April 4, 2016

From Gary... Bible Reading April 4


Bible Reading 

April 4

The World English Bible

Apr. 4
Leviticus 25 – 27

Lev 25:1 Yahweh said to Moses in Mount Sinai,
Lev 25:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to Yahweh.
Lev 25:3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruits;
Lev 25:4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to Yahweh. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
Lev 25:5 What grows of itself in your harvest you shall not reap, and the grapes of your undressed vine you shall not gather. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.
Lev 25:6 The Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for yourself, for your servant, for your maid, for your hired servant, and for your stranger, who lives as a foreigner with you.
Lev 25:7 For your livestock also, and for the animals that are in your land, shall all its increase be for food.
Lev 25:8 " 'You shall count off seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and there shall be to you the days of seven Sabbaths of years, even forty-nine years.
Lev 25:9 Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land.
Lev 25:10 You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you; and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.
Lev 25:11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the undressed vines.
Lev 25:12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat of its increase out of the field.
Lev 25:13 " 'In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his property.
Lev 25:14 " 'If you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.
Lev 25:15 According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor. According to the number of years of the crops he shall sell to you.
Lev 25:16 According to the length of the years you shall increase its price, and according to the shortness of the years you shall diminish its price; for he is selling the number of the crops to you.
Lev 25:17 You shall not wrong one another; but you shall fear your God: for I am Yahweh your God.
Lev 25:18 " 'Therefore you shall do my statutes, and keep my ordinances and do them; and you shall dwell in the land in safety.
Lev 25:19 The land shall yield its fruit, and you shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
Lev 25:20 If you said, "What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase;"
Lev 25:21 then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for the three years.
Lev 25:22 You shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the fruits, the old store; until the ninth year, until its fruits come in, you shall eat the old store.
Lev 25:23 " 'The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and live as foreigners with me.
Lev 25:24 In all the land of your possession you shall grant a redemption for the land.
Lev 25:25 " 'If your brother becomes poor, and sells some of his possessions, then his kinsman who is next to him shall come, and redeem that which his brother has sold.
Lev 25:26 If a man has no one to redeem it, and he becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it;
Lev 25:27 then let him reckon the years since its sale, and restore the surplus to the man to whom he sold it; and he shall return to his property.
Lev 25:28 But if he isn't able to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hand of him who has bought it until the Year of Jubilee: and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.
Lev 25:29 " 'If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it has been sold. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption.
Lev 25:30 If it isn't redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be made sure in perpetuity to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee.
Lev 25:31 But the houses of the villages which have no wall around them shall be reckoned with the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.
Lev 25:32 " 'Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.
Lev 25:33 The Levites may redeem the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, and it shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
Lev 25:34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
Lev 25:35 " 'If your brother has become poor, and his hand can't support him among you; then you shall uphold him. As a stranger and a sojourner he shall live with you.
Lev 25:36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God; that your brother may live among you.
Lev 25:37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.
Lev 25:38 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
Lev 25:39 " 'If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you; you shall not make him to serve as a slave.
Lev 25:40 As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee:
Lev 25:41 then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers.
Lev 25:42 For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves.
Lev 25:43 You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God.
Lev 25:44 " 'As for your male and your female slaves, whom you may have; of the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.
Lev 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers who sojourn among you, of them you may buy, and of their families who are with you, which they have conceived in your land; and they will be your property.
Lev 25:46 You may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them may you take your slaves forever: but over your brothers the children of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness.
Lev 25:47 " 'If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him has grown poor, and sells himself to the stranger or foreigner living among you, or to a member of the stranger's family;
Lev 25:48 after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him;
Lev 25:49 or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any who is a close relative to him of his family may redeem him; or if he has grown rich, he may redeem himself.
Lev 25:50 He shall reckon with him who bought him from the year that he sold himself to him to the Year of Jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him.
Lev 25:51 If there are yet many years, according to them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
Lev 25:52 If there remain but a few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according to his years of service he shall give back the price of his redemption.
Lev 25:53 As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with harshness over him in your sight.
Lev 25:54 If he isn't redeemed by these means, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee, he, and his children with him.
Lev 25:55 For to me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

Lev 26:1 " 'You shall make for yourselves no idols, neither shall you raise up an engraved image or a pillar, neither shall you place any figured stone in your land, to bow down to it: for I am Yahweh your God.
Lev 26:2 " 'You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.
Lev 26:3 " 'If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Lev 26:4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Lev 26:5 Your threshing shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage shall reach to the sowing time; and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
Lev 26:6 " 'I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid; and I will remove evil animals out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
Lev 26:7 You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
Lev 26:8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
Lev 26:9 " 'I will have respect for you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and will establish my covenant with you.
Lev 26:10 You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall move out the old because of the new.
Lev 26:11 I will set my tent among you: and my soul won't abhor you.
Lev 26:12 I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people.
Lev 26:13 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you go upright.
Lev 26:14 " 'But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments;
Lev 26:15 and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant;
Lev 26:16 I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and you will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will eat it.
Lev 26:17 I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you.
Lev 26:18 " 'If you in spite of these things will not listen to me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.
Lev 26:19 I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your sky like iron, and your soil like brass;
Lev 26:20 and your strength will be spent in vain; for your land won't yield its increase, neither will the trees of the land yield their fruit.
Lev 26:21 " 'If you walk contrary to me, and won't listen to me, then I will bring seven times more plagues on you according to your sins.
Lev 26:22 I will send the wild animals among you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your roads will become desolate.
Lev 26:23 " 'If by these things you won't be reformed to me, but will walk contrary to me;
Lev 26:24 then I will also walk contrary to you; and I will strike you, even I, seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:25 I will bring a sword upon you, that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; and you will be gathered together within your cities: and I will send the pestilence among you; and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Lev 26:26 When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight: and you shall eat, and not be satisfied.
Lev 26:27 " 'If you in spite of this won't listen to me, but walk contrary to me;
Lev 26:28 then I will walk contrary to you in wrath; and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:29 You will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters.
Lev 26:30 I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul will abhor you.
Lev 26:31 I will lay your cities waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not take delight in the sweet fragrance of your offerings.
Lev 26:32 I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein will be astonished at it.
Lev 26:33 I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
Lev 26:34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land. Even then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
Lev 26:35 As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it didn't have in your sabbaths, when you lived on it.
Lev 26:36 " 'As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies: and the sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword; and they will fall when no one pursues.
Lev 26:37 They will stumble over one another, as it were before the sword, when no one pursues: and you will have no power to stand before your enemies.
Lev 26:38 You will perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies will eat you up.
Lev 26:39 Those of you who are left will pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
Lev 26:40 " 'If they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary to me,
Lev 26:41 I also walked contrary to them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity;
Lev 26:42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land.
Lev 26:43 The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them: and they will accept the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected my ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes.
Lev 26:44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am Yahweh their God;
Lev 26:45 but I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am Yahweh.' "
Lev 26:46 These are the statutes, ordinances and laws, which Yahweh made between him and the children of Israel in Mount Sinai by Moses.

Lev 27:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 27:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When a man makes a vow, the persons shall be for Yahweh by your valuation.
Lev 27:3 Your valuation shall be of a male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, even your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
Lev 27:4 If it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels.
Lev 27:5 If the person is from five years old even to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
Lev 27:6 If the person is from a month old even to five years old, then your valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver.
Lev 27:7 If the person is from sixty years old and upward; if it is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
Lev 27:8 But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the ability of him who vowed shall the priest value him.
Lev 27:9 " 'If it is an animal, of which men offer an offering to Yahweh, all that any man gives of such to Yahweh becomes holy.
Lev 27:10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change animal for animal, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy.
Lev 27:11 If it is any unclean animal, of which they do not offer as an offering to Yahweh, then he shall set the animal before the priest;
Lev 27:12 and the priest shall value it, whether it is good or bad. As you the priest values it, so shall it be.
Lev 27:13 But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of it to its valuation.
Lev 27:14 " 'When a man dedicates his house to be holy to Yahweh, then the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad: as the priest shall evaluate it, so shall it stand.
Lev 27:15 If he who dedicates it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.
Lev 27:16 " 'If a man dedicates to Yahweh part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it: the sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
Lev 27:17 If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand.
Lev 27:18 But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money according to the years that remain to the Year of Jubilee; and an abatement shall be made from your valuation.
Lev 27:19 If he who dedicated the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall remain his.
Lev 27:20 If he will not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more;
Lev 27:21 but the field, when it goes out in the Jubilee, shall be holy to Yahweh, as a field devoted; it shall be owned by the priests.
Lev 27:22 " 'If he dedicates to Yahweh a field which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession,
Lev 27:23 then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation up to the Year of Jubilee; and he shall give your valuation on that day, as a holy thing to Yahweh.
Lev 27:24 In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs.
Lev 27:25 All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.
Lev 27:26 " 'Only the firstborn among animals, which is made a firstborn to Yahweh, no man may dedicate it; whether an ox or sheep, it is Yahweh's.
Lev 27:27 If it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back according to your valuation, and shall add to it the fifth part of it: or if it isn't redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.
Lev 27:28 " 'Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote to Yahweh of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to Yahweh.
Lev 27:29 " 'No one devoted, who shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
Lev 27:30 " 'All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh.
Lev 27:31 If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it.
Lev 27:32 All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Yahweh.
Lev 27:33 He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he changes it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.' "
Lev 27:34 These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.


Apr. 4, 5
Luke 4

Luk 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
Luk 4:2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.
Luk 4:3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
Luk 4:4 Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' "
Luk 4:5 The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6 The devil said to him, "I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
Luk 4:7 If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours."
Luk 4:8 Jesus answered him, "Get behind me Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.' "
Luk 4:9 He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here,
Luk 4:10 for it is written, 'He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;'
Luk 4:11 and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.' "
Luk 4:12 Jesus answering, said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' "
Luk 4:13 When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.
Luk 4:14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area.
Luk 4:15 He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Luk 4:16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
Luk 4:17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
Luk 4:19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
Luk 4:20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21 He began to tell them, "Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Luk 4:22 All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"
Luk 4:23 He said to them, "Doubtless you will tell me this parable, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.' "
Luk 4:24 He said, "Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
Luk 4:25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.
Luk 4:26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
Luk 4:27 There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian."
Luk 4:28 They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things.
Luk 4:29 They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.
Luk 4:30 But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way.
Luk 4:31 He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day,
Luk 4:32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.
Luk 4:33 In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
Luk 4:34 saying, "Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!"
Luk 4:35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" When the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
Luk 4:36 Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"
Luk 4:37 News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.
Luk 4:38 He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him for her.
Luk 4:39 He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.
Luk 4:40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
Luk 4:41 Demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Rebuking them, he didn't allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Luk 4:42 When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn't go away from them.
Luk 4:43 But he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent."
Luk 4:44 He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

From Roy Davison... They Are Without Excuse


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

They Are Without Excuse
We all tend to make excuses.
Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. But God had given them clear instructions. When He reveals His will to us, we have no excuse for disobeying. Jesus said: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22).
Ignorance is no excuse.
The eternal power and deity of God are observed by all. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 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, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:18-21).
Even those who do not know the Scriptures are without excuse because, all around them, they can see ample evidence of the eternal power and deity of God. This should cause them to seek God. Israel was told that even in captivity they could find God if they diligently sought Him: "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29). God has promised: "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me" (Proverbs 8:17). "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). Jesus said: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Matthew 7:7,8).
Ignorance is no excuse. The evidence of God's existence is overwhelming, and God has promised that those who truly seek Him will find Him.
Preoccupation is no excuse.
Many people who believe in God are so occupied with their daily activities that they neglect to serve Him.
"A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper''' (Luke 14:16-24).
The man who gave the great supper represents God. The supper represents the spiritual blessings God has prepared for us. It is an honor when someone invites us to a banquet. What a great honor to be invited to the supper of the Lord.
God gave advance invitations to the people of Israel through the Old Testament prophets and Scriptures. When all was ready, He sent His Son to call His people to the feast. But the religious leaders and scholars of Israel were so preoccupied with worldly pursuits that they did not value spiritual manna. To such people Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him" (Matthew 21:31,32).
Although the guests had been invited beforehand, when the time came, they all began to make excuses! What an insult to the one who had invited them!
Three examples are given of excuses offered. They all indicate preoccupation, self-centeredness and indifference to the invitation.
"The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.'"
When someone makes an important purchase, he is excited about it and wants to examine and admire it. Everything else tends to be neglected for a while.
It is interesting that different verbs are used in the three examples. In this case he says "I must go and see it." In his mind this was absolutely essential even though it prevented him from attending the great feast to which he had been invited. He was self-centered. He just had to go see that new piece of land he had purchased.
This represents people who give priority to their possessions and are so occupied with them that they neglect to serve God. This reminds us of the parable of the sower: "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22).
"And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.'"
The first man was a proud property owner. This man is a busy businessman. He does not say "I must go," he says, "I am going"! He was already on his way. The first man was preoccupied with his property; this man is preoccupied with his business.
Obviously, both the viewing of the property and the testing of the oxen could have waited until the next day. The great feast simply was not important to these men. Their own affairs were more important than the affairs of God. Material possessions were more important than the blessings of God.
This is also true of many today. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
"Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'"
The first man said, "I must go" do something else. The second man said, "I am going" to do something else. This man says, "I cannot come"! It was simply impossible for him to come, because he had just been married. Once again, it was just an excuse, given because he did not value the invitation.
This represents people who let preoccupation with family prevent them from serving God. Jesus warned: "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37). He also promised: "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life" (Matthew 19:29).
None of those who had been invited were coming! The master of the house was furious. God will be angry with us if we undervalue the spiritual blessings He offers, if we are preoccupied with worldly affairs, and neglect to come to His feast.
The prior invitation had been given to a select few, the people of Israel. Now the invitation is for all.
Going out "into the streets and lanes of the city" and bringing in "the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind" represents the gospel being preached to the unlearned among the Jews. Jesus prayed, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes" (Matthew 11:25).
Going "out into the highways and hedges" represents the gospel call to the Gentiles. When all believers among the people of Israel have accepted Christ, there is still room in the banquet hall of God. The Gentiles are also invited to the feast of God.
Jesus told the Jewish leaders who rejected Him: "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it" (Matthew 21:43). After commending the faith of a Roman centurion, Jesus said: "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth'' (Matthew 8:11,12).
Paul wrote: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). As Paul went from city to city preaching the gospel, he first gave the Jews an opportunity to hear, then he preached to the Gentiles: "When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, 'Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles'" (Acts 18:5,6). "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'" (Acts 13:46).
We have no excuse.
The invitation to the great spiritual feast prepared by God has gone forth to all men. It echos down through the ages and comes to us. "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17).
Let us not make excuses, preoccupied with the affairs of this world. Let us accept the invitation, and attend the spiritual feast prepared for us by God.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

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

From Jim McGuiggan... Can we get rid of punishment?


Can we get rid of punishment?

Some sensitive and caring people think the very notion of "punishment" is spiteful and vengeful and they’d like to be rid of the concept altogether. More than the concept, they’d like society to be rid of thepractice. There should be no punishment for anyone.
Hmmm. But what are we to do with people who are viciously disruptive and who inflict pain and loss on the innocent? What of those we have solid reasons to believe will continue to inflict injury on the defenseless? These caring people insist we should deal with such people but that it shouldn’t be by punishing them. We should cure them by changing them and this would be a long-term deterrent but in the meantime, if we must, we will isolate them from society and that will deter them in the short-term. But while we have them isolated from society as a short term deterrent we should work with them in various ways to understand them and condition them so as to change them and thus rehabilitate them.
It doesn’t matter much to these fine people how we phrase the notion of punishment—as soon as we speak of someone "deserving" some administered unpleasantness (whatever form it takes) we’re on the wrong track. Whatever it takes, however we express it or reflect on it the notion of punishment is to be got rid of. The word itself derives, finally, from penalty and so rightly understood someone has offended (in some form) and in response to that offense some authorized personnel have intentionally inflicted some unpleasantness on the offender as retribution.
The two concepts that matter to these people in dealing with offenders are that society be protected and that the offender be personally helped to leave his/her socially unacceptable behavior behind. These people don’t say the behavior is good or that it doesn’t matter, and it’s untrue to say they are without sympathy toward the victims; they simply claim that inflicting pain or loss on an offender is spite and vengefulness baptized by society and made to look good.
But thoughtful people, just as caring as these, have continued to tell us for many years that it is immoral to dispense with the notion of "retribution" and forcibly deprive people of their liberty against their will. If they have done nothing to "deserve" our putting them in a place that will subject them to our "healing" they should not be there. If we say to some innocent bystander, "We are going to put you in a (sort of) hospital to help free you from your socially unacceptable behavior" we won’t be surprised if he/she objects. If we use barely enough (but enough) restraint to take him to that place—this perfectly innocent bystander—it won’t matter to him/her that it will have nice accommodation, food, personnel and surroundings. When they strenuously insist that they have done nothing wrong and should not be shanghaied into such a place they will make sense to every thinking person in the world except those that have abducted them.
Enforced remedial treatment can only be remedial if first it is warranted! It cannot possibly be remedial if it isn’t warranted or "earned". We can only morally attempt to cure "the sick" if we know him to be sick. We can only forcibly attempt to rehabilitate a known offender. To forcibly "treat" a non-offender is not only illegal and immoral it’s also absurd. And we forcibly treat the offender precisely because he/she has offended. Whatever our motives (and they may be the purest under heaven) the forcible treatment in response to wrongdoing (whether wrongdoing is defined in legal, social or moral terms) has the nature ofpenalty. "You did this and in light of that and as a response to that we are compelled to do what we are about to do."
And if we’re so sensitive that we must absolutely jettison all idea of penalty then we are enforcing society’s will on an unwilling person. A person who, according to our own claim, does not deserve what is happening to him. "No one in the world can deserve what we’re about to do to you but we’re going to do it without your consent." A "treatment" can’t be remedial unless the offender believes it is "deserved" otherwise he/she will see it as unjust. And if the offender smarts under the injustice of it all then it’s no remedy.
And it really doesn’t help if we say that the enforced "cure" is not punishment or penalty. It robs the individual of all that makes life pleasant to him/her. If he asks, "Are you depriving me of freedom and family because I did this or that?" the answer would have to be yes. So while we wish to avoid the word "punishment" we are doing to that man or woman what philosopher Anthony Flew has judiciously defined aspunishment. See Penal Substitution.
So we subject this person against his/her will to what is unpleasant to them because they have offended all the while insisting that they don’t deserve what we’re doing; all the while we tell them, "If we were to punish you we would be barbarians."
And if the offender were to ask, "Are you doing this as a deterrent to others?" and we were to say yes, that would only make matters worse. This is being enforced on him/her against their wills even though it isn’t merited (for no one in the world merits "punishment"). And now they’re told it’s to keep others from doing the same kinds of things. Now, though "deserving" nothing they are used as a means to an end. Hmmm.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

When Did Baasha Reign? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=302&b=1%20Kings

When Did Baasha Reign?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

In the book of 1 Kings we read that Baasha became the third ruler of the Northern kingdom (Israel) “in the third year of Asa king of Judah…and reigned twenty-four years” (15:33). Then, when Baasha died, his son Elah became king over Israel “in the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah” (16:8, emp. added). However, 2 Chronicles 16:1 reads: “In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah” (emp. added). The obvious question that anyone has who reads these two passages is: How could Baasha be ruling over Israel in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, when 1 Kings 16 clearly indicates that Baasha had died when Asa (the third king of the southern kingdom) was only in the twenty-sixth year of his reign? Is it possible to reconcile 1 Kings 16:8 with 2 Chronicles 15:19-16:1? Or, is this a legitimate contradiction that should lead all of us to conclude that the Bible is a worthless manmade book of myths?
There are two possible solutions to this problem. To begin with, it may be that the numbers recorded in 2 Chronicles 15:19 and 16:1 simply are the result of a copyist’s error. Although skeptics may scoff at attempts to reconcile “contradictions” by claiming a copyist must have made an error sometime in the distant past, the fact is, copyists were not infallible; inspired men were the only infallible writers. Whenever duplicates of the Old Testament Scriptures were needed, copies had to be made by hand—a painstaking, time-consuming task requiring extreme concentration. History records that copyists (such as the Masoretes) had as their goal to produce accurate copies of Scripture and that they went to great lengths to ensure fidelity in their copies. They were, nevertheless, still human. And humans are prone to make mistakes, regardless of the care they take or the strictness of the rules under which they operate. The copyists’ task was made all the more difficult by the sheer complexity of the Hebrew language and by the various ways in which potential errors could be introduced.
In their commentary on 2 Chronicles, Keil and Delitzsch proposed that the number 36 in 2 Chronicles 16:1 and the number 35 in 15:19 are a scribal error for 16 and 15, respectively. The ancient Hebrew letters yod and lamed, representing the numbers 30 and 10, could have been confused and interchanged quite easily (though inadvertently) by a copyist. Merely a smudge from excessive wear on a scroll-column or a punctured or slightly torn manuscript could have resulted in making the yod look like a lamed. Furthermore, it also is possible that this error occurred first in 2 Chronicles 15:19. Then to make it consistent in 16:1, a copyist may have concluded that 16 must be an error for 36 and changed it accordingly (Archer, 1982, p. 226). Hence the numbers 35 and 36 could have arisen out of the original 15 and 16. With such an adjustment, the statements in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles are harmonized easily.
A second possibility as to why the numbers in 1 Kings 16:8 and 2 Chronicles 15:19-16:1 seem contradictory is because the numbers may refer to the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth years after the division of the United Kingdom (which would have been Asa’s fifteenth and sixteenth years), rather than the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth years of Asa’s reign (Thiele, 1951, p. 59). The Hebrew word for “reign” (malkuwth) also can mean “kingdom.” In fact, 51 out of the 91 times this word appears in the King James Version of the Old Testament it is translated “kingdom” (cf. 2 Chronicles 1:1; 11:17; 20:30; Nehemiah 9:35; etc.). In their commentary on 2 Chronicles, Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown favored this explanation saying, “The best Biblical critics are agreed in considering this date to be calculated from the separation of the kingdoms, and coincident with the 16th year of Asa’s reign” (1997). [The number 16 is obtained by subtracting the reigns of Rehoboam (17 years) and Abijah (3 years) from the 36 years mentioned in 2 Chronicles 16:1.] But, as Gleason Archer recognized,
It is without parallel to refer to the kingdom of a nation as a whole and identify it thus with one particular king who comes later on in the ruling dynasty. And the fact that in its account of the later history of Judah no such usage can be instanced in Chronicles raises a formidable difficulty to this solution (p. 225).
First Kings 16:8 reveals that Baasha could not have ruled over Israel in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign in Judah. Either the numbers 35 and 36 in 2 Chronicles 15:19-16:1 are a copyist’s error, or they represent the total number of years since the United Kingdom divided. Whichever is the case, both provide possible solutions to the alleged problem that exists between the two passages. In no way should the differences that exist between 1 Kings 16:8 and 2 Chronicles 15:19-16:1 cause one to reject the Bible as God’s inspired Word.
REFERENCES
Archer, Gleason L. (1982), An Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Jamieson, Robert, et al. (1997), Jamieson, Faussett, Brown Bible Commentary (Electronic Database: Biblesoft)
Keil, C.F. and F. Delitzsch (1996), Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament (Electronic Database: Biblesoft), new updated edition.
Thiele, Edwin R. (1951), The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press).

America's Real Problem by Dave Miller, Ph.D.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=4540

America's Real Problem

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

The list is lengthy. America’s life-threatening maladies have multiplied in the last 50 years to the point that it is widely acknowledged that the nation stands on the brink of catastrophe. No doubt about it, the issues in question are serious:

The Economy

Massive government spending has created historically unprecedented national debt, while politicians continue to raise the debt ceiling. A host of ailments radiate forth from this oppressive situation, including stifling taxes, federal bailouts of corporations, entitlement programs from health care to cell phones, a depleted social security trust fund, billions in earmarks and pet projects at taxpayer expense.

Illegal Immigration and Border Security

The situation places a heavy financial burden on the American taxpayer. Those who enter illegally are lawbreakers—hardly to be expected to be law-abiding citizens. What’s more, the uncontrolled influx of unassimilated illegals threatens to alter the economic, social, and ideological complexion of the country.

Terrorism

Americans have been made to realize that national security is not certain. When terrorists can come to American soil, commandeer airplanes and murder some 3,000 citizens, we realize we are extremely vulnerable to those who hate us. The ongoing measures being taken to protect the homeland notwithstanding, Americans remain open targets.

Energy Crisis and Oil Dependency

Gas prices continue to soar, politicians haggle about the environment, and America remains unbelievably energy dependent on foreign nations and hostile sources.

Unprecedented Crime Rates

The average citizen of today, unlike the average citizen 60 years ago, lives daily with necessary security measures—from locking doors to setting alarms. Drive by shootings, burglaries, shoplifting, muggings, rape, and a host of other criminal infringements on peaceful existence are rampant and seemingly uncontrollable. Prisons are full to overflowing with continual efforts to provide more prisons and more law enforcement personnel.
Yes, all these issues are critically serious. But according to the Founders of the American Republic, they are only symptoms. And they are fully to be expected when a sizable percentage of the nation’s population has lost sight of the single, quintessential, most pressing concern. This concern was stated emphatically over and over again by the Founders at the very beginning of the nation throughout the tumultuous years of the Revolutionary War. Issuing 15 supplication proclamations to the nation, the Founders reiterated their belief that their hope of establishing and perpetuating the Republic depended on citizen attachment to the God of the Bible, the Christ of the New Testament, and the Christian principles taught in the Scriptures. Here is one example of this forthright affirmation, issued by the Continental Congress in November of 1777:
FORASMUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God…. It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth “in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost” [Romans 14:17—DM]…. God save the United-States of America (Journals of…, 9:854-851, emp. added).
The Founders were intelligent, wise, insightful, savvy men. In the midst of the multitude of concerns and worries that confronted them in their defiance of Britain and their attempt to launch the grand American experiment, they perceived with crystal clear precision the central issue: citizen acknowledgement of the one true God and the one true religion. Only with this recognition could the Republic be established and maintained. In light of this critical realization, Americans desperately need to awaken to the nation’s real problem—and react accordingly as the Founders outlined in the above proclamation. Make no mistake, this is America’s only hope. If the true malady is cured, i.e., if America could experience a widespread spiritual awakening and return to God and His moral principles, the symptoms will be eliminated. But if the true malady is not remedied, we ought to fully expect more harmful symptoms to present themselves. [NOTE: For more information, see Christ and the Continental Congress.]

REFERENCE

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 (1904-1937), ed. Worthington C. Ford, et al. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office), Library of Congress,http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwjc.html.

A Trip Out West—To See the “Dinosaurs” by Eric Lyons, M.Min. Kyle Butt, M.Div.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1494

A Trip Out West—To See the “Dinosaurs”

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.
Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Every now and then, an opportunity arises to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip. This was one of those opportunities. After co-authoring our dinosaur book for kids, Dinosaurs Unleashed, we wanted to delve even deeper into several of the intriguing facts regarding dinosaurs. Initially, the Dinosaur National Monument bone quarry was to be our only destination. But after several hours of research, we learned that all sorts of remarkable dinosaur fossils and ancient Indian artifacts were within a few hundred miles of the quarry. Following a turbulent flight from Denver, and after having driven 1,100 miles in two days in a rented SUV, we returned home loaded with information, and even more determined to disprove the false, evolutionary idea that dinosaurs and humans never lived together. Join us as we offer up a brief summary of our journey.

DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT

We arrived in Hayden, Colorado, on Thursday, May 20, 2004, at about 12:30 p.m. Our rented vehicle was ready, and we quickly loaded our things. From Hayden, we drove 124 miles west, just across the Utah border, to the Dinosaur National Monument fossil quarry. This particular quarry is one of the largest fossil repositories in the world, where over 1,600 fossilized dinosaur bones are buried (“Dinosaur National Monument,” 2004).
Built around the major rock face that contains the fossils is a museum, which offers some interesting information about the early discovery of the monument in 1909. It also propagates the standard evolutionary refrain that the dinosaurs lived millions of years ago (as is the case with almost every federally funded dinosaur exhibit we saw).
Museum built around fossils
Fossils in rock face in museum
One intriguing thing about the monument is the explanation that is given regarding the cause of this huge fossil graveyard. The wall opposite the rock face contains a large painted mural. This mural shows various dinosaurs wading through deep water. Under the mural, a placard reads: “After a seasonal flood: This scene of 145 million years ago is based on clues found in the rock face behind you. Carcasses brought downstream by the fast-moving, muddy water were washed onto a sandbar. Some were buried completely by tons of sand—their bones preserved in a nearly perfect state” (emp. added).
Interesting, is it not, that such a huge fossil graveyard is said to have occurred because of a “seasonal flood”? Further research has shown that many fossil finds are explained using a seasonal, regional, or flash-flood scenario. In November 1999, University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno uncovered a 65-foot-long dinosaur called Jabaria. This skeleton was almost 95% complete. And what was the explanation for its burial? “It looks as though the dinosaurs may have been caught in an ancient flash flood and buried quickly” (“Dinosaur Articles,” 1999, emp. added). Robert Sanders, in an article copyrighted by the Regents of the University of California, described a huge pterosaur graveyard by noting: “The fossil bones were found strewn throughout an ancient flood deposit in Chile’s Atacama desert,
Seasonal flood painting
On the wall opposite the fossils, a large painting shows a picture of what scientists think caused the fossils to form. Notice that the writing displayed under the picture suggests that the fossils formed during a flood. We have circled the words in the paragraph that explain. While the comments on the millions of years is incorrect, the idea that a flood caused the fossils fits perfectly with the biblical idea of Noah's Flood.Text explaining picture above with key words circled
suggesting that they were animals or corpses caught up in a flood perhaps 110 million years ago at the beginning of the Cretaceous period” (“Pterosaur Insights,” 1995, emp. added).
On the BBC Website, there is an article discussing the series, “Walking With Dinosaurs,” which explains that much of the information for the first episode of “Walking With Dinosaurs” came from a fossil find called the Ghost Ranch, located near Abaquiu, New Mexico. The text describes this site as one of the richest fossil finds in the world. How does the article explain the fact that so many dinosaurs were buried suddenly? “Palaeontologists believe that the collection of fossils was the result of a mass death around a dwindling water resource during a drought. Before the bodies of the animals were eaten by scavengers, a flash flood buried them in muddy sediments where they were preserved” (“Dig Deeper,” n.d., emp. added).
How interesting to learn that evolutionists explain many of the largest dinosaur graveyards in the world as having been caused by a flood, though they are quick to include words such as seasonal, flash, regional, and the like. Yet, after looking at several such explanations, it quickly becomes apparent that if so many of these graveyards were caused by a huge flood, then the global Flood of Noah’s day provides an excellent explanation for many of the dinosaur graveyards we find today.
After reading the multiple placards, taking numerous pictures, and asking various questions, we loaded up and began our five-hour drive to Blanding, Utah, where we hoped to get up at sunrise the next day and see one of the clearest dinosaur petroglyphs in the world.

NATURAL BRIDGES NATIONAL MONUMENT

On the underside of the third largest natural bridge in the world (Kachina Bridge), several petroglyphs and pictographs exist, which rock-art experts believe to be anywhere from 500 to 1,500 years old. The carvings are thought to be the work of the Anasazi Indians who once lived in that area of southeastern Utah. A mountain goat, a human figurine, multiple handprints, and many other carvings and drawings are seen quite easily underneath the bridge on both sides of the span. The most fascinating piece of rock art at Kachina Bridge, however, is the petroglyph of a dinosaur found to the right of the span about ten feet up from the ground. This figure, which is carved into the rock, has a long, thick tail, a long neck, a wide midsection, and a small head. Any unbiased visitor to Kachina Bridge would have to admit that this particular petroglyph looks like a dinosaur—specifically an Apatosaurus (more popularly known asBrontosaurus).
After examining this petroglyph firsthand and taking many pictures of it, as well as of the surrounding rock art, we proceeded to the Natural Bridges National Monument visitor’s center where we spoke with one of the staff members at the front desk. Upon informing her that we had just hiked down to the base of Kachina Bridge, she immediately asked if we saw the petroglyph that resembles a dinosaur. We acknowledged that we had, and then asked her how “they” explain such an anomaly? (If, according to evolutionary scientists, humans never lived with dinosaurs, how did the Anasazis, who inhabited southeastern Utah from A.D. 500 to 1450, carve such an accurate picture of anApatosaurus onto the side of a rock wall?) Her response: “They don’t really want to explain it.”After politely pressing the woman for more information, she indicated that the dinosaur petroglyph was carved too early to be a horse, because the Anasazis did not have horses. She also commented that some people actually think it really is a picture of a dinosaur, but “they are crazy.” She further explained that there are petroglyphs that resemble mammoths around this area. So the petroglyph at Kachina Bridge may be just “some monster” that the Anasazis carved onto rock.
The only other animal that the staff member at Natural Bridges National Monument seemed to think that the petroglyph in question could have been was a horse. But, according to her own testimony, the Anasazi Indians were a horseless people.
Kachina Natural Bridge
Seen here from several hundred feet away, the Kachina Natural Bridge is the third largest in the world.
(Spanish settlers did not introduce the horse to America until the late sixteenth century.) Thus, she concluded it is some kind of monster. This “monster,” however, looks exactly like the scientific reconstruction of the large sauropod dinosaur known as Apatosaurus. It is no wonder that this woman earlier admitted that scientists “don’t really want to explain” this petroglyph. They do not want to deal with it, because they cannot logically find a way to explain it away.
Interestingly, no one with whom we spoke about the petroglyph, nor any reputable writer whose works that we have consulted on the matter, has challenged the authenticity of the petroglyph. In fact, two well-known rock-art experts have written about this particular petroglyph, and neither has suggested that it is a modern-day forgery. Francis Barnes, an evolutionist and widely recognized authority on rock art of the American Southwest, observed in 1979: “There is a petroglyph in Natural Bridges National Monument that bears a startling resemblance to a dinosaur, specifically a Brontosaurus, with long tail and neck, small head and all.” Barnes also pointed out that other animals, such as impalas, ostriches, and mammoths, are seen on rock-art panels in the southwest that either have been long extinct in the western hemisphere or were never here at all. “Such anomalous rock art figures can be explained away,” wrote Barnes, “but they still tend to cast doubt upon the admittedly flimsy relative-time age-dating schemes used by archaeologists” (Barnes and Pendleton, 1979, pp. 201-202). More than twenty years later, evolutionary geologist Dennis Slifer wrote about this petroglyph in his Guide to Rock Art of the Utah Region.
At the base of Kachina Bridge are approximately one hundred elements, both petroglyphs and pictographs, dating from A.D. 700-1250. These include a series of red handprints and a large red butterfly-like figure, spirals, bighorn sheep, snake-like meandering lines, a white pictograph of a chain-like design, and some geometric petroglyphs.... One of the most curious designs is a petroglyph that resembles a dinosaur, which is apparently Anasazi origin based on its patination (2000, p. 105).
Kachina Natural Bridge
To help you see the image, we have enhanced the color of certain portions and circled both the human figure in the upper left-hand section and the dinosaur figure to the right.
Following these comments, Slifer placed a diagram of the petroglyph in question—the diagram looks exactly like a dinosaur (specifically, some kind of large sauropod).
Both Barnes and Slifer know that the dinosaur petroglyph at Natural Bridges National Monument shows every sign of age. One can be sure that, if there were any orthodox way to explain it away, they would have attempted to do so. In fact, earlier in his book, Slifer did not hesitate to state his systematic objections to another particular piece of rock art that some have asserted is a pictograph of an extinct pterosaur (see pp. 59-63). The petroglyph at Kachina Bridge, however, was not, and could not, be explained away in any logical fashion.

THE DINOSAUR MUSEUM

What could further verify that this particular petroglyph depicts an actual dinosaur that was seen by the Anasazi Indians? As we pondered this question, we could think of at least one piece of evidence that would bolster this conclusion. If we could verify that Apatosaurus had ever lived in the area, then that would lend credence to the idea that the Anasazis had seen them. Had apatosaur bones been found anywhere close to the bridge?
The Dinosaur Museum
We did not have to search long for the answer to this question. We traveled the 45 miles back to Blanding, Utah, where we had planned to stop and eat a late breakfast and visit a museum (appropriately titled The Dinosaur Museum). Within a few minutes of the tour, we were directed to two actual fossils (not replicas) of a dinosaur hip. Interestingly, the dinosaur who once owned the bones just happened to be anApatosaurus. The bones had been found over forty years earlier in the Blanding area.
There it was, almost like a puzzle for us to put together—an ancient petroglyph that looked just like an Apatosaurus, with bones from the very same type of animal, found within 50 miles of the carving. Taken together, this type of evidence presents an amazing case for the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans.
Eric Lyons posing with <i>Apatosaurus</i> bones
All in all, the trip out West was a huge success. We were able to do a little “firsthand” research, and we came back with even more evidence for the accuracy of the Genesis account of Creation and the Flood. If in the future, you decide to take a trip to this area of the United States to visit one of the many dinosaur attractions, we suggest that you arm yourselves and your children with the type of information provided in this article (and that we at Apologetics Press attempt to provide on a regular basis). Evolutionists have used dinosaurs long enough to teach their false world view. It is time we take them back, and use them to teach about the awesome power of the One Who created these magnificent creatures.

REFERENCES

Barnes, F.A. and Michaelene Pendleton (1979), Canyon Country Prehistoric Indians: Their Cultures, Ruins, Artifacts and Rock Art (Salt Lake City, NV: Wasatch Publishers).
“Dig Deeper” (no date), [On-line], URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs/dig_deeper/finds_ 1.shtml#top.
“Dinosaur Articles 1999” (1999), [On-line], URL: http://www.crystalinks.com/dinosaurs3.html.
“Dinosaur National Monument” (2004), [On-line], URL: http:// www.desertusa.com/dino/.
Sanders, Robert (1995), “Pterosaur Insights,” [On-line], URL: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/1995/0503.pterosaur.html.
Slifer, Dennis (2000), Guide to Rock Art of the Utah Region (Santa Fe, NM: Ancient City Press).