The Gifts of the Spirit and Unity

1 Corinthians 12:4 (NIV) There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Let's look at the different gifts, services, and workings mentioned here:

1. A message of wisdom.
2. A message of knowledge.
3. Faith.
4. Healing.
5. Miraculous powers.
6. Prophecy.
7. Distinguishing spirits.
8. Speaking in languages not of their own.
9. Interpretation of those languages.

Of course, Paul mentioned nine but the gifts may be endless. I believe elsewhere a few more are mentioned, totaling eleven. However, it is not the gift that is important but the one and the same Spirit, and who gets what gift is determined by God (verse 11).

Usually, those who propagate  "speaking in unknown tongues" focus on this chapter. Others dispute the gift of languages by this same chapter. However, scripture is not meant to separate but to unify. This entire chapter is about unity in the Spirit. Unfortunately, Christians use this chapter as a weapon to defend their particular doctrine.

I'll be honest: the use of the gift of speaking in languages which I don't understand is scary to me for two reasons: (1) I don't have the gift of tongues, and (2) all speaking in tongues are obviously not genuine. If one speaks and is not interpreted, which it must be according to scripture, it is likely not of the same spirit - the genuine Spirit.

God has given us many attributes, blessings, and gifts. God is even the source of pleasure. However, Satan's misuse of God's gifts is the deception used to lead people to sin. Satan fooled Adam and Eve. They were the first of "the elect". Always, even genuine people have been deceived. Scripture recognizes that:

Mark 13:22 (KJV) For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

The gift of languages is a "sign". The Jews first spoke in languages at Pentecost. Why so?

1 Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.

Some people, specifically the Hebrews, needed this gift to increase their faith. Thus with greater faith, the Church was born. However, Paul discouraged in his preaching that others should look beyond "tongues" for salvation. As he did at Athens, Paul used the gift of wisdom.  Reason and logic was effective with the Gentiles.  By the way, as you can see, "wisdom" is first in the list of gifts, and the second is knowledge - the basis of wisdom.

Let me point out that the idea of "unknown tongues" is not scriptural. The word "unknown" was added to put the Greek into context. It is the product of interpreters, and has caused much dissension. Most places "unknown" is not there, but in 1 Corinthians 12:10, genos is used - meaning "kindred". Perhaps each of the language groups were understood by other language groups. Certainly, the speaking and understanding of different "kinds" of languages would be convincing and useful to grow the early Church! Whether Spiritual languages are extant today, only those who need and have received the legitimate gift would realize it. However, many who misuse that gift, or any other, are deceived.

Gift number seven above is "distinguishing spirits". We all need that gift. It is what protects us from the evil one!  As a Christian, when I am apprehensive of what I'm hearing but not understanding, fear is generated within me. My own discernment in many cases has been to question the spirit which I hear. I truly believe that the ability to "distinguish spirits" is my own gift. That is spiritual discernment. To be truthful, that is a lonely gift! When I read Holy Scripture, I feel a sense of joy when I read it. I understand the "mystery of Christ" of which Paul spoke. Most others do not, and indeed, most people have never even heard of that mystery! For me, it opened up the entire Old Testament as all about Jesus! However, it causes me to recognize sin and judge others too vehemently.

However, the same Spirit which gives me joy also makes me apprehensive. I weigh everything according to the Word. As such, I usually do not sin because of carelessness but with intent. Of course, the penalties of either type of unconfessed sin is the same, but intentional sin is a greater sin. (For those who do not believe in degrees of sin, check it out in the Bible).

"Wisdom" (gift number one) is realizing that my "knowledge" base (gift number 2) is not unlimited. Implied within the gift of wisdom is meekness: I know that I don't know everything, and that is valuable to know! Therefore, with the gift of tongues, I admit: I don't know everything! I know neither the gift of tongues nor the interpretation of them. In fact, if I did, I would take too much pride in that. Those are not my gifts because I would misuse them. They are not for all: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them." (1 Corinthians 12:4 above).

I will never insult God by thinking that no one today does not speak in tongues by the Holy Spirit. God can do anything that He wants, and He has the power to enable people to speak and hear in tongues, which  I neither speak nor understand. They may be unknown to me but other "kinds" (nationalities) may communicate freely with each other. Perhaps even the ability to learn and speak kinds of languages is the gift. We do know that many have that gift. I do not, regardless of how hard I try! However, I have confidence that if I needed that gift for the mission field, that God would endow me both with speaking and understanding! That would be a miracle to me.

Enough, now, of that discussion. It is not a winnable argument either way, and my goal is not to win, but to have the reader to test all things by the Word. The Word is the ultimate "body of knowledge" superseding even science. I say that because of my ability to "distinguish spirits". Certainly, science is not in the Spirit of God but in the spirit of the World. They would not deny that. In fact, "science" is predicated on the notion that it has eminence over God!

"Faith" is the third-mentioned gift. It seems that they are indeed in the order of importance! Why? It takes knowledge  of "the Word" to have wisdom - that which is necessary to understand God. Once wisdom organizes knowledge into two groups: falsehood and truthfulness, that gives rise to faith. Wisdom is the discernment between the knowledge of God and the knowledge of the world. If one concludes rightly, faith ensues.

"Healing" is the exercise of faith. We think of Spiritual healing. Jesus does that. Actually, we never heal anyone - God does, but we lead people to the faith that they are healed. God's job assignment to those who have faith is "to heal the nations". That is Spiritual healing and the Great Commission.  Healing, or presenting the gospel, is a demonstration of faith as we share the faith with others. The healing part is "love of others". We demonstrate the ability to love by having the genuine love like that of God:  we "want that none should perish" (John 3:16).

We don't think of "miraculous powers" today but every time we speak the Word, we are using power given us to God. When we heal the nations, "the Sword of the Spirit" is the Doctor's tool (Ephesians 6:17). We say often, there is power in the blood. That Power was bled by Jesus, and Scripture is all about Him! When we use Scripture to heal the nations, it's not us, but God's "miraculous power".

The Old Testament is prophetic; the New Testament is it's fulfillment. Both are the Word, and the "knowledge base" to persuade others of God's truths. Logic is used to demonstrate truth. When we read that Isaiah knew the birth, death, life, and resurrection of Jesus, that knowledge should convince even the skeptical that Jesus is Truth, and that we can count of God to keep his promises. The "gift of prophecy" is the demonstration in the "miraculous power" of the Word. Since, all prophecy has been fulfilled, the "gift of prophecy" is teaching how it was fulfilled. 

"Distinguishing spirits", better said as "Spiritual discernment" is understanding that what was prophesied - really happened, was God's Plan, and will continue to happen. When I read the Old Testament my eyes are bright. I "see" Jesus in most Holy Scripture. As such, I understand prophecy, the power of that understanding increases my faith, and so forth. Each gift supplements the higher ones.

The last two gifts were for those who need miracles. They too demand the gift of "distinguishing spirts", and are part of the gift hierarchy because they lead to faith. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? It seems that the gift of tongues came before the great faith. In fact, on Pentecost, it was to increase the faith, and bestowed on those with a little faith, faith, and even great faith because great faith was needed to go about the gift of "healing the nations".

When God spoke things, he had reasons for speaking them, and the order in which He makes His presentation is significant. Paul put the "tongues" at the bottom of the list because the Spirit gave him the "spiritual discernment" to do that. Later on, Paul even validated that tongues were the least of the gifts. Are they important today? Some believe that they still need that gift! I doubt that many are convinced (wisdom is a Gentile trait), but those who have little faith may need that to increase their faith. Only they can discern by which spirit they speak. We can merely stand back, and let God admonish them by His Word.

Let's look again at "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom." Let me call, the nine gifts above, "the hierarchy of gifts". We know that the Jews couldn't quite get into their heads that their Messiah is indeed Jesus Christ. Therefore, God shot low with them. It took the "sign" of tongues, which by the way, is on the lowest metric on the hierarchy. With the Greeks, on the other hand, God shot high. They sought not after tongues but wisdom!

As we say now, "different strokes for different folks". Because of the stubbornness of the Jews, God's stroke for them was tongues. For the Gentiles God's stroke was wisdom.

Sex, Drugs, and Rockin' Roll

If this commentary was about the pursuit of pleasure, it's likely that most people would read it. As you have probably seen from the methods online, the headlines are usually sensational but the information in the text is blaze'. However, since you entered there, there are several commercials to "entertain" you!

My headlines could have read:

Evidence of God Found on Earth!!!!!

That is attention-getting, is it not? However, when you open my blog, you find that what I am writing is old but good news. You were expecting the return of Jesus, and I merely give you the Good News that God has come down.

That God has indeed come down Is sensational, and it is news - the real, not fake news! The gospels of Jesus Christ are called "The Good News!"

You should ask yourself, "What is so good about that?" Without His coming, and specifically, of His going, you would have no hope. With the idea that eternal life is a possibility, you should have hope! This is the "hope of salvation", as Paul referred to it. Because God died and was resurrected, that means that you can be too! Another headline would be:

God Is Not Dead!!!!

.So what is the evidence that God Existed on earth, as my headline should read? There is a list of evidences. Let's look at some:

1. The sun, moon, and stars, and their interaction and predictability.
2. That everything came into existence from nothing.
3. That the void of space is there for what exists.
4. Gravity itself.
5. Light.
6. That you exist.
7. The complexity of existence.
8. The mind, intelligence, emotions, and wisdom.
9. An overall plan for all time.
10. Time itself.
11. Order in the universe - and in the world.
12. The balance of things in nature. The fact that mankind is an imbalance because we're not of nature.
13. Water and nourishment - the ingredients for life.
14. Advance warning of future events (prophecy).
15. Inexplicable events (miracles).
16. A sense of belonging (the evidence of a soul).
17. Human faculties not existing in other creatures - eg., love and hatred.
18. Sorrow, despair, depression, contentment, happiness, joy.
19. Moral values for directing our lives - good and evil; the moral and the immoral.
20. Depositions that God came, he taught, he performed, he was transformed, he died, he was resurrected, he was glorified, and that he ascended. That God never died!
21. That history backs up the existence of the Man who claimed to be God.
22. Hope arose from the grave. Now the fear of death has a cure!

Atheists believe these things "just happened". If one studies scripture, it can be seen that God provided the Plan for the cosmos and for mankind; then He fulfilled all that He planned - so far, and our expectation is that the entire Plan will be implemented. Of course, skeptics don't believe that the things on the list are proof of the existence of God. I ask, "What more do you need?" Everything is evidence of God.

Romans 1:20 (ESV) For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

The evidence of God is in everything! The fact that the heavens and earth was created is evidence of God's Existence! However, even some Christians fail to give God the credit for what we see, although his first message to mankind was, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.". By the way, the "Unknown God" the one whose name is "Chance" never even made that claim yet gets the credit!

Until one believes in the Creator God, they can never fully believe in the Savior God. If God didn't create what He claimed He did, He lied also about the virgin birth, his Godhood, and His purpose in coming into the world. The theory of evolution is a "snuff film" - it wipes out God for the entertainment of the doubter! The watchers of evolution are zombies having no hope. They are the living dead! There was a plan to circumvent hopelessness:

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Hope is out there. However, one must find hope! It is in the belief in God for what He said and did, and trust that He will do what He said He will do. To give us an eternal future, God must have the power to do that. My list above is evidence of God's power because no one else or no thing in existence claims to have done those things!

You are part of the plan, and inside, you know that you desire that hope. Science has deceived you! If it was truly unbiased analysis, science would seek the unseen. Most fail to do that, being deceived by what they see. Even when they peer into the unknown and see God, they assign His works to happenstance. No wonder God is angry - His creatures deny their Creator!

God Is Sensational! Seek Him and He shall be found.

The Center of the Earth

Mediterranean means "center of the earth". We know it is the spiritual center because three religions claim Jerusalem as the center of their faith. The mid-east has been the historical center as well because civilization throughout time has been focused there. It has always been the trade center of the world. Why would geology claim it as the mass center as well?

Well, it is not the true mass center of the earth but it is almost completely surrounded by land. Thus, it is a body of water in the center of land masses. It is bordered by Europe, Asia, and Africa.

We cannot count on the Mediterranean being where it is now,  or appearing as it looks now because of continental drift. Scripture indicates that happened at the flood. Hence, the Mediterranean looks much different than it did originally. Scripture agrees that earth was one land mass surround by water. (See my commentary at http://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2016/10/eden-pangea.html). If one looks carefully, scientists have recreated Pangea - ancient Eden, by pivoting Europe counterclockwise, and Asia clockwise off the Mediterranean Sea. If it really did that, then the Mediterranean was the pivot point of the earth, and thus the torque center of the earth's transition.

Many places in ancient writings of sacred literature things similar to the following are written:

1 Adam and Eve 7:2  Then God had pity on them, and said: "O Adam, I have made My covenant with thee, and I will not turn from it; neither will I let thee return to the garden, until My covenant of the great five days and a half is fulfilled."

Five-and-one-half days is 5500 years in God's time as explained in an earlier chapter. God's covenant with Adam was that he would return to the Garden at the end of the covenant. Since the covenant was salvation by Jesus, what Adam was saved from was Hell. The place of escape is Paradise - or Heaven. Hence, the Garden of Eden seems to be the Third Heaven where  God exists on His throne.

The City of God is New Jerusalem:

Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 

Guess where New Jerusalem will likely be when it comes down from Heaven? I propose that it will replace Jerusalem. What God does is logical and well-planned. His plan is not haphazard. Jerusalem and New Jerusalem surely share the same name because the new will replace the old.

Jerusalem - the one of the world, is on the Mediterranean. It is the center of the earth. Likewise, New Jerusalem is the spiritual center of the Universe, being the city of God. It makes sense that just as when a sinful person is born-again, that the holy city will be as well! Jerusalem means "foundation of peace". It has been anything but that! When it is "born-again", it will be the foundation of peace. I am implying something here.

In the days of Noah, the earth was washed clean, and a new earth created free from sin. I propose that in the same way, Jerusalem will be washed clean, and become New Jerusalem -  and it's character  changing from den of iniquity to foundation of peace, more suitable to the meaning of its name.

Likewise, Jesus in the flesh ascended into Paradise, and will return. In like manner, it makes sense because God is the Planner, that the Garden paradise ascended and make its return. It follows that if it returns, the Garden of Eden will come back to earth in the same manner as Jesus. The King needs His throne, and as such New Jerusalem will descend just as Christ will.

Coming full circle, my conclusion, in agreement with sacred literature, is that New Jerusalem now existing in Paradise will come home, so to speak, to Jerusalem. We know from the previous passages that Adam will return home to the Garden. In other words, paradise in the Garden is the same as paradise in Heaven. Hence, New Jerusalem will be located where the Garden of Eden was. That place, according to sacred scripture is Jerusalem, the place where Adam is buried. (This is the premise of my book, The Skull of Adam). Adam's bones, it is believed, are already on Calvary, buried in his "place of the skull" just awaiting the end of days.

I cannot find, to be truthful, the four rivers, described in the Book of Genesis. Since the Kingdom of David was God's Kingdom, I propose that if not the original continent, Eden may have been David's Kingdom. (See map below).

From biblehistory.com

Neither the Kingdom of David nor the world looks the same today as then. It is futile to search for the Garden of Eden because it seems that just as Jesus ascended unto Heaven, Paradise likewise ascended. Someday Jesus will return at the end, and New Jerusalem (aka Paradise) will return as well! Just as the flood in the time of Noah cleansed the earth by water, when fire cleanses the earth again, Jerusalem will be clean enough to be New.  When Jerusalem is baptized by fire, rather than a place of war, it will indeed be a place of peace. In fact, right now it's very foundation is peace, just waiting for that time.

God's Plan is that Adam come home. "Home" is the Garden. Sacred literature says that Adam's bones are on Calvary waiting patiently for his own resurrection. Jesus has already died for Adam's sin, so the "heel" stepped on the head of the "serpent" as God said way back when:

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

Since Adam represents sin, ironically someday in the Garden, Jesus- her seed will bruise the serpent's (Adam's) head, thus bruising Jesus's heel. I pieced this together because it was a promise. It only could have happened if either the serpent or Adam was buried on Calvary. The name of Golgotha (the place of the skull)  places Adam on Calvary, and that agrees with ancient writings.

All sacred literature points toward Jerusalem being the location of the Garden of Eden. Ironically, Dan's (the son of Israel) portion in ancient writings is referred to as "Eden". Therefore, there are three candidates for Eden itself: (1) the entire world, (2) the Kingdom of David, or (3) the land of Dan which is right to the west of Jerusalem, and actually touched it according to ancient maps.

We think of Eden as being the entire Garden. However, we must remember that scripture says that the Garden is thus:  "God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden" (Genesis 2:8). That description fits two of the three possibilities: the world or the land of Dan. If it was the entire Kingdom of David, it would have said "west, in Eden" (unless the compass has changed, and some think it has).

According to the Jewish Virtual Library an underground body of water flows from the limestone karsts below Jerusalem. The Gihon Spring emerges East of Jerusalem in the Kidron Valley. The First Book of Adam and Eve describes the four rivers emerging from under the Tree of Life. I contend that the Tree of Life was on Calvary since "The Tree of Life" was crucified there. Hence, the Gihon Spring makes sense as one of the "rivers". That Spring was where Solomon was anointed king, and providesd life to Jerusalem; and has for thousands of years!

The Garden is described well in 1 Adam and Eve 10. Northward of Eden was a sea. That was likely the Mediterranean. It was "clean water" - perhaps salt water. On the south side of the Garden were aromatic trees. On the west of the Garden was where Adam dwelt because there was much land there. On the east were oceans, as far as the eye could see, and all over the world. If we knew what the earth really looked like then, it would help locate Eden, but we don't. Although maps of Pangea (the original world) shows land masses rotated around the Mediterranean as the pivot point, scientists did not rotate Israel itself. That doesn't make sense! We can't use today's directions to describe pre-historic Israel.

If Israel did rotate, the Mediterranean would have been on the north, as the "sea" was, and the Gihon would have flowed southward, providing water from the Tree of Life - the locations of the rest of the trees. Adam and Eve lived on the west side of the Garden where the gate was. The oldest gate of Old Jerusalem was the "corner gate" mentioned several places in scripture. It was built before all the others. That first Jerusalem Gate may very well correspond with the Gate of Paradise which was guarded by seraphim as it was on the same side. It was on the northwest corner, certainly in agreement with the Gate of the Garden.

Everyone has been looking for extant rivers and in modern-day places. Scientists have found a dry river bed running through Saudi Arabia. They propose that this is one of the missing rivers. It ran, if memory serves me right, from present-day east to west. We don't know how the Tigres and Euphrates coursed in those says because of continental drift. However, I would bet that future research will point more and more toward Jerusalem as the location of the Garden of Eden! Scripture does:

Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

The throne of God mentioned here would be high on a hill, perhaps Calvary where the Tree of Life stood. We can see in heaven that same "river" flowed from under the Tree of Life just as Gihon Spring does. Both are holy water which provides life!  The "Tree of Life" is plainly Jesus because His death provided "healing of the nations". In other words. the Tree of Life in the Garden was representative of Jesus, and I believe both (Jesus and the Tree of Life) stood on Calvary right where the tree on which he was crucified stood.

Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

We know that Adam and Eve deserved death and were placed outside the Gate to the Garden. It was guarded by seraphim. There was one Word which would someday provide a pass to re-enter the Gate. The pass-Word was the "Tree of Life" or Jesus. Likewise, to return to heavenly Paradise, the same password is required.

This heavenly city is the New Jerusalem. It will return to the dust from which it came someday right on the "foundation of peace" - the land on which Jerusalem now stands! I am wowed at God's Plan. There are no loopholes. Rather than looking for the Garden on earth, God wants us to look for Paradise in Heaven. If we find the latter, the former is obvious. 

Reason and Logic - Part 2

Thus far in part 1, I have discussed the reason and logic involved in becoming a Christian. Since reason is what goes on in our own minds, then it stands that this thought process must come to a resolution before one is born-again. Before the reader gets uptight about "saving oneself", that is not even implied! Jesus saves; we facilitate. It is true that we weren't there at the crucifixion, so therefore we had no hand in the propitiation of our own blood.  On the other hand, it is already shed for us. The new birth is coming to believe that it happened, it was God who shed it, it was efficacious, and it is ours for the having.

All those things are weighed in our minds by reasoning. Thus, our reason must harmonize with God's actions. He is the one who provided salvation, and we must come to understand from whence it came. To assist us, like the addict we are, we must admit: I am a sinner who cannot save myself. Jesus save me from myself. It's our own doing as a result of unrighteous thinking. God gave us the Ten Commandments so that we can evaluate ourselves, becoming without excuse.

If we fail to evaluate ourselves correctly - that we deserve death because we missed the mark with God, then our reason is faulty. Why so? Pride is strong in headstrong people. "Headstrongness" is ungovernable will (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Reason is the faculty that tempers headstrongness.

Scripture says that "all have sinned" (Romans 5:12), and that death comes about because of sin. What is sin? Simply disappointing God by doing our will instead of His. "Our will" is the end result of reason, even though when we sin often, the thought process becomes natural and efficient - even automatic. The first small sin is pondered extensively because we know that it is wrong. With practice, sin comes easy. People quit reasoning and merely obey blindly. Humans make good lapdogs of Satan just as dogs did the bidding of Pavlov. He tempts; we salivate!

We give Satan too much power. He wrote "the law of sin", and we practice it of our own volition. Whereas the Law of God, to obey, requires much aforethought and valid reasoning, the law of sin comes naturally. It is genetic.

The genetic aspect of sin is beyond our own reason. Because Adam nd Eve rationalized their sin by being illogical, we are born inclined to sin. Because we have the inclination, doesn't meant that we have to sin, but are inclined to do so because we are as illogical as Adam. God told him, "thou salt surely die", but Adam rationalized that he would not. Because Eve didn't die, Adam ate. Because Adam's reason was deceived by the serpent, Adam dismissed the profundity of death. Death is much more than our mortality. True death comes when the spirit dies. Neither Adam nor Eve comprehended the type of death, and if not for the blood of an innocent animal provided by grace, God would have followed through on His warning. Both Adam and Eve have never died spiritually because God promised a Savior in 5500 years. God followed through with that!

The Book of John (chapter 1) links the beginning to the present (at that time). Since Jesus was there in the beginning, Adam and Eve were saved by Jesus's grace even though he was then the invisible God who spoke to man; albeit he was still Emmanuel. Thus, not just the New Testament is about Jesus, but the Old Testament is about Him too. Truly, there were not two Covenants which God gave to man, but one. It was Jesus all the time!

The Bible is contiguous. From front cover to the rear, Holy Scripture is all about Jesus. There are not two themes. If we focus on the One Theme, we will come to realize that God never changes. (Hebrews 13:8).  The Hebrews needed that piece of information. They reasoned with it. Some came to realize that there was only One True God, as they always had believed, and that Jesus Is Him!

I understand the same thing because God is both El and Elohim; both singular and plural, and was from the beginning and still is!  Thus, the Bible is contiguous from beginning to end. In fact, the Tree of Life in Genesis still stands today as we find in Revelation. The Tree of Life is the focus of all scripture, and that Tree is Jesus Christ.

Any idea must be internally consistent to be accepted. That consistency doesn't make it true but plausible. Belief is based on faith. It would make no sense, if the premise changed in scripture. The premise in the Old Testament is that salvation was by the blood in patriarchal times, and it still is! When Abraham was willing to sacrifice his "only son" that was knowing that God would someday do just that! Abraham was willing because he reasoned: I trust God to the extent that I will do as he requests. When Abraham thought those thoughts he came to a conclusion: God can be trusted, and I will trust Him. To save ourselves even today, we must use our reason in the same way. We do have the advantage of looking back whereas Abraham had only a promise. As such Abraham had greater faith than any of us!

Faith is a product of reason. In the context of God, "reason" is examining God's Word for authenticity and reliability. I believe everything God said; even the Creation account. Why so? I use logic: if he can't create the world, he can't create the heavens. It was God who prepared the earth for us, and scripture tells us that God prepares for us a place in heaven (John 14:3).  The Word made the same promise to Abraham as he did for me. Using logic, since God made the same promise to Abraham as to me, then Scripture has internal consistency. In fact, the Law was never a way to salvation; it was only through Jesus and the propitiation of his blood:

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Luke didn't write an apology: except for the patriarchs which was through obedience. Salvation was, is, and always will be through the propitiated blood of Jesus, with no exceptions! Thus, the means to salvation was always the same, and the Bible is internally consistent. Jesus acknowledged that for doubters:

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Jesus understood the Word, not because he was taught it, but because it was He who spoke it (John 1:1, 14).  God's own Word made the entire Bible internally consistent. It's continuity and internal consistency are facts which contribute to it's authenticity and reliability. I have faith because I used logic to come to that conclusion. Scripture is reasonable.

You might say, "but scripture is at odds with science." You use reason to come to that conclusion but maybe it is more reasonable to say, science is at odds with scripture! You must understand, scientists never claimed to have created anything. Science merely attempts to explain existence. God did that in the beginning. In fact, his name, "I AM THAT I AM" means, Existence. Scientists usually don't admit it, but their vocation is a feeble attempt to explain Existence. They try to explain God by dethroning Him! Just as the Athenians worshiped "an Unknown God" Paul proclaimed Him to them. The Unknown God of Chance, who scientists worship in faith, had no power nor substance to do anything.

Reason tells some that existence just happened. It is too complex! There are not enough zeros behind the decimal point for "Probability" to be the creator. It is illogical to credit what we sense - to nobody and no thing. However, on the other hand, God takes credit for the Creation. His first Words spoken to Moses was "I created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Logic tells me that if that is not true, then JHVH God is a liar. Liars do not make good gods. That's why God is good and Satan is a liar as scripture tells me. Scientists would rather believe the lie than even consider the truth because to the latter, they are blind. Not having an open mind to Intelligent Design is illogical. Those who profess enlightenment stand in the most darkness. It is reasonable to believe that the eye can't see things unseen. Because we can't see things does not rule out their existence. Because we now can't see God makes Him no less real, even though when He was here He was seen by many.

If I was to say, tomorrow an atomic bomb will be dropped in New York, San Francisco, Houston, and Podunk, Iowa, and it happened., my name would be in all the extant newspapers, and on every news program. Why? Because what happened is what I said would happen -a day before it did! I would be credible and the world would have confidence in me, and what I predict.

Just as that, the Word is credible. God spoke of his own death, life events, ministry, purpose, death, crucifixion and resurrection in detail though the Old Testament prophets - thousands of years before they occurred. You an read them many places but most notably in the Book of Isaiah. David wrote of Jesus in Psalm 22, and Jesus reminded us of that on the cross as he quoted the first part of it: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" David was speaking about that moment 2000 or so years before God would die on the cross!

The doubter would say, Jesus was just doing what the prophets said he would do. Logic tells me that Jesus could have done that. However, logic tells me that there was no way he could get others to do their parts, not only in his death but virgin birth and miracles, let alone his resurrection! How in the world can reasonable people doubt that Jesus was raised from the dead, and seen alive by hundreds, maybe thousands of people? How can reasonable people even consider that the Temple was not destroyed in seventy years just as Jesus promised? How did Jesus get the Roman legions to do his bidding? How did Jesus get the Chief Priest to condemn him? How did Jesus get Pontius Pilate to crucify him? How did he get the soldiers to gamble for his clothing as prophesied thousands of years before? 

How did Jesus get the apostles to not only blindly follow him but believe in him to the extent that all but one died for hid Name sake? As scripture said, "that is their reasonable sacrifice" (Romans 12;1). Abraham thought it reasonable that he sacrifice his son for God, God thought it was reasonable to sacrifice his Son for all of us, and God thinks it reasonable to sacrifice ourselves for Him!

It is illogical to think that Jesus not only planned his birth, life, miracles, death, and resurrection but got others to participate in his plans! People who think that way have faulty reason. That lackluster faculty was a gift from Satan. He took valid reason, added deception, and faulty reasoning was born. Our nature now is to believe the lie. Scripture tells us that too, yet we don't even believe what we know we do! We are faithful servants! Unfortunately, most people serve the wrong master.

If Hawkings stood on the street corner and proclaimed that God never created the universe, which he has in his chair, that does make the Creation any less true. It just makes Stephen Hawking spiritually blind along with his other human frailties. Truth has no reference point in the physical world. However, absolute truth comes from God just as does everything else. Nothing just happens! Get over that misconception. God gave you your reason, and that was to do His will - not our own!

Reason and Logic - Part 1

Why do we believe? Jesus's method was to do miracles to convince the Jews, but even with healing the infirm and raising the dead, they were not convinced. Neither were they when Jesus multiplied the fish and bread. Even then, the Jews rejected Jesus.

Paul tried logic with King Herod Agrippa, a Jew:  

Acts 26:27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

Since Jesus's miraculous feats and his resurrection from the dead failed to convince Agrippa, Paul tried logic. Not quite so, but Agrippa was almost persuaded. Almost isn't enough! One must be convinced. I still see the miracles of God, but they are not what convinces me. Some have a Jewish perspective and others, the Gentile:

1 Corinthinas 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness...

Jews require signs or miracles, and the Gentiles or Greeks wisdom. Today, some require speaking in tongues and other supernatural acts, while others believe because they are enlightened. The first is emotional belief and the latter a belief of cognition. That Jesus has already died in their place makes no sense to the Jews, and for Gentiles, it's nothing more than mythology.

On the other hand, those born-again believe because God's Light shined on them - the technique God uses is to draw men to him:

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Before we discuss "being drawn", let's first consider for what reason men are drawn. It is to be "raised up on the last day!" For two-thousand dollars what is the question?  Larry says,  "What is salvation?"  The object of belief is to be born-again. Salvation comes at the end - that great and terrible day of the Lord (Joel 2:31) when the sun goes dark, and the moon turns to blood. Until that time, Christians have "the hope of salvation" (1 Thessalonians 5:8), and each day we are closer to our salvation than when we first believed:

Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Hence, Agrippa was not almost persuaded to be saved, but was  nearly persuaded to deny himself and trust Jesus! If Agrippa had been fully persuaded, he would have been born-again. When would he be saved? On the great and terrible day of the Lord. Since he wasn't fully persuaded, on that day, he will be destroyed - it will be a terrible day for him. For me, I am persuaded, and look forward to a great day! Because I am fully persuaded, God shined his light on me, and I'm born-again.

Truth is God's light. When Nicodemus asked how one could be born-again, Jesus referred him to Moses lifting up the bronze snake. Those who trusted Jesus instead of themselves, looked up and did not die. Others depended on themselves and died. It's still the same today - it is who we trust for our eternal lives that saves. God drew the people to him by presenting death and offering the bronze snake as a safe space. The poisonous snakes were there because God called them there. Calamity is oftentimes God's calling card. For me, the threat of dying forever was God's calling card. I considered eternal punishment, and then considered Jesus. Wisdom was accepting the inevitable - I can't save me but Jesus can! When I accepted that truth, I was born-again because I was enlightened.

What I'm saying, is that when we are called, that's God's doing. When we are convinced that is our response. What is that we must do to be born-again?

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

When God draws us, is when the gift of faith is given. What must we do? Exercise that faith by using the gift. You see, the new birth is a gift of God but our part is keeping the faith. We all accept  "a little faith", and are to grow it into "great faith". By grace, even a little faith shines enough to see the light at the end of the spiritual birth canal. Looking ahead to that light, we silently squirm through the doubt and contraction of our spiritual muscles until we are born-again.

Satan tries to make us breach in the divine birth canal. Our little faith presents us to God, and we become His to nourish and protect. God puts us in a safe crib, so to speak, but then Satan endeavors to tempt us to crawl over the rails. He literally puts huge paps out there to entice - whatever our pleasure is. He knows that although we are born-again, only in the end shall we be saved. In that time period, Satan still tempts, and we can still succumb.

If we have "great faith" we are assured that in the end we shall be saved (Acts 2:21). Salvation is not at the instant we first believed, but in the end. Until then, those who are sure, have the assurance of salvation. The evidence of that is obedience - or love.

Let me make this clear. Jesus paid it all on the cross. We weren't there, as my friend Gary Mitchell acknowledged. It was Jesus who provided the opportunity, and that was his gift to mankind. It is always there, and God draws everyone to accept the gift, but few will. His is the strait gate. Some refuse to open that gift because they don't desire it. The new birth is when the gift looks good enough, the recipient opens it. That gift is the very blood of God!

Here's where logic comes in. God endowed me with reason. Reason is examining all the evidence, weighing it for validity, and coming to a conclusion. I concluded that since I am not God, I can't save myself. Since I desire to live forever, there is only one Way to do that - by accepting Jesus's gift - that he died when it is I who deserved death!

When you come to believe and accept the truth in the following passage, you are born-again:

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Who else can save" No one. Can I save myself? Nada. Thus, I realize that it is Jesus who can, and he says that he will. I wasn't there when he presented the gift, but I am here to either accept or decline it. Jesus doesn't force himself on us. He draws us to Him! I can hang on to my babyish beliefs or accept the truth. Stubborn babies get aborted before they mature if they cling onto the world's security too long!

You see, reason and logic is used for persuasion. Doctors encourage birth by many different ways. Jesus encourages birth by shining his Light so that we can emerge from darkness! That Light is truth.

Tomorrow, I will discuss why I believe the truth.  

Money, Booze and Women

Alcohol, and of course drugs, lower inhibitions and enable the imbiber to do things that otherwise they would not do. Be honest; we have all experienced that whether it be with alcohol, marijuana, criminal drugs or class II narcotics. Because at the time of Judah, humanity was not quite as stupid as we are today, the problem was over-indulgence of alcohol. If a "little is good", much is not! Paul recommended a little wine as medicine. Today, I take baby aspirin to thin my blood. They didn't have that; wine was their medicine.

Just as we don't notice the spin of the world, those who overindulge become acclimated to their spin on the world. They live a false reality. The harder the drug, and the more intense the addiction, the more false the reality. Reality is that much of the nation has a problem. I contend that alcohol is also a gateway drug because it lowers inhibitions. Face it, it is an escape mechanism from responsibility, and the heat of the alcohol stirs the imagination. 

Of course, the world, and even my family, thinks that I am silly. The thought is: how can only one drink have any harm? We only need to look at the nature of sin to answer that! We don't ask God to "deliver us from temptation" as we're supposed to pray, then enter into temptation! Temptation leads to sin, and one sin leads to greater sins. That is the law of sin. 

If one never wants to be a criminal, it is wise to heed, "thou shalt not steal". If one never steals, they will never become a thief. Likewise, if one never consumes drugs, one will never become an addict - be it an alcoholic, pot head, or meth slave. Serving addictions is serving two masters. Drink, marijuana, opium and such were gifts from God for one reason or another. Abuse of them are burdens from Satan. We do his will, rather than God's, and the more they are abused, the oftener we do our own wills.

Many times I have heard the alcoholic say, "just a little wine for medicine" when it was a pint of Jack Daniels for his addiction. The intent of alcohol may be to slow the world but its affect is to slow the individual. 

Although our flesh wants to live forever, it is on our own terms. Sobriety is God's term because without soberness, people become insensitive to God's calling. I seldom witness to or correct those with addictions because they are not sober enough to be vigilant. I love them but feel sorry for them because the solace they seek is not in the bottle, the roach clip, or the needle; it's in the Comfort of God. When we put so much importance on our pleasure, it is wise to know that in heaven we all will do without those things forever. If that can be done for perpetuity, it can be done until death.

My addiction was cigarette smoking. Never minimize the power of nicotine. I lived for the next hit. I was skinny because nicotine was more important than nourishment. I could not eat fast enough because my cigarettes were impatient. Sex was even rushed because of the need to serve nicotine who was impatient. We needed each other! How did cigarettes need me? Satan needed them as an excuse for me to do greater sins. 

When tempted to sin - any sin, my irrational thought was: I sin by smoking anyhow; I may as well do this other sin. Nicotine was my enabler to sin further. Once I kicked the habit, and God comforted me in that, I actually reduced my other sins because my enabler was gone. I saw the flaw in my reasoning before pot came into vogue or I could have been a pothead. We called cigarette smokers "nicotine fains" in that we felt compelled to smoke.

Thus, I speak to us. Only by the grace of God was I born before pot and opium became so in vogue! I was blessed by being disgusted by the affects of alcohol. I learned early that drunkenness is a sickness because it made me sick, not because it is a disease! Each time I drank, I chose to sin because my consumption was not for health improvement. It was for acceptance, partying, and to escape reality. Truly with alcohol I was never really accepted, missed the party because of inebriation, and the reality was false. Satan had me where he wanted me. I spit in the devil's face on my 21st birthday, and he ceased to tempt me much afterward with alcohol.

I do have a fleeting thought some days when I think, everyone else drinks; why shouldn't I? Because I am not my own! I belong to God. As such, I am set aside to be a sort of Nazarite, not taking pleasure in the things of the world. If God should want that Samson not drink, then he should want that I do not! My flesh may desire a false reality but my spirit asks me why? The answer is that pleasing God is more important than pleasing myself. 

People reject my principles. It's true that salvation is not refraining from sin but trusting Jesus. However, if we truly revere God, our desire should change as we are reborn new creatures. God's will is that his new creation cease to be the old person. Therefore, abstention is not sacramental but reverent. My thought is that I need to be sanctified to please God, thus being a Nazarite seems honorable to me. I realize it's not me who sets me apart but God Himself. I do need to hold His hand, though, as He pulls me from sin.

Since my message is usually rejected by most, let's look at another man who seems to agree with what I say. This is the Testament of Judah, spoken from his deathbed centuries before Christ:

The Testament of Judah 3:

10 And now, my children, I say unto you, be not drunk with wine; for wine turneth the mind away from, the truth, and inspires the passion of lust, and leadeth the eyes into error.

11 For the spirit of fornication hath wine as a minister to give pleasure to the mind; for these two also take away the mind of man.

12 For if a man drink wine to drunkenness, it disturbeth the mind with filthy thoughts leading to fornication, and heateth the body to carnal union; and if the occasion of the lust be present, he worketh the sin, and is not ashamed.

13 Such is the inebriated man, my children; for he who is drunken reverenceth no man.

14 For, lo, it made me also to err, so that I was not ashamed of the multitude in the city, in that before the eyes of all I turned aside unto Tamar, and I wrought a great sin, and I uncovered the covering of my sons' shame.

15 After I had drunk wine I reverenced not the commandment of God, and I took a woman of Canaan to wife.

16 For much discretion needeth the man who drinketh wine, my children; and herein is discretion in drinking wine, a man may drink so long as he preserveth modesty.

17 But if he go beyond this limit the spirit of deceit attacketh his mind, and it maketh the drunkard to talk filthily, and to transgress and not to be ashamed, but even to glory in his shame, and to account himself honourable.

18 He that committeth fornication is not aware when he suffers loss, and is not ashamed when put to dishonour.

19 For even though a man be a king and commit fornication, he is stripped of his kingship by becoming the slave of fornication, as I myself also suffered.

20 For I gave my staff, that is, the stay of my tribe; and my girdle, that is, my power; and my diadem, that is, the glory of my kingdom.

21 And indeed I repented of these things; wine and flesh I eat not until my old age, nor did I behold any joy.

22 And the angel of God showed me that for ever do women bear rule over king and beggar alike.

23 And from the king they take away his glory, and from the valiant man his might, and from the beggar even that little which is the stay of his poverty.

24 Observe, therefore, my children, the right limit in wine; for there are in it four evil spirits--of lust, of hot desire, of profligacy, of filthy lucre.

25 If ye drink wine in gladness, be ye modest in the fear of God.

26 For if in your gladness the fear of God departeth, then drunkenness ariseth and shamelessness stealeth in.

27 But if ye would live soberly do not touch wine at all, lest ye sin in words of outrage, and in fightings and slanders, and transgressions of the commandments of God, and ye perish before your time

28 Moreover, wine revealeth the mysteries of God and men, even as I also revealed the commandments of God and the mysteries of Jacob my father to the Canaanitish woman Bathshua, which God bade me not to reveal.

29 And wine is a cause both of war and confusion.

30 And now, I command you, my children, not to love money, nor to gaze upon the beauty of women; because for the sake of money and beauty I was led astray to Bathshua the Canaanite.

31 For I know that because of these two things shall my race fall into wickedness.

Giants In Those Days

Today, I will deviate somewhat on things not essential to salvation, and which seem to be preposterous! Scripture speak of "giants" in many places. Even that in comparison, men looked like "grasshoppers":

Numbers 13:32 And they (the Israelite scouts) brought up an evil report of the land (Canaanland) which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Today, we might call basketball players "giants". However, the Anaks were so large as to make the Israelites appear as grasshoppers in comparison.  How large were giants in those days?

Deuteronomy 3:11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. 

Bashan was at the entryway to Canaan, and laid beside the Jordan River. Those people were surely ones who dwarfed the Israelite scouts. The Hebrew people did battle with them, and with the power of God, they were defeated. King Og was a Raphaim - or giant race. Look at how large he must have been based on the size of his bed: Since a cubit is the distance from the elbow to the fingertip, and ancient Jews had a distance of 17.5 inches (from Answers in Genesis), then the bed of Og was 13'-5-1/2" inches long and 5'-10" wide. His weight surely was massive because his bed was of iron. This man was huge!

The first mention of giants in the Bible is the following:

Genesis 6: 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

The outcome of this transaction was evil people - evil enough that God would destroy the earth! I've heard theologians say that they were merely men of "renown" (verse 4), and were highly honored because of their spirituality. My question, then, is why would God destroy the earth because of highly honored men? It was because they were giants, just as scripture says. However, their gargantuan size is surely why they were honored. 

Someplace along the line, "the sons of God" interbred with "the daughters of men". Some believe that the sons of God were Seth's line, and the daughters of men - Cain's line. For a moment, let us dismiss that. Whoever it was who bred the extant females were evil - evil enough that God destroyed them!

With the flood, God killed all mankind with the exception of Noah's family - eight in number: Noah, his wife, Ham and his wife, Japheth and his wife, and Shem and his wife. Since they were righteous, it would seem that they had not been infected by the intermarriage in their generation. Of course, the propensity to be gargantuan may have been genetic and reappear after the flood, or it could have been that interbreeding after the flood still happened. Either seems plausible.

We do know that hundreds of years later giants still existed. According to the original Hebrew, Goliath was 9'-9" tall. The Septuagint, taken from the Hebrew, scales Goliath down to a mere basketball player at 6'-9" - hardly a giant! I believe that scripture, when it says "giant" means "giant"!

There are other sacred texts in which that same event was described. There is the Seth and Cain story which does not explain the size, and then another one from The Testament of Reuben written 130 B.C. and about the death of Reuben, the son of Jacob, ca 1700 B.C. (Bible Timeline).  Here is Rueben's deposition. It was either passed down or inspired by God. Reuben claims it was "the angel of the Lord" or the pre-incarnate Jesus: 

Testament of Reuben 2:13 For evil are women, my children; and since they have no power or strength over man, they use wiles by outward attractions, that they may draw him to themselves. 14 And whom they cannot bewitch by outward attractions, him they overcome by craft. 15 For moreover, concerning them, the angel of the Lord told me, and taught me, that women are overcome by the spirit of fornication more than men, and in their heart they plot against men; and by means of their adornment they deceive first their minds, and by the glance of the eye instil the poison, and then through the accomplished act they take them captive. 16 For a woman cannot force a man openly, but by a harlot's bearing she beguiles him. 17 Flee, therefore, fornication, my children, and command your wives and your daughters, that they adorn not their heads and faces to deceive the mind: because every woman who useth these wiles bath been reserved for eternal punishment. 18 For thus they allured the Watchers who were before the flood; for as these continually beheld them, they lusted after them, and they conceived the act in their mind; for they changed themselves into the shape of men, and appeared to them when they were with their husbands. 19 And the women lusting in their minds after their forms, gave birth to giants, for the Watchers appeared to them as reaching even unto heaven.

"Watchers" are the supernatural beings referred to in  The Second Book of Adam and Eve. We now call this type of angels - demons. It appears that as the women copulated with their own husbands that they had lusts, perhaps fantasizing of different men, and their lusts brought down demons. They became pregnant, not by men, but by the demons. Throughout history, this type of demonic sexual intercourse is by an "incubus": An incubus is a Lilin demon who has sexual relations with sleeping women. Nearly all ancient societies referenced incubi.

Lilin are the spirits mentioned in prophecy:

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

"The screech owl" is a night demon called liyliyth in Hebrew (Lilith in English). Females are succubi and males incubi.  It seems that the daughters of men were impregnated by incubi, thus creating giants. It stands to reason, that although giants were washed from the face of the earth with the flood, that incubi lived on in the spiritual world. Somehow with some, incubi continued to impregnate daughters of men after the flood. Since Baal-worship was the norm, and sexual activity was the practice, then throughout history, women have encountered incubi and giants resulted. Scripture often refers to this race of people as "Nephilim" - the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men.

God had the Hebrew people to entirely wipe out the enemy when they came into paradise - the land of milk and honey which is Israel. Thus giants of that size seldom exist today. I say "seldom" because gigantism still exists today. Robert Wardlow, the tallest measured man, was 8'-6". He, for all practical purposes, was the size of Goliath. I'm not implying that he is a result of an incubus, but that the Bible's claims are plausible. I am content with believing scripture. After all, Reuben got his information form God!

Why are there not fossilized skeletons of giants today? Who proves there is not? There are genuine reports of giant skeletons notwithstanding the fake claims today with Photoshopped pictures. That will be for another day.

Oh, by the way: there are women today who have claimed to had sex with incubi. Perhaps nothing has changed in all these years!