Into the unknown (or not) by Gary Rose

An underwater roller-coaster??? Can you imagine such a thing?? I can only wonder what it must be like to vertically descend into this black hole surrounded by water. It must be one VERY SCARY RIDE! Roller-coasters can be dangerous, but at least you can see where you are going (well, that can be scary as well). Replace sight with the nothingness of sheer blackness and couple that with G-FORCES and there you go- an underwater roller-coaster!!

Intellectually, you know that you will come out OK, because we all KNOW that this is a form of entertainment, but what if you knew that you were descending into the unknown and genuinely had no knowledge that you would come out OK???  Describes DEATH, doesn't it???

But, wait, you do know, because the BIBLE tells you about it...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 15 (World English Bible)

 ¹ Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,  ² by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  ⁶ Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.  ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  ⁸ and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. (emp. added vss. 1-8) ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.  ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.  ¹¹ Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 

  ¹² Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised.  ¹⁴ If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain.  ¹⁵ Yes, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised.  ¹⁶ For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised.  ¹⁷ If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins.  ¹⁸ Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  ¹⁹ If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. 

  ²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep.  ²¹ For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man.  ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (emp. added vss. 12-22)

Jesus lived, died and lives again. These truths are corroborated by many, many witnesses. And they are TRUTHS!!! No one is telling you that you have to believe this, but as far as I am concerned it just makes sense to accept the testimonials. Death has been overcome, there is hope and the proof is the resurrected Jesus, who we call the CHRIST of God.

Somehow, now I think I could actually ride that roller-coaster with the black hole... NAW!!!!

Bible Reading July 18 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading July 18 (World English Bible)

July 18

1 Chronicles 16-18

1Ch 16:1 They brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

1Ch 16:2 When David had made an end of offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh.

1Ch 16:3 He dealt to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a portion of flesh, and a cake of raisins.

1Ch 16:4 He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of Yahweh, and to celebrate and to thank and praise Yahweh, the God of Israel:

1Ch 16:5 Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with stringed instruments and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;

1Ch 16:6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.

1Ch 16:7 Then on that day David first ordained to give thanks to Yahweh, by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.

1Ch 16:8 Oh give thanks to Yahweh. Call on his name. Make his doings known among the peoples.

1Ch 16:9 Sing to him. Sing praises to him. Tell of all his marvelous works.

1Ch 16:10 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.

1Ch 16:11 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more.

1Ch 16:12 Remember his marvelous works that he has done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,

1Ch 16:13 you seed of Israel his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

1Ch 16:14 He is Yahweh our God. His judgments are in all the earth.

1Ch 16:15 Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,

1Ch 16:16 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac.

1Ch 16:17 He confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

1Ch 16:18 saying, I will give you the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance,

1Ch 16:19 when you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners were in it.

1Ch 16:20 They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.

1Ch 16:21 He allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,

1Ch 16:22 saying, Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm.

1Ch 16:23 Sing to Yahweh, all the earth! Display his salvation from day to day.

1Ch 16:24 Declare his glory among the nations, and his marvelous works among all the peoples.

1Ch 16:25 For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods.

1Ch 16:26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.

1Ch 16:27 Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place.

1Ch 16:28 Ascribe to Yahweh, you relatives of the peoples, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!

1Ch 16:29 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship Yahweh in holy array.

1Ch 16:30 Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can't be moved.

1Ch 16:31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice! Let them say among the nations, Yahweh reigns.

1Ch 16:32 Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field exult, and all that is therein!

1Ch 16:33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth.

1Ch 16:34 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

1Ch 16:35 Say, Save us, God of our salvation! Gather us together and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.

1Ch 16:36 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. All the people said, Amen, and praised Yahweh.

1Ch 16:37 So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, Asaph and his brothers, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required;

1Ch 16:38 and Obed-Edom with their brothers, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers;

1Ch 16:39 and Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before the tabernacle of Yahweh in the high place that was at Gibeon,

1Ch 16:40 to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of Yahweh, which he commanded to Israel;

1Ch 16:41 and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to Yahweh, because his loving kindness endures forever;

1Ch 16:42 and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and withinstruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.

1Ch 16:43 All the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

1Ch 17:1 It happened, when David lived in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Yahweh dwells under curtains.

1Ch 17:2 Nathan said to David, Do all that is in your heart; for God is with you.

1Ch 17:3 It happened the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

1Ch 17:4 Go and tell David my servant, Thus says Yahweh, You shall not build me a house to dwell in:

1Ch 17:5 for I have not lived in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and fromone tent to another.

1Ch 17:6 In all places in which I have walked with all Israel, spoke I a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

1Ch 17:7 Now therefore thus you shall tell my servant David, Thus says Yahweh of Armies, I took you from the sheep pen, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel:

1Ch 17:8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a name, like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.

1Ch 17:9 I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first,

1Ch 17:10 and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover I tell you that Yahweh will build you a house.

1Ch 17:11 It shall happen, when your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

1Ch 17:12 He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

1Ch 17:13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my loving kindness away from him, as I took it from him that was before you;

1Ch 17:14 but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.

1Ch 17:15 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.

1Ch 17:16 Then David the king went in, and sat before Yahweh; and he said, Who am I, Yahweh God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?

1Ch 17:17 This was a small thing in your eyes, God; but you have spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, Yahweh God.

1Ch 17:18 What can David say yet more to you concerning the honor which is done to your servant? for you know your servant.

1Ch 17:19 Yahweh, for your servant's sake, and according to your own heart, have you worked all this greatness, to make known all these great things.

1Ch 17:20 Yahweh, there is none like you, neither is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

1Ch 17:21 What one nation in the earth is like your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to himself for a people, to make you a name by great and awesome things, in driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeem out of Egypt?

1Ch 17:22 For your people Israel you made your own people forever; and you, Yahweh, became their God.

1Ch 17:23 Now, Yahweh, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant, and concerning his house, be established forever, and do as you have spoken.

1Ch 17:24 Let your name be established and magnified forever, saying, Yahweh of Armies is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and the house of David your servant is established before you.

1Ch 17:25 For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house: therefore has your servant found in his heart to pray before you.

1Ch 17:26 Now, Yahweh, you are God, and have promised this good thing to your servant:

1Ch 17:27 and now it has pleased you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you: for you, Yahweh, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.

1Ch 18:1 After this it happened, that David struck the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines.

1Ch 18:2 He struck Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.

1Ch 18:3 David struck Hadadezer king of Zobah to Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates.

1Ch 18:4 David took from him one thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.

1Ch 18:5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

1Ch 18:6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.

1Ch 18:7 David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

1Ch 18:8 From Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took very much brass, with which Solomon made the bronze sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.

1Ch 18:9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,

1Ch 18:10 he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to Greet him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him; (for Hadadezer had wars with Tou;) and he had with himall manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.

1Ch 18:11 These also did king David dedicate to Yahweh, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

1Ch 18:12 Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah struck of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand.

1Ch 18:13 He put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.

1Ch 18:14 David reigned over all Israel; and he executed justice and righteousness to all his people.

1Ch 18:15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

1Ch 18:16 and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was scribe;

1Ch 18:17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.

Jul. 18, 19

Acts 12

Act 12:1 Now about that time, Herod the king stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly.

Act 12:2 He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

Act 12:3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread.

Act 12:4 When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

Act 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him.

Act 12:6 The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.

Act 12:7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up, saying, "Stand up quickly!" His chains fell off from his hands.

Act 12:8 The angel said to him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." He did so. He said to him, "Put on your cloak, and follow me."

Act 12:9 And he went out and followed him. He didn't know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision.

Act 12:10 When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

Act 12:11 When Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting."

Act 12:12 Thinking about that, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

Act 12:13 When Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.

Act 12:14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she didn't open the gate for joy, but ran in, and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate.

Act 12:15 They said to her, "You are crazy!" But she insisted that it was so. They said, "It is his angel."

Act 12:16 But Peter continued knocking. When they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.

Act 12:17 But he, beckoning to them with his hand to be silent, declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, "Tell these things to James, and to the brothers." Then he departed, and went to another place.

Act 12:18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

Act 12:19 When Herod had sought for him, and didn't find him, he examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death. He went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

Act 12:20 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus, the king's personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food.

Act 12:21 On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them.

Act 12:22 The people shouted, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!"

Act 12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn't give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

Act 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.

Act 12:25 Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their service, also taking with them John whose surname was Mark.

Let us be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/stewards.html

Let us be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God

Paul wrote: “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1, 2).

What is a steward?

A steward is someone who has been entrusted with the possessions or affairs of someone else with the understanding that he is to care for them and manage them responsibly.

A steward must be trustworthy.

Every position of responsibility involves stewardship.

How would you feel if someone gave you a briefcase containing diamonds worth thousands of dollars, and asked you to walk through the streets of a large city and deliver them to another address?

Brother Gus Amssoms went to be with the Lord many years ago. When he retired, after working for 45 years as a laborer in Antwerp, he had not missed a single day of work because of illness. He was a trustworthy man.

Antwerp, Belgium is the diamond-cutting capital of the world. About 2000 gem-related offices are located in a one-square-mile area near the central train station.

After Gus retired, he was given a part-time job as a diamond courier. If you had been a tourist in Antwerp, you might have seen an elderly workman with a gentle smile walking through the narrow streets of Antwerp carrying an old, worn-out briefcase. You would have never dreamed that his briefcase contained diamonds worth thousands of dollars. He did not have a gun or a bulletproof vest or an armored vehicle. He had something that the diamond merchants considered much safer and more secure. He had a gentle, innocent appearance and he was a completely dependable man. 

As Christians, we must be faithful stewards of something much more valuable than a briefcase full of diamonds: the mysteries of God. 

What are the mysteries of God?

The mysteries of God are truths known only by revelation: “According to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” (Romans 16:25, 26).

The wonders and intricacies of life, prove the existence of a Creator. But only through the Bible can we know who this Creator is and what our relationship with Him can be through His Son Jesus Christ.

A steward is answerable to his master.

Preachers and elders must remember that they, as stewards, are answerable to God not to man. Paul wrote: “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness - God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others” (1 Thessalonians 2:4-6).

Unfaithful stewards will be punished by God.

The Lord was angry with the unfaithful prophets under the old covenant: “‘I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?’ says the Lord. ‘Is not My word like a fire?’ says the Lord, ‘And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,’ says the Lord, ‘who steal My words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,’ says the Lord, ‘who use their tongues and say, “He says.” Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ says the Lord, ‘and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:25-32).

In our time as well, many falsely claim to be prophets, leading people astray by the lies they speak in the name of the Lord.

As stewards, we must speak God’s word faithfully.

All Christians must be good stewards of the grace of God. “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do soas with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10, 11).

This great responsibility rests doubly on elders, teachers and preachers because of their leadership position.

“A bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God” (Titus 1:7). An elder must hold “fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:9).

Peter wrote: “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3). Elders are stewards of God, His flock has been entrusted to their care.

Paul was entrusted with the gospel because God considered him faithful: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12).

Paul mentions the faithfulness of several men with whom he worked. He calls Epaphras “our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf” (Colossians 1:7). He refers to Tychicus as “a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord” and to Onesimus as “a faithful and beloved brother” (Colossians 4:7-9). Peter refers to Silvanus as “our faithful brother” (1 Peter 5:12). Let us follow their example, and be faithful servants of Christ.

This solemn command, given by Paul to Timothy, echoes through the ages: “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season andout of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5).

The message must be faithfully passed on to following generations of teachers.

As faithful stewards of the mysteries of God we must pass the message on. Paul told Timothy: “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:1, 2).

What have we learned?

1. As stewards, we have been entrusted with the mysteries of God, the good news of salvation by grace through the sacrifice of Christ.
2. We are answerable to God and must speak His word faithfully, striving to please God rather than men.
3. God will punish unfaithful stewards.
4. We must faithfully pass on the mysteries of God to the next generation of faithful stewards.

“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes” (Luke 12:42, 43). Amen.

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

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

How Many Charioteers Did David Slay? by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=738&b=1%20Chronicles

How Many Charioteers Did David Slay?

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Throughout the years, the Bible has proven to be one book that refuses to relinquish its well- established position as the inspired Word of God. As a result, many Christians and infidels alike have studied the Bible diligently in order to determine whether it contains mistakes that would disqualify it from being God’s inspired Word. After all the evidence is in, the facts stand in favor of the Bible. However, some still insist that it is filled with errors and contradictions. One such alleged contradiction can be seen in 2 Samuel 10:18 and 1 Chronicles 19:18.

2 Samuel 10:18: “And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians the men of seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, so that he died there.”

1 Chronicles 19:18: “And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians the men of seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.”

Both these verses obviously deal with the same battle, yet the verse in 2 Samuel suggests that King David slew “the men of seven hundred chariots” while the verse in 1 Chronicles states that he slew “the men of seven thousand chariots.” How can these two texts be reconciled?

The easiest and most obvious resolution is that one of the verses has been miscopied. William Arndt, in his book, Does the Bible Contradict Itself? wrote: “The difference in the number of chariots is best explained as due to the error of a scribe, who especially if letters were used as numerals, could easily write seven thousand instead of seven hundred, or vice versa” (1976, p. 34). [For a general background on copyists’ errors, please see our foundational essay on that subject.]

After dealing with the difference in the number of charioteers slain by David and his men, we must proceed to resolve the difference between the forty thousand other men killed. The text of 2 Samuel describes them as horsemen, but the chronicler records them as footmen. Is there a true contradiction here?

The answer is no. Once again, Arndt submits a quite plausible explanation:

With respect to the other divergence between the two passages, the one saying David slew 40,000 horsemen, the other that he slew 40,000 footmen in this battle, a simple solution presents itself. These warriors could fight both as cavalry and as infantry, just as the occasion required. Their status was similar to that of the dragoons a century or two ago. We can then very well harmonize the apparent discrepancies which we meet here (p. 34).

To illustrate this point, suppose you were fighting in a battle and several men driving Jeeps charge you. With a few grenades, you destroy the Jeeps, but the drivers escape from the burning wreckage, regroup, and come at you from the ground. You defeat them again, this time killing them. What kind of men were killed—Jeep drivers or foot soldiers? Of course, the answer could be both, or either.

As plausible as this solution is, it is not the only possible resolution. Eric Vestrum stated: “Another possibility is that in the battle, some of the 40,000 were on horse, some were on foot. The 2 Samuel author used the term ‘horseman’ to denote the whole group, whereas the 1 Chronicles author used the term ‘footman’ to denote the whole group. Again, this type of labeling is not unfaithful to idiomatic language” (Section 10). After looking closely at the verses, several possible resolutions can be enumerated that allow the Bible to maintain its position as the inerrant Word of God.

REFERENCES

Vestrum, Eric, Contradictions: Numerous, Theological, Chronological, Factual, Philosophical, Ethical, [On-line], URL: http://www.tektonics.org/EV_MCK04.html.

Abortion and the Bible by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=445

Abortion and the Bible

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Every year in the United States of America, more than one million children are butchered by abortion doctors. Since 1973, when the Supreme Court legalized abortion-on-demand, some forty-three million babies have been slaughtered in America (see “Consequences,” 2003). Every year, an estimated forty-six million abortions occur worldwide (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2002). In three decades, an entire generation of children has been forever eliminated. In fact, more than 20% of all babies conceived in this country are killed before they ever see the light of day (Finer and Henshaw, 2003, p. 6)—and the slaughter continues....

Some encouraging signs have surfaced recently. In March 2003, the United States Senate, by a 64-33 vote, approved a ban on the particularly barbaric abortion procedure known as “partial-birth” abortion (Kiely, 2003). In their efforts to sort out the moral and ethical issues involved in human cloning, the President’s Council on Bioethics concluded, among other things, that “the case for treating the early-stage embryo as simply the moral equivalent of all other human cells…is simply mistaken” (Kass, 2002, p. liv). But even these laudable attempts to turn back the tide of moral degradation that has swept over the nation are too little, too late.

A significant number of Americans consider abortion to be an acceptable option. What would one expect? They’ve been browbeaten with the “politically correct” agenda of the social liberals for decades. The highest court in the land has weighed in on the matter, making abortion legitimate by means of the power of “the law.” The medical profession has followed suit, lending its prestige and sanction to the practice of abortion—in direct violation of the Hippocratic Oath. But have the majority of Americans heard the biblical viewpoint? Do they even care how God feels about abortion? Are they interested in investigating His view of the matter? After all, the Bible does, in fact, speak decisively about abortion.

American civilization has undergone a sweeping cultural revolution for over forty years. The American moral framework is being restructured, and this country’s religious roots and spiritual perspective are being altered. The founding fathers and the American population of the first 150 years of our national existence would not have tolerated many of the beliefs and practices that have become commonplace in society. This list of practices would include gambling (i.e., the lottery, horse-racing, casinos, etc.), divorce, alcohol and public drunkenness, homosexuality, unwed pregnancy, and pornography in movies and magazines. These behaviors simply would not have been tolerated by the bulk of American society from the beginning up to World War II. But the moral and religious foundations of our nation are experiencing catastrophic erosion. The widespread practice of abortion is simply one sign among many of this cultural shift in our country.

But there is still a God in Heaven—the omnipotent, omniscient Creator of the Universe. He has communicated to the human race in the Bible, and He has stated that He one day will call all human beings who have ever lived to account, and He will judge them on the basis of their behavior on Earth. Therefore, every single person is responsible for carefully studying God’s Word, determining how He wants us to behave, and then complying with those directions. It is that simple, and it is that certain.

While the Bible does not speak directly to the practice of abortion, it does provide enough relevant material to enable us to know God’s will on the matter. In Zechariah 12:1, God is said to be not only the Creator of the heavens and the Earth, but also the One Who “forms the spirit of man within him.” So God is the giver of life. That alone makes human life sacred. God is responsible for implanting the human spirit within the human body. We humans have no right to end human life—unless God authorizes us to do so. But taking a human life, biblically, is based on that human’s behavior. Taking the life of an unborn infant certainly is not based upon the moral conduct of that infant. So if God places the human spirit in a human being while that person is in the mother’s womb, to end that life is a deliberate attempt to thwart God’s action of “forming the spirit of man in him.”

But when does the human spirit enter the human body and thereby bring into existence a human being? When does God implant the soul into the body—at birth or prior to birth? The Bible provides abundant evidence to answer that question. For example, the Bible states: “As you do not know what is the way of the spirit, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes all things” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). In this passage, Solomon equated fetal development with the activity of God. Job described the same process in Job 10:11-12. There he attributed his pre-birth growth to God. David was even more specific.

For You have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them (Psalm 139:13-16).

David insisted that his development as a human being—his personhood—was achieved by God, prior to his birth, while he was yet in his mother’s womb. Some have suggested that Ecclesiastes, Job, and Psalms are all books of poetry and, therefore, not to be taken literally. However, poetic language has meaning. Solomon, Job, and David were clearly attributing their pre-birth personhood to the creative activity of God.

Of course, many additional passages that make the same point are not couched in poetic imagery. Jeremiah declared: “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations’ ” (Jeremiah 1:4-5). Compare this statement with Paul’s equivalent claim, in which he said that God set him apart to do his apostolic ministry even while he was in his mother’s womb (Galatians 1:15). Isaiah made the same declaration: “Listen, O coastlands, to me, and take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called me from the womb; from the matrix of my mother He has made mention of my name” (Isaiah 49:1).

These passages do not teach predestination. Jeremiah and Paul could have exercised their free will and rejected God’s will for their lives—in which case God would have found someone else to do the job. But these passages do teach that God treats people as human beings even beforethey are born. These passages show that a pre-born infant is a person—a human being. There is no significant difference between a human baby one minute before birth and that same human baby one minute after birth. And that status as a human being applies to a person throughout his or her pre-natal development from the moment of conception.

Consider further the recorded visit that Mary, the mother of Jesus, made to Elizabeth, the mother of John the baptizer. Both women were pregnant at the time.

Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy” (Luke 1:39-44).

Notice that Elizabeth’s pre-born baby is being represented as a living human being. In fact, the term “baby” used in verses 41 and 44 to refer to the pre-born John is the exact same term that is used in chapter two to refer to Jesus after His birth as He laid in the manger (Luke 2:12,16). So in God’s sight, whether a person is in his or her pre-birth developmental state, or in a post-birth developmental state, that person is still a baby! In Luke 1:36, John the Baptist is referred to as “a son” from the very moment of conception. All three phases of human life are listed in reverse order in Hosea 9:11—birth, pregnancy, and conception.

If abortion is not wrong, Mary would have been within her moral and spiritual rights to abort the baby Jesus—the divine Son of God! Someone may say, “But that’s different, since God had a special plan for that child.” But the Bible teaches that God has special plans for every human being. Every single human life is precious to God—so much so that a single soul is more significant than everything else that is physical in the world (Matthew 16:26). God sacrificed His own Son for every single human being on an individual basis. Each human life is equally valuable to God. The unrealized and incomprehensible potential for achieving great things by millions of human beings has been forever expunged by abortion. The remarkably resourceful potential of even one of those tiny human minds—now extinguished—may well have included a cure for cancer, or some other horrible, debilitating, and deadly disease.

Another insightful passage from the Old Testament is found in Exodus 21:22-25. This passage describes what action is to be taken in a case of accidental injury to a pregnant woman:

If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no lasting harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any lasting harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe (NKJV).

This passage has been mistranslated in some versions. For example, some versions use the word “miscarriage” instead of translating the Hebrew phrase literally—“so that her children come out.” The text is envisioning a situation in which two brawling men accidentally injure a pregnant bystander. The injury causes the woman to go into early labor, resulting in a premature birth of her child. If neither the woman nor the child is harmed, then the Law of Moses levied a fine against the one who caused the premature birth. But if injury or even death resulted from the brawl, then the law imposed a parallel punishment: if the premature baby died, the one who caused the premature birth was to be executed—life for life. This passage clearly considers the pre-born infant to be a human being, and to cause a pre-born infant’s death was homicide under the Old Testament—homicide punishable by death.

Notice that this regulation under the Law of Moses had to do with injury inflicted accidentally. Abortion is a deliberate, purposeful termination of a child’s life. If God dealt severely with the accidental death of a pre-born infant, how do you suppose He feels about the deliberate murder of the unborn by an abortion doctor? The Bible states explicitly how He feels: “[D]o not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked” (Exodus 23:7). As a matter of fact, one of the things that God hates is “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17).

This matter of abortion is a serious matter with God. We absolutely must base our views on God’s will—not the will of men. The very heart and soul of this great nation is being ripped out by unethical behaviors like abortion. We must return to the Bible as our standard of behavior—before it is too late.

When one contemplates the passages examined above, and compares them with what is happening in society, one surely is amazed and appalled. For example, women have been indicted and convicted of the murder of their own children when those children have been just a few months old. The news media nationwide, and society in general, have been up in arms and outraged at the unconscionable behavior of mothers who have so harmed their young children so as to result in death. Most Americans have been incensed that a mother could have so little regard for the lives of her own children. Yet the same society and the same news media that are outraged at such behavior would have been perfectly content for the same mother to have murdered the same children if she had simply chosen to do so a few minutes or a few months before those children were actually born! Such is the insanity of a civilization that has become estranged from God.

A terrible and tragic inconsistency and incongruity exists in this country. Merely taking possession of an egg containing the pre-born American bald eagle—let alone if one were to destroy that little pre-birth environment and thus destroy the baby eagle that is developing within—results in a stiff fine and even prison time. Yet one can take a human child in its pre-born environment and not only murder that child, but also receive government blessing to do so! Eagle eggs, i.e., pre-born eagles, are of greater value to American civilization than pre-born humans! What has happened to our society? This cannot be harmonized in a consistent, rational fashion. The ethics and moral sensibilities that lie behind this circumstance are absolutely bizarre.

The ethical disharmony and moral confusion that reign in our society have escalated the activity of criminals who commit a variety of heinous crimes—killing large numbers of people, raping women, and doing all sorts of terrible things. Yet, a sizeable portion of society is against capital punishment. Many people feel that these wicked adults, who have engaged in heinous, destructive conduct, should not be executed—a viewpoint that flies directly in the face of what the Bible teaches (Romans 13:1-6; 1 Peter 2:13-14). God wants evildoers in society to be punished—even to the point of capital punishment. Yet, we will not execute guilty, hardened criminals, while we will execute innocent human babies! How can one possibly accept this terrible disparity and the horrible scourge of abortion?

The ultimate solution to every moral issue is genuine New Testament Christianity and the objective standard of the Bible. If all people would organize their lives around the precepts and principles presented in the Bible, civilization would be in good shape. No other suitable alternative exists. There is simply no other way to live life cohesively, with focus, with perspective, with direction, and with the proper sense of the purpose of life.

REFERENCES

Alan Guttmacher Institute (2002), “Induced Abortion,” [On-line], URL: http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.pdf.

“Consequences of Roe v. Wade” (2003), National Right to Life, [On-line], URL: http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/pbafacts.html.

Finer, Lawrence B. and Stanley K. Henshaw (2003), “Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States in 2000,” [On-line], URL: http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3500603.pdf.

Kass, Leon (2002), Human Cloning and Human Dignity (New York: PublicAffairs).

Kiely, Kathy (2003), “Senate Okays Partial Birth Abortion Ban,” [On-line], URL: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-01-15-abortion-usat_x.htm.