Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, and Busters, et al

I have spent hours viewing several different programs where teams are in hot pursuit of paranormal activities from the netherworld. These teams are in earnest, yet have enormous nerve in that they taunt the entities of whom they are hoping to get physical evidence they exist.

They do exist. They are not ghosts as in human souls. They are spirits as in either angels or demons.

The commonalities are:

1. Heavy air, like swimming through water.
2. Swift temperature changes (both cold and hot)
3. Smells
4. Sounds - popping, foot steps, voices
5. Floating light orbs in photos and on video
Extremely rare is the photo with a transparent person, or even more rare is the video with an apparition in motion. 

Every ghost hunter has this mistaken belief that humans who are distressed before they die, or they die untimely, or die violently are somehow locked here on earth to give trouble to others until their business is finished or until... Very few have Christian beliefs, and even fewer have a deep, intrinsic Biblical knowledge.

If they did, they would know absolutely that God is the King of the Universe and He has stated flatly that no spirit shall linger here on earth after death. If they did, they would know that just wearing a t-shirt with a cross on it doesn't protect a person from a demon. If they did, they wouldn't taunt or challenge the spirits they are chasing.

That fact hit home with Saul when he consulted the witch at Endor. In fact, the witch was a lot shocked when Samuel rose up to meet Saul. I imagine her screeching could be heard a mile away. (The story is in 1 Samuel 28).

God was adamant to Israel about not allowing that kind of wickedness in the land.

Leviticus 20:27

            "A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them."'

 This doesn’t leave room for witchcraft, séances, Ouija boards, channeling or sorcery, does it?”

The term translated "familiar spirits" is fascinating because the Hebrew is obe -- (apparently through the idea of prattling a father’s name); properly a mumble, that is, a water skin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar): - bottle, familiar spirit. We can understand that as being something that is faked, or that demons use the possessed oracle as a ventriloquist uses a dummy.

Interesting that God had Moses use such a word for general description with sorcery. He was illustrating the chicanery of it and the necromancy. The medium's shocked shriek at Samuel's actual appearance proves this wasn't her usual "show".  Therefore, she had not truly been raising dead souls, but only pretending to for a fee.

The idols worshiped were demon-based religions, and the gods were demons. (Deuteronomy 32:17 which Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 10:21 and Psalm 106:37) Therefore we know that God explained why idolatry was so abhorrent so the Children of Israel had no excuse. Other blatant examples are King Manasseh, and his son King Amon; their stories are found in 2 Kings 21:1ff.

What about psychics? What did Paul do about a girl with a divining spirit in Acts 16:16-18? She described as having a Pythonic spirit which is Puthōn (poo'-thone) and comes from Πυθώ Puthō (the name of the region where Delphi, the seat of the famous oracle, was located); a Python, that is, (by analogy with the supposed diviner there) inspiration (soothsaying): - divination.

He was deeply distressed that the girl kept following him around shouting, "These men are from the most high God and show us a way of salvation." The Greek translated "a way" is hodos which is by implication a road or a progress. The other implication is that there are other ways, these men just point one way.

So does this mean that demons can be prophetic and divine the future? Of course not. The only prophets that are 100% correct are the ones that come from God. Satan is a diviner in the way that he has piles of files about each person and he is crafty enough to use those files against us. He knows our weaknesses better than we do, and he knows our motivations therefore he can be ambiguous while the receiver reads into it whatever serves and gratifies their vain desires; and his servants profit from it. The men who owned the girl profited much by her soothsaying; and it was profit from gullible people who wanted to know what was coming next. Satan had divine permission to lead these ignorant idolaters captive, but unless he offered oracles such as at Delphi, he would not have garnered such adoration and awe.

The demons knew Paul. They knew his mission, thus the girl's following behind them and shouting the truth. Why would Paul be so distressed? There are lots of reasons such as giving credibility to other oracles uttered by the girl, and being followed by demons are two.

Another example are Jewish itinerant exorcists. These profanely used Jesus' name to command demons. Specifically, the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest  wandered about the land using Jesus' name whom Paul preaches. Acts 19 describes what happened to them. The demons answered back saying, "Jesus we know. Paul we know of, but who are you?" Then the man who housed the demon jumped on these seven, tore off their clothes and mauled them. They scrabbled from the house defeated. This story became well known throughout Ephesus and caused great fear to come upon the people. It also caused many who practiced the occult to pile up their occultic books and burn them. The value was counted to be fifty thousand silver pieces.

The man that inhabited the grave yard which Jesus and His disciples passed was so violent, no one could contain him, nor could chains lock him down. His strength was of ten men. There were many demons in this man and they called themselves Legion. They begged Jesus to cast then into the swine rather than into the Pit. That story is told in Mark 5 and Luke 8.

What does this tell us about demons? Actually Mark 5 and Mark 9 tell us a lot about demons and demon possession. If we begin with verse 1 we find out:
They like being around grave yards which indicates an affiliation with dead bodies.
Demons give humans supernatural strength.
They invade the brain making a human insensible to reason.
They cause crying, and sadistic/masochistic behavior.
They have names. More than one can possess one person and they work in concert to torment.

They recognize Jesus as God's Son and His complete authority. (In Luke 10, Jesus transfers this authority to us.)
They are territorial, desiring to stay in the same region/country.
If they can't indwell a human, they will indwell animal bodies rather than none at all, or be cast into the Pit (Rev. 20:3).
Demons can cause animals to kill themselves, and they like being in a body when it dies therefore they cause suicidal behavior.
They can cause deafness, silence, and rabid animal type behavior.
Demons can indwell from childhood. Mark 9:21 -- To me, this is the most scary aspect of them.
There are certain ways to exorcise specific demons (prayer and fasting etc.).

They use any means to usurp God's glory and worship.
They possess people who are not sealed by the Holy Spirit. Once exorcised, they will come back if the Holy Spirit does not fill up the freshly cleaned vessel.
They use them like dummies to capture others into the occult.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that Satan's demonic forces have a definite hierarchy. Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We can conclude from this that some demons have more power and authority than others.

I can't help but think Peter was talking about ignorant, foolhardy people who go about challenging things of which they know nothing in 2 Peter 2:10-11 10 and specially those who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise lordship. Bold are they , self-willed; they do not fear speaking injuriously of dignities: 11 when angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring against them, before the Lord, an injurious charge.

Ghost residuals?

After studying for hours all these different "reality" shows about hunting ghosts, a phenomenon reoccurs which these demon chasers call residual sightings.

What happens is they hear voices, footsteps, or gunshots as if the sounds and/or "ghosts" were recreating the history of the place. Gunshots on a battle field, cafeteria voices in a school, smells of perfume in a lady's bedroom. These sightings as well as the sounds and smells seem to have been preserved over centuries.

One celebrity told the tale of his new apartment's "ghosts". A man and a woman were fighting, another man came in and shot the man, then ran right through his bed out of the room. Not a dream, and very real to him. Since this scene played out over and over and over with no deviations what so ever, these images or visions were not sentient beings but more like a recording being replayed. The celebrity found out that his apartment was actually built on top of the roof of this old building and it had been the home base for gangsters during the late 20s and early 30s.

Since there are many sightings such as this, what should we make of it? If the things are reenacted violence, then what would be God's purpose in allowing people to see these visions of past events? Are demons involved, or is it just history? What do you think?

A Physcian Analyzes the Crucifixion

(I posted this 5 years ago, it's time to study it again. I cannot read this without sobbing my heart out.)

A Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion

(Originally published in Arizona Medicine, March 1965, Arizona Medical Association. A medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died.)

By Dr. C. Truman Davis

Dr. C. Truman Davis is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He is a practicing ophthalmologist, a pastor, and author of a book about medicine and the Bible.

Several years ago I became interested in the physical aspects of the passion, or suffering, of Jesus Christ when I read an account of the crucifixion in Jim Bishop’s book, The Day Christ Died. I suddenly realized that I had taken the crucifixion more or less for granted all these years - that I had grown callous to its horror by a too-easy familiarity with the grim details. It finally occurred to me that, as a physician, I did not even know the actual immediate cause of Christ’s death. The Gospel writers do not help much on this point. Since crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetimes, they undoubtedly considered a detailed description superfluous. For that reason we have only the concise words of the evangelists: “Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified ... and they crucified Him.”

Despite the Gospel accounts silence on the details of Christ’s crucifixion, many have looked into this subject in the past. In my personal study of the event from a medical viewpoint, I am indebted especially to Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who did exhaustive historical and experimental research and wrote extensively on the topic.

An attempt to examine the infinite psychic and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate God in atonement for the sins of fallen man is beyond the scope of this article. However, the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord’s passion we can examine in some detail. What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?


Gethsemane
The physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of His initial suffering, the one, which is of particular physiological interest, is the bloody sweat. Interestingly enough, the physician, St. Luke, is the only evangelist to mention this occurrence. He says, “And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44 KJV).

Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away the phenomenon of bloody sweat, apparently under the mistaken impression that it simply does not occur. A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock.

Although Jesus’ betrayal and arrest are important portions of the passion story, the next event in the account which is significant from a medical perspective is His trial before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. Here the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him, mockingly taunted Him to identify them as each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face.


Before Pilate
In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and worn out from a sleepless night, Jesus was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. We are familiar with Pilate’s action in attempting to shift responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the outcry of the mob, that Pilate ordered Barabbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.

Preparations for Jesus’ scourging were carried out at Caesar’s orders. The prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire stepped forward with the flagrum, or flagellum, in his hand. This was a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs. At first the weighted thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.

The small balls of lead first produced large deep bruises that were broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of the back was hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it was determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner was near death, the beating was finally stopped.


Mockery
The half-fainting Jesus was then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood. The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. Small flexible branches covered with long thorns, commonly used for kindling fires in the charcoal braziers in the courtyard, were plaited into the shape of a crude crown. The crown was pressed into his scalp and again there was copious bleeding as the thorns pierced the very vascular tissue. After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and struck Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tired of their sadistic sport and tore the robe from His back. The robe had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, caused excruciating pain. The wounds again began to bleed.


Golgotha
In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans apparently returned His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross was tied across His shoulders. The procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion began its slow journey along the route, which we know today as the Via Dolorosa. In spite of Jesus’ efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious loss of blood, was too much. He stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tried to rise, but human muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to proceed with the crucifixion, selected a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus followed, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650-yard journey from the Fortress Antonia to Golgotha was finally completed. The prisoner was again stripped of His clothing except for a loincloth, which was allowed the Jews. The crucifixion began. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic, pain-reliving mixture. He refused the drink. Simon was ordered to place the patibulum on the ground, and Jesus was quickly thrown backward, with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire felt for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drove a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum was then lifted into place at the top of the stipes, and the titulus reading “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” was nailed into place. The left foot was pressed backward against the right foot. With both feet extended toes down, a nail was driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim was now crucified.


On the Cross
As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks, which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of this feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arm, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, the carbon dioxide level increased in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided.


The Last Words
Spasmodically, He was able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences that are recorded. The first - looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.” The second - to the penitent thief: “Today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” The third - looking down at Mary His mother, He said: “Woman, behold your son.” Then turning to the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John, the beloved apostle, He said: “Behold your mother.” The fourth cry is from the beginning of Psalm 22: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart. The prophecy in Psalm 22:14 was being fulfilled: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.” The end was rapidly approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasped His fifth cry: “I thirst.” Again we read in the prophetic Psalm: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death” (Psalm 22:15 KJV). A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine that was the staple drink of the Roman legionnaires, was lifted to Jesus’ lips. His body was now in extremis, and He could feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brought forth His sixth word, possibly little more than a tortured whisper: “It is finished.” His mission of atonement had been completed. Finally, He could allow His body to die. With one last surge of strength, He once again pressed His torn feet against the nail, straightened His legs, took a deeper breath, and uttered His seventh and last cry: “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”


Death
The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the leg. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest, and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers approached Jesus, they saw that this was unnecessary. Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. John 19:34 states, “And immediately there came out blood and water.” Thus there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and the blood of the interior of the heart. This is rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Jesus died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.


Resurrection
In these events, we have seen a glimpse of the epitome of evil that man can exhibit toward his fellowman and toward God. This is an ugly sight and is likely to leave us despondent and depressed. But the crucifixion was not the end of the story. How grateful we can be that we have a sequel: a glimpse of the infinite mercy of God toward man—the gift of atonement, the miracle of the resurrection, and the expectation of Easter morning.

If you've read this far, I want you to know that Jesus endured the shame and all the while upon that cross you were on His mind. Jesus was thinking of the Joy beyond the cross and the eternity of joyous togetherness with us His Bride. Make positively sure that you know exactly where you will spend eternity if you were to die today. Physical life is fleeting. Eternity is infinity in one direction. Make sure you live with the One who loves you and not with the one who's main goal is to kill and destroy.

Leaning or standing?

 

Leaning or standing?

Remember the words from the old song “Leaning on the everlasting arms, safe and secure from all alarms…”and think about what that actually means.

Exodus 3:5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."

When the people looked into the Ark of the Covenant, 1 Samuel 6:20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?"

Psalm 35:1ff A Psalm of David. Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. 2Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help. 3Also draw out the spear, And stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."

Psalm 89:28 My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Isaiah 10:15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!

Isaiah 11:10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."

Zechariah 14:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.

Malachi 3:2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap.

John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

Peter tells us in his first letter in chapter one that our trials are more valuable than gold. The tribulations we suffer as Christians, Jesus warned us about for He said that as the world reviles Him so shall it revile us. We are merely strangers in a strange land on this earth. Our true home is in Heaven. However, sanctifying is a process that we must travail. God sanctifies us through mental and physical works that He prepared for us to do which entails a lot of trails and troubles. How we suffer through this sanctification process is by leaning on the everlasting arms. We cannot withstand the wiles of the devil except through the power of Christ. We cannot stand by ourselves. This, then, is the most powerful lesson any Christian can learn. By leaning, we conquer. By leaning and in our weakness is His mighty strength. Life is much more livable when we allow Jesus to take our burdens and lift our loads.

Weary and heavy laden, come to Him. He will straighten the backs of those bent beneath their loads. Matthew 11:28 and Psalm 146:8.

Ambush at Hawijah

I was watching the series Combat Zone the Ambush in Hawijah. Thirty soldiers outnumbered more than 3 to 1 on a mission to investigate a protest in a town that had at one time harbored Sudam Husein. I don't care much for the photography. They try to give you the "effect" of boots on the ground with the soldiers rather than just being a spectator. That is okay for a minute or two, but the constantly erratic camera angles, zooming in and out, are searing to the nerves. Setting that aside, though, this is a MUST see episode if you want to see how your prayers for our soldiers are working.


I had asked God not too long ago if it were possible for me to be able to see how my prayers were working for our soldiers. It is astounding how God answers prayers. He never ceases to amaze me. For some reason, we are now getting the Military Channel again. It just appeared one day earlier this year, then disappeared... sigh. Then last week, it reappeared. I did a search and programmed to record some favorites. Combat Zone was one that I stumbled across. Or I should say, God handed to me on a silver platter.


These soldiers walked into an ambush one day in 2004. The protest they were sent to investigate dispersed within a minute or two of their arrival giving rise to the suspicion that it was a ruse to get them there. After moving into position, all hell broke loose and bullets, IEDs, and rocket launched grenades began flying and bursting all around the men. With little cover, they inched forward, trying to push the insurgents up against the canal that divided the town.


Snipers on roof tops, AK47s aplenty, alleys filled with insurgents met them at every corner. A team of just 8 men reached an intersection with no cover but a concrete flower planter. Then when they pushed past this point, one of them was shot in the shoulder and in the leg which effectively stopped forward movement until medics could remove the wounded man. After a team moved into position to help them and the Humvee with medics made it to their position, they moved forward to complete their mission.


The mission was supposed to be an in-and-out with little more than an hour or two in the town. It turned into an 18-hour ordeal with not enough water and little or no food. Our finest, best of the best, dug in their heels and accomplished their mission with no casualties and just a few injuries. That was thirty men against 100 insurgents with basically unlimited firepower and ammunition. That is astounding in itself.


The miracles abounded that day. Just to name a few:
1. Flower box cover -- no injuries. Eight men left the area and flower box in crumbles.
2. At one point, the only cover four men had was a CARDBOARD box. "Somehow" the bullets made swiss-cheese holes in the cardboard, but never touched any of the four men.
3. A bullet ricocheted off a man's Kevlar up through his helmet knocking him to his back and his helmet five feet away. No scratches on him. He said there was no way he should be alive right now, except Someone up there was watching over him. (I make bold enough to say, and lots of Christians are praying for our soldiers.)
4. A grenade landed within two feet of eight men and did not explode.
5. Bullets splayed the concrete walls lining the streets and alleys, splayed the dirt at their feet but ricocheted away from all of them.
6. When it was over and our men, the finest soldiers on earth, had subdued the insurgents, AK47 ammunition casings littered the streets and alleys like sand on a beach. Our side had Zero casualties and just a few injuries. 


That was God at work being mindful of our prayers for our soldiers. Miraculous! 


Prayer works.

Warnings to Christians about unbelievers

We should definitely be wary of the wolf in sheep's clothing. The great pretender is Satan who tries to disguise himself as an angel of light, but is actually the darkness and depths of the pit.

There are many who do profess Jesus, but who do not possess Him and the Holy Spirit does not indwell them. They are those who pretend to be in the body of Christ, but who are people that Christ does not recognize. (This is not to say that these people will never know Christ, just that the wickedness they commit and stir up only produces rotten fruit.)

1 Corinthians 13 is the Christian plumb line. It is a description of agape kind of love which only comes from the Father and is gifted to us to pour out on others as we become more and more full of the Holy Spirit. Agape is active and is quite literally, love in action. Which is why Peter had such a hard time understanding what Jesus was asking in His question, "Peter, do you love Me?" Jesus was talking about full-blown love displayed by the action of feeding His sheep. Peter was insisting that He loved Jesus Himself, and Jesus wanted Peter's proof of love with actions.

Hebrew 3:12 Watch out, brothers, so that there won't be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God.

This is a warning to Christians to keep their congregations pure from the world. Because of several other verses... Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled [clean] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

Where does the true heart come from? Only from God. Man cannot achieve it alone.

Psalm 17:3 You have tested my heart; You have visited by night; You have tried me and found nothing [evil]; I have determined that my mouth will not sin. [Or [evil]; my mouth will not sin] David claims God found nothing evil in his heart after searching it... yet, David did commit adultery. The lust in his heart for Bathsheba was not always there. David should have been with his army fighting that battle instead of reclining by the fire and eating bonbons. But there is one thing to cling to 1 Samuel 15:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD took control of David from that day forward. The black sins of murder and adultery were events in David's choices, but they do not define him. David was the apple of God's eye.

But David still sinned with Bathsheba. David still prayed for God to keep him safe from evil. Psalm 141:4 Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing or wickedly perform reckless acts with men who commit sin. Do not let me feast on their delicacies. It is only the foolish that live godlessly and the wicked that God hates. Prov 3:32 for the devious are detestable to the LORD, but He is a friend to the upright. Isaiah 32:6 6 For a fool speaks foolishness and his mind plots iniquity. He lives in a godless way and speaks falsely about the LORD. He leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

Another example of a warning to believers against unbelievers in their midst is the letter to Pergamum 14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the sons of Israel: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth. Them, not you. Interesting.

An example of warning to unbelievers is the letter to Laodicea. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. I believe this is to unbelievers because according to Jesus and the writers of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit lives within us and He becomes one with us (John 17) and in doing so, God creates a completely new creature. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things [Other mss read look, all new things] have come. Galatians 6:15 For [ Other mss add in Christ Jesus] both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; [what matters] instead is a new creation. To spew out of the mouth means that it never went to the stomach. It was intimate, but the relationship never developed into full agape love.

This letter also says that these people are naked, blind and poor even though they do not know it. Believers are not naked. Matt 22:11 And the king having come in to view those reclining, saw there a man not clothed with clothing of the marriage-feast, 2 Cor 5:3 if so be that, having clothed ourselves, we shall not be found naked. There are lots of verses that describe Believers as rich and as having Spiritual 20/20 vision and discernment.

Jesus says He will spew them out of His mouth. What we have here is a warning to the pretend Christians. Those who go to church and go through the motions of being Christian, who live a public life beyond reproach but their hearts are black with sin, never being circumcised and therefore insensitive to the Holy Spirit, even perhaps insensitive to their own conscience. They are absolutely miserable, and don't know why they are miserable. They think because they are wealthy according to the world's standards and go to church, they are saved.

Not so.

It is these black hearts that we must be wary against because they live a make-believe righteousness that is sickening to God. These are the misguided ones and can cause quite a bit of strife amongst God's children.

Hebrew Name study...

The Hebrew propensity for character analysis through a person's name is indicated by God when He changed Abram's name to Abraham, and Sarai to Sarah.

I haven't studied this enough to discern a difference between The Name HaShem, and His Covenant Name. I think God revealed Himself as much as He trusted mankind to know... a little at a time, especially since Adam rejected Him for Eve.

Years ago, I ran across a study about what the names of the ancestors of Jesus meant. I lost it, but have sort of recreated it here from the lineage of Joseph, husband of Mary. If you read down the list, the meanings create a sentence about God's promises finally ending with our Savior.

Adam - Red Earth

Seth - appointed, substitute

Enos - mortal man

Cainan - possession

Mahaleel - praise of God

Jared - descent

Enoch - initiated

Methuselah - man of the dart (he dies and the flood is sent)

Lamech - strikerdown, wild man

Noah - rest

Shem - Name; Ham - warm and hot, Japheth – wide-spreading

Arphaxad - son of Shem

Salah - sprout

Eber - beyond

Peleg - division

Reu - behold a son!

Serug - branch

Nahor - snorting, snore, nostril

Terah - wanderer, loiterer

Abram - exalted father, Sarai - my princess

Isaac - laughter

Jacob - deceiver, Esau - red

Israel - The prince that prevails with God

Judah - I will praise, Er - watchful, Onan - strong, Shelah - petition

Perez - breach

Hezron - surrounded by a wall

Aram - high

Aminadab - one of the Prince's people

Nahshon - enchanter

Salmon - garment

Boaz - fleetness

Obed - serving

Jesse - wealthy

David - well beloved

Solomon - peaceful

Rehoboam - enlarger of the people

Abijah - my father is Jehovah

Asa - physician or cure

Uzziah - strength of Jehovah

Jotham - Jehovah is upright

Ahaz - possessor

Hezekiah  - the might of Jehovah

Manasseh - forgetting

Amon - the mysterious

Josiah - whom Jehovah heals

Jehoiahchem - whom Jehovah has appointed

Shealtiel - asked of God

Zerubbabel – seed of Babylon, Prince of Judah

Abiud - father of praise

Eliakim-raised up by God

Azor - a helper

Sadoc - Just

Achim - the Lord will establish

Eliud - God his praise

Eleazar - help of God

Matthan - gift

Jacob - supplanter

Joseph - increase

Jesus - Savior, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Emmanuel, Lamb of God, Son of Man, I AM...

Please note that Mary's lineage is given in Luke. Where it branches is between the two sons of David: Solomon and Nathan. Down from Solomon is Joseph, and down from Nathan is Mary. (I do not know why Joseph is listed as the son of Heli.)

Nathan - giver

Mattatha - gift of Jehovah

Menan - numbered; rewarded; prepared

Melea - supplying; supplied

Eliakim - raised up by God

Jonan - grace of God

Joseph - increase

Judah - praised, celebrated

Simeon - heard

Levi - joined

Matthat - gift of God

Jorim - whom Jehovah has exalted

Eliezar - God is his help

Joses- exalted

Er - watchful

Elmodam - measure

Cosam - diviner

Addi - ornament

Melchi - my king my counselor

Neriah - Jehovah is my lamp

Shealtiel - asked of God

Zerubbabel – seed of Babylon, prince of Judah

Rhesa – head

Joannas – perhaps a derivative of Johanan – gift of God

Judah – praised, celebrated

Joseph – increase

Shimei – renowned

Mattathias – gift of Jehovah

Maath – small

Naggai – illuminating

Esli – near me; he who separates

Nahum – consolation

Amos – burden

Mattathias – gift of Jehovah

Joseph – increase

Janna – flourishing

Melchi – my king, my counselor

Levi – joined

Matthat – gift of God

Heli - ascending

Special Boat Team 22

There's something exciting going on in Pearl River County, Mississippi. The Stennis Space Center also houses The Western Maneuver Area--WMA--which is a LIVE fire riverine training range. It's in the northwest corner of the John C. Stennis Space Center. That range, which is bordered by the Pearl River and Mike River is operated by Special Boat Team 22 (SBT-22). It's the only one in all the U.S. military that conducts special ops in a riverine environment. Today, I learned so many accronyms I'm rather hard pressed to unscramble them. These guys specialize in extractions, insertions, personnel recovery, recon, and humanitarian extractions along rivers and streams. And I, ladies and gentlemen, (in case you can't tell from the picture above) got to go ride on one of those special boats today. Talk about a great experience! Commander James Emerett briefed us on all the unclassified things about SBT-22. So let me explain a bit. Right now, the SBT-22 trains in the Pearl River Basin using blank fire. The Navy has acquired more than 3,500 acres so they can now train with Live fire. Did you know that 50 caliber fire can travel about 4 miles when fired at a 45 degree angle? With the Short Range fire, it will only travel about 700 meters and the lasers they will be using are camoflaged by all the heavy vegatation. It's a jungle out there, and the good guys are training in our backyard. I feel safe. After talking to these guys, after seeing what they do, how they train, and knowing that most of them have had several tours in Iraq, I can't help but feel safe. They are good at what they do. You are safe. One young lieutenant told me that they all loved what they did. I told him, "Thank you so much for standing between us and the bad guys. You'll never know how much we appreicate it because there are no words that can express it."

Trembling in My Sandals

 

Trembling in my sandals…

...I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. (Revelation 4:1-3)

Then a voice like a trumpet called out, “Come up here!”

I ask you, who wouldn’t tremble in their sandals or boots hearing that voice, seeing the door in Heaven standing wide open, and seeing God sitting on His throne in Heaven?

I tremble just thinking how cavalier people are today with God’s name and with the day He set aside for worshiping Him. Even Christians are having trouble with keeping their garments white.

Today, society is defining sin.

That isn’t new. The Jews added layer upon layer to the Law to keep a deep pad of protection so they would not accidently break the Law. A lot of good that did them. God as good as told them their hearts were as stone when He told them, “In that day I will give you tenderized hearts, and I will write my commands on your hearts.” (Deuteronomy 30:3-6) That was centuries before they were exiled to Babylon, before Christ was born and died and raised, and before the destruction of Jerusalem. God knew what they would do.

One Thousand Years of Peace

I look at the headlines and violence abounds. Not only violence, but bloodshed in accidents, and natural disasters, intrigues, and power struggles. This is our lot until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. When that will be, not even Jesus knew while He was with His disciples. We know several facts about when the second coming of Christ is, when He comes in wrath and cleaves bone from marrow with just His breath. It is precisely 3.5 years from the breaking of the written agreement between the Antichrist and the Jews. It comes on the day of the abomination of desecration. It comes 45 days before the beginning of the Millennium of Peace.  I believe Jesus is eagerly anticipating when He can come retrieve His Bride... but, for now, we live in a world of sin because the prince of this world is Satan.

What about after Satan is bound? What happens during that one thousand years? I do believe the Bible is literal in prophecies, and is actually clear when the Holy Spirit is the guide to understanding.

I have run across a few things in Isaiah to chew on... 

We know that the outer courtyard of the Temple was the only place Gentiles could go. The inner courtyard all the way into the Holy of Holies was reserved for the Jews. This is one reason it was so horrific to the Jews at what Antiochus Epiphanes did and later in 70 AD what Titus of Rome did...

So, in Isaiah 56:6-7 "6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-- 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." 

Isaiah is speaking about a time in the future when the Gentiles are welcomed into the Temple to worship Jehovah and to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices upon His altar. This, of course, means another Temple will be built. We get a beautiful picture of that Temple in Ezekiel chapters 40-48, as well as some clues to the millennial sacrifices.

In Isaiah 66:18-24 we get another clue. Jehovah will gather all nations and tongues (Not just Israel) these are Gentiles that haven't "seen" the Glory of Jehovah... and it looks like God is going to use the Gentiles as "carriers" to bring the Jews to Jerusalem. Verse 20 this is done as an "offering" to the Lord, just "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD." 

Since Jesus is our Sacrifice, and His blood covers our sins, and all our sins are paid for, then why sacrifices? What purpose do they serve? Can we even make sense of them if, perhaps, the sacrifices God requires are sacrifices of praise and prayer in His house of prayer? What is God talking about in Ezekiel? Isaiah?

Could this be speaking about a time when Jews and Christians will be like-minded and worship and pray together? -- maybe like the Jews who come to accept Christ? Hopefully those Christians will not denounce Christ as the Messiah and adopt Judaism, but is that really what is happening when sacrifices are made? 

I would welcome any insight you guys have. Hopefully over the next few days we can make some kind of sense from this muddle.