands of Pharaoh (Satan) and Jesus delivers Christians from the hand of Satan. Moses took the Hebrews out of Egypt (sin) and Jesus saves any who believes from sin.

For now, I'll skip the Passover for it's entirely representative of the crucifixion, and move on to baptism!

Exodus 13:21 "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people."

God manifested himself to man before Jesus was in a "mortal" body. This manifestation is the Word. Although he had yet to be born in the flesh, Jesus existed always. Here we find Jesus as a "pillar of a cloud "and as a "pillar of fire".  Yes, Jesus, led the way for the Jews to be saved. In doing so, he assigned Moses (and Aaron) to do his bidding and to lead according to his authority. Yes, it was Jesus in the burning bush!

Exodus 14:19 "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: 20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night."

Jesus was known, not only as "the Word", but throughout the Old Testament he's called "the angel of God" in that being the Word, he was an angel; meaning messenger.  Jesus provided the light to those in sin (the Jews) because Jesus is called the "Light" in the New Testament. Jesus put himself between sin (Egypt) and the Jews (who were being saved by God's mercy). It is to be pointed out that the Jews had been contaminated by the false gods of Egpyt, hadn't accepted the One True God, and were truly in sin. Moses' job was to point them toward Canaanland which represents Paradise. He provided the hope for the Hebrews by the grace of the Word (Jesus).

Exodus 14:26 "And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. 29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore."

Compare the above passages to 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 above:

"Our fathers were under the cloud" means that the Old Testament patriarchs were led by Jesus!

"All passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea..."

The sea "baptized" the Hebrews. As they passed from that part of Egypt wherein they were enslaved and living in sin, as they passed through the Red Sea with water deep and above them, the old persons died and as they came up from out of the sea, they were new persons, just as in baptism! Moses as a picture of Jesus and the cloud "Jesus himself" saved the people from destruction; enslavement in Egypt and from drowning in the sea. Those who passed through the water and were in sin (the Egyptians) perished, as those who are sinners perish. (The sea swallowed them up and destroyed them just as in the times of Noah and just as the New Testament says the end of times will be).

Then Paul said "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ".

Exodus 171 "And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?"

It's obvious that Paul was referring to Christ being with them at the rock of Horeb! "The Lord" commanding Moses to strike the rock was Jesus!  What came forth from the rock? Water? Jesus is "living water"!  Paul capitalized "Rock". The rock of Horeb is a picture of Christ because it produced living water! Jesus is referred to as a rock in the New Testament! He was the Rock mentioned by Paul above and he is the Rock on which the church is built. He was the cornerstone!

The children of Israel said in derision "Is the Lord among us, or not?" Yes, the Lord Jesus was right there with them, saving them from perishing and baptizing them with water. He baptized them with the Red Sea and gave them living waters to drink. Now that's all about Jesus!

Is the Old Testament meaningless Bible stories and history? No, it's what was read to convince early Christians that Jesus is the promised Messiah, Christ!  Likewise, every story in the Old Testament points toward Jesus because Jesus was with them always!  Why was he called a "Cloud", "Fire, a "Burning Bush" and an "Angel of God"? Because he had yet to be named! He's the Word and just IS. With his birth of the Spirit and a mortal woman, he was named "Jesus". He was then called Emmanuel "God with Us". However, even though Jesus had yet to be clothed in flesh, the "Word", the "Rock" and "the Lord" are all Jesus in Spirit!

Jesus Wept

In the King James Version we find the shortest verse in the Bible:

John 11:35 "Jesus wept."

There is no exclamation point to "make a point" or to add emotion to a statement of fact. From that short sentence cries for all the world to hear, the humanity of Christ. He feels our pain!  That's why God came down to take on flesh! The same flesh which we have. He was tempted as we are, he hurt as we do and he died for us.

The "Agony in the Garden" is the time recorded in scripture from the last supper until Jesus was arrested. Jesus said:

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Jesus is not referring to the apostles, he's referring to himself! He had just asked God to "take this cup", which is his body, and found the apostles sleeping. While he was agonizing over death and what he was about to face, his followers were sleeping as at any other time. Indeed, he felt so alone! The Spirit of Jesus was willing to die for mankind, but his body (mind) dreaded dying! Jesus loved everyone, loved the faith of those who believed and mankind had become his family. Yes, Jesus was about to leave his family and something inside him made him not want to go!

Luke 22:44 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Agony is the struggle which precedes death. We all, including Jesus, fight to remain in this world. We all dread death. Jesus did too! He cried out to his Father on the Cross "Why did you abandon me?" Inside the dying person is intense emotion.  It's both an intense mental pain (anguish) and physical hurt.   The 39 lashes Jesus was soon to receive paled in comparison to his agony in the garden! He hurt because there was a battle going on! Jesus knew he must die, but yet he desired to live; just as we all do! In order to die for us Jesus had to have the same feelings and pains that we have. Whereas, our pain is for us, Jesus' pain was for all mankind! He died because he loved us so:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

This is just as easily said "For God so loved everyone of us that he gave his own Flesh, that whosoever believeth that God shed his own blood for all, should not perish, but have everlasting life!"

What's the key word? God so LOVED...

John 11:36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

Jesus loved Lazurus, his friend, who had died and began to decay. "Jesus wept." Yes, Jesus cried! He cried, not because Lazurus died, but because Mary the sister was weeping. Jesus hurt for her! He felt her pain!  Jesus does not want us to hurt and he groaned for her. He groans for us! When a person loses a loved one the loss is great! Mary loved Lazurus. Jesus crying in empathy with Mary is a picture of his crying for all mankind!

Here we have the people who are weeping for the dead; the loved one lost. Jesus' cries for those who are lost as well. However, his burden is not for their flesh, but for their eternal life! Jesus cries because, unlike Lazurus, he knows that most will reject him and his vicarious death for their sins! He cries for those who are lost too! However, Jesus defeats death. Lazurus' stinking decaying body was not even a challenge for him! Death is a servant to Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:52 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Just as Jesus defeated death for Lazurus, that's just a foretaste of what he did for mankind!  However, Mary hadn't yet great faith!

John 11:32 "Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."

Was Jesus crying because of her pain or because of her doubt? Maybe both! He hurt for her pain, but yet she was a shadow of mankind's lack of faith.  Jesus had feelings for her loss, but pain for her doubt as well. Whereas, Mary came to Jesus, even after Lazurus was dead, to tell him she had faith that he could save those from perishing, she had yet to belief that Jesus had victory even over death!

Short and sweet! The shortest verse in the KJV of the Bible! "Jesus wept." It says so much about Jesus that an entire book could be written. In fact it has been already. Have you read it? It's called the Bible. Read it and see why Jesus weeps!

Trinitarian Belief: Necessary?

Christians everywhere always say "Jesus and God" when speaking of the object of our worship.  First, let me quantify "object". Using that word is a feeble attempt to operationalize the deity who created everything! We are at a loss for words to describe his majesty!

Exodus 3:13 "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?  14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you."

First off, God, doesn't have a name at that time!  Unlike the other gods, he just IS. To give him a name at that time would make him like the other gods. Our God is special. He wasn't to assume a name until much much later! No, his name isn't "God"! His existence defines his position. He IS and his authority is GOD:

Genesis 17:1 "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."

God tells Abram that he IS and his authority is "Almighty God". In our feeble attempts to magnify God our forebears came up with titles. The Jewish Masoretic Text assigned seven names of God, that when written, can never be erased, because they are so holy: the Tetragrammaton, El, Elohim, Eloah, Elohai, El Shaddai, and Tzevaot. (For that reason Jews do not write God's name, but leave it blank when writing about him).

The Tetragrammaton (Greek language) is not God's name! It's "yodh he waw he" (Hebrew Language), written right-to-left. Because "tetragrammatron" means "four letters", its an acronym for the Hebrew words transliterated to the Greek. It's normally written JHWH יְהֹוָה and pronounced "yah-wey" (written Yahwey) or in the English it's transliterated YHVH and pronounced and spelled "Jehovah', mostly in Christian circles.  JHWH comes from the Hebrew I AM THAT I AM, hence although JHWH is defined as "God's name", he is without a name in Old Testament times.  When we're told not to take the name of the Lord in vain, that obviously refers to what we call God or better yet, do not take "I AM THAT I AM" in vain, by whatever we use to describe God's existence! To avoid using God's name in vain the Jews call him what's transliterated as "Adonai" or "Lord" since he is "Lord of the Universe". Hence, we don't take the Lord's name in vain. "Lord" is not a name, but a title giving honor to God's authority.

Eloah "God)", Elohim "Gods or Powers", Adonai "Lord", Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh "I am that I am", YHWH "I am that I am", El Shaddai "God Almighty", HaShem "The Name" and YHWH Tzevaot (Lord of Hosts: Sabaoth transliterated in the Latin). These are the Jewish "Seven Names of God". There are many more names less used, but these can never be erased.

We are looking at God as an existence who has assumed titles of adoration. What is God's name? Here's where the term "Trinity" comes into play. It is not a term to be found in the Bible, but is an explanation of the monotheistic essence we refer to as God. Christians are monotheistic; we have a belief in the existence of one God.

Isaiah 44:6 "Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."  

Hence it is apostasy if we don't believe in God and heretical if we believe in multiple Gods (polytheism). Hence, the criteria for Judaism or a Christianity is believing in and proclaiming one true God! The Jews always had trouble with this! Their most prevalent sins were worshiping other gods right along with God. This is called syncretism and since the destruction of the Jewish nation and the temple of God, the Jews have rightfully been careful of worshiping multiple Gods. They had been severely punished for their rebellion! That strong belief in monotheism is a roadblock to their believing in Jesus, not understanding Jesus as do Christians.

Christians too believe in the one true God. We too are monotheistic! The concept which we refer to as the Trinity is described well in Christian scripture:

1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."

Jesus himself said simply  John 10:30 "I and my Father are one." and as an excuse, was crucified for saying that!

These two verses rank among the most important in the Bible. In essence, it's saying that Jesus is God (as well as the Holy Spirit). Before Jesus was given human form his title was "The Word".

John 1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." 

The Word is Jesus as can be seen from "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us". Like God, the Word, was always here. He was at the creation and was never created. The "Word" is the personality of God someday to assume a body of flesh. Since no man could look upon the personality of God we call the "Father" when the Old Testament patriarchs spoke with and saw God, they were communing with the Word. The Word is Jesus who assumed that name later:

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

 Isaiah the prophet said hundreds of years before Christ's birth that he (the child) is "a son" and is "the Everlasting Father". Here we see how Jesus was to be the Son of God as well as God! That's a critical concept! Then in the New Testament at the time of Jesus' conception it was said:

Matthew 1:22 "Now all this (the virgin birth of Jesus) was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Matthew revealed the truth of what the prophet Isaiah had said! Jesus at his birth was named "God with us" because he IS God with us!

Luke 2:21 "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb."

 Just as with God, the Christ was called just plain "God" because he IS. His given name was "Jesus". That's when God was assigned a proper name! "Jesus" is God revealed to mankind. He's God in the flesh. He came to bear spirit with mankind and provide the Way!  Isaiah acknowledged that Jesus, the Lord God, was to be the Savior of mankind when he wrote:

Isaiah 43:11 "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."

Jesus saves! God saves! It's not God or Jesus saves! It's God Jesus, the Savior, who saves. He's the Son of God because he was born in the flesh, yet his Spirit always WAS and IS! The "Angel of God" was made "mortal", but indestructible, and showed the world that "mortals" are immortal if only they have faith! Jesus, witnessed to his own previous existence. He too is the beginning (and the end):

John 8:58 "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am"

Ignatius, a pre-Nicene Church father, described God as the like the sun. The sun is light and emits that light as seen in the sun's rays. The rays are of the sun yet are still light as is the sun. The rays represent Jesus who is still light and of the sun and the Holy Spirit, also of God and light as is the sun. It is to be distinguished that the rays are not something different than the sun, but are as much sun as the sun itself. Mankind sees the sun by the light it emits. Likewise, we see the Father in the Light emitted (Jesus). We believe because of Jesus, but we were left with God in the form of the Holy Spirit, who is also as the ray of the sun. We don't see the ray, but we sense his presence, just as we sense the light of the sun by the heat of the ray of the sun!

It's crucial to believe that Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father (God) are all God, but detected by man in different forms. Jesus as God on earth wasn't a separate being, but was still God! He was God with us (Emmanuel), but God the Father was still where he resides. The Spirit of God in Jesus bore witness to the Spirit of God in heaven. Jesus, being the Word who became flesh, was at one with the Father (God) in heaven. Hence, we are told to be baptized in the name of "Jesus". Who is Jesus? That's the earthly name of God and he is God. Likewise, we are to be baptized in the Name:

Matthew 28:19 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost..."

If there exists A and B and B=3, and if A=B, then A=3!  If one is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Spirit), then that person is being baptized in the name of Jesus, because "Jesus" is God and God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

We cannot comprehend God's essence and this is a feeble attempt to reveal God. We put God in a box and within the bounds of our understanding. God's outside the box! God is a mystery and desires to remain so. Because we can't define him, doesn't dim his majesty.  If we deny Jesus, we're denying God! If we grieve the Holy Spirit we are denying God. If we believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are three different persons, that's heretical and it misrepresents God. That's polytheism, called Modalism, one God manifested in three different discreet identities. Modalism is heretical and contends that God is not omnipresent. He is limited to being one place at one time. We know that Jesus spoke to his Father (God) in heaven. God is with us everywhere!

Study on these things. Until a Christian understands God who he worships, it makes it difficult to love God! We love God because he died for us! Jesus died for us. He is God! To love Jesus is to love God. Since, God came, put on flesh and died, we must accept that God did die for us. We must accept God Jesus and not only God the Father, because to deny Jesus is to deny the grace of God in feeling and responding to our condition!

Sanctity of Life (Parental Discretion Advised)

Yes, this thought today is rated "PG". There is one reference on a taboo s subject, but overall this thought should in fact be "Pleasing to God"!  First off, let's deal with the "off-color" aspect of today's thought.

In an attempt to show how precious life is to God, it's necessary to show how precious potential life is as well. That's life which is capable of, but not yet in existence. One of my favorite statements is that "Before my conception, I was just a gleam on my father's eye!", meaning that he was excited by the deed he was about to do!  Sexual desire is a gift of God!  We're told to go multiply in several places in scripture. The thought of multiplication of the species is based on the binomial numbering system. On day one two people unite and at least one offspring results if all the conditions are right. Those conditions are whatever God's will happens to be. (Remember that nothing happens without God causing or allowing it to happen. He's omnipotent!)

The same happens with another couple. At least another offspring of the opposite sex is created. The offspring of each unites and has a child. Now it's possible to see that we started with four souls, now we have six! If one looks back at their pedigree I am the first, then I have two parents, they each have two. Hence, the sequence from a single individual is 2+4 or 6 ancestors in two generations. If we go one more generation we have 2+4+8 or 14, hence the sequence is the Sum of 2,4,8,16,32,64,128... N Squared). Adding each we have the population from one individual growing as follows Generation "G" 1=2, G2=6. G3=14, G4=30, G5=2+6+14+30+32=62, G6=62+64=128, G7=126+128=254, etc. That's the number of people after seven generations from which one person is descended! That's multiplying exponentially. God did that to populate the earth.

Therefore sexual activity is important in God's plan from the beginning to populate the earth. His plan for sex is to procreate in a monogamous holy ordained relationship. "Fornication" is engaging in sex outside a holy relationship usually with the intent of pleasure. It's fornication that's disgusting to God. When two people married to another engages in sexual pleasure it's called adultery. God's plan was not for fornication nor adultery! Now for the distasteful part (on the part of polite society):

1 Thessalonians 4:3 (ESV) "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God..."

Although the KJV renders "sexual immorality" as "fornication".  This is because the Greek word is ambiguous and dynamic. The Oxford Dictionary simply says "the forsaking of God for idols". This definition includes the worship of foreign Gods as well as self-idolization. Many believe "fornication" covers everything from worship of self, other Gods as well as any type of sexual promiscuity. Masturbation, or self-gratification is included. As a matter of fact the sin of masturbation is alluded to in Gen 38:8-10. Now my point: Destroying your own seed is wrong in the eyes of the Lord. In other words, potential life, or life that could be, is sacred to God. However, if one disagrees about the sinfulness of self-pleasure, keep in mind that sex is for procreation although God allowed it to be pleasurable so as to propagate the desire to multiply!

Numbers 15:39 "And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after."

The intent here is not to determine if self-pleasure is sinful, but whether potential life is sacred to God! Our "pleasure" is to please the Lord. We're not to do whatever our heart desires.  Cleanliness is important to God! Why?

Isaiah 1:16 "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil..."

Doing whatever is unclean makes a person not presentable to the Lord. Uncleanness is associated with an impure heart and before we approach God to make love offerings, we must first clean ourselves and our hearts. Even the love offering of Holy Communion, we should be both physically clean and spiritually clean in that our sins which have already been pardoned must be confessed. We're not to take The Lord's Supper unworthily!

Deuteronomy 22:10 NIV) If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there. 11 But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

Even involuntary emissions which happen at night makes a person ceremonially unclean. The man is to remove himself from other people, wash and not return for a period of time. I would think the same ceremonial uncleanness applies to intentional emissions and the condition of the heart in that it's to seek self-pleasure!

As for women, potential life inside them are as sacred as for men!

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee...", referring to Jeremiah, but applicable to all!

This verse is astounding if you think on it awhile!  Women, according to the medical field, are born with all their eggs they will ever have at their own birth. All their eggs are in two baskets, so to speak. The ovaries contain all the millions of follicles which mature into eggs only a few (about 400) of which make it to the fallopian tube for impregnation.

Think about that!  If God formed  a girl in the womb of her mother, he gave her life at the same time as all her children!  In other words, not only did God know the girl within her mother's womb, but her potential children as well. All those egg follicles had an identity and one was to become the grandchild of the pregnant woman! When an unborn baby is terminated not only is the offspring lost, but so is the potential life existing in the girl baby! Hence, life is precious and sacred before it emerges from the womb!

As for Jeremiah, he was sanctified in the womb!  Sanctification means "to be set apart". Set apart for what? A holy life!  Jeremiah, the unborn babe, was destined to be an inspired prophet from before his birth. Jeremiah was destined from birth. That was God's will! If he had been aborted, God's will would have been aborted!

Mother Theresa was asked if God is so loving why hasn't he sent someone to cure cancer. Her reply, "God did. He was aborted!"  Life is so sacred, even before the official trip down the two-inch canal, that God sanctifies before birth.

Tertullian said it well and early (208 A.D.):

"How then is a living being conceived? Is the substance of both body and soul formed together at the same time, or does one of them precede the other? We  do indeed maintain that both are conceived, formed and perfected at the same time, as also they are born together; nor is their any moment intervening in their conception, which would give a prior place to either. Consider the first events in the light of the last. If death is defined as nothing other than the separation of body and soul, then life, the opposite of death,should be defined as nothing else but the union of body and soul. If the separation occurs by means of death at one and the same time to both substances, then the pattern of union must likewise give assurance that, in reference to life, it occurs simultaneously to both substances. We acknowledge, therefore, that life begins with conception, because we contend that the soul begins at conception. Life begins when the soul begins."

What was said 1806 years ago agrees with the systems theory of Arnold Giselle. He contends that all systems complement each other and are commenced at conception. Each grow at the same rate so as to support each other, and when the baby is born, the baby is endowed with all complete complementary systems. Personality, being of the mind or brain, is there and active at birth! Just look at your newborn. Each baby is different in action and emotion. Newborn babies are born with unique personalities. That personality didn't develop after being exposed outside the amniotic fluid to the air; it formed from conception to birth!

Likewise, the soul was formed at conception. It too was there at birth and wasn't a virus caught when exposed to air!  Reality agrees with what we see. The personality is there at birth. Reality agrees with God's inspired word: he sanctifies in the womb! People don't become human as they struggle through the birth canal; they are human at the onset, and to be human, set apart from the animals, is to have a soul!

Although, we are Christians and truth of God takes precedence over theories of man, it's fair to look at what's real too. Any fool can see that a baby is born in humanity and that humanity defines person-hood and it's wrong to kill people! Anyone knows, and pro-abortionists admit, the pre-born baby is more than fetal tissue, but is a human being in development! Now for a little empathy:

Luke 1:41 "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."

Firstly, John the Baptist, the unborn baby. leaped with joy in his mother's womb at his encounter with the unborn Jesus. Babies "leap" with joy; fetal tissue does not. What occurred there was communication between the soul of Jesus and the soul of John. John was affected by the Spirit of the unborn Jesus!  Not only that, but Jesus was blessed in the womb just as Jeremiah was sanctified before he was born!

We've all heard the expression "WWJD? (What would Jesus do?). If Jesus had been killed in the womb, what would Jesus have done (WWJHD)? Nothing! If he'd died by the hands of an unwed mother, Jesus would never have died for us! Jesus would never have been resurrected if he'd never had a chance to be born.

We do know now that Jesus was born, he died and was resurrected. Because of this the Son of Man and Son of God wasn't aborted, we have hope in eternal life. An aborted Jesus is a loss of hope. However, since we know the humanity of the unborn, they too, in their innocence, will be resurrected!  We may kill the body, but we can't kill the spirit. Aborted babies are in the presence of the Lord. Their little souls are now "knowing" adults in perfect health who may be aware of the sins of the parents!

An aborted Jesus would magnify Satan. An aborted "you", would have been the delight of Satan. Likewise, the baby, when killed in the womb, is also the victory of Satan. Don't listen to deception. Listen to and heed truth! Have a heart. Love the unborn! Respect the sanctity of life.

Back to the generations calculated above. If any one of the thousands, maybe millions, of your ancestors had been aborted you would not be here!  Likewise, if a baby sired or conceived by you is aborted, there are millions of potential lives never to exist. Those potential lives have the right to know their potential life! They have a right to be... a right to life!

Doomsday: Five Minutes to Midnight

What time is it? No, not what time of day, but what is the eternal time? When will it all end? When will life cease to exist as we know it? Well, atomic scientists place the time at five minutes to midnight! How fatal can thoughts be as a result of thoughts of the end!

In the June 1947 Issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists "The clock of Doom" First appeared. It was set at seven minutes to midnight just as a start. An editorial in the book said the clock “represents the state of mind of those whose closeness to the development of atomic energy does not permit them to forget ... the survival of civilization ... hangs in the balance.”  At times when the world was peaceful the clock was set back to sixteen minutes to midnight. At other times it was set at two minutes to midnight. Right now the clock is again at five minutes to midnight. With the aggression of Iran, North Korea and now Russia, the clock may spring forward again, ironic as that is!

We know of the Noahic Covenant which is "God promised to never destroy the earth again with water". Indeed water now is a symbol of salvation. However, we know that the earth will be destroyed! There are things which must happen first! Jesus must return for his people!

Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

Those who predict times for the end are false prophets. God alone knows the time when enough is enough. His grace has been rejected by just too many!  

How shall the heavens and earth pass away? What happens at "midnight"?

2 Peter 3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."

God promised not to destroy the world by water, but it will be destroyed by fire. Any astute person can see that the preceding verse describes nuclear destruction. "As a thief in the night" is when the clock jumps from five minutes to midnight to midnight. With that great explosion(s) the earth will seeth with atomic pain. A nuclear explosion can exceed 100,000,000°C (180 million degrees Fahrenheit )! That melts all known elements and that is truly fervent heat!  

The future of this world is grim indeed, but just as people live as if life never ends, people refuse to contemplate the fate of all mankind!  The end is near! How does one define "near"? On an eternal scale "near" is "now". It's this cross-section in time, a few years being negligible!

For me the best indicator of the end is two-fold: 1) When sin gets as prevalent as in the days of Noah (Luke 17:26 "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.") and 2) And when mankind believes they are as wise as God (Genesis 11:4 4 "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name...")

In the days of Noah most of mankind were unrepentant sinners with whom God had no influence. All manner of sins were prevalent: homosexuality, fornication, idolatry, murder, theft, etc. That's the condition of the world at "midnight".  The idolaters built a tower to reach the heavens such that by the stars they would know the things only God knows. The early philosophers and scientists sought divine knowledge. In doing so the tower was destroyed, the languages created, the people confused and the people scattered. Scientific knowledge and secular humanism is the modern age equivalent. When science claims to prove that God does not exist and the people accept their hypothesis, the clock will reach midnight!

It's five minutes to midnight by both the atomic scale and by God's prophecy! This is one place that science colludes with God, although they have no idea that they are in agreement! People are waiting until seconds before midnight to believe. They want to drink and eat cake all the way up until the nuclear chime!  As in the time of Noah, that's too late! Science cannot save! Science tampers with amateur theories on how God did it all, thinking in their false knowledge that the mystery of life is known.

Science are as the early philosophers. The worship of an "unknown God":

Acts 17:23 "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

In Greek the "unknown God" was a God in addition to the twelve main Gods and all the minor ones. That name was "Agnostos Theos" with the same root word as modern "Agnostics". The "Unknown God" was not an actual God, but was a "placeholder" for whatever Gods existed, but had not yet been proclaimed. In ancient Athens there was a temple actually dedicated to the "Unknown God". Paul preached against such idolatry!

The elite have discovered that "Unknown God". The placeholder has been revealed! Augustus Caesar discovered the "Unknown God". He ascribed himself the position of God. Likewise, the "Unknown God" since has been and is "Self". Scientists worship "Self". Philosophers worship "Self". All those deceived into accepting the theories of science as fact bow down to the Unknown God. They place those who have false knowledge over the truth and knowledge of God!

1 Timothy 6:20 "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: 21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith."

Specifically said "science" is falsely called "science". It causes those to err in the faith; to apostasize! Believing in evolution is heretical. Calling the creation a myth is to deny the power of God! At one time communicants were dismissed from the church for accepting something other than the creation story. Now, Christians believing that lie is rampant, actually the norm! 

Yes, we are at five minutes to midnight. In previous days such as "The Great Awakening" God's Doomsday Clock fell back. Time was bought for mankind. That time was for more souls to be saved. Now, few are saved and now less people have a personal salvation experience than ever before. Our days are numbered. Jesus said "Surely I come quickly!" The time of salvation is now. If people wait it may be too late. The clock is almost there. Shall you be saved before it chimes?

A Life Not Worth the Living

Life is taken too cavalierly! It should be precious not only to the religious, but to those without belief! My earliest memories of the preciousness of life was when the mother cat ate her own young kittens. As a five year old I was appalled! How could a mother destroy her young? Now I realize that it's something instinctual with animals. It's likely due to a stressful conflict between the mother and its kittens or competition for the same food source. It's called filial infanticide or filial cannibalism. I believe the killing of offspring by either the mother or father is atrocious even within the animal kingdom!

I never thought much about life until out of necessity it became a huge question for me! Due to desire, inexperience, naivete, and ignoring the guidance of the Holy Spirit as an eighteen year-old, I was faced with fatherhood. Some suggested an abortion. I didn't know what the act entailed and had never considered how precious life is! One thing I knew for sure, there was no way that my own child would be killed! I certainly wouldn't be a party to such an atrocious activity! The mother of the child agreed. My son shall live!

Behind my beliefs at that time was not one of what God would say, but the long-forgotten memory of those dead kittens. How could the mother have done that? How could we as potential parents do the same? Only then did I become a zealot in defense of life; a zealot for what's right!

Before legalalized abortion commencing at the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision called Roe v. Wade in 1973, those who propagated the idea, showed photographs of naked women bleeding profusely who had attempted mutilation of their babies by the use of coat hangars. It is shocking to say the least, but that was not the norm! (The same people who thought those photos acceptable now cringe at the idea of showing an aborted baby !) . Pro-abortion groups estimate abortion rates were in the millions per year, but there is absolutely no data available, and the inflated numbers have been used to falsely justify abortion.  As a matter of fac,t even in today's era of reporting and technology, the actual numbers are still ambiguous. It is certain that the abortion demographics was exceedingly small before Roe V. Wade when compared to botched abortions in back-alley clinics today where second-rate doctors have little standards of practice!

Sanctity of life is a value of society. It's what makes us civil. Likewise, it's a value of mankind. It is what makes us human! It's a principle which justified democracy in America "the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" stated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence.  Above and beyond civility, "whatever God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (Mark 10:9). Although the direct discussion is about the sanctity of marriage, the verse does say "what therefore" meaning "whatsoever" or "anything" which includes life! The life of men:

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

The philosophers of old realized that mankind is above the animal kingdom. We have a mind, body and soul. Within Judeo-Christianity it has always been taken to be body, soul and spirit. The spirit being of God according Gen 1:27.

We were created in God's own image. What is God that we should be like him? God is Spirit. His essence is not material, but a universal unseen presence. God is supernatural and omnipresent. He's not of this world, but is the creator of everything therein. Why did God create man? He could have done without us quite well, but we were created to worship God. That's his desire and he gave us a free will to so so such that we love him by choice and not coercion!  We were given a spirit to allow us to commune with God on a level that soulless beasts cannot. As such, mankind is more than beasts, but sin causes man to act as beasts!

Our shape is our body. It's material and there is nothing in the body which is not found in the ground. Adam means "man" or "red clay". He was formed by God from the ground! Even skeptics admit this! Where else would mankind have originated? However, there was a "mold" for man. remembering that we were created in the image of God, it further states:

Genesis 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image..."

To whom does "our" refer? The popular thought is that Jesus was created in the image of man when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the body of a virgin woman, but in actuality man was created in the image of Jesus! Who is Jesus? He's Immanuel (God with us)! He is the Son of God, the Son of Man and God! Adam was made from God. Jesus, God in the flesh, was the pattern. He is the second person of the "our" in Gen. 1:26.

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 3 All things were made by him... 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..."

Since "The Word" is Jesus, he was with God in the beginning and all things were made by him it stands to reason that Gen. 1:26 truly means "And God said, Let us make man in the image of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit".  That's akin to saying body (Jesus), soul or mind (God) and Spirit (Holy Spirit). Hence, we were created in the image of God and the Son of God (Jesus). It appears that God in his foreknowledge made us the same as he was to make Jesus!

The Lord said to Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee..."

What's more, God knew at the creation what the appearance and substance of Jesus would be. He was a the same as  Adam when he was formed from the clay!  Not only do we have the appearance of Jesus, but we're equipped with his Spirit as well! This is not to say that sinners are Christlike in love, but that we were formed in his image! He provided a mechanism with which we can commune with him. It's the soul. The soul is the intermediary between the body and Spirit. When Paul said "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak", the soul is the decision-make and by Adam's nature is biased toward  sin.

That's an excellent case for the sanctity of life; that we are set apart from the animal kingdom!

Many argue that abortion has always been around. That argument fails! Because cancer has always been with us doesn't make it desirable. Because war has always been here doesn't make war alright. But yes, mankind has always dealt with infanticide of which abortion is a kind:

Leviticus 20:4 "And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: 5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people."

The worship of Molech was inclined toward sex. They had temple prostitutes. As a means of worship the idolaters sacrificed their infant into the fire of the idol of the god, Molech. It appeased him! Not only did God command it wrong to sacrifice "the seed" of the woman, but if any man allowed the sacrifice to happen, God cut him off ! He referred to it as "go a whoring" for those who act as the accomplice; the man condoning the death of the infant! "But", you say, "a fetus isn't a baby!". Only a fool would reject the medical fact that a fetus is a term used to describe a baby in utero. The offering of a pre-born baby to the altar of sexual desire is akin to sacrificing an infant to Molech. It's an abomination to God!

Exodus 20:13 "Thou shalt not kill."

This is written without exception! It doesn't infer the right to kill a person at any stage. It doesn't say "Thou shalt not kill a person who is fully developed." It says "not kill" without further mention. That's inferred to mean "Thou shalt not kill a human being! Period." Do you want to get more specific? Think on this:

Exodus 21:22 "If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

Accidents happen when people struggle. If an abortion is induced, even in innocence, the woman's husband will name the punishment! If the abortion is caused by "any mischief" (on purpose) then the person causing the abortion is to forfeit his own life!  Abortion happened than and was wrong and it's still wrong! Hippolytus, an early church father, (in A.D. 225) dealt with this issue:

[Calistus) even permitted women, if they were unmarried and burning up at an unsuitable time of life, or if they did not wish to lose their own dignity by a lawful marriage, to take a man of their own choosing as bedfellow, whether slave or free, and to regard such a one as a husband, though not lawfully married. For this reason women who were reputed to be believers  began to take drugs to render themselves sterile, and to bind themselves tightly so as to expel what was being conceived, since they would not, on account of relatives and excessive wealth, want to have a child by a slave or by any insignificant person. See, then into what impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by teaching adultery and murder at the same time!"

Calistus was Pope! He had the false teaching about sexuality, marriage, birth control and abortion. Hippolytus condemned him for this heresy!  He spoke of sexual freedom as sinful because it's adultery and murder! Our early church father's rendering of abortion as murder is in line with the Bible's position. Life is sacrosanct and the destruction of life is murder!

Margaret Sanger, the pioneer for birth control and abortion, (founder of Planned Parenthood) would agree with Calistus. She was a pioneer for sexual freedom among women and  a proponent of birth control to remove "undesirables" from the face of the earth:

“A mutual and satisfied sexual act is of great benefit to the average woman, the magnetism of it is health giving."
“No gods, no masters. ”
“Woman must have her freedom, the fundamental freedom of choosing whether or not she will be a mother and how many children she will have. Regardless of what man’s attitude may be, that problem is hers — and before it can be his, it is hers alone. She goes through the vale of death alone, each time a babe is born."
“We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members. [Explaining rationale for using prominent black leaders to advocate birth control and abortion]”
“Birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race.”
“The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it." Margaret Sanger” 

This is the woman idolized by feminists! She not only preached for the freedom to fornicate, but the freedom to kill what is procreated! Her mentor must have been Calistus for they thought the same way!  Furthermore, blacks, just as in her view" are the victims of genocide, and ironically blacks vote for candidates who are pro-abortion more than any others. Obama is even a proponent of black death! "Stupid is as stupid does"! Since Progressives are the ones in favor of abortion it stands to reason that Progressives favor black genocide, even unwittingly of their own race quite often! Sanger referred to blacks as undesirables! Who held the same views as Sanger?

"The Third Reich had, true to their genocidal ethic, of course deemed that there was such thing as a life not worth living," (Wikipedia on the Hippocratic Oath)

Yes, Hitler and Sanger both believed that there were some individuals whose life was not worth the living. They both were to be the judge and jury and those folks were minorities: Jews and blacks.

Planned Parenthood is funded as a tax exempt organization by your tax dollars, They are brought into schools via the Health Department. They teach your children sex education! Hitlerian people are in charge of brainwashing your children, yet you allow that to happen. We should all be compared to the apathetic German people who did the same! How pitiful we are! The next generation will think of abortion as a great means of sex selection, killing of the handicapped and even necessary to maintain beautiful bodies! How do I know? We're already to that point. Yes, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).  Yes, he wept because we are in rebellion! Just as the women of old tossed their infant into the belly of Molech into the fire, women today toss theirs into the same god; the sexual god; not this time Molech, but the "Goddess of Self". That's who Molech represented!