THE QUESTION OF INFANT BAPTISM BY STEVE FINNELL

 http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-question-of-infant-baptism-by-steve.html

 THE QUESTION OF INFANT BAPTISM BY STEVE FINNELL

Does infant baptism find support in the Scriptures? No, baptizing babies is a man-made doctrine.

Mark 16:16 He who has believed and and been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

Belief precedes baptism in water. Infants cannot believe nor can they disbelieve. Baptism is for those who have already believed.

John 6:24 'Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

Jesus said unless you believe you will die in your sins. Infants cannot believe. Will they die in their sins? Of course not, babies are not guilty of any sins.  In any event, water baptism does not wash away sins of non-believers. If it did, why did Jesus not instruct us to baptized believers and non-believers alike? THERE IS NOT ONE CASE IN SCRIPTURE, WERE A NON-BELIEVER WAS IMMERSED IN WATER.

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;.....

How would it be possible to teach infants all that Jesus commanded?

Acts 2:22-41.........41 So then, those who received his word were baptized.... 

On the Day of Pentecost the apostle Peter preached Jesus. The three thousand repented  and were baptized in water. They were not baptized before they received the word of Peter. Infants cannot believe nor do they have anything of which to repent. There is no Biblical doctrine that teaches that adults or infants should be baptized before they believe.

Faith (John 3:16) precedes water baptism. Babies have no faith.

Repentance (Acts 2:38) precede water baptism. Infant have not sinned; therefore, they do not need to repent. Babies cannot turn from sin and turn toward God. They are not sinners.

Confession  (Acts 8:35-37) precedes water baptism.

INFANTS ARE NOT GUILTY OF SIN

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is carried way and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Do infants lust for fornication, are they thieves, do they get drunk, do they lie, are they swindlers? Babies are not guilty of sin.

Ezekiel 18:20 The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment of the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

Infants are not guilty of their fathers sins nor are they guilty of the, first man, Adam's sin.

Cain was not guilty of Adam's sin; he was guilty of  his own sin because he murdered his brother Abel.(Genesis 4:1-8)

All men die physically because Adam sinned. Men die spiritually because of the unforgiven sins they, themselves, commit.

INFANT BAPTISM?

1. Infants are not candidates for baptism because they are not guilty of sin.(Ezekiel 18:20)
2. Infants cannot be baptized because they are not capable of believing the gospel.(Mark 16:16, John 3:16)
3. Infants are not subjects for baptism because they cannot confess Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 8:35-37)
4. Infants are not candidates for baptism because they cannot repent nor do they have anything of which to repent. (Luke 24:47, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

INFANT BAPTISM IS THE PRODUCT OF MAN-MADE CREED BOOKS. 

Can’t We All Just Get Along? by Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

 https://thepreachersword.com/2018/06/26/cant-we-all-just-get-along/#more-12549

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Since crossing the border into Canada 10 days ago, I haven’t been watching much news. But I noticed an article on my Yahoo news feed this morning bemoaning (again) a lack of civility that continues to plague our country.

I gather there is a war of words regarding Sarah Sanders being asked to leave a  restaurant called the Red Hen. A provocative speech by Rep. Maxine Waters. Some cryptic comments by Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi being heckled as she bought tickets to see a showing of Mister Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor. And the President tweeting about something needing a paint job and someone with a low I.Q. That’s about it. Eh?

So, as a result, everyone is weighing in on social media and all kinds of vitriolic language is being hurled by one side against another. It seems that everyone feels obligated to make a statement or extend a gesture regarding their political and social views on almost every topic. ThePreachersWord has largely refrained from engaging in such debate except to weigh in on some spiritual and moral issues. Neither have we personally tweeted or posted on facebook our opinions.

Of course, we have opinions. As the old adage goes, “Opinions are like noses. Everybody has one.” Of course, someone may retort, “In your case have you considered plastic surgery?”

However, there is sometimes a virtue in silence. Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself.” Then he added, “Avoid trifling Conversation.” May we add to that to avoid bombastic outbursts. Avoid vulgar insults. Avoid crude and crass speech.

It’s bad enough when have to hear it from our politicians, political pundits, star athletes and talk show hosts, but unfortunately, sometimes it is observed among Christians. Especially on social media.

Coarse language, insulting retorts, abrasive attitudes have no place among the people of God. As we model the character of Christ, we ought to exemplify civility, common courtesy, and good manners.

The Bible is plain regarding the impropriety of rude and crude talk among God’s people.

“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out-of-place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Eph. 5:4)

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice (Eph 4:31).

In contrast, 1 Corinthians reminds us that “love is kind.” And “love has good manners.” It is not rude or crude. Love issues itself in speech that is ennobling, uplifting and edifying.

The wise man reminds us of the value of a good word spoken to others, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (Prov 16:24)

He further advises, “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble” (Prov.. 21:23).

He opines that “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” (Prov 17:28).

Indeed “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov 15:1).

In a time of fierce partisan divide, let us as God’s set apart people rise above the fray. In our tweets. Our facebook posts. And our individual conversations.

May we constantly engage in gracious speech, “seasoned with salt” to kindly, considerately and with civility respond to others. Even with those whom we may seriously disagree.

The prayer of the Psalmist might benefit us all. “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Ps.141:3).

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

"THE GOSPEL OF JOHN" The Truth Shall Make You Free (8:31-36) by Mark Copeland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"THE GOSPEL OF JOHN"

The Truth Shall Make You Free (8:31-36)

INTRODUCTION

1. One of the better known statements of Jesus is this: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (Jn 8:32)
2. Today this popular statement is often used in a political context...
1. Referring to freedom from political oppression
2. Extolling the value of the free press, and freedom of expression
3. While such are notable virtues, Jesus had something else in mind...
1. Freedom from something more serious than political oppression
2. Truth that comes from only one source

[Let's examine the context in which Jesus' statement is found (i.e., Jn 8:31-36). From a careful reading of it we first note...]

1. THE FREEDOM OF WHICH JESUS SPEAKS
1. FREEDOM FROM SIN...
1. The Jews misconstrued Jesus - Jn 8:33
1. They claimed to have never been in bondage (i.e., political oppression)
2. An odd claim in view of the present Roman occupation, and past Egyptian, Assyrian and Babylonian captivities!
2. Jesus explains the context of His statement - Jn 8:34-36
1. He is talking about the slavery of sin
2. He offers freedom from the bondage of sin
2. THE BONDAGE OF SIN...
1. There is the guilt of sin
1. A guilt shared by everyone - Ro 3:23; 1Jn 1:8
2. Even if one has committed only one sin (if such were possible!) - Jm 2:10-11
2. There is the power of sin
1. Jesus describes how committing sin makes one a slave to sin - Jn 8:34
2. Paul illustrated the dilemma of one in bondage to the power of sin - Ro 7:14-24

[More oppressive than any kind physical slavery is the spiritual slavery that comes from being a sinner! While man may legislate political freedom, only Jesus provides freedom from the bondage of sin. How He does this can be seen as we now examine...]

2. THE TRUTH OF WHICH JESUS SPEAKS
1. HIS DOCTRINE...
1. The truth of which Jesus speaks is His own word or doctrine - Jn 8:31-32
2. Which offers freedom from the bondage of sin
1. From the guilt of sin through the blood of Christ - cf. Mt 26:28; Ep 1:7
2. From the power of sin through the Spirit of God - cf. Ro 8:1-2,12-13
2. WHICH WE MUST OBEY...
1. To be His disciples indeed - Jn 8:31; cf. Lk 6:46
2. To be set free from sin - Ro 6:17-18; cf. He 5:9
3. BEGINNING WITH BAPTISM INTO CHRIST...
1. In which we are crucified with Christ - Ro 6:3-4a,6a
2. In which we die to sin, thus freed from sin - Ro 6:6b,7,11a
1. Its guilt removed by the blood of Jesus - Ac 2:38; 22:16
2. Its power weakened by the gift of the Holy Spirit - Ac 2:38; Ep 3:16
3. In which we rise to newness of life, free now to serve God - Ro 6:4c,11b-14,17-18
1. With the aid of the continual cleansing of Jesus' blood - 1Jn 1:9
2. With the aid of the Spirit in putting to death the deeds of the body - Ro 8:12-13
4. CONTINUING WITH ABIDING IN HIS WORD...
1. As stated by Jesus - Jn 8:31
2. As reiterated by John - 2Jn 9

CONCLUSION

1. Perhaps we can now better appreciate the significance of the Great Commission...
1. To make disciples by baptizing them - Mt 28:19
2. To make disciples by teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded them - Mt 28:20
2. For in carrying out the Great Commission into all the world...
1. We offer the truth that really makes one free!
2. Freedom from sin, the burden which truly oppresses mankind!

Are you under the heavy burden of sin, both it's guilt and it's power? Then respond to the Savior's tender invitation:

"Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mt 11:28-30)

Accept His call to discipleship ("take My yoke...learn from Me"), remembering His promise in our text:

"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (Jn 8:36)

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2021

 

The Universe and Its Laws by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

 

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=2206

The Universe and Its Laws

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

In a recent issue of New Scientist titled “How the Universe Got Its Laws and Our Surprising Role in Shaping Them,” Paul Davies of Arizona State University made some observations that creationists find noteworthy, given his prominence as an evolutionist. He described the alleged 13.7 billion-year-old Universe (2007, 194[2610]:30), which supposedly is the result of mindless, naturalistic, random processes, as “uniquely hospitable” (p. 30), “remarkable” (p. 34), and “ordered in an intelligible way” (p. 30). He admitted to the many examples of “uncanny bio-friendly ‘coincidences’” and “fine-tuned properties” of the Universe (p. 30). He then wrote: “Like Baby Bear’s porridge in the story of Goldilocks, our universe seems ‘just right’ for life. It looks, to use astronomer Fred Hoyle’s dramatic description, as if ‘a super-intellect has been monkeying with physics’” (p. 30).

Still, although Davies admitted that it appears a being of “super-intellect” lies behind the law-driven Universe, he pressed on to find a natural phenomenon to explain “why the universe is as it is” (p. 31). To Paul Davies and other evolutionary scientists, any explanation outside of nature itself is a cop-out. The laws of physics that govern the Universe, and that “are strangely independent of the universe,” must have a naturalistic explanation. So how did the Universe get its laws?

Davies conveniently suggested that we must abandon the orthodox view that the laws of physics are immutable and universal. “Laws” of physics must be considered “flexi-laws.” If you concede this possibility, then the “laws of physics are inherent in the physical universe, and emerge with it” (p. 33, emp. added). The laws “start out unfocused, but rapidly sharpen and zero in on the form we observe today as the universe grows” (p. 33). “[W]ith flexi-laws,” Davies suggested, “the way lies open for a self-consistent explanation” (p. 34).

The fuzzy primordial laws focus in on precisely the form needed to give rise to the living organisms that eventually observe them. Cosmic bio-friendliness is therefore the result of a sort of quantum post-selection effect extended to the very laws of physics themselves (p. 34).

In other words, the laws of physics just evolved to their current status like everything else in the Universe.

While several evolutionary scientists around the world continue to spend countless hours and untold amounts of money “attempting to place the concept of flexi-laws and quantum post-selection on sound mathematical footing” (p. 34), the fact remains that laws of science are called “laws” for a reason: there is no known exception to them. In truth, Davies’ thoughts are no more rational than those of biologists who testify to the law of biogenesis, but then conclude that millions of years ago life must have spontaneously generated.

Davies and others apparently cannot tolerate the thought of the absence of a naturalistic explanation for the origin of our law-driven Universe. When all naturalistic explanations fail to clarify what exists, instead of rationally concluding what such results imply (i.e., that their must be a Supernatural explanation separate and apart from the physical Universe), men like Davies simply come up with another new complicated theory that defies both natural law and common sense.

Naturalistic explanations for the Universe and its laws leave an explanatory void that only a Supernatural Being (i.e., God) can fill. Indeed, laws demand a lawgiver. “The things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, emp. added).

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20, emp. added).

REFERENCES

Davies, Paul (2007), “Laying Down the Laws,” New Scientist, 194[2610]:30-34, June.

The Universe Just Got Much Bigger—On Paper by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1016

The Universe Just Got Much Bigger—On Paper

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Every now and then I come across an article on modern “scientific” findings that absolutely stuns me, not necessarily because of the newest “findings,” but because of how casually information that was declared to be so scientifically accurate can be disregarded with a few computer keystrokes. Last week research was discussed that will forever change the way we look at the Universe (if you read the right article), and the irony is that you probably are not even aware of it.

For many years, cosmologists (scientists who study the Universe and its supposed origins) have explained to us that our Universe appears to be approximately 28 billion light years across. A light year is the distance light travels in one year. Since light travels at about 186,000 miles per second, the distance it covers in one year is about 5.9 trillion miles. That means if light were to start at one end of our Universe, travelling 186,000 miles per second, it would take 28 billion years to get to the other side. At least that is what we have been told for about a decade.

New studies, however, indicate that cosmologists have been wrong, on a grand scale, about the size of our Universe. Last week, Ed Oswald wrote an article for Yahoo! Tech titled, “How Big is the Universe? Attempting to Answer One of Astronomy’s Most Complex Questions.” In the article, he explained the complicated processes of how cosmologists attempt to measure the size of the Universe. Using the latest information, he wrote, “Physicists…now believe the radius of the observable universe is now roughly 46.5 billion light years away.”¹ That is much bigger than we were told it appeared in years past. But Oswald does not stop there. He goes on to make clear that the galaxies that we see at the edge of our Universe are too “well-formed” to have appeared immediately following the Big Bang. (He incorrectly assumes the reality of the Big Bang.)² That being the case, he mentions researchers at Oxford who believe that our Universe could be “as big as 250 times the size of our observable universe. Try to wrap your mind around that.”³

So what does all this mean? First, it shows us the serious limitations of science. We are often told to bow to the modern dating methods of the Universe, conform to the “real science” that proves the Bible false, and admit the validity of “current scientific findings.” Yet, we learn every day how limited and incorrect these often are. We are told that such is the nature of science; that it is a “self-correcting” endeavor, so that the most current material must be accurate. That simply is not the case. Many times, what passes for science in cosmology is not self-correcting, it is self-refuting. What we learn from situations in which the size of the Universe can greatly expand on paper is that those researchers who purported to present scientific facts about the Universe’s age, size, or composition were giving us nothing of the sort. They were wrong, the whole time. What happens, then, to the person who demanded that we shove the “modern scientific findings” into the biblical account and make it fit? He is left holding a battered Bible in one hand, and useless, “outdated” (read that as false) cosmology in the other.

Furthermore, the better we understand the Universe, the more we realize that atheistic, Big Bang explanations are not scientifically adequate to explain its origin. Before this latest “discovery,” the atheistic understanding of the origin of the Universe already had a real problem explaining how a tiny “singularity” could explode and bring into existence a 28-billion-light-year Universe. Now the problem has been further compounded, since the Universe appears to be much larger, maybe even 250 times bigger for all we know. Atheism’s conundrum is that to get a 93-billion-light-year Universe from a tiny singularity violates the Law of Cause and Effect that says for every material effect there must be a cause that was greater than it. What in the world is big enough to give us a 93-billion-light-year Universe? A tiny singularity smaller than the period at the end of this sentence is not a legitimate, scientific answer.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.” The only plausible explanation for a Universe that is 93 billion light years across is an eternal, all-powerful Creator.

Endnotes

¹ Ed Oswald (2016), “How Big is the Universe? Attempting to Answer One of Astronomy’s Most Complex Questions,” Yahoo! Tech, https://www.yahoo.com/tech/big-universe-attempting-answer-one-230016820.html.

² Branyon May, et al. (2003), “The Big Bang—A Scientific Critique,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1453&topic=57.

³ Ibid.

The Universe—A “Waste of Space”? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1207

The Universe—A “Waste of Space”?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

“The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be” (Sagan, 1980, p. 4). So begins Carl Sagan’s immensely popular book and PBS television series, Cosmos. A more atheistic, humanistic, materialistic declaration could not be spoken. Sagan (1934-1996), who was an astronomer at Cornell University who lived his entire life resistant to the possibility of God and an afterlife, maintained his unbelief—in the words of his third wife—“unflinching” to the end (Sagan, 1997, p. 225). She, herself, finds comfort after his passing “without resorting to the supernatural” (p. 228).

When people reject or avoid the implications of the created order—i.e., that it is logically the result of a Supreme Creator—they have inevitably “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). Skeptical of the survival of the Earth at the mercy of Homo sapiens, Sagan turned his attention to an almost obsessive dedication to finding answers and solutions from life forms beyond Earth. In his own words: “In a very real sense this search for extraterrestrial intelligence is a search for a cosmic context for mankind, a search for who we are, where we have come from, and what possibilities there are for our future—in a universe vaster both in extent and duration than our forefathers ever dreamed of ” (Sagan, 1973, pp. ix-x).

Less than a year after his death, Hollywood released a movie (on July 11, 1997) based on Sagan’s novel, Contact (1985). The film’s central character, Dr. Eleanor Arroway (played by Jodie Foster), is surely the embodiment of the formative experiences, philosophical perspectives, and spiritual beliefs of Sagan himself. On three separate occasions in the film, a pseudo-intellectual remark, obviously designed to defend the naturalistic explanation of the existence of the Universe while ridiculing the Christian viewpoint, is offered up to viewers. As a child, “Ellie” asks her father if life exists out in the Universe, to which he responds: “Well, if there wasn’t, it’d be an awful waste of space.” As an adult, she converses with Palmer Joss (played by Matthew McConaughey), and, staring up at the starry Puerto Rican sky, expresses her confidence in the evolution of other life forms elsewhere in the Universe: “If just one in a million of those stars has planets, and if only one in a million of those has life, and if just one in a million of those has intelligent life, then there are millions of civilizations out there” (as cited in Bohlin, 1998). [Of course, the scientific evidence does not support this conclusion—see Bohlin, 2002]. Ellie is pleasantly stunned when Joss repeats the same line that her father uttered to her when she was a child. Near the close of the film, Ellie speaks the line again to a group of school children when asked if life exists in space.

This triple declaration was obviously intended to offer a “logical” proof that, rather than looking to some supernatural Being Who is transcendent of the Universe, humans had best recognize that the only life beyond planet Earth are those life forms that have evolved (like our own) on other planets in far off galaxies. The materialist is forced to follow Sagan’s presupposition: life must exist elsewhere in the Universe since there is no God. If there is a God Who created life only on Earth, then He was guilty of poor teleological design—creating a vast physical realm that serves absolutely no purpose—and thus producing a nearly infinite realm of “wasted space.”

But wait! The Bible long ago anticipated the skepticism of the materialist astronomer. At the creation of the Universe, God said: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth” (Genesis 1:14-15). The luminaries that God made included the stars: “God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night” (vss. 17-18). One very specific function of the stars that occupy space far beyond our solar system is illumination (cf. Psalm 136:9). They are “light-bearers” (Keil and Delitzsch, 1976, 1:56; Leupold, 1950, p. 71).

Another very specific purpose of the vastness of space is seen in the multiple declarations regarding the infinitude of God and the evidence that points to His existence, His glory, His eternality, and His power. Paul affirmed very confidently that “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). It is absolutely incredible—and, according to Paul, inexcusable—for a rational human being to contemplate the magnitude of the Universe and the vastness of space, and then to reject the only logical, plausible explanation for it all: God. Indeed, atheism, evolution, and humanism are simply more sophisticated forms of the polytheism that has plagued humanity for millennia. Moses warned the Israelites of this very thing: “[T]ake heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage” (Deuteronomy 4:19). Evolutionary astronomy assigns an inflated value to the vastness of space by postulating that it can provide mankind with an alternative explanation for the existence of life—an explanation that absents God. Any such postulation ultimately amounts to idolatry.

David, too, paid homage to the glory of the Creator, as evidenced by the eloquent symphony of the majestic Universe that is played perpetually—twenty-four hours a day:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat (Psalm 19:1-6; cf. 74:16-17; 136:7-8).

Separate and apart from the latest evidence that confirms the movement of the Sun through space (see Thompson, 2001, p. 46), these verses reaffirm the fact that the created Universe loudly announces the existence of the Universe-Maker. David also declared: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, You have set Your glory above the heavens! …When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:1,3). God “stretched out the heavens like a curtain” (Psalm 104:2). No wonder even a philosopher on the order of Immanuel Kant observed: “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me” (as quoted in Geisler, 1983, p. 59).

A third biblical explanation for the creation of the vast Universe was hinted at by God Himself in the attitude-adjusting lecture He delivered to Job: “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you fix their rule over the earth?” (Job 38:31-33). Notice the action terms that are used to refer to the movement of the constellations: bind, loose, lead forth, and guide. Observe also the “laws of the heavens” and their relationship to “ruling over the earth” (see Gaebelein, 1988, 4:1037,1042). These verses imply that the heavenly bodies have been deliberately orchestrated, modulated, and regulated by the Creator to serve a purpose or purposes far beyond our present understanding. The text seems to hint that Earth’s status, with its living beings, is somehow affected by the phenomena of the cosmic bodies. Even as the comprehension of scientists has been lacking through the centuries on many features of the physical realm, only eventually to discover the meaning that lay behind observable phenomenon, even so our present comprehension of space is woefully inadequate to justify passing judgment on the intentionality and teleology that lie behind many astronomical phenomena.

Evolutionists have far better arguments with which to attempt to prop up their atheistic stance (the “problem of evil” being the strongest, though refutable—see Warren, 1972). The “wasted space” argument is anemic, pitiful, and hardly worthy of rebuttal. However, since they brought it to our attention, the Christian is once again reminded of the unfathomable attributes of the great God Who stands above and beyond this vast physical realm. The immensity and vastness of the Universe only spurs the rational mind to marvel at the One whose own metaphysical transcendence surpasses the visible. In the words of the psalmist: “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness (145:5-6). “He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:4-5). Isaiah agreed: “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power” (40:26).

REFERENCES

Bohlin, Ray (1998), “Contact: A Eulogy to Carl Sagan,” [On-line], URL: http://www.probe.org/docs/contact.html.

Bohlin, Ray (2002), “Are We Alone in the Universe?”, [On-line], URL: http://www.probe.org/docs/lifemars.html.

Gaebelein, Frank E., ed. (1988), The Expositor’s Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).

Geisler, Norman L. (1983), Cosmos: Carl Sagan’s Religion for the Scientific Mind (Dallas, TX: Quest).

Keil, C.F. and F. Delitzsch (1976 reprint), Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Leupold, Herbert C. (1950 reprint), Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

Sagan, Carl (1997), Billions and Billions (New York: Random House).

Sagan, Carl (1985), Contact (New York: Simon and Schuster).

Sagan, Carl (1980), Cosmos (New York: Random House).

Sagan, Carl, ed. (1973), “Introduction,” Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence [CETI] (MIT Press).

Thompson, Bert (2001), In Defense of the Bible’s Inspiration (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), second edition.

Warren, Thomas B. (1972), Have Atheists Proved There Is No God (Jonesboro, AR: National Christian Press).

Fire by Gary Rose

Unusual picture. Its title is appropriately called “Fire”. To me, it brings back memories from 1971 and how much my wife and I enjoyed the fireplace in our first home. I recall quite a number of times that we would get up, turn off the TV and the lights, just watch the fire. Note: This was so long ago that we didn’t even have a remote control. Anyway, watching that fire was a very simple thing, but an activity that gave us a great amount of joy.

As I thought a bit about this picture, I realized that is more like a bush of some sort rather than something that you would normally see in a home fireplace. With this realization, I naturally thought of a famous passage from Exodus, chapter three…

Exodus 3 ( World English Bible )

¹ Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.

² The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

³ Moses said, “I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”

⁴ When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.”

⁵ He said, “Don’t come close. Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”

⁶ Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.

This is a very important passage, as we have “The angel of Yahweh” conversing with Moses and then identifying himself as “..the God of your father…”. Therefore, The angel of Yahweh and God are one in the same. Its important to remember that the term angel really means messenger, which will become even more interesting later on in this blog post. Now, couple this divine encounter with a passage from the gospel of John and things get even more interesting…

John 8 ( WEB )

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.

⁵⁵ You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and keep his word.

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”

⁵⁷ The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

⁵⁹ Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through their midst, and so passed by.

In this excerpt, Jesus identifies himself as “I am” and therefore claims the status of deity. Its no wonder that the Jews wanted to kill him, for Jesus plainly referred to himself as God.

The last in this string of passages comes from the book of Revelation, the 19^th chapter…

Revelation 19 ( WEB )

¹¹ I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.

¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has names written and a name written which no one knows but he himself.

¹³ He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called “The Word of God.”

Jesus, on a white horse; called Faithful and True, having eyes as a flame of fire and being identified as “The Word of God”. Somehow, linking all these thoughts and passages together gives a whole new meaning to the concept of fire.

After all this, it is quite plain to me that Jesus as God and being the entity for the revelation of his will is the angel of Yahweh. By referring to God as his father, Jesus is making himself co-equal with God and reveals something of his own preincarnate activities ( see also John chapter 1 ). That his eyes shown with fire is something that I will have to consider, but for now, I wonder if the burning bush was a reflection of the magnificence of Jesus as revealed through those wonderful orbs.

I know, this is a lot to think about, but then again… Isn’t that what you do when you gaze into fire- THINK!

Bible Reading for August 6 - 8 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading for August 6 - 8

World  English  Bible

 

Aug. 6

Ezra 7-8

Ezr 7:1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

Ezr 7:2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

Ezr 7:3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

Ezr 7:4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

Ezr 7:5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest;

Ezr 7:6 this Ezra went up from Babylon: and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Yahweh his God on him.

Ezr 7:7 There went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

Ezr 7:8 He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

Ezr 7:9 For on the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God on him.

Ezr 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

Ezr 7:11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Yahweh, and of his statutes to Israel:

Ezr 7:12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.

Ezr 7:13 I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with you.

Ezr 7:14 Because you are sent of the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand,

Ezr 7:15 and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,

Ezr 7:16 and all the silver and gold that you shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;

Ezr 7:17 therefore you shall with all diligence buy with this money bulls, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, and shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

Ezr 7:18 Whatever shall seem good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do that after the will of your God.

Ezr 7:19 The vessels that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver before the God of Jerusalem.

Ezr 7:20 Whatever more shall be needful for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house.

Ezr 7:21 I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence,

Ezr 7:22 to one hundred talents of silver, and to one hundred measures of wheat, and to one hundred baths of wine, and to one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.

Ezr 7:23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

Ezr 7:24 Also we inform you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, on them.

Ezr 7:25 You, Ezra, after the wisdom of your God who is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach him who doesn't know them.

Ezr 7:26 Whoever will not do the law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him with all diligence, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

Ezr 7:27 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem;

Ezr 7:28 and has extended loving kindness to me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes. I was strengthened according to the hand of Yahweh my God on me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

Ezr 8:1 Now these are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

Ezr 8:2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.

Ezr 8:3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males one hundred fifty.

Ezr 8:4 Of the sons of Pahathmoab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males.

Ezr 8:5 Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males.

Ezr 8:6 Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males.

Ezr 8:7 Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males.

Ezr 8:8 Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him eighty males.

Ezr 8:9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

Ezr 8:10 Of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him one hundred sixty males.

Ezr 8:11 Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males.

Ezr 8:12 Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him one hundred ten males.

Ezr 8:13 Of the sons of Adonikam, who were the last; and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males.

Ezr 8:14 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

Ezr 8:15 I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

Ezr 8:16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

Ezr 8:17 I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should tell Iddo, and his brothers the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

Ezr 8:18 According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;

Ezr 8:19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

Ezr 8:20 and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were mentioned by name.

Ezr 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

Ezr 8:22 For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him.

Ezr 8:23 So we fasted and begged our God for this: and he was entreated of us.

Ezr 8:24 Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,

Ezr 8:25 and weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered:

Ezr 8:26 I weighed into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels one hundred talents; of gold one hundred talents;

Ezr 8:27 and twenty bowls of gold, of one thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold.

Ezr 8:28 I said to them, You are holy to Yahweh, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to Yahweh, the God of your fathers.

Ezr 8:29 Watch, and keep them, until you weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the princes of the fathers' houses of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Yahweh.

Ezr 8:30 So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

Ezr 8:31 Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the bandit by the way.

Ezr 8:32 We came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

Ezr 8:33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite;

Ezr 8:34 the whole by number and by weight: and all the weight was written at that time.

Ezr 8:35 The children of the captivity, who had come out of exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering to Yahweh.

Ezr 8:36 They delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps, and to the governors beyond the River: and they furthered the people and the house of God.

Aug. 7

Ezra 9, 10

Ezr 9:1 Now when these things were done, the princes drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

Ezr 9:2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mixed themselves with the peoples of the lands: yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass.

Ezr 9:3 When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

Ezr 9:4 Then were assembled to me everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the trespass of them of the captivity; and I sat confounded until the evening offering.

Ezr 9:5 At the evening offering I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God;

Ezr 9:6 and I said, my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up to the heavens.

Ezr 9:7 Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty to this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

Ezr 9:8 Now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

Ezr 9:9 For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

Ezr 9:10 Now, our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken your commandments,

Ezr 9:11 which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness:

Ezr 9:12 now therefore don't give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever; that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.

Ezr 9:13 After all that is come on us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that you our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,

Ezr 9:14 shall we again break your commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations? wouldn't you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?

Ezr 9:15 Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before you in our guiltiness; for none can stand before you because of this.

Ezr 10:1 Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore.

Ezr 10:2 Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.

Ezr 10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Ezr 10:4 Arise; for the matter belongs to you, and we are with you: be of good courage, and do it.

Ezr 10:5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore.

Ezr 10:6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity.

Ezr 10:7 They made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to Jerusalem;

Ezr 10:8 and that whoever didn't come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.

Ezr 10:9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together to Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month: and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.

Ezr 10:10 Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, You have trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel.

Ezr 10:11 Now therefore make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.

Ezr 10:12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, As you have said concerning us, so must we do.

Ezr 10:13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand outside: neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.

Ezr 10:14 Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly, and let all those who are in our cities who have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and its judges, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, until this matter be dispatched.

Ezr 10:15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

Ezr 10:16 The children of the captivity did so. Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers' houses, after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

Ezr 10:17 They made an end with all the men who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.

Ezr 10:18 Among the sons of the priests there were found who had married foreign women: namely, of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

Ezr 10:19 They gave their hand that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt.

Ezr 10:20 Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

Ezr 10:21 Of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

Ezr 10:22 Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

Ezr 10:23 Of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

Ezr 10:24 Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the porters: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

Ezr 10:25 Of Israel: Of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and Izziah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

Ezr 10:26 Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah.

Ezr 10:27 Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

Ezr 10:28 Of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.

Ezr 10:29 Of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, Jeremoth.

Ezr 10:30 Of the sons of Pahathmoab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

Ezr 10:31 of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

Ezr 10:32 Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah.

Ezr 10:33 Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei.

Ezr 10:34 Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

Ezr 10:35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,

Ezr 10:36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

Ezr 10:37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu,

Ezr 10:38 and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

Ezr 10:39 and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

Ezr 10:40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

Ezr 10:41 Azarel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

Ezr 10:42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.

Ezr 10:43 Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, and Joel, Benaiah.

Ezr 10:44 All these had taken foreign wives; and some of them had wives by whom they had children. 

 

Aug. 8

Nehemiah 1-3

Neh 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

Neh 1:2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

Neh 1:3 They said to me, The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.

Neh 1:4 It happened, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,

Neh 1:5 and said, I beg you, Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:

Neh 1:6 Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may listen to the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Yes, I and my father's house have sinned:

Neh 1:7 we have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which you commanded your servant Moses.

Neh 1:8 Remember, I beg you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:

Neh 1:9 but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.

Neh 1:10 Now these are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power, and by your strong hand.

Neh 1:11 Lord, I beg you, let your ear be attentive now to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cup bearer to the king.

Neh 2:1 It happened in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been before sad in his presence.

Neh 2:2 The king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.

Neh 2:3 I said to the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?

Neh 2:4 Then the king said to me, For what do you make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Neh 2:5 I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant have found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may build it.

Neh 2:6 The king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall your journey be? and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

Neh 2:7 Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah;

Neh 2:8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God on me.

Neh 2:9 Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.

Neh 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, because a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

Neh 2:11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

Neh 2:12 I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem; neither was there any animal with me, except the animal that I rode on.

Neh 2:13 I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal's well, and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and its gates were consumed with fire.

Neh 2:14 Then I went on to the spring gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass.

Neh 2:15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.

Neh 2:16 The rulers didn't know where I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.

Neh 2:17 Then said I to them, You see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

Neh 2:18 I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. They said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

Neh 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they ridiculed us, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that you do? will you rebel against the king?

Neh 2:20 Then answered I them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Neh 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up its doors; even to the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananel.

Neh 3:2 Next to him built the men of Jericho. Next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri.

Neh 3:3 The fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

Neh 3:4 Next to them repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz. Next to them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel. Next to them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.

Neh 3:5 Next to them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles didn't put their necks to the work of their lord.

Neh 3:6 The old gate repaired Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, and its bolts, and its bars.

Neh 3:7 Next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, that appertained to the throne of the governor beyond the River.

Neh 3:8 Next to him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths. Next to him repaired Hananiah one of the perfumers, and they fortified Jerusalem even to the broad wall.

Neh 3:9 Next to them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem.

Neh 3:10 Next to them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, over against his house. Next to him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabneiah.

Neh 3:11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hasshub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired another portion, and the tower of the furnaces.

Neh 3:12 Next to him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.

Neh 3:13 The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and one thousand cubits of the wall to the dung gate.

Neh 3:14 The dung gate repaired Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of the district of Beth Haccherem; he built it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

Neh 3:15 The spring gate repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, even to the stairs that go down from the city of David.

Neh 3:16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth Zur, to the place over against the tombs of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men.

Neh 3:17 After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, for his district.

Neh 3:18 After him repaired their brothers, Bavvai the son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah.

Neh 3:19 Next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another portion, over against the ascent to the armory at the turning of the wall.

Neh 3:20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired another portion, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

Neh 3:21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz another portion, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

Neh 3:22 After him repaired the priests, the men of the Plain.

Neh 3:23 After them repaired Benjamin and Hasshub over against their house. After them repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah beside his own house.

Neh 3:24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another portion, from the house of Azariah to the turning of the wall, and to the corner.

Neh 3:25 Palal the son of Uzai repaired over against the turning of the wall, and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired.

Neh 3:26 (Now the Nethinim lived in Ophel, to the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that stands out.)

Neh 3:27 After him the Tekoites repaired another portion, over against the great tower that stands out, and to the wall of Ophel.

Neh 3:28 Above the horse gate repaired the priests, everyone over against his own house.

Neh 3:29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his own house. After him repaired Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east gate.

Neh 3:30 After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another portion. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.

Neh 3:31 After him repaired Malchijah one of the goldsmiths to the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, over against the gate of Hammiphkad, and to the ascent of the corner.

Neh 3:32 Between the ascent of the corner and the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants. 

 

Aug.  6

Acts 21

Act 21:1 When it happened that we had parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

Act 21:2 Having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail.

Act 21:3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

Act 21:4 Having found disciples, we stayed there seven days. These said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

Act 21:5 When it happened that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey. They all, with wives and children, brought us on our way until we were out of the city. Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed.

Act 21:6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went on board the ship, and they returned home again.

Act 21:7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. We greeted the brothers, and stayed with them one day.

Act 21:8 On the next day, we, who were Paul's companions, departed, and came to Caesarea. We entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

Act 21:9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

Act 21:10 As we stayed there some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

Act 21:11 Coming to us, and taking Paul's belt, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit: 'So will the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.' "

Act 21:12 When we heard these things, both we and they of that place begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Act 21:13 Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

Act 21:14 When he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The Lord's will be done."

Act 21:15 After these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.

Act 21:16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we would stay.

Act 21:17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.

Act 21:18 The day following, Paul went in with us to James; and all the elders were present.

Act 21:19 When he had greeted them, he reported one by one the things which God had worked among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Act 21:20 They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.

Act 21:21 They have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children neither to walk after the customs.

Act 21:22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.

Act 21:23 Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow.

Act 21:24 Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the law.

Act 21:25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality."

Act 21:26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purified himself and went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.

Act 21:27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,

Act 21:28 crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!"

Act 21:29 For they had seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

Act 21:30 All the city was moved, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Immediately the doors were shut.

Act 21:31 As they were trying to kill him, news came up to the commanding officer of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

Act 21:32 Immediately he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. They, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, stopped beating Paul.

Act 21:33 Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done.

Act 21:34 Some shouted one thing, and some another, among the crowd. When he couldn't find out the truth because of the noise, he commanded him to be brought into the barracks.

Act 21:35 When he came to the stairs, it happened that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd;

Act 21:36 for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, "Away with him!"

Act 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he asked the commanding officer, "May I speak to you?" He said, "Do you know Greek?

Act 21:38 Aren't you then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?"

Act 21:39 But Paul said, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, allow me to speak to the people."

Act 21:40 When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people. When there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying, 

 

Aug. 7, 8

Acts 22

Act 22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you."

Act 22:2 When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet. He said,

Act 22:3 "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are this day.

Act 22:4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

Act 22:5 As also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.

Act 22:6 It happened that, as I made my journey, and came close to Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from the sky a great light around me.

Act 22:7 I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'

Act 22:8 I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.'

Act 22:9 "Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn't understand the voice of him who spoke to me.

Act 22:10 I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.'

Act 22:11 When I couldn't see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

Act 22:12 One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus,

Act 22:13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' In that very hour I looked up at him.

Act 22:14 He said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.

Act 22:15 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

Act 22:16 Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

Act 22:17 "It happened that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance,

Act 22:18 and saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.'

Act 22:19 I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you.

Act 22:20 When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.'

Act 22:21 "He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.' "

Act 22:22 They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice, and said, "Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn't fit to live!"

Act 22:23 As they cried out, and threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air,

Act 22:24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that.

Act 22:25 When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?"

Act 22:26 When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, "Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!"

Act 22:27 The commanding officer came and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."

Act 22:28 The commanding officer answered, "I bought my citizenship for a great price." Paul said, "But I was born a Roman."

Act 22:29 Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.

Act 22:30 But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.