April 24, 2020

Be the church that Jesus built by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/bethechurchthatjesusbuilt.html
Be the church that Jesus built
How to be the church that Jesus built  
How to be an apostate church
1. Be the church of the New Testament. "Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3, 4).   1. Teach that it is ok to be different from the New Testament church. Recognize human churches as ok and define yourself as just another denomination.  
2. "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away" (Heb. 2:1).   2. Introduce changes slowly so people don't notice. If there is too much objection, back off and wait a while.  
3. Please God, even if people do not like it (2 Cor. 5:9-11; 1 Thes. 2:4, 5).   3. Try to please men to make the church more popular.  
4. Worship "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23) "finding out what is acceptable to the Lord" (Eph. 5:10), "serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:28, 29 see Lev. 10:1, 2).   4. Introduce entertaining forms of worship not found in the NT, such as music instruments and clapping, because people like them. Teach that it is ok to add to the worship.  
5. Christ delivers us "from this present evil age" (Gal. 1:4). "Be saved from this perverse generation" (Acts 2:40). "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ" (Col. 2:8).   5. Be progressive and follow the spirit of the times. Call those who object "traditionalists".  
6. Maintain unity based on the word of God (John 17:20, 21). Be of the same mind (1 Cor. 1:10). "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3).   6. Emphasize superficial unity with much room for diversity. When someone objects to something as being unscriptural, accuse him of being a trouble-maker and causing division.  
7. Avoid divisive false teachers who use smooth words and flattery (Rom. 16:17, 18). (See also Gal. 1:6-10; 2 John 9-11; Heb. 13:8, 9).   7. Use smooth words and flattering speech to introduce new doctrines to bring the church up to date and make it more modern.  
8. Accept the Scriptures as equipping us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:14-17).   8. Do not view the Scriptures as sufficient or normative. Teach that the church is led dynamically by the Spirit so it can adapt to new circumstances.  
9. No private interpretation of Scripture (2 Peter 1:19-21).   9. Everyone has his own interpretation of Scripture.  
10. Rule-making and self-serving religion are sinful (Col. 2:8, 20-23).   10. Make up your own rules. Worship any way you want.  
11. Recognize the New Covenant as a "pattern of sound words" (2 Tim. 1:13), a "form of doctrine" to which we have been subjected (Rom. 6:17).   11. Ridicule those who believe that the New Testament provides a pattern for the church by calling them "patternists".  
12. Do not go beyond what is written (1 Cor. 4:6). Abide in Christ's doctrine (2 John 9). "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed" (John 3:31).   12. Make fun of those who require biblical authority for all religious practices by calling them "legalists" and "traditionalists".  
13. Jesus said: "You shall know the truth" (John 8:32). Jesus came to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37).   13. Claim that no one can really know the truth.  
14. Jesus: "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Disciples observe all that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:20). Spiritual people accept Paul's writings as commands of God (1 Cor. 14:37).   14. Accuse those who want to carefully keep the commands of the New Covenant of being legalists. Teach that what is in your heart is important, not whether you keep commandments.  
15. Remember that worship based on commandments of men is worthless (Matt. 15:8, 9).   15. Teach doctrines of human origin. Celebrate religious holidays not found in the NT.  
16. Some "will not endure sound doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:3). Elders "hold fast the faithful word," teach "sound doctrine" (Tit. 1:9), silence those who teach error (Tit. 1:11). Preach "sound doctrine" (Tit. 2:1).   16. Do not emphasize doctrine but emphasize personal devotion. Limit your teaching to things that are so broad that just about all religious people can agree and will not be offended.  
17. God's grace is not license to do wrong (Jude 3, 4). "Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4).   17. Emphasize grace to such an extent that one does not have to be too concerned about obedience, doctrine or practices because God will forgive all our sins.  
18. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom, but he who does the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21-27).   18. Teach that salvation is by grace alone and that salvation does not depend on what we do.  
19. "A man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Gal. 2:16).   19. Or, go to the other extreme and teach that one can earn salvation by works.  
20. "A man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:24).   20. Teach salvation by faith only. Then you can be friends with everyone.  
21. Baptize for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Teach that baptism saves (1 Peter 3:21) by grace (Titus 3:5).   21. Teach that salvation does not occur at baptism.  
22. "Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak" (1 Cor. 13:34). "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man" (2 Tim. 2:12, 13).   22. Encourage women to speak in the assemblies and to teach men in Bible classes.  
23. "Let deacons be the husbands of one wife" (2 Tim. 3:12). An elder must be "the husband of one wife" (1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:6).   23. Do not have deacons but have 'ministers' including men and women. Rather than elders have a "leadership team/committee" composed of men and women.  
24. Teach that divorce and remarriage is adultery unless one divorces a spouse for fornication (Matt. 5:31, 32; 19:9).   24. Do not apply what Jesus says about divorce and remarriage. It upsets too many people.  
25. "Note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17).   25. Invite denominational preachers to speak in the assemblies and for lectureships.  

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

WHY DID JESUS COMMAND WATER BAPTISM? by steve finnell


http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/2017/03/why-did-jesus-command-water-baptism-by.html

WHY DID JESUS COMMAND WATER BAPTISM? by steve finnell


Why did Jesus command water baptism? What do the Scriptures tell us?  

THE COMMAND: Matthew 28:16-19.......19"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (NKJV)

Jesus command the eleven disciples to baptize all nations in water. What was the purpose of water baptism?

1. Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.(NKJV)

By believers being immersed in water they are clothed with Christ.

2. Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved...(NKJV)

Believers who have been immersed in water will be saved.

3. Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(NKJV)

Repentant believers who have been immersed in water will have their sins forgiven and they will receive the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit.

4. Romans 6:3-7 ...4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.......6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.....(NKJV)

Believers in Jesus who have been immersed in water can walk in a new life, they no longer have to be slaves to sin.

5. Acts 22:16 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' (NKJV)

Believers who have been immersed in water have had their sins washed away.

6. Acts 2:40,41,47 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 47 .....And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.(NKJV)

Repentant believers who have been immersed in water become saved from the penalty of sin and the Lord adds them to His church. The church is the body of Christ.

7. Colossians 2:11-13...12 buried with Him in baptism... 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made you alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,(NKJV)

Believer who have been immersed in water have been forgiven all their sins.

WHAT DO CERTAIN BELIEVERS IN DENOMINATIONS TEACH US ABOUT WATER BAPTISM?

1. Water baptism is not essential for salvation. (Not found in the Bible)

2. Water baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins. (Not found in the Bible)

3. Water baptism is simply for a testimony of faith. (Not found in the Bible)

4. Water baptism is in order to be baptized into a denominational church or in order to join the church of your choice. (Not found in the Bible)

5. Water baptism means being sprinkled, or poured with water. (Not found in the Bible)

6. Water baptism in not being baptized into Christ.(Not found in the Bible.)

7. Water baptism is in order to wash away the guilt of original inherited sin from Adam.(Not found in the Bible)

8. Water baptism is unnecessary, period.(Not found in the Bible)

9. The one baptism mentioned in Ephesians 4:5 in not water baptism. (Not found in the Bible)

10. Unbelievers such as infants, and small children should be baptized against their will.(Not found in the Bible)

11. Teaching about being baptized in water should be based on denominational creed books because the Bible is not God's  final authority.(Not found in the Bible.)


WHAT DO YOU TRUST? DO YOU TRUST THE BIBLE? DO YOU TRUST DENOMINATIONAL CREED BOOKS?

“He Guards My Life Because…” by Jim McGuiggan

http://theabidingword.com/logos/index.html

“He Guards My Life Because…”

 Lukas Reiter tells of a ruthless criminal who is speaking to his daughter on the phone. He’s telling her of a very dear friend whose life he had saved many years earlier. The man he’d saved attached himself to the brutal criminal as a protector and now the protector was himself in serious harm’s way. He muses into the phone and wonders, “Why does someone so decent spend his every day around me, someone so indecent…? 
His daughter ventures the guess that he did it because he felt gratitude to his deliverer but her father isn’t having that. He wasn’t really asking for an explanation; he just wanted to hear himself spelling out his sense of the wonder of it all.
“No,” he murmured, “He didn’t see me as a savior—he saw me as the man I am, a man surrounded by darkness, with no friends who could be trusted, one who didn’t believe that loyalty or love could ever exist. He committed to me to show me that day and every day, that the world is not what I feared it to be. He’s the light in the darkness; (he’s) living proof that there is another way. That life can be good and people kind. That a man like me might one day dream of becoming a man like him. He pledged his life, offered it up as evidence that I was wrong about the world. He guards my life because he’s determined to save my soul.”
I believe in such people! People who are not Jesus but make us think of Jesus. The kind of people Jesus would have watched with those searching eyes of His, eager to see their way and listening with the pleasure growing within Him to hear their strong and gracious words keeping strugglers with life from entering into a darkness so deep that there’d be no way back up out of it.
I do believe in Sin! How could I not? For am I not a sinner! And don’t I see it dressed in fine clothes and don’t I hear it speak in persuasive tones with perfect diction as it pours out lies that corrupt and damn? Don’t we see its gloomy shadow lying across little nations killing all hope? I do believe in corrupt people who fill the very air with moral darkness until there’s no sun in the sky and leading countless poor souls to wonder if there’s a sky at all.
But I believe in good people for I have seen them and heard them speak and watched the change come over people who had until then only seen life out of soulless eyes. They assure me about God. If humans in a world like this can love like that—God can love no less! Jacob in Genesis 33, worried sick with fear that his brother Esau in bitterness and in power would treat him harshly instead sees the face of God on the face of his sinned-against brother. Not a scathing word that strips the flesh from his bones, not a hint of violence, but tears of joy to see his brother well. If we see it in Esau should be expect less of Jesus? I believe in such people and they help me to believe more assuredly in GOD.

Flaws In Calvinism by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=5387

Flaws In Calvinism

by  Dave Miller, Ph.D.

John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French theologian during the Protestant Reformation whose system of Christian theology, primarily expressed in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, has exerted tremendous influence throughout the Christian world for nearly five centuries. The central tenets of his thinking have been summarized under the acrostic TULIP.

Total Depravity = All men have inherited the sin of Adam through their parents and are morally unable to choose to follow God and be saved because of their own depraved, sinful nature which extends to every part of their personality.

Bible Responses

Ezekiel 18:19-23—“Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself…. ‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord GOD, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live?’”
Ezekiel 28:15—“You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.”
Psalm 106:37-38—“They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters.”
Zechariah 12:1—“Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.”
Matthew 18:2-3—“Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.’”
Matthew 19:14—“But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’”
Romans 7:9—“I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died.”

Unconditional Election = God chose from eternity to save certain people, not based upon any foreseen virtue, faith, or anticipated acceptance of the Gospel. God chose to extend mercy to those He has specifically chosen and to withhold mercy from those not chosen. Those chosen receive salvation through Christ alone. Those not chosen receive wrath and damnation.

Bible Responses

Luke 13:3—“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
John 3:16—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 8:24—“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Acts 10:34-35—“Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.’”
Romans 2:5-11—“God…will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
1 Peter 1:17—“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.”
Revelation 22:17—“Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”


Limited Atonement = Christ died only for those whom God specifically pre-decided to save—the elect—but not for any others.

Bible Responses

1 Timothy 2:3-4—“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6—“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.”
Titus 2:11-12—“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”
1 John 2:2—“And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
John 3:17—“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
2 Peter 3:9—“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Acts 10:34—“God shows no partiality.”
Romans 2:11—“For there is no partiality with God.”


Irresistible Grace = God’s saving grace is applied to those whom He has determined to save (the elect), overcoming their resistance to the call of the Gospel, bringing them to a saving faith. This means that when God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual certainly will be saved (even against his will if necessary). This purposeful influence of God’s Holy Spirit, Who creates faith within the individual, cannot be resisted.

Bible Responses

Deuteronomy 30:19—“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life.”
Joshua 24:15—“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Luke 7:30—“But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”
John 12:42-43—“Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
Acts 7:51—“You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”
Acts 13:46—“Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.’”

Perseverance of the Saints = Since God is sovereign and His will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with Himself will continue in faith until the end. They cannot be eternally lost.

Bible Responses

Galatians 5:4—“You [Christians] have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
2 Peter 2:20-22—“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”
Hebrews 4:11—“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
Hebrews 6:4-6—“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
Hebrews 10:38-39—“‘Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
James 5:19-20—“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
Revelation 2:5—“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
Revelation 3:5—“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Revelation 22:19—“If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life.”

Galileo-Gate by Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=382

Galileo-Gate

by  Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

In October 1992, a Vatican commission concluded that the Inquisition had treated Galileo too harshly. It added, however, that Galileo was partially to blame by insisting that he had absolute proof for Copernicus’ (heliocentric) system of astronomy. Actually, Galileo’s argument, based on the ebb of the flow of the tides, did not prove the Earth’s motion. It would take another two centuries of scientific study to modify and establish Copernicus’ theory. Today, the Vatican feels the actions of its predecessors were overly zealous, although not wrongly motivated.
Some in the scientific media saw this is as a “half-hearted rehabilitation of Galileo” (Nature, 1992; Cole, 1992). They seemed to take a perverse pleasure in the fact that the Church had taken so long to apologize, and then acted hurt that the retraction was conditional.
The conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church was, in part, a struggle over intellectual territory. In 1546, the Council of Trent had given equal authority to church traditions and Scripture. Further, it decreed that the Church, and the opinions of the Church Fathers, were the only proper guides for interpretation. Although the Council never debated the Earth’s motion, its broad decree elevated Ptolemy’s (geocentric) system from endorsement to dogma. Likewise, some Fathers had taken various Old Testament passages to mean that the Earth stood still while the Sun moved (cf. Jackson, et al., 1986); this interpretation was now law.
Galileo rebelled, arguing that science was an entirely separate authority. One of his favorite quotes came from Cardinal Baronius: “The intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes.” Galileo argued that any reference to the natural world in the Bible is purely incidental. Science, not the Bible, must convey scientific truth. Further, if science contradicts a literal interpretation of Scripture, then theologians should deem the passage allegorical or metaphorical.
The irony is that Galileo wanted to advise the Church on hermeneutics, while reserving science for himself. For its part, the Church was in no mood to backpedal in the face of a growing Protestant challenge. However, authorities were quite willing to allow scientists to speculate on Copernicus’ theory. It was Galileo’s talk of absolute proof, laced with arrogance, that eventually brought him before the Inquisition.
Perhaps Galileo could have avoided censure if he had played by the rules of what was a very perilous game. The Catholic Church of the time must take the blame for creating such peril. But it is not true to say that the Galileo affair typifies the relationship between faith and science.

REFERENCES

Nature (1992), “Eppur si non muove,” 360:2.
Cole, John R. (1992), “Vatican Recants; Galileo Cleared,” NCSE Reports, 12[4]:9.
Jackson, Wayne, Bert Thompson, and Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A. (1986), “Questions and Answers,” Reason & Revelation, 6:47-50, December.

Genesis 1:1 by Robert C. Redden, M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1144

Genesis 1:1

by  Robert C. Redden, M.A.

Q.

I have heard it said that Genesis 1:1 allows lengthy time periods to be inserted into the biblical text, thus accommodating an ancient Earth. Is this true?

A.

The first verse of the Bible is so dear to every believer that it can be recited from memory by almost all. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This simple rendition of the Hebrew tells us about the beginning of all things by the creative act of Almighty God. But what appears so simple on the surface often hides a complexity of difficulties underneath. Such is no exception in the case of Genesis 1:1. A comparison of several translations, or alternate translations in the margins of some Bibles, will reveal a disagreement hotly debated in scholarly circles.
One particular translation is mentioned simply because of the serious doctrinal error promoted by it. Ferrar Fenton’s, The Holy Bible in Modern English, radically departs from the standard translations. Notice the rendering of Genesis 1:1 in that version: “By periods God created that which produced the Solar Systems; then that which produced the Earth.” We are not left wilthout explanation for his novel translation. He writes in a footnote: “Literally, ‘By headships.’ It is curious that all translations of the Septuagint have rendered this word B’RESHITH, into the singular, although it is plural in the Hebrew. So I rendered it accurately.” So says Fenton!
Actually, this is a glaring mistake. A Hebrew concordance lists five occurrences where “in the beginning” appears in the Old Testament: Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 26:1; 27:1; 28:1; 49:34. When these are read in any standard translation, nothing but the singular is intended. The Hebrew expression has a prefixed preposition that does not alter the number of the word. It occurs without the preposition in Genesis 10:10, and is translated in the singular “the beginning.” Although occurring with a different preposition in Isaiah (46:10), the use is decisive. God, says the prophet, declares the end from “the beginning.” Certainly the prophet teaches only one beginning, but Fenton’s grammatical analysis would assume otherwise. Add to this passage, Psalms 111:10—“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The singular meaning is obvious.
It must be the ending of the Hebrew word that suggested to Fenton the number [i.e., the plurality] of the word. I know of no other possibility. A comparison of words with similar endings with singular meanings might be helpful.

Beginning—resh-ith, Genesis 1:1; 10:10
Greatness—marb-ith, 1 Chronicles 12:29
Captivity—sheb-ith, 2 Chronicles 28:11
Spear—hen-ith, 1 Samuel 20:33
Terror—hit-ith, Ezekiel 32:23 
These words are classified as feminine singular nouns according to Davidson’s Analytical Hebrew Lexicon. According to Samuel Green, feminine nouns ending in “ith” form their plurals by the ending “yyuth” (1901, p. 48). An example of the plural is found in Exodus 1:16 where the Hebrew is translated “the Hebrew women.” According to Even-Shoshan’s Hebrew concordance, no plural form for “beginning” occurs in the Old Testament. The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures) translators obviously knew the Hebrew better than Mr. Fenton! Neither the Hebrew nor the Greek would allow, much less demand, Fenton’s [mis]translation.
Another erroneous rendition in verse one is the statement that God created “that which produced the Solar Systems; then that which produced the Earth.” According to this view, “the heavens and the earth” were made out of pre-existing materials. This suggests that the verse has nothing to say about the actual beginning of all things!
In response, one must note that the Hebrew bara and its English equivalent “create” are transitive verbs. They both, therefore, require direct objects to complete their meaning. The Hebrew, along with the standard translations, give two direct objects—“the heavens and the earth.” Since the direct objects modify the verb “create,” and the act of creation took place at the beginning, then no pre-existing materials were present when the creation took place. While the word “create” in Hebrew does not necessarily prove “creation-out-of-nothing,” it certainly does not exclude the idea either.
Actually, according to Bernhardt, the use of “created” with the phrase “in the beginning” clearly teaches a creation without pre-existing materials. “As a special theological term, BARA is used to express the incomparability of the creative work of God in contrast to all the secondary products and likenesses made from already existing material by man.” He continues: “This verb does not denote an act that somehow can be described, but simply states that, unconditionally, without further intervention, through God’s command something comes into being that had not existed before. ‘He commanded and they were created’ (Psalms 148:5)” (n.d., 2:246-247). It should be no surprise, therefore, to discover that God is always the subject of this verb. God, Who exists eternally, brings into existence the things that previously had no existence!
Various translations, however, suggest that Genesis 1:1 has nothing to say about the original creation. Notice the rendering given by The Bible—An American Translation(the Old Testament companion to Goodspeed): “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was a desolate waste, with darkness covering the abyss and a tempestuous wind raging over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light!’ ” Peacock is accurate when he explains the meaning of this rendering: “...verses 1 and 2 describe the chaotic situation that existed before God acted in creation. If this interpretation is accepted, one would translate When God began to create the universe, as in the TEV [Today’s English Version] note” (Peacock, 1982, p. 4).
The obvious assumption of these translators is that Genesis 1:1 is a relative clause and states only the condition of things when God said, “Let there be light.” Such a rendition rules out the idea of an original creation—creatio ex nihilo. Scholars are in disagreement as to whether or not the grammatical evidence demanded an abandonment of the traditional wording (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NIV, NASB, JB). Add to this the fact that all of the ancient versions, without exception, render the verse in the usual manner.
What often is overlooked by many today is the simplicity of the creation account. The sentences are very short. By changing the translation into dependent clauses, the sentence structure is affected, and thus, the effect intended by Moses. Notice the difference between the two renderings:

Standard Translation

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth And the earth was waste and void;And darkness was upon the face of the deep; And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.And God said, Let there be light; And there was light.

Alternate Translation

When God began creating the heavens and the earth, when the earth was waste and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, then God said, Let there be light; and there was light.
A reading of the literal translation (such as the ASV) of the remaining chapter will convince one that such a complicated sentence structure is totally out of place in the first few verses of the chapter. Unfortunately, the popular style of subordination in English composition may mask not only the real emphasis of the original, but also may promote a false view of its teaching!
The Septuagint was made by translators who believed that the Hebrew taught the beginning of all things. They translated the verse in an absolute sense, independent of the following verses. Aalders summed up the issue rather well: “In making our decision on this issue, let it be stated without any equivocation that the words ‘in the beginning’ must be taken in their absolute sense. First of all, this is the most natural and obvious interpretation. Furthermore, this is the rendition that is found in every ancient translation without any exception. Finally, although the alternative interpretation is linguistically possible, it does not reflect common Hebrew usage” (Genesis, 1:51).
Genesis 1:1 is a profound revelation of God’s creative work. Before that beginning, matter did not exist. In the beginning, God created (not refashioned, per the Gap Theory) things having no previous existence. One wonders if the dissatisfaction with the standard translation of this verse arose from a corresponding disagreement with the doctrine taught by it, or was this a mere coincidence? Yes, one wonders!

REFERENCES

Green, Samuel G. (1901), A Handbook To Old Testament Hebrew (New York: Revell).
Bernhardt (no date), Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, 2:246-247.
Peacock, Heber F. (1982), A Translator’s Guide to Selections from the First Five Books of the Old Testament (New York: United Bible Societies).

"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" The Preaching Ministry Of Jesus (4:12-17) by Mark Copeland

                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

               The Preaching Ministry Of Jesus (4:12-17)

INTRODUCTION

1. In Mt 4:12-17, we read of Jesus' public ministry in Galilee...
   a. Which followed the imprisonment of John the Baptist - Mt 4:12
   b. Which began at Capernaum, on the edge of the Sea of Galilee - Mt 4:13
   c. Which fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah - Mt 4:14-16; Isa 9:1,2

2. His public ministry involved "preaching"...
   a. "From that time Jesus began to preach..." - Mt 4:17
   b. Compare also Mt 4:23, "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in
      their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom..."

3. The word "preach" (Gr., kerux) means "to herald, to proclaim"...
   a. But what was the message Jesus was proclaiming?
   b. Is it a message that should be proclaimed today?

[In this study our focus will be on Mt 4:17, as we seek to understand
the message proclaimed by Jesus during His public ministry.  From this verse we learn first that...]

I. JESUS PREACHED REPENTANCE

   A. HE CALLED UPON PEOPLE TO REPENT...
      1. Just as John the Baptist did - Mt 3:2
      2. As Jesus would say later:  "For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, 
          to repentance." - Mt 9:13

   B. WHAT DOES "REPENT" MEAN?
      1. Many people have misconceptions concerning repentance
         a. E.g., that repentance is "sorrow"
            1) But repentance is an outcome of sorrow - cf. 2Co 7:9-10
            2) Sorrow leads to repentance; sorrow itself is not repentance!
         b. E.g., that repentance is "a changed life"
            1) Thinking that repentance is a converted life
            2) But repentance and conversion are two separate things- cf. Ac 3:19
               a) Peter says "Repent therefore and be converted"
               b) If repentance means the same as conversion, then Peter was redundant
      2. W. E. Vine defines "repentance" as:
         a. A "change of mind"
         b. That which "involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God"
      3. Repentance is thus "a change of mind" in which we DECIDE to "turn from sin 
            and turn to God"
         a. Which is preceded by sorrow
         b. And followed by a changed life
      -- Jesus was therefore calling upon people to change their minds
         regarding sin, because of what He taught about the kingdom (more on that 
        shortly)

   C. DOES REPENTANCE NEED TO BE PROCLAIMED TODAY?
      1. Most certainly!
         a. Repentance is to be preached in Jesus' name to all nations- Lk 24:46-47
         b. God now calls men everywhere to repent - Ac 17:30
         c. Thus Paul preached to both Jews and Gentiles that they should repent - Ac 26:20
      2. Wherever there is sin, the message of repentance needs to be proclaimed!
         a. People need to be told to "change their minds" (repent)
         b. They need "turn to God, and do works befitting repentance"- cf. Ac 26:20; Mt 3:8
      -- Any gospel preaching that does not include a clarion call to repent is not the true gospel!

            [In calling people to repent, Jesus proclaimed why they needed to 
            change their minds and turn from sin to God: "for the kingdom of heaven is 
            at hand".  This leads to our next point...]

II. JESUS PREACHED THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

   A. THIS WAS A MAJOR THEME OF HIS PREACHING...
      1. Just as it was with John the Baptist - Mt 3:2
      2. It was the focus of His itinerant ministry - Mt 4:23
         a. The theme of His Sermon on the Mount - Mt 5:3,10,19-20; 6:33; 7:21
         b. The theme of many of His parables - e.g., Mt 13:24,31,33, 44,45,47
      3. It was the theme of the Limited Commission - Mt 10:7
      -- During this time, the kingdom of heaven was "at hand" (drawing near)

   B. WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
      1. It is the same thing as "the kingdom of God"
         a. Some try to make a distinction (e.g., Scofield Reference Bible)
         b. But a quick comparison of the gospels indicate the terms refer to the 
             same thing
            1) Cf. Mt 4:17 with Mk 1:14-15
            2) Cf. Mt 5:3 with Lk 6:20
            3) Cf. Mt 13:31 with Mk 4:30-31
         c. Matthew used the expression "kingdom of heaven" almost 
            exclusively, while the other gospel writers used the phrase"kingdom of God"
         d. It may be that since Matthew wrote his gospel to the Jews,
            he chose to use the phrase "kingdom of heaven"...
            1) Because of the Jews' reluctance to use the name of God (out of reverence)
            2) Because of the Jews' misconception of the coming kingdom
               a) Many anticipated a physical kingdom
               b) The expression "heaven" (literally, "heavens") would emphasize a spiritual kingdom
      2. The "kingdom of heaven" involves four inter-related concepts
         a. God's kingship, rule, or recognized sovereignty
            1) The term "kingdom" as used by the Jews often stressed
               the abstract idea of rule or dominion, not a geographical area surrounded by 
                physical boundaries
            2) It is used this way by Jesus in Mt 6:10 - "Your KINGDOM
               come; Your WILL  be done..." (note the connection between kingdom and will)
               -- Thus, the "kingdom of heaven" would involve the rule of heaven in the hearts of men
         b. This rule of heaven is spiritual in nature
            1) It is not a physical kingdom - cf. Jn 18:36
            2) But one that is spiritual - cf. Ro 14:17
         c. Its visible manifestation today is in the form of the Lord's church
            1) For the church is that community of souls in whose hearts God is recognized 
                as Sovereign
            2) That the church constitutes the kingdom of God on earth, consider:
               a) How the term "church" and "kingdom" were used interchangeably - Mt 16:18
               b) Comments made to those who were in the church - Col 1:13; 1Th 2:12
               c) The description of those in the churches of Asia- Re 1:4,6,9
         d. It has a future element as well as a present one
            1) Its future aspect is spoken of by Jesus, Paul, Peter 
               - Mt 25:34; 1Co 15:50; 2Ti 4:18; 2Pe 1:10-11
            2) Peter described the coming of its future state in 2 Pe 3:10-13
      3. Thus the "kingdom of heaven" today is both present and future
         a. In the present sense...
            1) It is found wherever the sovereignty of God is accepted in the hearts of men
            2) It is a spiritual kingdom, for God rules in the hearts of men
            3) Its outward manifestation today is the Lord's church
            4) This rule or kingdom of God was "inaugurated" on the Day of Pentecost (Ac 2)
         b. In the future sense...
            1) The rule or kingdom of God will be "culminated" with the coming of the Lord
            2) It will involve that "news heaven and a new earth in 
               which righteousness dwells", described by Peter and John- 2Pe 3; Re 21-22
            3) It will be experienced only by those in the church who
               are submitting to God's will today! - cf. Mt 7:21-23; 2Pe 3:13-14

   C. DOES THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN NEED TO BE PROCLAIMED TODAY?
      1. Most certainly!
         a. Philip "preached the things concerning the kingdom of God"- Ac 8:12
         b. The apostle Paul in his preaching and teaching:
            1) Spoke of the challenges in entering the kingdom in the future sense - Ac 14:22
            2) Reasoned and persuaded with people concerning the kingdom - Ac 19:8
            3) Had gone among the Ephesians, "preaching the kingdom of God" - Ac 20:25
            4) Solemnly testified of the kingdom of God to the Jews in Rome - Ac 28:23
         c. In his epistles, Paul wrote of:
            1) The nature of the kingdom - Ro 14:17
            2) Those who will not inherit the kingdom - 1Co 6:9-10; Ga 5:21; Ep 5:5
            3) Jesus giving the kingdom to God when He returns - 1Co 15:24-26
            4) How flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom - 1Co 15:50
            5) How we are now in the kingdom - Col 1:13
            6) His companions as fellow workers for the kingdom - Col 4:11
            7) How we might be counted worthy of the kingdom - 2Th 1:5
            8) God calling us into His kingdom and glory - 2Th 2:12
            9) Jesus judging us at His appearing and His kingdom - 2 Ti 4:1
           10) The Lord preserving him for His heavenly kingdom - 2 Ti 4:18
         d. The Hebrew writer referred to our receiving a kingdom which can't be shaken - He 12:28
         e. James described the faithful poor as "heirs of the kingdom"- Jm 2:5
         f. Peter wrote of how we might have an abundant entrance into
            the everlasting kingdom of our Lord - 2Pe 1:10-11
         g. John described himself as a brother and companion in the
            kingdom of Jesus Christ - Re 1:9
      2. There is a slight difference in our message, however...
         a. John the Baptist, Jesus, His disciples in the Limited 
            Commission...all proclaimed the kingdom "at hand" (drawing near)
            1) For the rule of God as foretold by the prophets was about to be manifested - cf. Mk 1:14-15
            2) During Jesus' earthly ministry that kingdom (reign) was yet future
            -- That was the "good news" (gospel) of the kingdom then: it was near!
         b. However, after the ascension of Christ, the preaching of
            the kingdom proclaimed it both present and future
            1) The rule of God is now being fully manifested in the
               person of Jesus Christ - cf. Mt 28:18; Ep 1:20-22; 1 Pe 3:22
            2) Those who "gladly receive" the message can be added by
               the Lord Himself to His church or kingdom (i.e., the 
               community of believers who submit to His authority) 
               - cf. Ac 2:36-41,47; Col 1:13; Re 1:9
            3) Those who persevere to the end can inherit the heavenly
               and everlasting kingdom of our Lord - Ac 14:22; 2Pe 1:10-11
            -- This is the "good news" (gospel) of the kingdom now:  it is both now and coming!

CONCLUSION

1. In "The Preaching Ministry Of Jesus", two themes permeated His message...
   a. The need to repent
   b. For the kingdom of heaven was at hand

2. As we fulfill the Great Commission today (Mt 28:18-20), our themes should be similar...
   a. The kingdom of heaven has come and is coming (implied in "All
      authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.")
   b. The need to repent (implied in "Make disciples of all the nations")

If you desire to experience the bliss of the everlasting kingdom of our
Lord and Savior, you must do the Father's Will (cf. Mt 7:21-23) and be
in the kingdom of His dear Son today (cf. Col 1:13).

Have you submitted to the gospel of the kingdom as proclaimed by our Lord's apostles? 

April 22, 2020

Bible Reading for April 22 and 23 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading for April 22 and 23 

World  English  Bible

Apr. 22
Numbers 35, 36

Num 35:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Num 35:2 Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and You shall give suburbs for the cities around them to the Levites.
Num 35:3 The cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their substance, and for all their animals.
Num 35:4 The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits around it.
Num 35:5 You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
Num 35:6 The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to: and besides them you shall give forty-two cities.
Num 35:7 All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their suburbs.
Num 35:8 Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many; and from the few you shall take few: everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give of his cities to the Levites.
Num 35:9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 35:10 Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
Num 35:11 then you shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
Num 35:12 The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
Num 35:13 The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.
Num 35:14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge.
Num 35:15 For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
Num 35:16 But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
Num 35:17 If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
Num 35:18 Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
Num 35:19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death: when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
Num 35:20 If he thrust him of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,
Num 35:21 or in enmity struck him with his hand, so that he died; he who struck him shall surely be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him.
Num 35:22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait,
Num 35:23 or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm;
Num 35:24 then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances;
Num 35:25 and the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he was fled: and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
Num 35:26 But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, where he flees,
Num 35:27 and the avenger of blood find him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer; he shall not be guilty of blood,
Num 35:28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return into the land of his possession.
Num 35:29 These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Num 35:30 Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.
Num 35:31 Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.
Num 35:32 You shall take no ransom for him who is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
Num 35:33 So you shall not pollute the land in which you are: for blood, it pollutes the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him who shed it.
Num 35:34 You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Yahweh, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.

Num 36:1 The heads of the fathers' houses of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel:
Num 36:2 and they said, Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
Num 36:3 If they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
Num 36:4 When the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
Num 36:5 Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Yahweh, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks right.
Num 36:6 This is the thing which Yahweh does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.
Num 36:7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
Num 36:8 Every daughter, who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.
Num 36:9 So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to his own inheritance.
Num 36:10 Even as Yahweh commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:
Num 36:11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father's brothers' sons.
Num 36:12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
Num 36:13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Yahweh commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Apr. 23
Deuteronomy 1, 2

Deu 1:1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
Deu 1:2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.
Deu 1:3 It happened in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to them;
Deu 1:4 after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
Deu 1:5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,
Deu 1:6 Yahweh our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, You have lived long enough in this mountain:
Deu 1:7 turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all the places near there, in the Arabah, in the hill country, and in the lowland, and in the South, and by the seashore, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
Deu 1:8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them.
Deu 1:9 I spoke to you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:
Deu 1:10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of the sky for multitude.
Deu 1:11 Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you!
Deu 1:12 How can I myself alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Deu 1:13 Take wise men of understanding and well known according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.
Deu 1:14 You answered me, and said, The thing which you have spoken is good for us to do.
Deu 1:15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.
Deu 1:16 I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him.
Deu 1:17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike; you shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.
Deu 1:18 I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.
Deu 1:19 We traveled from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea.
Deu 1:20 I said to you, You are come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us.
Deu 1:21 Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you: go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you; don't be afraid, neither be dismayed.
Deu 1:22 You came near to me everyone of you, and said, Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come.
Deu 1:23 The thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe:
Deu 1:24 and they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
Deu 1:25 They took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us.
Deu 1:26 Yet you wouldn't go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God:
Deu 1:27 and you murmured in your tents, and said, Because Yahweh hated us, he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
Deu 1:28 Where are we going up? our brothers have made our heart to melt, saying, The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to the sky; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.
Deu 1:29 Then I said to you, Don't dread, neither be afraid of them.
Deu 1:30 Yahweh your God who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
Deu 1:31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God bore you, as a man does bear his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.
Deu 1:32 Yet in this thing you didn't believe Yahweh your God,
Deu 1:33 who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.
Deu 1:34 Yahweh heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying,
Deu 1:35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see the good land, which I swore to give to your fathers,
Deu 1:36 save Caleb the son of Jephunneh: he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he has trodden on, and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh.
Deu 1:37 Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, saying, You also shall not go in there:
Deu 1:38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there: encourage you him; for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
Deu 1:39 Moreover your little ones, whom you said should be a prey, and your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
Deu 1:40 But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
Deu 1:41 Then you answered and said to me, We have sinned against Yahweh, we will go up and fight, according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us. You girded on every man his weapons of war, and were forward to go up into the hill country.
Deu 1:42 Yahweh said to me, Tell them, Don't go up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest you be struck before your enemies.
Deu 1:43 So I spoke to you, and you didn't listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill country.
Deu 1:44 The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah.
Deu 1:45 You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh didn't listen to your voice, nor gave ear to you.
Deu 1:46 So you abode in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you abode there.

Deu 2:1 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me; and we encircled Mount Seir many days.
Deu 2:2 Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
Deu 2:3 You have encircled this mountain long enough. Turn northward.
Deu 2:4 Command the people, saying, You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves therefore;
Deu 2:5 don't contend with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on; because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession.
Deu 2:6 You shall purchase food of them for money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water of them for money, that you may drink.
Deu 2:7 For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; he has known your walking through this great wilderness: these forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.
Deu 2:8 So we passed by from our brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
Deu 2:9 Yahweh said to me, Don't bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you of his land for a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.
Deu 2:10 (The Emim lived therein before, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim:
Deu 2:11 these also are accounted Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim.
Deu 2:12 The Horites also lived in Seir before, but the children of Esau succeeded them; and they destroyed them from before them, and lived in their place; as Israel did to the land of his possession, which Yahweh gave to them.)
Deu 2:13 Now rise up, and cross over the brook Zered. We went over the brook Zered.
Deu 2:14 The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, were thirty-eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the midst of the camp, as Yahweh swore to them.
Deu 2:15 Moreover the hand of Yahweh was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed.
Deu 2:16 So it happened, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
Deu 2:17 that Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
Deu 2:18 You are this day to pass over Ar, the border of Moab:
Deu 2:19 and when you come near over against the children of Ammon, don't bother them, nor contend with them; for I will not give you of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession; because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.
Deu 2:20 (That also is accounted a land of Rephaim: Rephaim lived therein before; but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
Deu 2:21 a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place;
Deu 2:22 as he did for the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place even to this day:
Deu 2:23 and the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and lived in their place.)
Deu 2:24 Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon: behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
Deu 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of you.
Deu 2:26 I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
Deu 2:27 Let me pass through your land: I will go along by the highway, I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left.
Deu 2:28 You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only let me pass through on my feet,
Deu 2:29 as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me; until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land which Yahweh our God gives us.
Deu 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as at this day.
Deu 2:31 Yahweh said to me, Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you: begin to possess, that you may inherit his land.
Deu 2:32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz.
Deu 2:33 Yahweh our God delivered him up before us; and we struck him, and his sons, and all his people.
Deu 2:34 We took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones; we left none remaining:
Deu 2:35 only the livestock we took for a prey to ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we had taken.
Deu 2:36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us; Yahweh our God delivered up all before us:
Deu 2:37 only to the land of the children of Ammon you didn't come near; all the side of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill country, and wherever Yahweh our God forbade us. 
 
Apr. 22, 23
Luke 13

Luk 13:1 Now there were some present at the same time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2 Jesus answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the men who dwell in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way."
Luk 13:6 He spoke this parable. "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.
Luk 13:7 He said to the vine dresser, 'Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?'
Luk 13:8 He answered, 'Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it, and fertilize it.
Luk 13:9 If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.' "
Luk 13:10 He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day.
Luk 13:11 Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up.
Luk 13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity."
Luk 13:13 He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight, and glorified God.
Luk 13:14 The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, "There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!"
Luk 13:15 Therefore the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water?
Luk 13:16 Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?"
Luk 13:17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
Luk 13:18 He said, "What is the Kingdom of God like? To what shall I compare it?
Luk 13:19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and put in his own garden. It grew, and became a large tree, and the birds of the sky lodged in its branches."
Luk 13:20 Again he said, "To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
Luk 13:21 It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened."
Luk 13:22 He went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem.
Luk 13:23 One said to him, "Lord, are they few who are saved?" He said to them,
Luk 13:24 "Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.
Luk 13:25 When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' then he will answer and tell you, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'
Luk 13:26 Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'
Luk 13:27 He will say, 'I tell you, I don't know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.'
Luk 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being thrown outside.
Luk 13:29 They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in the Kingdom of God.
Luk 13:30 Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last."
Luk 13:31 On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, "Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you."
Luk 13:32 He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission.
Luk 13:33 Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can't be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.'
Luk 13:34 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused!
Luk 13:35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' "