The Mad Star

Isaiah 14:12 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”

(Even if one is not a KJB’er, stick around because my translation notes are relatively short & their is edification for all believers in this post. I do not include macrons or symbols above the hebrew or greek words, I do not know how on this website, but the words are accompanied by Strong’s Concordance reference numbers)

Anyone who has engaged in the KJB vs the rest debate should be familiar with the issue of modern translations & Isaiah 14:12. A majority of modern translations substitute “Lucifer” with “morning star” or “day star.”

The primary debate is that both substitute terms used by many modern translators refer to the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:9; Rev 22:16). That is evidence enough against modern translations from my estimation. I will offer something more though.

In the Bible, God provides the proper names of people & places. Sometimes He gives us the name meaning along with the name, but for most proper names the English reader has to refer to a concordance. Why would modern translators chose only one name (Lucifer) out of the entire Bible & only give the name meaning, but not the name itself? That is inconsistent.

Lucifer appears once in scripture in the KJB, Geneva & Wycliffe Bible. The hebrew word is “heylel” (H1966). Strong’s concordance says it means “morning star,” refer back to the paragraph above. One question for both KJB’ers or MT’ers should be, how is the name Lucifer a name for the devil? In Isaiah 14, it speaks of the King of Babylon? There are several reasons (the examples at the end of this article also infer it), but for beginners in Isaiah 14 we can tell God speaks of more than the King of Babylon:

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

Thus, Isaiah 14 speaks of the fall of the King of Babylon & includes breaking the Assyrian (Babylon included Assyria in their empire)–then we have the mention of the “serpent’s root.” Full stop. Let us address the common scholarly claim that Satan is not the same Satan throughout scripture. They claim the proper name is instead a general term for an adversary & Satan refers different entities throughout scripture. Satan is the same Satan & the serpent is Satan:

Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Revelation 20:9 “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,”

Now for a very interest thing involving the Geneva Bible. For starters, the KJB translators did not claim all prior English translations bad translations; in fact, their goal was to make “one principal good one.” They succeeded, for even MT advocates use the KJB as the standard for comparison. James White wrote The King James Only Controversy–not the NIV or ESV or NLT or NASB controversy.

In the Geneva Bible, which also uses the name Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12, there is an interesting expository footnote which includes, “…for the morning star that goeth before the sun, is called Lucifer, to whom Nebuchadnezzar is compared.”

Here is how that exposition ties in: the name heylel (H1966) is a derivative of halal (H1984). The term halal is used 165 times & the KJB translators rendered it most often as “praise,” but also sometimes as “glory” or “shine” (amongst 13 different renderings). The interesting thing in relation to the Geneva footnote is that KJB translators rendered halal as “mad” (as in insane) several occasions. Well…what happened to Nebuchadnezzar?

Daniel 4:33 “The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.”

Thus, the reason I used the term The Mad Star for the title.

Another interesting note in the study; the Romans called the planet, a”star” to them–Lucifer (one source–The Days of the Week by Isidore, bishop of Seville). If one looks up at the night sky & regards all the lights as stars; some stars have an erratic pattern (you could say mad pattern) in respect to other stars. In Jude 1:13 we encounter the phrase “…wandering stars…” which is planetes (G4107) aster (G792).

Like when the Lord Jesus turned water into wine, I saved the best for last in this article:

John 2:10 “And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”

I will transition from translations & interesting notes to the prime edification of Isaiah 14. To say prime edification–the material has to do with our Lord Jesus Christ. Whether it is a prophecy or portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ in the OT or as in the case of Isaiah 14–a contrast.

In Isaiah 14:19 Lucifer/the King of Babylon is referred to as an “..abominable branch…” ; whereas Jesus the King of kings:

Isaiah 11:1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:”

Zechariah 6:12 “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:”

John 2:19 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Also concerning the King of Babylon/Lucifer in the Isaiah 14:9 “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming…” in contrast to the Lord Jesus:

Mark 16:19 “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”

In Isaiah 14:13-14, Lucifer exalts himself, whereas the Lord Jesus Christ:

Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Note that Lucifer said in his heart: “.. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…” (Isaiah 14:13). There are many places in scripture where stars & angels can be connected (e.g. Rev 12:4 with Rev 12:9 or Job 38:7 which includes “morning stars”–boqer (H1242) kowkab (H3556) in that case). Thus, exalting himself above the angels of God. That is a contrast with our Lord Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 1:6 “And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.”

Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

Finally, even if MT’s render the name Lucifer as “morning star” or “day star” as a reference to the physical star or planet that we can observe rise in the sky; note the contrast to the where the true day star (the Lord Jesus Christ) arises:

2 Peter 1:19 “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:”

Luke 17:20 “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Strange Woman

Proverbs 5:3 “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”

The strange woman in the book of Proverbs is a strange woman & the strange woman as in the harlot of Babylon which is the mother of harlots–so like mother, like daughter. She is juxtaposed to wisdom in the book. The strange woman is an adulteress & consider this series:

Proverbs 7:18 “Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.”

I refuse to believe that a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can miss the bigger implications in the above series (Mark 13:34).

To return to the article’s opening verses from Proverbs 5, I searched the scriptures & here are some correlations & contrasts to the verses about the strange woman (I added the roman numerals to clearly delineate the sections–there is a lot of scripture):

I: Proverbs 5:3 “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb…”

Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb…”

She speaks some pleasant words, they drop as an honeycomb, thus they drop like honey. In contrast the law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear & judgments of the LORD (Psalms 19:7-9):

Psalms 19:10 “..sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

II: Proverbs 5:3 “…and her mouth is smoother than oil:”

This section took me a long time to correlate (or as I believe not in the nature of a boast: the Lord finally showed me) because I was focussed entirely on the oil.  Her mouth is smoother than oil–she speaks smoother than smooth things:

Isaiah 30:10 “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:”

The people only wanted to hear smooth things even if they are lies. The subject of peace always sounds like a smooth thing, but is it truth?:

Jeremiah 8:11 “For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”

Thus, I correlate the sequence to a false prophetess:

Revelation 2:20 “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”

III Proverbs 5:4 “But her end is bitter as wormwood,…”

If you recall in section I, the judgments of the LORD (Psalm 19:7-10) are included amongst the things that,  “…are sweeter also than the honey and the honeycomb.”

Amos 5:7 “Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,”

Romans 1:32 “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Thus we have the judgment of God & the woman promotes celebrating the opposite (readers of Romans 1 should understand a common popular issue that certainly relates). The word wormwood correlates to bitterness (Lam 3:15, Rev 8:10-11):

Deuteronomy 32:32 “For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.”

With the venoms of asps, see Romans 3:13-3:18, which includes:

Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Juxtaposed to the wormwood & the bitterness of that vine:

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”

In Revelation 8:11 “..and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” Thus, the waters poisoned by Wormwood are a deadly drink:

Mark 16:18 “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them…”

IV Proverbs 5:4 “..sharp as a twoedged sword. ”

Her end is as sharp as a twoedged sword. That is an end to be feared:

Luke 12:5 “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”

Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

Her end is sharp as a twoedged sword, but:

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…”

V Proverbs 5:5 “Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”

Concerning the same strange woman:

Proverbs 2:19 “None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”

The strange women takes us in quite a different direction than life:

Matthew 7:13 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

VI Proverbs 5:6 “Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”

She could make you ponder the path of life (for example ponder John 14:6), like the common claim that there are many religions & many different paths to God. That is not what the word of God says:

1 Timothy 2:15 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

1 John 2:22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”

One can never be certain because of her moveable ways; the opposite of simplicity:

2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Her ways are moveable, in contrast:

Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love & the Leviathan (Poem)

My secret love burned but
my love is no secret
my countenance exposes
other-worldly roses
but she was only flattered
whilst I was enamored

Lovelorn as if I had been
born to burn inside for
the rest of my days
Torn by desires to fulfill
an unceasing fire or
simply get away

Limbo, my final abode
if I stayed on that road
Happy was she, to keep me
romantically hopeless, a
personal Sisyphus
I was sick of this

Her stare turned into frost
my flames did not exhaust
she was forever lost
fervor grew only higher
inferno absent of pyre
I was about to expire

Months, my mind and body waned
to others, I was insane
I kept on praying
Then one hopeless afternoon
like the harrowing of hell
my soul, did swell

Jonah 2:2 “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”

Unsound Eschatology

I will begin the article by defining what may be Christian jargon for some. I do not do so as if I am standing on an intellectual pedestal & I am feeding the lowly masses. Familiarity with terminology is no measure of intelligence. That is why I dislike the slang phrase dumbing down. So one never heard a term before or it is not a routine part of one’s vocabulary–that would be uninformed or unaware, not dumb.

Doctrine–A collection of beliefs that are supposed to be based off the word of God. A doctrine may encompass several supporting scriptures from different books & chapters of the Bible. Sometimes the label for the doctrine is based off an older language; also the label is used for brevity.  Thus, one may not find the verbatim label for the doctrine in scriptures. For instance the rapture is used instead of the, “…caught up” (1 Thess 4:17). That label is derived from an older language. Another example for brevity is the harrowing of hell. Not all doctrine universally agreed upon via interpretation, but the label is an abbreviated way to highlight a subject for those who already have familiarity.

Eschatology–The doctrine of last things. To say end times is a reference to the same study.

Unsound Eschatology–Unsound doctrine of last things. An unreliable collection of beliefs concerning the end times because the collection of beliefs do not align with the Bible. Doctrine is not unsound or unreliable on the basis that it does not align with human reason or logic. The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is not logical or rational IAW with human reason. That is why I am not a fan of rational faith. The term itself entails cognitive dissonance.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith is not going to meet a human endorsed rational or logical cause & effect formula. Some will accuse us of blind faith–which the phrase itself is like saying round circle: “the evidence of things not seen.” Blind faith? Guilty–so what? Not only is my faith irrational–it is exciting. On the topic of logic & reason, many versions of Christian doctrines have been warped via the influence of Plato or Aristotle. The two men wrote some interesting things, but an attempt to glean anything from the Holy Bible on the basis of their writings is error. Christians should be on guard when scholars or theologians routinely toss the terms rationality, logic or reason into the mix.

John 20:29 “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

The existence of giants is not rational by our modern measure, yet God not only speaks of giants, but He also tells how big a certain giant’s bedstead was & that his bedstead was in a particular place at a particular time:

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.”

The dimensions of the bedstead are in the area of 13 feet long & 6 feet wide. The inference was not that Og owned a huge bed, but Og required a huge bed with strong support (iron). If the inference was luxury–we would have been told about Og’s gold or many possessions. All that being said, the size of Og does not align with modern human rationality. This might shake up some folks, but the giants existed–sound doctrine (Ecc 1:9; Gen 6:4; Dan 2:43). It is unsupported by modern human reason, but supported by the scripture.

All that wraps back around to eschatology. The manner of eschatology is molded by whether one has faith in the word of God or human reason or rationality:

2 Peter 3:3 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

(Compare to Exodus 32:1)

What people believe about the last things, whether they happen 10 minutes or 10 centuries from now–affects our modus operandi here & now. Generally speaking, there are two vastly different versions of eschatology being promoted within Christian institutions. I am not speaking of disagreements like whether the rapture occurs before, during or after the great tribulation. The two general doctrines are night & day.

I speak of one eschatology that involves patience (Rev 13:10) & another that leads to the belief that men will build the kingdom of heaven on earth (tower of Babel–part 2). One mode promotes the word of God & the other mode promotes oppressed & oppressor philosophy. Both camps utilize the Bible, but one in a greater capacity & one in a lesser capacity.

I am going to discuss a severe case of unsound eschatology connected to terrible things from the other camp. Note that the entire other camp may not be near as extreme, but their doctrine is akin to this example:

Notorious communist cult leader Jim Jones once slammed a King James Bible on the floor & exclaimed to his congregation, “My grand-daddy believed this Bible–and he was racist!” Although Jones quoted scripture from time to time; this action displayed the treasure of his heart (Luke 6:45). He obsessively spoke on the likes of diversity, racism & sexism.

Eventually the entire cult packed up, went off to a jungle & through precepts such as equality–they planned on building the kingdom of heaven on earth. As is the routine with communism; the end of the matter was mass murder.  Some call it mass suicide, but it was mass suicide at gun point.

I must note this is not about a Church ever addressing items like racism, but rather a question: can there ever be a Sunday or two absent of the mention of diversity, racism, sexism or equality? Can scripture such as Hebrews 1 be about Who it is about or must it somehow be related to that agenda?

Based on frequency, is the focus the Lord Jesus Christ, His return & resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-14) or is it a steady stream of oppressed & oppressor rhetoric which promotes insurrection (Barabbas–Mark 15:7) against the perceived status quo?

The night camp’s eschatology leaves no room for Biblically sound eschatology. Through democracy, diversity, equality, no-borders, socialism–it promotes that men will build the kingdom of heaven on earth, the communist utopia. Where does the world worshipping the beast, the mark of the beast, the return of Christ or the battle of armageddon fit in?

In order to propagate the night camp’s version of events–unsound things are promoted across the board. A classic example is the claim that in the Book of Revelation, the emperor of Rome at the time was the beast. Negative:

Revelation 17:8 “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

So, “was, and is not; and shall ascend” does not fit the narrative of what would have been at the time the scripture was penned–a current emperor of Rome. Another question along the lines of the night camp’s narrative–when was the mark of the beast? When did people have to get the name, mark or number of a Roman Emperor in their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell (Rev 13:16-17)?

Thus, the night camp’s claim is that the Apostle John wrote in the apocalyptic style of the day to reflect what was going on the world around him. Take note: there is not a thing about it being the word of God in such a statement. That is a common marker to watch out for with the night camp. They ascribe too much agency to the human pens–inspired like poets instead of God giving them words & visions to write down:

2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

“All scripture is given..” is often confused with “inspiration is given.” The inspiration of God was the vehicle (“by”) for all scripture that is given. The men did not take artistic liberties as if John the Apostle thought, “I think I will write this piece in the popular apocalyptic style of today.”  In fact the night camp’s claim alludes that the Apostle John was not shown a vision by God.

This article could become book length. I will wind it down by stating that the night camp’s eschatology is like, “As a community, we are going to build the best city that we can.” There is not anything wrong with building a nice city, but the problem is–that is the end of their religion; to build the best city that they can (Gen 11). It is also a pragmatic religion. They want to see things now, they want to make things happen now. Everything is of a temporal nature. Constant oppressed & oppressor rhetoric imparts bitterness. Frankly, all Americans are force fed enough the same rhetoric from the media, the education system, the entertainment industry…the world.

The day camp’s eschatology is patiently enduring the downward spiral of the world. This is not to state that justice should be ignored where it is in our power to do something. The day camp does not lie–lot’s of bad things are going to happen. At some point the world will break it’s cycle of up’s & down’s and only head down, down, down. Bible believing Christians are going to have zero desire to even breath in that world, but they must endure & have faith that everything will end up how the Bible says it will end up. A rational faith will not do because nearly everything around will be heading the opposite direction of the faith. Rationally, pragmatically, the faith will appear not to be working in the world at the time (Rev 13:7). Most importantly, it must be a faith that resides in the heart:

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She cannot Love–She must be Evil (poem)

Wasted love on a woman who could not love or
could not love me. I will believe the former, for
it is more comforting than the latter; therefore,
she cannot love–she must be evil.

Better to be in Limbo with somebody than
to be in Limbo with nobody, but she chose
nobody; thus, nobody is better than me?
She cannot love–she must be evil.

I am not allowed to say her name aloud, but
I will! I will! Her name is Countess Bathory,
bathed herself in my misery–epiphany!…
…she cannot love–she must be evil.

Nearly died did I of an unknown malady,
indubitably, twas the fault of my lady,
Oh my, nevermind, she was never mine, but
I am still in love with one who must be evil.

The Poem that Nobody Likes (a poem)

O’ love is so cliche, they say.

Perhaps verse about struggles

with society or sobriety

if you desire notoriety.

 

Why, Dante already thought that

and Shakespeare already brought that

and Shelley already wrought that

and Poe, too many know.

 

Caverns measureless to man (1)

are no longer in demand,

So–go back to your unreal city! (2)

for your poetry is pretty…

 

The moon, is a naked whore,

no ballads to her anymore,

Spare us all the old tropes,

We want desire, without hope! (3)

 

We want racism! we want sexism!

You don’t speak to our activism,

Your idealism, your romanticism

only warrants our vandalism.

 

We want subversion and perversion,

our interest is the inversion

of Philippians four-eight,

verse that inspires our hate.

 

1) Kubla Khan, Samuel Coleridge

2) The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot

3) Close enough to Inferno 4.42, Dante Alighieri (Longfellow version)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unnamed Poem (a poem)

O’ to engage my beloved again,

For all is dross that is not(1)…her,

For me to speak her name would cause her rage,

I–a wild animal in her sight, not in its cage,

Her–a muse that escaped antiquity,

A fugitive from Botticelli’s imagery,

Perfumed with gentleness & grace,

and I–a wild animal, quite out of place.

As if I had ignored the markers of Heracles,

When I came into her presence,

And why, O’ me–should I write this?

Because that is how love works,

Some of us merely breath air for it,

Some of us must conquer Troy for it,

Away from my beloved ye feminist beasts!

Like the Furies wrapped about the towers of Dis,

They hiss & hiss to lead her amiss,

O’ how I miss my beloved, my Beatrice!

But my Beatrice doesn’t miss me.

1) Dr Faustus, Scene XIII, by Christopher Marlowe

 

Ecclesiastes & Corinthians

Ecclesiastes 9:11 “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

1 Corinthians 1:26 “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

Sodom

Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Homosexuality is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22) & there is no getting around that fact. However, the term sodomite should not be restricted to that act alone. From reading the scriptures, the conclusion can be that homosexuality is a culmination of people giving themselves over to fornication (Romans 1:24-27). The LBGTQ exemplifies that trait because they base their very identity on their intimate physical relations.

The old “I sinned this way & you sinned that way” is not a justification for any sin; I’m not attempting to make the LGBTQ seem any less of offense by pointing out other factors–I wish to avoid any misinterpretation of my premise.

Now that the disclaimer is known, is celebrating adultery supposed to be more noble the homosexuality? Have not swingers given themselves over to fornication as well? What about one who spends all his free time taking in pornography?

In Genesis 19, the two angels who visited Sodom told Lot they were going to abide in the street all night. Lot pressed them to stay at his house. From the sounds of it, public pornography was the after dark pass time on the streets or at the town square in Sodom. Today, the internet is the town square & rivers of pornography flow on the streets.

Let us also not forget that the men of Sodom were so consumed with fornication that they intended to rape Lot’s guests. But wait, there’s more…

Genesis 19:4 “But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:”

The verse says the “old and young”; therefore, not only are we speaking of public pornography, but also pedophilia. These points are is to marginalize the LBGTQ in the story, but to state that to not also include anything about pornography, fornication, sexual assault or pedophilia in a sermon about Sodom is err.

It is important to mention recent sermons from the wayward shepherds. I have heard more than a few sermons on the internet where the message is akin to marital physical relations are good & enjoyable. Does something like that require a sermon? Is that news to anyone? Were there husbands & wives in the congregations that required such an “edifying” message? Perhaps the following verse explains why preachers cannot stop delivering sermons on sex:

Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

If a preacher cannot go a sermon or two without mentioning sex of some kind–alarm bells should be sounding. Perhaps that is their treasure overflowing from their heart & that’s what must come out of their mouth every sermon? So, not only does  our society overflow with pornography, but also the consistent conversation about is everywhere–even in Churches:

2 Peter 2:7 “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)”

Lot was seeing & hearing those things. Apparently his home was the only safe place & eventually evil ended up on doorstep. We have TV & the internet in our homes. I suppose one could go the route of getting rid of both, but think about it–Lot had the choice of opening or closing his front door. That is not much more difficult than changing the channel or not clicking our computer mouse.

The common retort to all these things I mention is “don’t judge.” There is more to that series in Matthew 7–read on I say. Notice that when the Sodomites wanted to rape Lot’s guests & Lot pleaded with them not to do such a wicked thing–the Sodomites also gave the same manner of use to “don’t judge” that we hear today & added a threat:

Genesis 19:9 “And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.”

We have to take the beam out of our own eye to take the mote out of our brother’s eye (Matt 7:5). Thus, this piece will dispel the claim of perfection in order to preach. If one preaches against stealing, because they stole at some point in their life does that disqualify them from ever preaching against it? Do they still steal? That is the question. It is the same concept with all this sex stuff.

There is also the question of conscience. We believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & we are saved–does this mean we have lived a perfect life from that moment thereafter? It is folly to believe that. Can one do the same things they were doing before they were saved without a conscience? A common question is, “how do I know I am saved?” Our own conscience is a good starting point. Someone may steal, be saved & steal again. They may steal again, but they should be convicted by their own conscience thereafter. It will no longer be a bestial risk versus reward sort of thing or the only worry is getting caught reaction. You will feel ashamed because you should feel ashamed:

Isaiah 3:9 “The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.”

The modern religion is people seeking to not feel ashamed by any of their own actions. That statement sums up the pseudo-science known as psychology. Shame & conscience are connected. If you have a conscience about a thing–there is still hope. The answer is not an attempt to eradicate your conscience about a thing.

I began writing this intending to focus on the “strange flesh” mentioned in Jude 1:7–tangent. So that will be another post in the future. I will wind this down by stating that if one still watches pornography, one is not so far away from Sodom as they might think. Recall the verse about Lot seeing & hearing those things. If you are in that fight, start with examining what you take in. Here is an example of a subtil temptation to avoid:

One quits watching pornography. One day on the news, some porn star is in the news about something else other than pornography. The temptation may be to go search for pictures of that porn star on the internet. What type of images are more than likely going to be produced by a general internet search? Yes, the media promotes opening that door–the media is actually advertising it. That example was a snare for myself.

Lot was encompassed by that sort of thing & so are we. Beware of media exposure/advertising. I am a conservative, but FoxNews is one of the absolute worse internet sites for that. A simple scroll down on FoxNews’s website, daily, includes a few pictures of women in scandalous bikini’s & maybe that picture is accompanies by news of a recent sex tape or something like that. Sometimes constant simple exposure of thing  by the media is a doorway to temptation.

Even if the media outlet is allegedly condemning a thing, the constant blast of the images of those very things counteracts the contrary message. These devils in the media know exactly what they are doing. They know that constant images serve to normalize a thing.

Christians in America are just about in the same situation as Lot.  We are in a serious fight & if you are Christian–cut off the pornography. Let us pray for each other on that matter because not only is there the overt matter, but also the subtil subversion imagery on the media & the conversation in wayward Churches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resurrection versus Insurrection

Mark 15:7 “And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.”

Barabbas is a portrait of antichrist. He was in prison–like the beast in the bottomless pit (Rev 17:8). Barabbas was brought out of that pit & he was set in counter-distinction to our Lord Jesus Christ. Pilate gave the Jews the choice of which of two that he should release (Matt 27:17).

The main idea of this article is to focus on Barabbas & his insurrection versus the Lord Jesus Christ & His bodily resurrection. The words resurrection & insurrection are close words in English & Greek.

Insurrection–Greek: stasis (G4714) “Standing”

Resurrection–Greek: anastasis (G386) “Standing up again”

A pastor named John A. Stormer wrote a book called None Dare Call it Treason. In his book there is a fantastic chapter about how the communists (called democrats in the modern US) infiltrated Christian seminaries beginning in the late 19th Century. He highlighted their altering of scripture via Biblical revisions & their doctrine.

The doctrine of the communist infiltrators weighs entirely on socialism & social justice–then they place Jesus (no titles) like a cherry on top of their agenda. The communists always preach a communist revolution, more properly, an insurrection (stasis). The communist mode is to promote anything they can as an alleged injustice perpetuated by a national government. Once they receive the desired change on one hot issue–they immediately move on to another (usually manufactured) crisis. They never cease complaining about a government; they never rest (Isaiah 57:20).

1 Timothy 2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

The communist goal is to have insurrections & overthrows of national governments. They want a communist, no border’s, worldwide government. That is their deficient version of heaven (utopia) & it is all about this world.

Hebrews 11:16 “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

The resurrection focusses on the after-life of this world. If one is a declared Christian; yet, they never see it fit in the course of their doctrine to mention the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ–alarm bells should be ringing. I do not speak of a psychological, philosophical or metaphorical resurrection–the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only did the Lord give us a litmus test for doctrine (1 John 4:1-3), but the importance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ cannot be overstated & if that fact is never mentioned in one’s doctrine?

1 Corinthians 15:13 “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”

By no means do I claim that any mention of politics in preaching is wrong. However, is that the consistent primary topic of one’s is preaching? Instead of the word of God is it always about painting foreign opportunists as refugees or climate change or healthcare–basically the Democratic Party platform? If you go to Church, is the preaching constantly in line with the hot topics propagated on MSNBC, CNN or Fox News? Is the preaching the result of an unction from the Holy Spirit or is it an unction from human media?

Thus, the focus is doctrine. Is the preaching all about fomenting insurrection against a current government? The counter-distinction between Barabbas (a picture of the beast) & our Lord Jesus Christ includes insurrection versus resurrection.

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”