Can I get an AMEN? by Gary Rose

If you listen to TV or browse the Internet you will find out how much the anti-Trumpers really HATE our president. That's right- our PRESIDENT!!! They even go so far as to threaten his assassination! They prove by their attitudes, their signs and their violence how much they love sin. But, what about the supporters of Donald Trump?

Well, the graphic and the chapter below have a message for them...

Exodus, Chapter 14 (World English Bible)

  ¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,  ² “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. You shall encamp opposite it by the sea.  ³ Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.’  ⁴ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh.” They did so. 

  ⁵ The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”  ⁶ He prepared his chariot, and took his army with him;  ⁷ and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, with captains over all of them.  ⁸ Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; for the children of Israel went out with a high hand. ⁹ The Egyptians pursued them. All the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his army overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 

  ¹⁰ When Pharaoh came near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were very afraid. The children of Israel cried out to Yahweh.  ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way, to bring us out of Egypt?  ¹² Isn’t this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 

  ¹³ Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today; for you will never again see the Egyptians whom you have seen today.  ¹⁴ Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.” 

  ¹⁵ Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward.  ¹⁶ Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. Then the children of Israel shall go into the middle of the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ Behold, I myself will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after them. I will get myself honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies, over his chariots, and over his horsemen.  ¹⁸ The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh when I have gotten myself honor over Pharaoh, over his chariots, and over his horsemen.”  ¹⁹ The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them, and stood behind them.  ²⁰ It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night. One didn’t come near the other all night. 

  ²¹ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  ²² The children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left.  ²³ The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the middle of the sea: all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.  ²⁴ In the morning watch, Yahweh looked out on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and confused the Egyptian army.  ²⁵ He took off their chariot wheels, and they drove them heavily; so that the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee from the face of Israel, for Yahweh fights for them against the Egyptians!” 

  ²⁶ Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”  ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it. Yahweh overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.  ²⁸ The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as one of them.  ²⁹ But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left.  ³⁰ Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.  ³¹ Israel saw the great work which Yahweh did to the Egyptians, and the people feared Yahweh; and they believed in Yahweh and in his servant Moses.

God used the Hebrew peoples situation to defeat those who worshiped false gods and he will use the godly in our nation to overcome those who deeply love SIN!!! If you are a democrat and this offends you- too bad!!! For eight long years I had to listen to our "president" tell us that this was NOT a Christian nation and lie, cheat and steal to enhance the status of Islam in our great country. And then AMERICA had an election and chose Donald Trump to be our PRESIDENT!!! He is doing everything he promised; and the liberal wing of our nation is furious- GET OVER IT, ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!!

To my liberal "friends" I say- do one of two things:

1.  Get a Bible, read it and obey what it says.

 

OR

2.  Get swimming lessons- you will need them!!!!

Bible Reading January 31 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading  January 31  (World English Bible)

Jan. 31

Genesis 31

Gen 31:1 He heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's. From that which was our father's, has he gotten all this wealth."

Gen 31:2 Jacob saw the expression on Laban's face, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.

Gen 31:3 Yahweh said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers, and to your relatives, and I will be with you."

Gen 31:4 Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock,

Gen 31:5 and said to them, "I see the expression on your father's face, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me.

Gen 31:6 You know that I have served your father with all of my strength.

Gen 31:7 Your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times, but God didn't allow him to hurt me.

Gen 31:8 If he said this, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled. If he said this, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then all the flock bore streaked.

Gen 31:9 Thus God has taken away your father's livestock, and given them to me.

Gen 31:10 It happened during mating season that I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which leaped on the flock were streaked, speckled, and grizzled.

Gen 31:11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am.'

Gen 31:12 He said, 'Now lift up your eyes, and behold, all the male goats which leap on the flock are streaked, speckled, and grizzled, for I have seen all that Laban does to you.

Gen 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your birth.' "

Gen 31:14 Rachel and Leah answered him, "Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?

Gen 31:15 Aren't we accounted by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also quite devoured our money.

Gen 31:16 For all the riches which God has taken away from our father, that is ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do."

Gen 31:17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives on the camels,

Gen 31:18 and he took away all his livestock, and all his possessions which he had gathered, including the livestock which he had gained in Paddan Aram, to go to Isaac his father, to the land of Canaan.

Gen 31:19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.

Gen 31:20 Jacob deceived Laban the Syrian, in that he didn't tell him that he was running away.

Gen 31:21 So he fled with all that he had. He rose up, passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.

Gen 31:22 Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.

Gen 31:23 He took his relatives with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey. He overtook him in the mountain of Gilead.

Gen 31:24 God came to Laban, the Syrian, in a dream of the night, and said to him, "Take heed to yourself that you don't speak to Jacob either good or bad."

Gen 31:25 Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain, and Laban with his relatives encamped in the mountain of Gilead.

Gen 31:26 Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you have deceived me, and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword?

Gen 31:27 Why did you flee secretly, and deceive me, and didn't tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine and with harp;

Gen 31:28 and didn't allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now have you done foolishly.

Gen 31:29 It is in the power of my hand to hurt you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Take heed to yourself that you don't speak to Jacob either good or bad.'

Gen 31:30 Now, you want to be gone, because you greatly longed for your father's house, but why have you stolen my gods?"

Gen 31:31 Jacob answered Laban, "Because I was afraid, for I said, 'Lest you should take your daughters from me by force.'

Gen 31:32 Anyone you find your gods with shall not live. Before our relatives, discern what is yours with me, and take it." For Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen them.

Gen 31:33 Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two female servants; but he didn't find them. He went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.

Gen 31:34 Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. Laban felt about all the tent, but didn't find them.

Gen 31:35 She said to her father, "Don't let my lord be angry that I can't rise up before you; for the manner of women is on me." He searched, but didn't find the teraphim.

Gen 31:36 Jacob was angry, and argued with Laban. Jacob answered Laban, "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me?

Gen 31:37 Now that you have felt around in all my stuff, what have you found of all your household stuff? Set it here before my relatives and your relatives, that they may judge between us two.

Gen 31:38 These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not cast their young, and I haven't eaten the rams of your flocks.

Gen 31:39 That which was torn of animals, I didn't bring to you. I bore its loss. Of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

Gen 31:40 This was my situation: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.

Gen 31:41 These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

Gen 31:42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night."

Gen 31:43 Laban answered Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine: and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne?

Gen 31:44 Now come, let us make a covenant, you and I; and let it be for a witness between me and you."

Gen 31:45 Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

Gen 31:46 Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather stones." They took stones, and made a heap. They ate there by the heap.

Gen 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

Gen 31:48 Laban said, "This heap is witness between me and you this day." Therefore it was named Galeed

Gen 31:49 and Mizpah, for he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.

Gen 31:50 If you afflict my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; behold, God is witness between me and you."

Gen 31:51 Laban said to Jacob, "See this heap, and see the pillar, which I have set between me and you.

Gen 31:52 May this heap be a witness, and the pillar be a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

Gen 31:53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." Then Jacob swore by the fear of his father, Isaac.

Gen 31:54 Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his relatives to eat bread. They ate bread, and stayed all night in the mountain.

Gen 31:55 Early in the morning, Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them. Laban departed and returned to his place. 

Jan. 31

Matthew 16

Mat 16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

Mat 16:2 But he answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'

Mat 16:3 In the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can't discern the signs of the times!

Mat 16:4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah." He left them, and departed.

Mat 16:5 The disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread.

Mat 16:6 Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Mat 16:7 They reasoned among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread."

Mat 16:8 Jesus, perceiving it, said, "Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, 'because you have brought no bread?'

Mat 16:9 Don't you yet perceive, neither remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?

Mat 16:10 Nor the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up?

Mat 16:11 How is it that you don't perceive that I didn't speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Mat 16:12 Then they understood that he didn't tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Mat 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"

Mat 16:14 They said, "Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."

Mat 16:15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Mat 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Mat 16:17 Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Mat 16:18 I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Mat 16:19 I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven."

Mat 16:20 Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he is Jesus the Christ.

Mat 16:21 From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.

Mat 16:22 Peter took him aside, and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This will never be done to you."

Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men."

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mat 16:25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it.

Mat 16:26 For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?

Mat 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds.

Mat 16:28 Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom."

Concerns About Baptism by Eugene Perry

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Perry/Eugene/Charles/1922/Articles/baptism.html

Concerns About Baptism

Many years ago a listener came to me expressing concern. I had just preached and concluded an entire sermon without even mentioning baptism or its relationship to salvation. Such was expected to be a part of or in the conclusion of every sermon. After all, were we not in the Salvation business with Jesus.
There have been changes since that long-ago episode. Now, we sometimes hear expressions of concern if baptism is mentioned "too" frequently. In many churches, members cannot even remember when it was mentioned and would be surprised if it was mentioned, let alone emphasized. When we see people transferring to denominational groups or community churches we should not be surprised. We have made the transition too easy. The difference may not even be noticed and, if it is, it will not likely be consider of much importance.
In this matter, one thing that has been a marvel to me is what must be a deliberate exclusion, by many, of baptism from the things leading to salvation. There are tracts and other printed items that, although entitled, "God's Plan of Salvation" or something similar, manage to make no mention of baptism. These can only be the product of those who have chosen to leave out what the scriptures repeatedly include.
The reader is challenged to go through the New Testament and make two lists. A list of the scripture references where baptism is stated to be related to salvation, forgiveness, cleansing and church membership (i.e. becoming a part of the body of Christ). And a list of the references where baptism is mentioned but not related to the above. The results will be interesting and should be convincing. Accept this challenge!
Another marvel to me has been the manner in which proponents of salvation prior to and without baptism are quick to call it a work of man and therefore not required because "Jesus did it all" and there is nothing that man must contribute. It is not of works. We must recognize that, although baptism is a re-enactment of the death, burial and resurrection of our Saviour and involves an act of submission on man's part, it is only truly baptism because of God's work in our hearts when we are baptized. On man's part believing, repenting and confessing faith, all of which are usually included, involve more work than is involved in submitting to being immersed in obedience to God's will.
Again, I marvel to hear well-read Bible scholars when discussing the question of what makes one a Christian declare without hesitation and dogmatically, "It's not baptism." Does this come from man's reasoning or God's teaching? Certainly, salvation does not result from dipping one in water. Yet that it is a vital part of the "Plan of Salvation" cannot honestly be denied by one who reads without prejudice.
Another marvel is that men have been so bold as to change the mode of baptism. What the scriptures frequently call a burial, what is understood to have been the meaning of the word itself, what is admitted to have been the practise of the church for many centuries and what was evidently meant to be a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ has been changed to an act of sprinkling or pouring water. This neither fits the meaning of the word, conforms to the original practise nor presents the intended picture. How dare men do such a thing.
Lastly, these changes and interpretations become even more daring when one considers that baptism's part in salvation, which men have tended to deemphasize or deny, was a dominant feature of the parting statement/instruction that Jesus made to his closest disciples. His parting wish was that the "good news" of salvation be preached to all the world so that those who believed and submitted in baptism would be saved. (Mk 16:15,16; Mt.28:19)
If anyone doubts this or perhaps thinks it is being misinterpreted or misunderstood by us, the matter is easily clarified by an observance of the apostles as they went about carrying out Jesus' parting wishes. What did they understand?
Their first efforts are recorded in the second chapter of Acts. Note Peter's statement, "Repent and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins . . ." (v.38). Surely these people who actually heard Jesus statement and who were led by the Holy Spirit had a better perception of the Lord's intent than any "scholar" or "interpreter" lacking these benefits and part of a different culture.
The wishes of a departing loved one are usually consider significant and are carefully and respectfully carried out. To ignore them or alter them is to practise shameful disrespect. We are also careful to recognize the intent of the departed. The beneficiary often receives the inheritance upon compliance with conditions. The inheritance that Jesus willed to us is "salvation" and the conditions are faith, repentance, confession and baptism.
Remember that Jesus came to bring salvation. He died, was buried and was resurrected to make this possible. Baptism is a re-enactment of this (Rom.6:3-7, 17, 18). Jesus' departing words linked baptism with salvation. The apostles, in compliance with these parting words preached and practiced baptism in relation to salvation.
Don't throw it out. Rather check it out and then carry it out.
Eugene Perry

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

Is God the Author of Falsehoods? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=661&b=Titus

Is God the Author of Falsehoods?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

In 1 Kings 22, the story is told of King Ahab requesting the assistance from Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to go to war with Syria in order to recover the territory of Ramoth Gilead. Jehoshaphat immediately agreed to assist Ahab in this battle, but he also asked for Ahab to “inquire for the word of the Lord” (vs. 5). Ahab willingly granted Jehoshaphat’s request, and gathered together nearly 400 of his prophets. After these prophets approved of Ahab’s plan of war, and assured him victory against the Syrians (vss. 6,10-12), Jehoshaphat (apparently sensing that all was not well) asked if there was another prophet that they might consult in order to get more counsel. Ahab bitterly acknowledged that there still was one man who could be consulted regarding his desire to reclaim Ramoth Gilead for Israel—Micaiah, the son of Imlah. As Ahab suspected, once Micaiah (a true prophet of the Lord) was brought before him, he predicted defeat for the confederation (vss. 17-23)—a prophecy that Ahab and Jehoshaphat ignored, but one that was fulfilled. The battle ended with Israel and Judah in retreat, and Ahab dead.
The problem that many people have with this passage has to do with the lying spirit that Micaiah mentioned as coming from Jehovah. The text reads as follows:

Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you” (1 Kings 22:19-23).

Few narratives in the Old Testament have been the focus of more infidel criticism than 1 Kings 22, and particularly these five verses. How could God, Who is revealed in the Bible as being One Who “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2; cf. Hebrews 6:18), “put a lying spirit in the mouth” of Ahab’s prophets (1 Kings 22:23)? What rational explanation can be given to this alleged discrepancy? Is God, or Satan, the “father of lies” (John 8:44)?
First, the honest Bible student must observe that the narrative involves a vision that is highly symbolic. Therefore, it would be unwise to press it as though it were a literal circumstance. Micaiah answered Ahab with two parabolic visions. “In the first, Israel was likened to shepherdless sheep scattered on the mountains, which must find their own way home (v. 17). In the second Micaiah described a heavenly scene in which the Lord and his hosts discussed the best way to get Ahab to Ramoth Gilead so that he might fall in battle (vss. 19-23)” (Patterson and Austel, 1988, p. 164). Commentator Adam Clarke wisely noted that this account is an illustration, and “only tells, in figurative language, what was in the womb of providence, the events which were shortly to take place, the agents employed in them, and the permission on the part of God for these agents to act” (n.d., 2:476). Another writer has observed: “Visions of the invisible world can only be a sort of parables; revelation, not of the truth as it actually is, but of so much of the truth as can be shown through such a medium. The details of a vision, therefore, cannot safely be pressed, any more than the details of a parable” (Cook, 1981, 2:619).
Second, there is a common Hebrew idiom used throughout the Old Testament by which the permissive will of God is expressed in forceful, active jargon. The Lord is said to have “hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 7:3,13; 9:12; 10:1; et al.), “incited David against” Israel (2 Samuel 24:1), “deceived” His people (Jeremiah 4:10), and given them “statutes that were not good” (Ezekiel 20:25). In the New Testament, God is characterized as sending a strong delusion that some might believe a lie and be condemned (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). Even Jesus used “commands” at times in a permissive sense. For example, He commanded the demons to “go” into the herd of pigs (Matthew 8:32), yet the preceding verse informs the reader that the demons begged Jesus to let them enter the swine. Thus, He was not the initiator of the demons’ move (from inhabiting man to dwelling in pigs), He merely permitted them to do so. Similarly, when Jesus told Judas, “What you do, do quickly” (John 13:27), He was not giving Him a direct command, or forcing Judas to betray Him. Rather, Jesus permitted Judas’ actions, and (since He knew what Judas was about to do) even encouraged him to do it quickly. All of these passages basically indicate that when men are determined to disobey their Creator, He allows them to follow the base inclination of their own hearts. Such was the case with Ahab and his false prophets. God knew their hearts. He knew Ahab was going to go to war before he ever consulted with his prophets (1 Kings 22:3-4). He knew that the prophets were accustomed to telling the king whatever he wanted to hear (cf. 22:8), and He knew that they were also going to tickle Ahab’s “itching ear” on this occasion (cf. 2 Timothy 4:3-4). Although God’s will was made known to Ahab and his prophets in this case (i.e., Micaiah warned Ahab of the impending doom), He permitted their hardened hearts to believe a lie.
In 1 Kings 22:19-23, and numerous other verses of similar import, the Bible merely expresses what God allows, not what He initiates or forces to happen. Walter Kaiser correctly stated that “many biblical writers dismiss secondary causes and attribute all that happens directly to God, since he is over all things. Therefore, statements expressed in the imperative form of the verb often represent only what is permitted to happen” (1988, p. 119). This account, therefore, should not trouble the sincere student of God’s Word.

REFERENCES

Clarke, Adam (no date), A Commentary and Critical Notes (Nashville, TN: Abingdon).
Cook, F.C., ed. (1981 reprint), The Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Kaiser, Walter (1988), Hard Sayings of the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity).
Patterson, R.D., and Hermann J. Austel (1988), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).

Is Punishing Evildoers Unloving? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1268

Is Punishing Evildoers Unloving?

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

It is not uncommon to hear Americans (and others) verbalize contempt for corporal or capital punishment (cf. Delgado, 2008). Supposedly, “Loving parents wouldn’t strike their children” (for disciplinary purposes). “Christians can’t logically be pro-life and pro-capital punishment.” “The Bible says to repay no one evil for evil.” Modernists utter these and similar phrases frequently in hopes of doing away with all forms of corporal and capital punishment. Make a child stand in the corner, give a student detention, lock a murderer up for life with three square meals a day, air conditioning, cable television, etc., but never physically harm or kill a person for his or her unauthorized actions.
What does the Bible say about love and the physical punishment of evildoers? First, God is innately and infinitely good and loving (Mark 10:18; 1 John 4:8). Yet, from killing untold thousands (or millions) of wicked individuals during the Flood (Genesis 6-8) to striking Ananias and Sapphira dead for lying just after the establishment of the church (Acts 5:1-11), God repeatedly has punished evildoers physically.
Second, God warned Adam of the death sentence before sin ever entered the world (Genesis 2:17; cf. Lyons, 2002). After Adam disobeyed God, He drove him from the garden and the tree of life “lest he...live forever” (Genesis 3:22-24). Thus, man not only separated himself spiritually from God when he sinned in the Garden, experiencing spiritual death for the first time (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2; Ephesians 2:1), man was also sentenced to die physically.
Third, long before the commencement of the Mosaic and Christian dispensations, God’s universal law for mankind included capital punishment. God directed Noah and his sons, saying, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). The same God Who sentenced mankind, save eight souls, to death for wickedness one year earlier, commanded man to put murderers to death. Of all the regulations God could have revealed to man in Genesis 1-11 (from the time of Adam to Abraham), He chose to include the law to put murderers to death.
Fourth, further proof that loving-kindness and corporal or capital punishment are not antithetical comes from the Law of Moses. God commanded the Israelites, saying,

You shall not hate your brother in your heart.... You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.... And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself (Leviticus 19:17-18,33-34; cf. Romans 13:9).

The faithful Jew was expected, as are Christians, to “not resist an evil person” (Matthew 5:39) but rather “go the extra mile” (Matthew 5:41) and “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39). “Love,” after all, “is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10; cf. Matthew 22:36-40). Interestingly, however, the Israelite was commanded to punish (even kill) lawbreakers. Just five chapters after commanding the Israelite to “not take vengeance,” but “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), God said:

Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death. Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal. If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him—fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 24:13-22, emp. added).

A faithful Israelite was commanded (and thus expected) to be loving, kind, and non-vengeful, while at the same time be a punisher of evildoers, including both corporal and capital punishment. Similarly, God commanded Christians to “not avenge yourselves” (Romans 12:19), but rather “overcome evil with good” (12:21) and “love your neighbor as yourself” (13:9). Yet, fathers are commanded to bring their children up “in the chastening and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4, ASV, emp. added). What’s more, Paul wrote that “governing authorities” are God’s servants for good, yet they also “bear the sword” and “execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:1-4).
Although the politically correct continue to protest the physical punishment of evildoers, based upon their feelings that such is unkind, unloving, inhumane, etc., Scripture is abundantly clear on the subject. God has indicated that individuals can be loving, kind, considerate, evangelistic, non-vengeful, etc., and yet still expect the authorities to punish evildoers physically.

REFERENCES

Delgado, Raimundo (2008), “Let’s Kill Capital Punishment,” Sun Coast Today, January 16, [On-line], URL: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/OPINION/801160320/-1/NEWS.
Lyons, Eric (2002), “Why Didn’t Adam Die Immediately?” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/611.

Dinosaur Extinction Rewritten Again by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1089

Dinosaur Extinction Rewritten Again

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Since 1978, the scientific community has thrown heavy support to the story that a huge asteroid hammered the Earth 65 million years ago and caused the dinosaurs to go extinct. Beautifully illustrated books feature detailed pictures of the alleged event. Multi-million-dollar movies have presented the animated version of the purported catastrophe and indelibly ingrained the idea into the minds of millions. Of course, this epic mass-extinction never happened in real life. Young Earth creationists have known this truth for years. Besides the fact that the millions-of-years timetable is a myth, it is a scientific, historical, and biblical fact that dinosaurs went extinct only a few hundred years ago (see Lyons and Butt, 2008).
Now, however, even the evolutionary scientific community is calling the asteroid fable into question. Jeffrey Kluger wrote an article titled “Maybe an Asteroid Didn’t Kill the Dinosaurs” (2009). In the article, he reviewed a study in the Journal of the Geological Society, which he says throws the entirety of the asteroid theory “into question” (2009).
The study, done by geoscientists Gerta Keller and Thierry Addate, asserts that the massive die-off occurred 300,000 years after the asteroid impact. To arrive at this figure, they studied a 30-foot layer of sediment just above the alleged asteroid impact layer. Using uniformitarian assumptions, they claimed that the layers of the sediment were laid down at a rate of about one inch per thousand years, giving an approximate time of 300,000 years. Furthermore, they looked at “52 distinct species” below the 30-foot sediment, and the same 52 were present through the 30-foot layer of sediment. The die-offs of the species were not seen until 300,000 years after the supposed asteroid impact (Kluger). Thus, the authors concluded that the asteroid could not have caused the dinosaur extinction. [NOTE: We do not believe the uniformitarian assumptions, nor the vast amounts of geological time. They are reported simply to show that the evolutionary scientists themselves have a problem with the standard dinosaur extinction model.]
Kluger then asked the question that comes to many of our minds: “So if the Chicxulub asteroid didn’t kill the dinosaurs, what did?” He answered his own question, stating: “Paleontologists have advanced all manner of theories over the years.” Indeed they have, but the vast majority of these theories have been plagued by false uniformitarian assumptions, as well as the denial of the evidence that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time (see Lyons and Butt, 2008). There remains one cataclysm in ancient history that the atheistic scientific community refuses to factor into dinosaur mass destruction—the global Flood. The Flood persists as the best explanation for the massive dinosaur graveyards that exist today (Lyons and Butt, pp. 205-223). Furthermore, the Flood is a historical reality that simply cannot be written out of the record like so many false dinosaur extinction theories have been.

REFERENCES

Kluger, Jeffrey (2009), “Maybe an Asteroid Didn’t Kill the Dinosaurs,” TIME, [On-line], URL: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1894225,00.html?xid=rss-healthsci-yahoo.
Lyons, Eric and Kyle Butt (2008), The Dinosaur Delusion: Dismantling Evolution’s Most Cherished Icon (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).