Did Jesus Go to Hell? Did He Preach to Spirits in Prison? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=851

Did Jesus Go to Hell? Did He Preach to Spirits in Prison?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

A significant misconception that has prevailed through the centuries within Christendom has been the idea that Jesus went to hell after His crucifixion, prior to His resurrection. The creedal statements of historic Christianity are largely responsible for generating this notion. For example, the Apostles’ Creed affirmed belief in Jesus on the following terms: “Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried; He descended into hell, the third day He rose again from the dead” (emp. added). The Athanasian Creed states: “He suffered death for our salvation. He descended into hell and rose again from the dead” (emp. added). “Church Fathers” and Reformers toyed with this viewpoint. John Calvin, in his voluminous Institutes of the Christian Religion, treated the subject at length (1599, II.16.8-12). Calvin cited earlier theologians who agreed with him, including Hilary in his On the Trinity (IV.xlii; III.xv). The renowned medieval Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, held a similar view (Summa Theol. III. 52. 5). The apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, which dates from the fifth century A.D., claims that Jesus descended into hell and retrieved all the Old Testament saints, including Adam, David, Habakkuk, and Isaiah (see James, 1924, pp. 125ff.).
Further impetus for confusion was generated by the English translations of the 16^th and 17^th centuries, due to translator confusion regarding the technical distinctions that exist between the pertinent Greek terms. Specifically, the Greek term hades generally was equated with gehenna. Hades refers to the intermediate state of the dead (disembodied spirits) who are awaiting the Judgment. Gehenna, on the other hand, refers to the location of the final state of the wicked after the Judgment. This confusion culminated in the King James Version’s rendering of hades as “hell” in all ten of its occurrences in the New Testament (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27,31; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14). Rendering hades as “hell” in Acts 2:27,31 leaves the reader with the impression that when Jesus exited His physical body on the cross, He went to hell. The first English translation to maintain the distinction between hades and gehenna was the English Revised Version and its subsequent American counterpart, the American Standard Version of 1901 (Lewis, 1981, p. 64).
In 1 Peter 3:18-20, a most curious reference appears on the surface to be an affirmation that Jesus descended into the spirit realm and preached to deceased people. However, a close consideration of the grammar will clarify the passage. First, the preaching referred to was not done by Jesus in His own person. The text says Jesus did the preaching through the Holy Spirit: “…the Spirit, by whom…” (v. 18-19). [“My Spirit” (Genesis 6:3) = the Spirit of God = the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 2:17).] Other passages confirm that Jesus was said to do things that He actually did through the instrumentality of others (John 4:1-2; Ephesians 2:17). Nathan charged King David: “You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword” (2 Samuel 12:9), when, in fact, David had ordered it done by another. Elijah accused Ahab of killing Naboth, using the words, “Have you murdered and also taken possession?” (1 Kings 21:19), even though his wife, Jezebel, arranged for two other men to accomplish the evil action. Paul said Jesus preached peace to the Gentiles (Ephesians 2:17), when, in fact, Jesus did so through others, since He, Himself, already had returned to heaven when the first Gentiles heard the Gospel (Acts 15:7). So the Bible frequently refers to someone doing something that he, in fact, did through the agency of another person.
In fact, within the book of 1 Peter itself, Peter already had made reference to the fact that the Spirit “testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow” (1 Peter 1:11). But it was the prophets who did the actual speaking (vs. 10). Then, again in chapter 4, Peter stated that “the gospel was preached also to those who are dead” (1 Peter 4:6). Here were individuals who had the Gospel preached to them while they were alive (“in the flesh”), and who responded favorably by becoming Christians. But then they were “judged according to men in the flesh,” i.e., they were treated harshly and condemned to martyrdom by their contemporaries. At the time Peter was writing, they were “dead,” i.e., deceased and departed from the Earth. But Peter said they “live according to God in the spirit,” i.e., they were alive and well in spirit form in the hadean realm in God’s good graces.
Second, when did Jesus do this preaching through the Holy Spirit? Notice in verse 20, the words “formerly” (NKJV) and “when”—“when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” So the preaching was done in the days of Noah by Jesus through the Holy Spirit Who, in turn, inspired Noah’s preaching (2 Peter 2:5).
Third, why are these people to whom Noah preached said to be “spirits in prison”? Because at the time Peter was writing the words, that is where those people were situated. Those who were drowned in the Flood of Noah’s day descended into the hadean realm, where they continued to reside in Peter’s day. This realm is the same location where the rich man was placed (Luke 16:23), as were the sinning angels (“Tartarus”—2 Peter 2:4). However, Jesus did not go to “prison” or “Tartarus.” He said He went to “Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Fourth, why would Jesus go to hades and preach only to Noah’s contemporaries? Why would He exclude those who died prior to the Flood? What about those who have died since? Since God is no “respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11), Jesus would not have singled out Noah’s generation to be the recipients of preaching in the spirit realm.
Fifth, what would have been the content of such preaching? Jesus could not have preached the whole Gospel in its entirety. That Gospel includes the resurrection of Jesus (Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:4). However, at the time the alleged preaching was supposed to have occurred, Jesus had not yet been raised!
The notion of people being given a second opportunity to hear the Gospel in the afterlife is an extremely dangerous doctrine that is counterproductive to the cause of Christ. Why? It potentially could make people think they can postpone their obedience to the Gospel in this life. Yet the Bible consistently teaches that no one will be permitted a second chance. This earthly life has been provided by God for all human beings to determine where they wish to spend eternity. That decision is made by each individual based upon personal conduct. Once a person dies, his eternal destiny has been cinched. He is “reserved for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4; cf. vss. 9,17). His condition will not and cannot be altered—even by God Himself (Luke 16:25-26; Hebrews 9:27).

REFERENCES

Calvin, John (1599), Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (London: Arnold Hatfield).
James, M.R., trans. (1924), The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press).
Lewis, Jack (1981), The English Bible From KJV to NIV (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

Does Hell Mean God Stops Loving? by Earl Edwards, D.Miss.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=5153

Does Hell Mean God Stops Loving?

by	Earl Edwards, D.Miss.

The scholar Stephen H. Travis wrote that he considered an endless hell to be “vindictive” and “incompatible with the love of God in Christ” (1980, p. 135). Another author, John M. Wenham, has written, “I cannot see that endless punishment is either loving or just…. It is a doctrine which I do not know how to preach without negating the loveliness and glory of God” (1992, pp. 185-187). F. LaGard Smith has pressed the issue of “why” a “loving God” would “subject any of his creatures to endless torment, fully aware that we are…weak” (2003, p. 191). [Others who have taken similar positions include Edward Fudge (1982), Homer Hailey (2003; posthumously published), Jimmy Allen (2004), and John Clayton (1990), p. 20.]

THE LOVE OF GOD AND ENDLESS PUNISHMENT

It should be noted that each of these authors pits the love of God against the concept of endless punishment. Travis emphasizes in a special way that he is speaking of the “love of God in Christ” (emp. added). The others quoted would likely agree, since nearly all who study Jehovah God would concur that the fullest measure of His love was expressed in sending Christ to redeem men. In short, the objection is encapsulated in the concept that the God Who loved man enough to give Jesus to save him cannot be the same God who would consign disobedient men to eternal torment. This latter “god” must, therefore, be one that men have made up in their minds as a result of misunderstanding the passages that describe hell.

THE LOVING JESUS ON ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

Indeed, it is true that God “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). And it was not just the Father Who loved us; the Son loved us and made His own decision to “give Himself up for us” because He walked “in love” also (Ephesians 5:2; cf. John 10:18).  And it is also true that His greatest emphasis as He preached on Earth was on God’s love: “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). However, in the same discourse two verses later, Jesus speaks plainly about judgment: “This is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds are evil” (John 3:19). The “judgment” to which He refers undoubtedly includes hell. In fact, David Pharr was very much on target when he wrote,

What will seem paradoxical to many people, however, is that this same Jesus [who was so loving] had much to say about eternal punishment. The most loving man that ever lived said more about hell than anyone else in the Bible. Indeed, the One who is himself divine love gives the most terrifying of all references as to the horrors of perdition (2005, p. 5).

Notice the dilemma of the authors quoted at the beginning of this article. They would contend God’s great love and eternal punishment cannot consistently dwell together. In fact, notice that Wenham said eternal punishment is “a doctrine which I do not know how to preach without negating the loveliness and glory of God” (p. 135). But his problem is that the same Jesus that He construes to be only about love also frequently preached on eternal punishment. Jesus knew how to “preach” “endless punishment” and that “without negating the loveliness and glory of God.” Maybe Wenham just needs to look at and listen to Jesus more carefully!
In fact, listen to some of what the loving Jesus said about hell (Gehenna):

1. In Matthew 5:22, Jesus warns us to refrain from using abusive language against our brothers lest we “go into a fiery hell [Gehenna].”
2. In Matthew 5:28-30, Jesus says that unless one resists the temptations of his flesh (eye, hand, etc.) his “whole body” will “go into hell [Gehenna].”
3. In Matthew 10:28, He says rather than fearing the one who can only kill your body you should fear “Him [God] Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [Gehenna].”
4. In Matthew 18:9, He again says one must control and resist the temptations of the flesh lest he “be cast into the fiery hell [Gehenna].”
5. In Matthew 23:15, He warns the scribes and the Pharisees that they are making each of their converts “twice as much a son of hell [Gehenna]” as themselves.
6. In Matthew 23:33, He asks those same scribes and Pharisees, “How shall you escape the sentence of hell [Gehenna]?”
7. Mark 9:43 is a parallel to the Matthew 18 statement where Mark tells us Jesus said that one must resist the temptations of the flesh lest he “go into hell [Gehenna], into the unquenchable fire.”
8. In Mark 9:45 and 47 (the parallel to Jesus’ Matthew 18:9 statement), Jesus warns that one must control his fleshly desires lest he be “cast into hell [Gehenna].”
9. Luke 12:5 is a similar statement to the one in Matthew 10:28 in which Jesus says one should not fear the one who can kill only the body, rather the “One” who “has the authority to cast into hell [Gehenna].”

Indeed, the loving Jesus says a lot about hell (Gehenna)! In still other passages in which the word Gehenna is not used, He makes obvious reference to it. Observe how He describes it. In Matthew 8:12, He says that the “sons of the kingdom” who turn to disobedience “shall be cast out into the outer darkness [away from Christ—the Light of the world—EE]; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In Matthew 10:15, Jesus makes it plain that “those who are cast into hell” will undergo a less “tolerable” fate than the infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The lot of those in hell will be worse than being burned up! In Matthew 22:13, Jesus again says that those who are judged to be disobedient will be cast into “outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Undoubtedly, “weeping and gnashing of teeth” indicate a great degree of misery. In Matthew 25:4, Jesus describes those who are condemned because they are disobedient as going “into the eternal [Greek aiōnion) fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” Later in that discourse (Matthew 25:46), He says the disobedient will “go away into eternal punishment (kólasin aiōnion).”

BUT, DOES JESUS SPEAK OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT?

From Jesus’ descriptions of hell (Gehenna), it is clear it will not be a very desirable place.  But, those scholars quoted at the beginning of this lesson would say their objection is not to hell (Gehenna) as such, it is to hell as a place of unending, everlasting torment. That is the aspect they say absolutely cannot be reconciled with the love of God.
As noted above, Christ says the disobedient will “go away into eternal punishment (kólasin aiōnion); but the righteous into eternal life (zōēn aiōnion)” (Matthew 25:46). Respected Greek scholar A.T. Robertson notes that some scholars would try to limit the duration of the punishment described in this passage. But note his very insightful response:

The word kolasin comes from kolazō, to mutilate or prune. Hence those who cling to the larger hope use this phrase to mean age-long pruning that ultimately leads to salvation of the goats, as disciplinary rather than penal. There is such a distinction as Aristotle pointed out between mōria [vengeance] and kolasis [punishment]. But the same adjective, aiōnios [eternal], is used with kolasin [punishment] and zōēn [life]. If by etymology we limit the scope of kolasin [punishment], we may likewise have only age-long zōēn [life]. There is not the slightest indication in the words of Jesus here that the punishment is not coeval with the life (1930, 1:201-02).

The truth is, Jesus taught that punishment will be endless. [NOTE: For an extensive discussion on biblical terms related to the eternality of hell, see Lyons and Butt, 2005.]
D.A. Carson is correct when he points out that it is foolish to say that eternal punishment and the person and teaching of the loving Jesus cannot be reconciled. In fact, he asks, “Should it not be pointed out that it is the Lord Jesus, of all persons in the Bible, Who consistently and repeatedly uses the most graphic images of hell?” (1996, p. 530, emp. added). Another well-known Protestant scholar, Leon Morris, helpfully concludes, “Why does anyone believe in hell in these enlightened days? Because Jesus plainly taught its existence…. He spoke plainly about hell as well as about heaven, about damnation as well as salvation” (1991, p. 34).

THE REAL PROBLEM IS HUMAN PRESUMPTION

But what is the real problem that causes some to reject endless punishment? It appears to be the same problem that Job had in the long ago. He mistakenly believed that all suffering was due to disobedience and he at first maintained that he had not sinned (at least not in a high-handed way). Therefore, he was tempted to conclude that the God of heaven was unjust and unkind. He, without fully realizing what he was doing, pretended to judge God’s actions. When God finally spoke with him, He asked Job a whole series of questions and Job could not answer even one of them. As Michael Brooks rightly says, though God’s answer “occupies four of our chapters, the argument is essentially finished after four verses” (1992, p. 147).  God says Job was speaking “words without knowledge” (Job 38:2) and asks him where he [Job] was when He “laid the foundation of the earth” (38:4). God asked Job many other questions for which Job had no answer. Job finally accepts that he had “declared that which he did not understand” (42:3), and then he says “I repent in dust and ashes” (42:6). He says this because he finally understood that God’s things “were too wonderful” for him to comprehend (42:3). He had been presumptuous (too proud and self-confident). How, indeed, can a finite being who can’t even see a millionth part of God’s Universe tell the great God who created it all how to define justice like Job tried to do? And, likewise, how can a miserable human who is guilty of sin—spiritual crimes—tell the God Who made him how long punishment can continue without becoming unloving? God forbid that we should be so presumptuous! Let us instead say to God with Job, “I will ask You, and You instruct me” (Job 42:4).

WE MUST LET GOD DEFINE HIMSELF

Indeed, as I let God “instruct me,” I will make up my mind as to His nature and His characteristics according to what He says in His revelation, not according to what I might think. I will not make up my own definition of what justice is or what love should do.
Now, following that path of His revelation of Himself, I learn that God is not just love, He is also a God of wrath. Indeed, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36, emp. added).  As Paul puts it, we should keep in mind “both the kindness [love–EE] and severity [wrath–EE] of God” (Romans 11:22). It is as the scholar J. Gresham Machen says,

The New Testament clearly speaks of the wrath of God and the wrath of Jesus Himself; and all the teachings of Jesus pre-suppose a divine indignation against sin. With what possible right, then, can those who reject this vital element in Jesus’ teaching and example regard themselves as true disciples of His? The truth is that the modern rejection of the doctrine of God’s wrath proceeds from a light view of sinwhich is totally at variance with the teaching of the whole New Testament and of Jesus Himself (1923, p. 12, emp. added).

God and Christ are not as uninspired men think they are. They are as they tell us they are through those inspired menwho were guided into “all truth” (John 16:13).

CONCLUSION

The truth is that the “love of God” which, according to some theologians, is inconsistent with “endless punishment,” is not the same “love of God” which is presented in Scripture.  As Carson says,

[T]his widely disseminated belief in the love of God is set with increasing frequency in some matrix other than biblical theology.... I do not think what the Bible says about the love of God can long survive at the forefront of our thinking if it is abstracted from the sovereignty of God, the wrath of God, the providence of God, or the personhood of God—to mention only a few non-negotiable elements of basic Christianity. The result, of course, is that the love of God in our culture has been purged of anything the culture finds uncomfortable. The love of God has been sanitized, democratized, and above all, sentimentalized (2000, p. 9; emp. added).

May God help us to accept our Maker as He is presented in the inspired Word, rather than making up our own version of Him. Our very soul depends on it.

*First presented and published as a part of the Freed-Hardeman University lectureship, February 2007.

REFERENCES

Allen, Jimmy (2004), Fire in My Bones (Searcy, AR: Allen).
Brooks, Michael (1992), In Search of Perfection: Studies from Job (Searcy, AR: Resource).
Carson, D. A. (1996), The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Carson, D.A. (2000), The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway).
Clayton, John (1990), Does God Exist? September-October.
Fudge, Edward (1982), The Fire That Consumes (Houston, TX: Providential Press).
Hailey, Homer (2003), God’s Judgments and Punishments (Las Vegas: Nevada Pub).
Lyons, Eric and Kyle Butt (2005), “The Eternality of Hell—Parts 1 & 2,” Reason & Revelation, 25:1-16, January-February, http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=561.
Machen, J. Gresham (1923), Christianity and Liberalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
Morris, Leon (1991), “The Dreadful Harvest,” Christianity Today, 35:34, May 27.
Pharr, David R. (2005), “The Teaching of Jesus,” The Spiritual Sword, 36:5-9, January.
Robertson, A. T. (1930), Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman).
Smith, F. LaGard (2003), After Life: A Glimpse of Eternity Beyond Death’s Door (Nashville: Cotswold).
Travis, Stephen (1980), Christian Hope and the Future (Issues in Contemporary Theology) (Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity).
Wenham, John W. (1992), “The Case for Conditional Immortality,” Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell, ed. Nigel M. De S. Cameron (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

God Cannot Lie by Caleb Colley, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1383

God Cannot Lie

by	Caleb Colley, Ph.D.

Can God be limited? Many Bible passages proclaim that God is all-powerful, all-seeing, and all-knowing. While God is unlimited by time, space, or force, His very character has determined that He will never do some things, because to do them would be inconsistent with His principles—viz., God’s nature prevents Him from such things. For example, God cannot lie. Observe what the Bible has to say about God’s honesty and, therefore, His reliability.

Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
1 Samuel 15:29: “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
Psalm 92:15: “To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
Malachi 3:6: “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”
Romans 3:4: “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.”
Titus 1:2: “[I]n hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.”
Hebrews 6:18: “[I]t is impossible for God to lie.”
James 1:17-18: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

God is the only being Who is incapable of lying. Everything that God said would happen before now, has happened—just as He said it would. Since God knows all things past, present, and future (and since He is completely honest), it is impossible for Him to speak untruths (see Colley, 2004). One striking characteristic of the Bible is that it contains a large collection of statements attributed to God. Some of these statements are predictions of future occurrences, some are warnings, some are instructions, some are revelations concerning the Divine character, and some are statements of simple fact. One common thread runs through all of God’s recorded statements: they are all true. God has never “gone back” on a promise. God has never lied—He has never even made an “honest mistake.” God, in revealing His message to humans, has not held back truths that we need (2 Peter 1:3). Likewise, Jesus was completely honest, even when telling a hard truth meant putting Himself in danger (Matthew 23:28-33; 1 John 3:5).
God is not tempted to lie. No one can catch Him in a compromising position, or give Him an opportunity to make Himself appear more impressive by making up false accomplishments or attributes. He is perfect in every way, so even if His character did permit Him to lie, the potential for personal gain, which serves as many people’s motivation to lie, would not affect Him.
Paul, who stated so boldly in his letter to Titus that God cannot lie, wrote to Titus while he worked among the Cretans, who were known for their dishonesty. Furthermore, Cretans were accustomed to a pantheon, which included various gods, all with different personalities, so when Paul emphasized that God does not lie, he not only was giving Titus a practical teaching tool, but also was showing that Christianity is distinct from the polytheism that surrounded the church of Christ at Crete (see “God Cannot Lie,” 1996; “Why Crete?,” n.d.). People are more likely to serve a God upon Whom they can unquestionably depend. In fact, take away God’s trustworthiness, and He is no longer God. Philosopher René Descartes, in his fourth meditation, wrote:

To begin with, I recognize that it is impossible that God should ever deceive me. For in every case of trickery or deception some imperfection is to be found; and although the ability to deceive appears to be an indication of cleverness or power, the will to deceive is undoubtedly evidence of malice or weakness, and so cannot apply to God (1984, p. 37).

Humans often lie. God made humans in His image and likeness, but, unlike God, humans commit sin (see Lyons and Thompson, 2002a,b). On occasion, we say things that are false, not because we intend to lie, but because we lack accurate information. Sometimes, while we know the truth, we choose to relay false information to others. Often, we are not comfortable with frankly telling people what they need to know. The words of humans are frequently so undependable that we sometimes use lie detectors in attempts to determine who is telling the truth, and who is not. Apparently, some humans are so “good” at lying, that even the polygraph test has now been proven ineffective in detecting lies (Vergano, 2004).
The devil is the father of lies. Jesus said: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). The dishonesty of Satan is one of the features that makes him the complete opposite of God; God speaks the truth exclusively, while Satan speaks only lies. The angels who, at one time, chose to follow Satan, are partakers in his deceit (see Thompson, 1999). Satan does not tell lies because he wants humans to avoid the pain that truth often brings. Rather, he lies because he hopes that humans will believe falsehoods and, eventually, be damned because they reject the truth of God (1 Peter 5:8). The fact that the devil keeps “no truth in him” is one of the reasons why heaven and hell are so far separated (Matthew 25:41; Luke 16:26). God cannot associate with the impurity that dishonesty brings.

CONCLUSION

How should we respond to the truthfulness of God? We should be grateful because we serve a God Who will not go back on His word. God’s honesty means that He will fulfill His promise of eternal life for those who serve Him. Imagine a scenario in which you approach His throne on Judgment Day, having fulfilled the requirements for appropriating the redeeming blood of Christ to your soul, only to find that God has changed the rules! You no longer would be able to enter heaven, because God had not been honest with you. We should be grateful because God is not required to be forthright with us, anymore than He is required to love us enough to offer His Son as a sacrifice for sin. Nonetheless, He is all-merciful, all-caring, and fortunately, completely honest. We are assured that every word of God is a “sure word” (2 Peter 1:19), because we know God has a detailed history of making His word good.
As we strive to be godly, we must be honest with ourselves, and with others (Luke 8:15; Romans 12:17). If we practice deceit, no one will believe we are truly followers of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 8:21, we read: “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men” (KJV). Following this precept will earn us “high esteem” in the eyes of God and men (Proverbs 3:4).

REFERENCES

Colley, Caleb (2004), “The Omniscience of God,” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2562.
Descartes, René (1984), The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, trans. John Cottingham, Robert Stoothoff, and Dugald Murdoch (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press).
“God Cannot Lie” (1996), [On-line], URL: http://www.ivmdl.org/wil.cfm?study=117.
Lyons, Eric, and Bert Thompson (2002a), “In the ‘Image and Likeness of God’ [Part I],” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/123.
Lyons, Eric, and Bert Thompson (2002b), “In the ‘Image and Likeness of God’ [Part II],” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/125.
Thompson, Bert (1999), Satan: His Origin and Mission (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).
Vergano, Dan (2004), “Telling the Truth About Lie Detectors, [On-line], URL: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-09-09-lie_x.htm.
“Why Crete?” (no date), World Health Organization, [On-line], URL: http://www.nsph.gr/who-harvard/whyCrete.html.

If It's Just a Good Book, Then It's Not God's Book by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=831

If It's Just a Good Book, Then It's Not God's Book

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Some time ago, I read an article by a college professor who stated that “the best thing that could happen to the New Testament has happened to it.... Within the University, at least, the Bible has become simply another ‘great book.’” Many in the world today consider the Bible to be a “good book” containing moral teachings written by noble men, yet reject the idea that the Bible was “given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). Many college professors today teach that the Bible simply is a “good book” that is no more inspired than Homer’s Odyssey or Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. It is the mere result of natural genius characteristic of men of unusual ability.
Common sense, however, compels the honest person to reject such illogical notions. If the Bible is a “great book,” but not inspired of God, it makes either liars or lunatics of the biblical writers, who claimed the Holy Spirit as the ultimate source of their writings. The honest person surely will admit that the Bible—a book that has been studied and examined more than any other book in human history—definitely is not a product of insane men. Its unity, fulfilled prophecy, historical accuracy, and scientific foreknowledge testify to an intelligent source. Thus, the Bible was written either by the honest or the dishonest. Logically, no other choices exist.
Moses either lied or was truthful when he recorded: “And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me’” (Exodus 20:1-3, emp. added). Moses claimed such inspiration literally hundreds of times. Was he a liar, or did he tell the truth? In the New Testament, Peter wrote that “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21, emp. added). Did Peter tell the truth, or was he lying? This same question can be asked of all the writers of the Bible who claimed inspiration. To say that the Bible is simply a “great book” written by “good men” makes liars of the biblical writers who repeatedly claimed that God was the ultimate source of their documents (cf. 2 Samuel 23:2; Acts 1:16).
The Bible is either a product of God or a product of liars. There are no other options. If these men were liars, then they “insanely” pronounced their own destruction, for they claimed that lying was wrong and that all impenitent liars would burn in hell (cf. Exodus 20:16; Colossians 3:9; Revelation 21:8). If these men were liars, it leaves as inexplicable the mystery of why modern man, with all his accumulated learning, has not been able to produce a comparable book to make the Bible obsolete. Finally, if these men were compulsive liars who filled an alleged historical work with thousands of lies, pray tell, why do so many unbelievers still call it a “great book”? Non-Christians who profess an admiration for the Bible should consider the foolishness of their position.

"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" Building To Withstand The Storms (7:24-27) by Mark Copeland

                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

               Building To Withstand The Storms (7:24-27)

INTRODUCTION

1. 1998 was quite a year for natural disasters in the state of
   Florida...
   a. There were killer tornadoes, devastating fires, destructive 
      hurricanes
   b. Impacting the lives of many people

2. Such disasters proved to reveal much about contractors...
   a. We learned that some builders were unscrupulous
   b. Failing to build according to code, many homes and buildings were
      destroyed

3. Jesus made a parallel between storms and buildings at the end of His
   sermon - Mt 7:24-27
   a. As He sought to encourage people to act upon His sayings
   b. Contrasting the difference between those who were doers and not
      just listeners

4. In this lesson, I wish to address the following questions...
   a. What do the "houses" of the wise and foolish builders represent?
   b. What "storms" is Jesus talking about?
   c. How can we "build" so as to be able to withstand the storms?

[Let's begin by identifying the "houses"; I suggest that...]

I. THE HOUSES REPRESENT OUR LIVES

   A. EACH OF US IS BUILDING A "LIFE"...
      1. A life that will eventually face the vicissitudes of life
      2. A life that will respond to the many ups and downs that come
         our way

   B. WE ARE BUILDING THESE "LIVES" UPON A FOUNDATION...
      1. The foundation is whatever teaching, doctrine, or philosophy
         to which we subscribe
      2. It may be a philosophy or doctrine adopted from others, or
         developed ourselves

[We cannot escape the fact that we are "builders."  The question is 
whether we will be wise or foolish builders.  The tests that will 
determine are called "storms"...]

II. THE STORMS ARE THINGS WHICH THREATEN OUR WELL-BEING

   A. THIS MAY INVOLVE LITERAL STORMS...
      1. Such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, etc.
      2. Which may take away all we own, perhaps even our loved ones
      3. How we respond to such tragedies will reveal the quality of
         our "building"
         a. Will we be emotionally devastated?
         b. Will we be able to stand strong, willing to continue on
            without despair?

   B. IT MAY ALSO INVOLVE FIGURATIVE STORMS...
      1. Such as illness, loss of loved ones, financial setbacks
      2. Which may take away our health, family, possessions
      3. Again, how we respond to such tragedies will reveal the 
         quality of our "building"
         a. Will we be emotionally devastated?
         b. Will we be able to stand strong, willing to continue on 
            without despair?

   C. THEN THERE IS THE FINAL "STORM" OF LIFE...
      1. That of death and the final day of Judgment - cf. He 9:27;
         Ro 2:4-6
      2. Which will be the truest test of our "building" (i.e., 
         character) - cf. 2Co 5:10-11
      3. The Lord will describe the kind of "builder" (or servant) we
         have been
         a. E.g., "Well done, good and faithful servant..." - Mt 25:21
         b. E.g., "You wicked and lazy servant..." - Mt 25:26

[The longer we live, the more "storms" we are likely to face; and there
is the final "storm" that none can escape!  How can we be sure to build
our lives so as to withstand the storms?]

III. OBEYING JESUS IS THE KEY TO WITHSTANDING THE STORMS

   A. BEING A "HEARER" ONLY IS NOT SUFFICIENT...
      1. Such is foolishness, building on a shaky foundation that will
         not stand the test of storms - Mt 7:26-27
      2. As James wrote, one is deceiving only themselves - Jm 1:22-24
      3. Like the unscrupulous contractor, the storm will reveal the
         true quality of one's character
      4. As Moses said, "...your sin will find you out."- Num 32:23

   B. WE MUST "DO" WHAT JESUS SAYS...
      1. Those who "do" what Jesus said will be those to withstand the
         storms - Mt 7:24-25
      2. Because their lives (houses) are built upon the "rock" (a 
         solid foundation)
      3. As James went on to write, it is the doer who is blessed in
         what he does - Jm 1:25

   C. HOW THE SAYINGS OF JESUS HELP US WITHSTAND THE STORMS...
      1. His saying regarding where to lay up treasure - Mt 6:19-21
         a. In which we are told to lay up treasure in heaven, not on
            earth
         b. If we heed His words, our hearts will not be distraught if
            earthly treasures are stolen or lost
      2. His saying regarding what to seek first - Mt 6:33
         a. Calling upon all to seek first the kingdom of God and His
            righteousness
         b. By heeding His words, we need not have anxiety for the 
            future
      3. Indeed, His sayings provide the basis for a solid foundation
         in which to build a life...
         a. That will avoid being misled by false prophets - Mt 7:15-20
         b. That will stay on the straight and narrow way that leads to
            life - Mt 7:13-14
         c. That will fulfill the Law and the Prophets - Mt 7:12
         d. That will receive what good gifts God desires to give His
            children - Mt 7:7-11
         e. That will not be judged by some inconsistent standard 
            - Mt 7:1-6
         f. Where the necessities of life are provided for - Mt 6:30-34
         g. Free from materialism and anxiety - Mt 6:22-29
         h. With treasure that cannot rust or be stolen - Mt 6:19-21
         i. With acts of righteousness that are well-pleasing to God 
            - Mt 6:1-18
         j. With righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and
            Pharisees - Mt 5:20-48

CONCLUSION

1. Yes, this is a life that can truly withstand the storms!
   a. Whether it be the literal or figurative storms of every day life
   b. Or the storm of the Day of Wrath and Judgment that is yet to come

2. What kind of foundation are you building your house (life) upon?
   a. Heed what Jesus is saying, and your life will be solid
   b. Be listeners only, and your life will be as shaky as sand!

Just as Jesus is the Rock-solid foundation of the church (1Co 3:11;
Ep 2:20; 1Pe 2:4-6), so let Him be the Rock-solid foundation of your
life!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" He Taught As One Having Authority (7:28-29) by Mark Copeland

                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

              He Taught As One Having Authority (7:28-29)

INTRODUCTION

1. During His earthly ministry, Jesus astonished the people with His
   teaching...
   a. He astonished them in the synagogues - Mk 1:21-22; 6:2
   b. They were astonished by His sermon on the mount - Mt 7:28-29

2. What impressed the people was that "He taught as one having
   authority"
   a. Unlike the scribes, who simply interpreted the Law
   b. Jesus spoke as One had the right to make the law!
      1) E.g., "But I say to you...But I tell you..." - Mt 5:22,28,32,
         34,39,44
      2) E.g., "Take heed...You shall not be...Do not..." - Mt 6:1,2,5,
         8,19,25

3. The question might be raised, "Did Jesus have the authority to speak
   this way?"
   a. He may have taught with authority, but was it His to do so?
   b. Should we, who read that which He taught, give heed to obey what
      He said?

4. At a time when many do not heed the words of Jesus...
   a. Not only those in the world
   b. But, sadly, even many who profess Him to be Lord
   ...the authority of Jesus needs to be recognized and followed by all,
      but especially by those who claim to be His disciples

[In this study, we shall review the authority that Jesus has, beginning
with...]

I. THE INHERENT RIGHT OF JESUS' AUTHORITY

   A. BY VIRTUE OF BEING THE CREATOR...
      1. All things were made through Him - Jn 1:1-3; He 1:2
      2. All things were made by Him and for Him - Col 1:16
      -- As Creator, Jesus has the authority to expect and demand
         whatever He desires of His creation

   B. BY VIRTUE OF BEING THE HEIR...
      1. As prophesied, Jesus would be given all things - Ps 2:8
      2. As the Son, Jesus has been appointed heir of all things
         - He 1:2
      -- As the Heir, Jesus has authority over that which has been
         given Him

   C. BY VIRTUE OF BEING THE REDEEMER...
      1. Jesus has redeemed us from our sins - 1Pe 1:18-19
      2. This He has done with His own blood - Ep 1:7; Ac 20:28
      -- As our Redeemer, He certainly has authority over those who
         have been purchased by His blood!

[As Creator, Heir, and Redeemer, Jesus has both the inherent right and
the earned right to speak with authority.  Dare we living today not
recognize such authority?  Consider others who gave voice to...]

II. THE RECOGNITION OF JESUS' AUTHORITY

   A. HE WAS WORSHIPPED BY ANGELS...
      1. When He came into the world - He 1:6
      2. As He sat on the throne of God - Re 5:11-12
      -- Angels deemed Him worthy to receive power (authority)

   B. HE WAS RECOGNIZED BY DEMONS...
      1. They acknowledged He had the authority to destroy them - Mk 1:
         23-24
      2. They obeyed His rebuke - Mk 1:25-26
      -- Demons, even when possessing power of their own, could not
         resist His authority

   C. HE WAS PRAISED BY THE REDEEMED...
      1. Those before the throne and the Lamb ascribed salvation to God
         and the Lamb - Re 7:9-10
      2. Even as John praised Him for having authority over the kings
         of the earth - Re 1:5
      -- If we are among the redeemed, should we not also recognize His
         authority?

[Finally, let's note...]

III. THE EXTENT OF JESUS' AUTHORITY

   A. HE HAS ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH...
      1. As announced by Him prior to His ascension - Mt 28:18
      2. As received when He ascended to sit at God's right hand
         - Ep 1:20-22; 1Pe 3:22
      3. Including ruling over the kings of the earth as King of kings
         and Lord of lords - Re 1:5; 1Ti 6:14-15

   B. HE IS HEAD OVER THE CHURCH...
      1. He is the head of the body, the church - Col 1:18
      2. Even as He is the savior of the body - Ep 5:23
      3. As the Head, He has delegated His authority to His apostles
         a. Promising His Spirit to guide them into all the truth- Jn16:12-13
         b. Commanding them to teach others to observe all that He
            commanded - Mt 28:20
         c. Proclaiming that whoever receives them, receives Him - Jn13:20

CONCLUSION

1. As revealed in the New Testament, Jesus clearly has all authority...
   a. Which must be confessed in order to be saved - Ro 10:9; Php 2:9-11
   b. Which will be confessed at the Judgment - Ro 14:10-12

2. The key issue, then, is what we do in light of this authority...
   a. Will we listen to Jesus and heed Him who speaks with such
      authority?
   b. Will we as His church allow His apostles to lead and guide us
      through the authority delegated to them?

Those willing to accept Jesus as Lord, will do what He says (cf. Lk 6:
46); as prophesied by David, they will freely volunteer in the day of
His power (Ps 110:1-3).

May we all honor and accept the authority of Jesus Christ!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

ANGER by Gary Rose

Animal photos

http://www.hypedojo.com/ukrainian-photographer-sergey-polyushko-takes-the-most-stunning-animal-portraits-youve-ever 

Of the many wonderful pictures of animals taken by the photographer listed above, I chose this one because it conveyed a feeling- anger!!! This is how I "feel", when I:

See people in our country burn our flag.

Know that our government accepts "refugees" who want to destroy us and yet veterans remain homeless.

Know that Christians are ridiculed as racist and yet I see pictures of Muslims pulling down Christmas trees.

Hear about the left complaining about "possible" voter fraud, yet millions of illegals voted this year.

Continually hear negative things about Donald Trump, a man who left a billionaire lifestyle to serve our country without pay and endure ridicule for "MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN"

When I constantly hear the left cry for more and more gun control and yet the city (Chicago) with the strictest laws in the country is a killing field.

When I know that our country is TRILLIONS IN DEBT and still gives away BILLIONS to countries that HATE US.

AND THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON!!!

Then I think of the Scriptures...

Jonah 3:WEB
1 The word of Yahweh came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2 ”Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you.”
3 So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey across.
4 Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried out, and said, “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”
5 The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;
8 but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.
9 Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”
10 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

Jonah 4:WEB
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
2 He prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.
3 Therefore now, Yahweh, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 Yahweh said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city.
6 Yahweh God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine.
7 But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.
8 It happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?” He said, “I am right to be angry, even to death.”
10 Yahweh said, “You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.
11 Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?”

Was Jonah's anger justified? I think NOT!!!  Why? Because God is merciful to those who repent and we should be accept HIS WILL!!!

I wonder, am I correct in feeling angry about the things in my list? I think I am. Again, Why? Because, left unchecked, they will lead to the destruction of a country designed with a view to FREEDOM and RELIGIOUS LIBERTY!!!

You be the judge!!!!

One thing is for sure-

 I want that dog as my watchdog!!!

Bible Reading November 28 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading  November 28 (World English Bible)

Nov. 28

Ezekiel 5-8

Eze 5:1 You, son of man, take a sharp sword; You shall take it as a barber's razor to you, and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

Eze 5:2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a third part, and strike with the sword around it; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

Eze 5:3 You shall take of it a few in number, and bind them in your skirts.

Eze 5:4 Of these again you shall take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; from it shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

Eze 5:5 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are around her.

Eze 5:6 She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are around her; for they have rejected my ordinances, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.

Eze 5:7 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you are turbulent more than the nations that are around you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my ordinances, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are around you;

Eze 5:8 therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I, even I, am against you; and I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations.

Eze 5:9 I will do in you that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all your abominations.

Eze 5:10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of you, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you; and the whole remnant of you will I scatter to all the winds.

Eze 5:11 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore will I also diminish you; neither shall my eye spare, and I also will have no pity.

Eze 5:12 A third part of you shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of you; and a third part shall fall by the sword around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.

Eze 5:13 Thus shall my anger be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward them to rest, and I shall be comforted; and they shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my wrath on them.

Eze 5:14 Moreover I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are around you, in the sight of all that pass by.

Eze 5:15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, to the nations that are around you, when I shall execute judgments on you in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes; (I, Yahweh, have spoken it;)

Eze 5:16 when I shall send on them the evil arrows of famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine on you, and will break your staff of bread;

Eze 5:17 and I will send on you famine and evil animals, and they shall bereave you; and pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword on you: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.

Eze 6:1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 6:2 Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them,

Eze 6:3 and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.

Eze 6:4 Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.

Eze 6:5 I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars.

Eze 6:6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

Eze 6:7 The slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

Eze 6:8 Yet will I leave a remnant, in that you shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when you shall be scattered through the countries.

Eze 6:9 Those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations where they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the prostitute after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

Eze 6:10 They shall know that I am Yahweh: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.

Eze 6:11 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Smite with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.

Eze 6:12 He who is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he who is near shall fall by the sword; and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath on them.

Eze 6:13 You shall know that I am Yahweh, when their slain men shall be among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered pleasant aroma to all their idols.

Eze 6:14 I will stretch out my hand on them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Yahweh.

Eze 7:1 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 7:2 You, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel, An end: the end is come on the four corners of the land.

Eze 7:3 Now is the end on you, and I will send my anger on you, and will judge you according to your ways; and I will bring on you all your abominations.

Eze 7:4 My eye shall not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations shall be in the midst of you: and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

Eze 7:5 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: An evil, an only evil; behold, it comes.

Eze 7:6 An end is come, the end is come; it awakes against you; behold, it comes.

Eze 7:7 Your doom is come to you, inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, on the mountains.

Eze 7:8 Now will I shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your ways; and I will bring on you all your abominations.

Eze 7:9 My eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring on you according to your ways; and your abominations shall be in the midst of you; and you shall know that I, Yahweh, do strike.

Eze 7:10 Behold, the day, behold, it comes: your doom is gone forth; the rod has blossomed, pride has budded.

Eze 7:11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth: neither shall there be eminency among them.

Eze 7:12 The time is come, the day draws near: don't let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is on all its multitude.

Eze 7:13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they be yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude of it, none shall return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

Eze 7:14 They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goes to the battle; for my wrath is on all its multitude.

Eze 7:15 The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within: he who is in the field shall die with the sword: and he who is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

Eze 7:16 But those of those who escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity.

Eze 7:17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.

Eze 7:18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be on all faces, and baldness on all their heads.

Eze 7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Yahweh: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it has been the stumbling block of their iniquity.

Eze 7:20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it to them as an unclean thing.

Eze 7:21 I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it.

Eze 7:22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall profane my secret place; and robbers shall enter into it, and profane it.

Eze 7:23 Make the chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

Eze 7:24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned.

Eze 7:25 Destruction comes; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.

Eze 7:26 Mischief shall come on mischief, and rumor shall be on rumor; and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.

Eze 7:27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do to them after their way, and according to their own judgments will I judge them; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.

Eze 8:1 It happened in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord Yahweh fell there on me.

Eze 8:2 Then I saw, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his waist and downward, fire; and from his waist and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.

Eze 8:3 He put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looks toward the north; where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.

Eze 8:4 Behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.

Eze 8:5 Then said he to me, Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and see, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

Eze 8:6 He said to me, Son of man, see you what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but you shall again see yet other great abominations.

Eze 8:7 He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.

Eze 8:8 Then said he to me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had dug in the wall, behold, a door.

Eze 8:9 He said to me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.

Eze 8:10 So I went in and saw; and see, every form of creeping things, and abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall.

Eze 8:11 There stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.

Eze 8:12 Then said he to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Yahweh doesn't see us; Yahweh has forsaken the land.

Eze 8:13 He said also to me, You shall again see yet other great abominations which they do.

Eze 8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh's house which was toward the north; and see, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.

Eze 8:15 Then said he to me, Have you seen this, son of man? you shall again see yet greater abominations than these.

Eze 8:16 He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh's house; and see, at the door of the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of Yahweh, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.

Eze 8:17 Then he said to me, Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and behold, they put the branch to their nose.

Eze 8:18 Therefore will I also deal in wrath; my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

Nov. 28

James 1

Jas 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.

Jas 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,

Jas 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

Jas 1:4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Jas 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.

Jas 1:7 For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.

Jas 1:8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Jas 1:9 But let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position;

Jas 1:10 and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.

Jas 1:11 For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.

Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.

Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God can't be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Jas 1:14 But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.

Jas 1:15 Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

Jas 1:16 Don't be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Jas 1:19 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;

Jas 1:20 for the anger of man doesn't produce the righteousness of God.

Jas 1:21 Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

Jas 1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;

Jas 1:24 for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

Jas 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Jas 1:26 If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is worthless.

Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.