#she says knowing full well she signed up for biblical hebrew 1-2 next year

[ontologic-catgirl]

Blargh 3 more weeks of ancient Greek 3 more weeks and I'm free to go back to something I'm good at

[frederickwiddowson]

Genesis 5:21-24 comments: the beginning of the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church expressed in Scripture

5:21 ¶  And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22  And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23  And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Here is a foundational verse, number 24, for belief in the Translation of the church, popularly called ‘The Rapture’ since the 1800’s. The Bible uses Interpretation for our modern thought of translating one word in one language into a word in another language, much like we use the word “interpreter” for someone at the UN with headphones on translating what the Russian ambassador said into English. This definition it uses as well as the interpreting of dreams.

John 1:42  And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

John 9:7  And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

Acts 9:36  Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.

Translation is to move something from one place to another, as Enoch was removed by God from the earth alive, missing the judgment on the earth to come.

Hebrews 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Much of the belief in the translation of the church is founded based on verses in Paul’s letters and in Revelation. The doctrine begins here with Enoch, however.

In the Revelation at the end of the Bible the apostle John is brought to heaven for the express purpose of being shown things he nor you and I can see from earth. These are not visions from a trance. This is a forceable removal from one place to another, a translation, as one definition of that word is.

Verse 1 of Chapter 4 in Revelation is often linked with the doctrine known today as The Rapture which Biblically is called the Translation, which in English also means to transport something from one place to another. John, a type of the church, is removed to Heaven. But, in our time, when does that happen? This will be a question that must be answered. Rapture comes from a form of the Latin rapto, to seize violently and carry away, as in the Latin Bibles in;

Matthew 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

MAT11.12 a diebus autem Iohannis Baptistae usque nunc regnum caelorum vim patitur et violenti rapiunt illud.[1]

The Greek word harpazo for take it by force is also the word used in 1Thessalonians 4:17 as shall be caught up. This is not the general resurrection of the good and the bad spoken of by Daniel in 12:2. This is a forceful removal, a translation. All that being said, it is more important what the Bible says in English than in Latin or Greek.

It is important to note that doctrine exists even if the majority of people do not understand or believe it. If it is true, it simply is, regardless of opinion. As an example, the early church was premillennial, in that they believed in chiliasm (kill e as um), believing that Christ would return to rule physically on earth for a thousand years. Historical writers like Will Durant, in his epic eleven volume The Story of Civilization noted this.

“The apostles were apparently unanimous in believing that Christ would soon return to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.”[2]

With this belief came the understanding that the church itself, the people, would be removed or translated from the world before Christ’s return, based on several verses in the Bible beginning with Enoch being physically removed without dying in verse 24;

24  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Three times this translation of Enoch is mentioned in one verse;

Hebrews 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Three times; in Proverbs 25:7; Revelation 4:1; and 11:12 the phrase come up hither, here, is used;

Proverbs 25:7  For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Revelation 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Revelation 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Luke 17:34-36 and the passages in Matthew 24 but are often used as evidence of it;

Luke 17:34  I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35  Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36  Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

           1Thessalonians 4:13-17;

13 ¶  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

In the next letter Paul warns the Thessalonians that something has to happen before this. First there is a great falling away in the church, away from Christ, then the Beast is revealed.

2Thessalonians 2: 1 ¶  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 ¶  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [Jeremiah 37:13 – going over to the enemy] first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Notice John the Baptist’s apocalyptic warning to the Pharisees and Sadducees and the Jews.

Matthew 3:7 ¶  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

And note Paul’s declaration to the church.

1Thessalonians 1:10  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Revelation 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

In the following a sequence of events is given; the wrath of God, the judgment of the dead, and eternity but the Bible is not written like the owner’s manual for your computer or car so try not to view it as meaning that one comes strictly after another rather than the mention here being to what is happening at the end of human history in a more general sense.

Revelation 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them…18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Further evidence is supplied by the following verses from Paul to the Corinthian church. We shall not all sleep with sleep being used as a reference to death as in the narrative of Lazarus’ resurrection by Jesus in John 11. The rapture or translation of the church is said to take place at the last trumpet, with the trumpets following the seventh seal, but the sixth seal is said to be the time of Christ’s wrath, as we will see, so this is a general statement of events happening in a general timeframe so I would not set my clock by it. I think that it is clear that the church will not see or experience this horrible period of time and will be translated before it begins leaving an unbelieving world of men and women behind. As Christ said to His disciples just remember when something happens that He told you it would and don’t try to set a date.

1Corinthians 15:51 ¶  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

The error of modernism is reading the Bible like a textbook as I have shown repeatedly. God is under no compunction to provide you with a schedule of events and times that constrict when He can or cannot do something. Generally, we can be assured that the church will not experience the following terrors from the perspective of the unsaved world of men.

Back to Revelation 11 and the timing of this at the last trump before the vials.

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

There is a period of time in there where the translation or rapture occurs and the marriage supper of the Lamb and then the return of Christ with the glorified believers, both Jew and Gentile, all the church.

Hebrews 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,…

Writings of early church leaders, some admittedly of disputed authenticity, others of uncertain translation and background texts, that have come down to us expressing belief in the premillennial return of the Lord include writings attributed to Papias, Shepard, Irenaeus, Lactantius, Victorinus, Cyprian, Ephraim the Syrite, Commodianus, Origen, Tertullian, and Justin Martyr. While some of them also include implications and clear statements that the church will not see the wrath to come but will be removed beforehand others are ambiguous and uncertain in meaning.

Shepard of     Hermas (apocryphal writing) 150 AD

The writer,     after escaping a huge terrifying beast with four colors on its head     (white, red, black and gold), met a virgin in his vision. "like a     bride going froth from a bride-chamber, all in white...I recognized from     the former visions that it was the church." the virgin explained that     she escaped destruction from the beast (the Great Tribulation) because of     God's special deliverance. "Thou hast escaped a great tribulation     because thou hast believed and at the sight of such a huge beast hast not     doubted. Go therefore and declare to the Elect of the Lord His mighty     deeds and say to them that this beast is a type of the great tribulation     which is to come. If ye therefore prepare yourselves and with your whole     heart turn to the Lord in repentance, then shall ye be able to escape it,     if your heart is pure and blameless." After explaining to him that     "the golden color stands for you who have escaped from this     world," the virgin concluded her messages with, "Now ye know the     symbol of the great tribulation to come. But if ye are willing, it shall     be nothing."       

Victorinus 240AD

Commentary on     the Apocalypse 6.14 - "'And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is     rolled up.' For the heaven to be rolled way, that is, that the Church     shall be taken away. "And the mountain and the islands were moved     from their places." Mountains and islands removed from their places     intimate that in the last persecution all men departed from their places;     that is, that the good will be removed, seeking to avoid the     persecution."

Commentary on     the Apocalypse 15.1 - "And I saw another great and wonderful sign,     seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is     completed the indignation of God.' For the wrath of God always     strikes the obstinate people with seven plagues, that is, perfectly, as it     is said in Leviticus; and these shall be in the last time, when the     Church shall have gone out of the midst."       

Cyprian 250 AD

Epistle 55 -     The Antichrist is coming, but above him comes Christ also. The     enemy goeth about and rageth, but immediately the Lord follows to avenge     our suffering and our wounds. The adversary is enraged and threatens, but     there is One who can deliver us from his hands." It is     significant that he did not write about enduring the persecution of the     Antichrist. Rather, Cyprian promised that Christ "is One who can     deliver us from his hands." 

Cyprian     Speaking of the immanency of the Rapture, he wrote, "Who would not     crave to be changed and transformed into the likeness of Christ and to     arrive more quickly to the dignity of heavenly glory." After telling     his readers that the coming resurrection was the hope of the Christian, he     points out that the Rapture should motivate us as we see the last days     approaching. Cyprian says that "we who see that terrible things have     begun, and know that still more terrible things are imminent, may regard     it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as     possible." Referring to his hope of the approaching Rapture, he     encouraged his readers as follows: "Do you not give God thanks, do     you not congratulate yourself, that by an early departure you are taken     away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are     imminent?" Cyprian concludes his comments on the translation of the     saints with these words: "Let us greet the day which assigns each of     us to his own home, which snatches us hence, and sets us free from     the snares of the world, and restores us to paradise and the kingdom"     (Treatises of Cyprian - 21 to 26?).      

Ephraim the     Syrian     373 AD

On The Last     Times 2 -  ...because all saints and the elect of the LORD are     gathered together before the Tribulation which is about to come and     be taken to the LORD...

Now, with regard to their looking for a future fulfillment of prophecy as found in the apocalyptic books of the Bible;

Papias 70-155

Fragment 6 - After     the resurrection of the dead, Jesus will personally reign for 1000 years.     He was taught this by the apostle John himself.      

Justin     Martyr 110-165

Dialogue 32 -     The man of Sin, spoken of by Daniel, will rule two times and a half,     before the second advent.

Dialogue 110     - The man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the Most High,     shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us, the     Christians.      

Irenaeus     178 AD

Against     Heresies 4.26 - Daniel the prophet says "Shut up the words, and seal     the book even to the time of consummation, until many learn, and knowledge     be completed. For at that time, when the dispersion shall be accomplished,     they shall know all these things." 

Against     Heresies 5.25 - In 2 Thessalonians the falling away is an apostasy and     there will be a literal rebuilt temple. In Matthew, 24 the     "abomination spoken by Daniel" is the antichrist setting in the     temple as if he were Christ. The abomination will start in the middle of     Daniel's 70th week and last for a literal 3 years and six months. The     little (11th) horn is the Antichrist.

Against     Heresies 5.26 - The Roman Empire will first be divided and then be     dissolved. Ten kings will arise from what used to be the Roman empire. The     Antichrist slays three of the kings and is then the eighth king among     them. The kings will destroy Babylon then give the Babylonian kingdom to the     beast and put the church to flight. After that they will be destroyed by     the coming of the Lord. Daniel's horns are the same as the ten toes. The     toes being part of iron and clay mean some will be active and strong while     others weak and inactive and the kings will not agree with each other.

Against     Heresies 5.27 - In Matthew 24, the two men one taken and the other left     does not refer to the rapture but second coming. They are taken to never     ending fire.

Against     Heresies 5.30 - The Name of the Antichrist equals 666 if spelled out in     Greek. Do not even try to find out the name until the ten kings arise. The     Antichrist shall be from the tribe of Dan. That is why the tribe of Dan is     not mentioned in the apocalypse. The fourth kingdom seen by Daniel is     Rome. Titan is one Greek word that comes out to 666. The rebuilt temple     will be in Jerusalem.

Against     Heresies 5.35 - The resurrection of the Just takes place after the     destruction of the Antichrist and all nations under his rule. Many     believers will make it through the tribulation and replenish the earth. In     the resurrection we will have fellowship and communion with the holy     angels, and union with spiritual beings. The new heavens and earth are     created and then the new Jerusalem descends. These are all literal things,     and Christians who allegorize them are immature Christians.      

Tertullian 190-210 AD

Marcion 3.25     - Millennial rain, resurrection, and the New Jerusalem are literal. In the     resurrection we shall then be changed in a moment into the substance of angels    

Marcion 5.16     - The Anti-Christ will be a real man and set in a real temple.

Treatise of     the Soul 1.50 Enoch and Elias will come back to die. They are the two     witnesses of Revelation.      

Origen 230 AD

Against     Celsus 2:49 - Quotes     Paul about the antichrist, as a literal person who works false     miracles. 

Against     Celsus 6:45 - There     is a literal future Antichrist coming. 

Against     Celsus 6:46 - The     prophecies in 1 Thessalonians and Daniel are real prophesies about the end     of the world. There will be a literal rebuilt Temple.      

Commodianus: 240 AD

35 -     Resurrection is at the end of the 6000 years.

41 -     Antichrist notes 

43 - End     of the age

44 - The     first resurrection. those who were not martyred under the antichrist will     marry and have children during the 1000 years. no rains, snow, cold during     the 1000yrs.

80 -     Resurrection of the body will be when six thousand years are completed,     and after the 1000 years when the world has come to an end.       

Lactantius 285 AD

Divine     Institutes 7:14 –     6000yrs till millennium.  (Some do not     think Book 7 was really written by Lactantius.)

Divine     Institutes 7:16-17 – end times… very good…

Divine     Institutes 7:19 – 1st     paragraph anti-Christ 4 battles??

Divine     Institutes 7:25 –     6000yrs, end of days is after the fall of Rome. The Sibyls agree.

Divine     Institutes 7:26 – After 100yrs (7000yrs) at battle of Gog the sun stands     still for 3 days. Righteous hid in the mountains then come out, all evil     is gone. No more nations. 7 years the woods are untouched. Burn arms of the     nations.

Epitome     of  Divine Institutes 71 – the last times: - very good…

Epitome     of  Divine Institutes 72 – literal 1000yr reign.

·         Hippolytus; Fragment 8:  And what am I to say with respect to men, when the very elements themselves will disown their order? There will be earthquakes in every city, and plagues in every country; and monstrous thunderings and frightful lightnings will burn up both houses and fields. Storms of winds will disturb both sea and land excessively; and there will be unfruitfulness on the earth, and a roaring in the sea, and an intolerable agitation on account of souls and the destruction of men. There will be signs in the sun, and signs in the moon, deflections in the stars, distresses of nations, intemperateness in the atmosphere, discharges of hail upon the face of the earth, winters of excessive severity, different frosts, inexorable scorching winds, unexpected thunderings, unlooked-for conflagrations; and in general, lamentation and mourning in the whole earth, without consolation. For, "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." By reason of the agitation and confusion of all these, the Lord of the universe cries in the Gospel, saying, "Take heed that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet by and by." Let us observe the word of the Savior, how He always admonished us with a view to our security: "Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ." 

Victorinus 240 AD

Commentary on     Revelation 2 - Allow fornication on a "pretext for Mercy," the     name written on the white stone is "Christian" granting     "unlawful peace" over new forms of Prophecy.

Commentary on     Revelation 4 - Rainbow above god's head is red and blue symbolize the     judgments of water and fire. 24 elders are the 12 Apostles and 12 Patriarchs.    

Commentary on     Revelation 6 - Heaven withdrawing like a scroll is the church taken away.

Commentary on     Revelation 7 - Angel ascending is Elijah. 7 angels (Shepards) are attack     the antichrists kingdom. Babylon is the ruined Roman kingdom. Do not look to     the order of Revelation, the vials and trumpets are the same events.

Commentary on     Revelation 11 - great wings given to the woman are the two prophets and     those who help her.

Commentary on     Revelation 13 - 2nd beast is the false prophet.

This does not prove, of course, that either doctrine is true but just that they are not new doctrines, either the premillennial view or the translation of the church, but that these early church leaders, the viewpoint of the Apostles who knew Christ, and the Scriptures can point in this direction.

The dominant viewpoint of the Roman Catholic Church after Augustine was that there was no millennium, in that references to a thousand year reign were allegorical and that the Roman church was ruling the world in Christ’s place as his proxy. The Reformation called that into doubt. The dominant viewpoint in early America up to the turn of the 20th century among evangelical Protestants was called postmillennial, in that the church would rule the world with Christ reigning spiritually through it, as men became more righteous and more Christian in appearance and practice.

The American Theological Review, in 1859, said that postmillennialism, whereby a millennium would be set up and the religion of Christ would be everywhere and, “his spiritual reign would be universal,” and that would be followed by Christ’s physical return was the, “commonly received doctrine,” in the 1800’s. While admitting that this was not what the early church believed, as the early church said and we believe, He will return first to rule and then the millennium, the thousand year reign, will come, the author goes on to say that the early church was simply wrong.[3]

Christians today who do not believe in the Translation of the church, popularly called The Rapture, will say that preacher of the early 1800’s, John Nelson Darby, invented the doctrine. He did popularize it in a world that regarded evolutionary progress as truth and that mankind and Christians in particular were headed toward a Golden Age of righteousness and peace.[4]

But, Darby obviously did not invent the doctrine, merely gave it his own twist. As John Reeve wrote  two centuries before Darby’s, in the 1600’s, “Then shall the Elect, by the Decree or Voice of Jesus Christ, the Archangel, first appear out of the Graves, and, in the twinkling of an Eye, with all the Elect that are then living, as one Man, with a glorious Shout, shall, with distinct immortal Bodies, like unto their God, ascend to meet the Lord in the Air, and with him and his mighty angels, as swift as Thought, enter into that vast new Heaven and new Earth above the Stars….[5]

My intent here is not to approve of any preacher’s particular doctrines or idiosyncrasies or even personal opinions or heresies but simply to show that the doctrine of The Rapture was not invented by Darby, as some would say. Only the timing of when it would happen, before the Great Tribulation mentioned in Matthew and Revelation, during, or at the end of it were in contention among those that believed in it. Although I have not read his work there is supposedly another pretribulation rapture commentator named Morgan Edwards from the century prior to Darby.

Other references to the idea of the church being physically removed are from such diverse preachers and commentators as Jesuit priest, Francisco Ribera, in 1590, Puritan Cotton Mather in the 1600’s, and John Gill in the 1700’s.[6]  In the first decade of the 1700’s Matthew Henry even uses the phrase, “rapture in the clouds,” in his commentary on 1Thessalonians 4:17 which is so commonly free on the internet I don’t need to give you directions here.

Again, the issue is when that happens and how close it is to the general judgment of the dead. Darby’s view was that it must take place before the return of Christ. The Bible seems to indicate that then there is the thousand-year reign of Christ and the general judgment follows.

My point in bringing all of this up is to only say that a doctrine can exist in the Bible and either be misunderstood, not be known by most believers, or that those against it or for it may misrepresent it to justify their own beliefs. The Jews believed that Israel would be restored to its past greatness, not seeing the Cross or the Resurrection of their Messiah. Many Christians believed they would turn the world over to Christian principles and values without Christ present. We must always remember that our understanding is incomplete until we stand before our Saviour.

[1] (2012-02-03). The Latin and English Parallel Bible (Vulgate and KJV) (Kindle Location 74453). Latus ePublishing. Kindle Edition.)

[2] Will Durant, “The Apostles: A.D. 30-95,”  The Story of Civilization:Volume 3, Caesar and  Christ (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944), 575.

 [3] Henry Boynton Smith, ”History of Opinions Respecting the Millennium,” The American Theological Review (Boston: Charles Scribner & Son, 1859), 642.

 [4] J.N. Darby, “The Rapture of the Saints,” in The Heavenly Hope, or, What is the Hope of the Christian? What is the Hope of the Church? (Dublin: Dublin Tract Repository, 1844).

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16305370W/The_Heavenly_hope_or_What_is_the_hope_of_the_Christian_What_is_the_hope_of_the_Church_A_letter_from_

[5] John Reeve, “An Epistle to a Kinsman,” in Joyful News from Heaven (London: Francis Cosinet, 1658), 60.https://openlibrary.org/works/OL245574W/Joyful_news_from_heaven_or_The_last_intelligence_from_our_glorified_Jesus_above_the_stars

[6] Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996).

[afterthineownheart-blog]

Chag haMatzot Sameach!

This was written as part of a series of letters to my family explaining the appointed times of Yehovah in a way that would be (hopefully) easy to understand. I will send these letters out on the date of each day in question, to help them understand the Messianic perspective of all the “Jewish” holy days.

If I have kept up with these as I planned, then you should be getting this on Aviv 13—that is, thirteen days after the biblical New Year’s Day. That is actually the day before Passover (Pesach); I will explain why I’m a day early soon. We have a lot to cover in this section, so I will do my best to keep it within four pages.

As you all have grown up in church, my hope is that you already know the story of the Exodus. For brevity, I won’t recap that story, except for the parts directly related to the Passover.

The people of Israel were slaves in Egypt for 215 years. God used Moses as his mouthpiece to free Israel from Pharaoh, but Pharaoh refused to let them go. God cursed Egypt with ten terrible plagues, each of which was an attack on one of the gods of Egypt. The final plague was the death of every firstborn son and male livestock in Egypt. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, and Pharaoh agreed to let Israel go.

When God described this judgment to Moses, he told him that he would bring it upon all of Egypt, even the Israelites, unless they performed a certain act of obedience. You can read the full story in Exodus 12, but God told them to bring a yearling male lamb without blemish into their homes on the tenth day of the month. After four days, they would slaughter it in the afternoon; then they would eat it that evening (the evening meal marked the beginning of the 15th day). They were to paint their doorframes with the blood of the lamb. When the angel of death came to kill the sons, he would see the blood over the houses and pass them over. Any Hebrew or Egyptian who obeyed this command was saved.

Israel spent the next week running, finally reaching the Red Sea on the 21st day of the month. In Leviticus 23, God gives the most detailed instructions of his holy days that we find in the Bible, and there he tells us to observe the entire week following Passover (the 15th through the 21st) remembering his deliverance by eating unleavened bread, since baking with leaven is a day-long process, and Israel didn’t have time to sit around waiting for leavened dough to rise during their escape.

In addition, he gave us another command, that of the Day of Firstfruits. Unlike Passover and Unleavened Bread, this isn’t a holy day; it’s the day Israel begins to harvest the barley crop. It falls on the first Sunday after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It always falls on a Sunday (although remember that in the Bible, days begin in the evening, so technically Firstfruits begins on Saturday evening and ends Sunday evening). This day is part one of a two-part command to remember how God spared the firstborn sons of Israel. Before Israel could begin harvesting their barley, the high priest had to cut down the first bundle of barley and present it before the altar as an offering. It symbolizes the firstborn sons of Israel being set apart for God. The second half of this command regards individual offers that every family must make for their firstborn son. Since we don’t have a temple today, we can’t really do either of those things, but this commandment is why Joseph and Mary offered two little birds as a sacrifice when Jesus was forty days old (Luke 2:22-24).

There is so much depth in these mo'adim, I will do my best to condense it all. The history of it is pretty straightforward, but this is where the events in Jesus’ life become extremely important.

To start it off, John the Baptizer was born on Passover. There is a long-standing Jewish tradition that Elijah the Prophet will appear to Israel on Passover to prepare them for the Messiah, and that is exactly what John the Baptizer came to do. I won’t go into it here, but when you do some calculations regarding Gabriel’s visit to Zechariah in Luke 1, the most likely date for John’s birthday is Passover.

Next, the 13th and 14th days of the month are considered days of preparation. Yes, the 14th is the Passover, but the Passover meal was eaten at the beginning of the 15th day, at sundown. Now if you compare Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it is difficult to figure out the exact timing of these events. But the outline below pieces them together accurately.

Since the four Gospels are somewhat tricky to understand, here is the breakdown of the events of the last week of Jesus’ life:

Saturday, 10th – Jesus enters Jerusalem on the back of a donkey foal. This took place at the same time as the spotless yearling lambs entered Jerusalem. For the next several days, Jesus is grilled by the religious authorities, who are desperate to find a flaw in him somewhere. They can’t. Also during this time, the same religious leaders also examine the Passover lambs to make sure they’re perfect. Did you catch the symbolism there?

Tuesday, 13th – Jesus instructs two of his disciples to prepare for the Passover.

Tuesday evening, 13th/14th – This is the Last Supper. It is not the Passover, even though some of the Gospels give this misleading impression. After dinner, Jesus leads his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he is betrayed by Judas.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, 14th – Jesus is tried by the Jewish leaders in an illegal trial. In the morning, they take him to Herod and Pilate, who sentence him to death.

Wednesday afternoon, 14th – Around 3:00 p.m., Jesus has been on the cross for six hours. He cried out, “It is finished!” and gave up his life. This is the same time as when the priests would begin to sacrifice the Passover lambs.

Wednesday evening, 14th/15th – Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea bury Jesus.

Thursday, 15th – This was the first day of Unleavened Bread, which is considered a High Holy Day. No work can be done on it, just like the Sabbath.

Friday, 16th – The women buy and prepare the spices to properly bury Jesus’ body.

Saturday, 17th – This is the weekly Sabbath.

Saturday evening, 17th/18th – Jesus is resurrected.

Sunday morning, 18th – Mary gets to the tomb early and meets Jesus. He tells her not to touch him yet, because he has not yet ascended to his Father and God. Later, he meets the other women and most of his disciples, and he allows them to embrace him. Something significant happened between those times…

As you can see, his Wednesday crucifixion and Saturday evening resurrection don’t match the Christian holidays of Good Friday and Easter. Because of this, I have chosen not to celebrate those holidays, in favor of the holy days which God gave us in the Bible. I don’t say that to be boastful, but there is value in reconnecting with the faith practiced by the saints in the Scriptures. I hope you will consider joining me in this next year.

At the beginning of this letter, I said this is a day early. Tonight is the memorial of the Last Supper, and there is a lot going on at this meal that we can overlook when we read the stories.

Every year after the Day of Firstfruits, Israel would begin harvesting barley. From this barley, they would make a soupy concoction of fermenting flour called leaven. Leaven is what you use to make sourdough bread. As the flour soaks in a bowl of water, yeast from the air begins to digest the sugars in the flour. As the yeast eats, it turns the flour into leaven. When you bake sourdough, you mix some of that leaven into your fresh flour and oil. Then you set your dough somewhere warm, and the yeast release gases that cause the dough to expand. This is how we get loaves of fluffy bread.

Now leaven can survive for centuries if maintained well, but God commanded us to throw out our leaven every year on the day or two leading up to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In the New Testament, leaven is likened to pride (1 Corinthians 5:6), sin (ibid. 5:8), and bad doctrine (Matthew 16:5-12). This annual ritual was clearly meant to be an object lesson for Israel.

At the Last Supper, we see that Jesus and those with him ate leavened bread. This means the meal had to take place on the 13th/14th, not as the Passover meal itself (14th/15th). This loaf of bread was probably made from the last leaven in the house. Jesus told them that the bread represented his body, which was broken on our behalf. Fast forward a few decades, and Paul referred to Christians as the “Body of the Messiah”. I will go into more detail on this in a couple of months with my next letter, but for now, just know that the bread from the Last Supper and us being the “Body of the Messiah” are closely related.

At the Last Supper, Jesus shared a cup of wine with his disciples. This is a Hebrew engagement custom. A young man offers a glass of wine to a young woman (after getting her father’s permission). If she accepts, then they both drink as a sign of their engagement. He returns to his father’s house to begin building a new room for them to live in. Once his father says it is ready, then he returns to his fiancée and takes her to their new home. When they arrive, they hold a week-long wedding feast. This kind of marriage language is all over in the New Testament. I won’t go into it now, but feel free to ask, and I can explain it more in depth. Maybe you even picked up on some of it yourself.

Moving forward, Jesus died at 3:00 p.m. on the following Wednesday afternoon. This is important because he is called our Passover Lamb. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul instructs the Gentile church in Corinth to keep Passover and the other feasts that fall during this time. When we choose to faithfully follow Jesus, his blood is figuratively painted over the doors of our hearts so that God’s anger for sin will pass over us on the day of judgment. And the unleavened bread we eat during the next seven days reminds us to remove sin, pride, and false teaching from our own lives.

You may recall that Matthew writes a spurious remark in 27:52-53 that at Jesus’ death, graves around Jerusalem broke open, and after he was resurrected, the bodies within them came out and preached around Jerusalem. After this, they are never mentioned again. It is my belief that these people were the Firstfruits offering made to God by Jesus in his new role as High Priest (more on this in six months, Lord willing). When Jesus told Mary not to touch him, it was because the high priest was not supposed to be touched from Passover until after he presented the bread offering to God. So sometime early Sunday morning, Jesus apparently took those resurrected people up to heaven. Throughout the Bible, we are privy to several descriptions of the throne room in heaven, but from Revelation 4 and onward, we see twenty-four elders who haven’t been mentioned before. I believe these are the saints whom Jesus presented before the Father before returning to greet his disciples that evening.

There is so much more I could say. These spring mo'adim are so important to us today because of what they tell us about Jesus and the hope of the Gospel. I greatly abridged the information and left out most Scripture references to cut down on space. But I do want to end on the End Times importance of these days.

Ezekiel 40-48 describes Israel during the Messianic era, aka the Millennial Kingdom that we discussed in the note about the Sabbath day. When Jesus reigns as King, there will be a temple in Jerusalem that dwarfs the ones that came before it. Jesus himself will be its high priest, and the descendants of Aaron the priest will serve under him.

When there was a temple in Jerusalem, all the nation was required to go to Jerusalem for Passover, as well as two other feasts (which I will discuss later). It will be no different in the future. Since Paul tells us to celebrate Passover and Unleavened Bread now, and Ezekiel tells us that we will do so during Jesus’ reign on Earth for 1,000 years, we ought to begin practicing now. You can begin by removing all the bread in your house and eat unleavened bread for a whole week. You can buy it at the store, but last year I made my own by mixing flour, water, salt, and olive oil. Next, take a day of rest on Saturday the 31st and Saturday the 6th. If I’m right (as of February 9), those are the first and last days of this feast. Take these days to remember the history of God’s redemption of his people—whether Israel from Egypt or all of us today from the curse of our sins.

The Catholic Church has set up its own holidays to celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. However, these holidays have been bogged down by many traditions that have dubious origins, some of which even come from other religions. I don’t begrudge anyone for celebrating Good Friday and Easter, but I urge you to consider giving up those man-made traditions in favor of God’s Appointed Times. There is such great worth in them that no human holiday can ever match.

[jameshboyd]

Humor in the Bible

"Are Christians allowed to laugh, have fun and enjoy life?"

When discussing my faith with others, this issue comes up frequently from Christians and non-Christians alike. When I was first introduced to the Gospel as a teenager, I asked it myself, and with good reason. To be sure, the call to follow Jesus is a very serious and sober one, commanding us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, even if it means laying down our very lives (Matthew 10:39; John 12:25). But the next question deals with how we apply this commitment to our lives on a day-to-day basis. Does Jesus' call to self-denial and holiness mean that we cannot enjoy even the legitimate pleasures of life? I don't think so. Laughter is one of the most primal responses human beings are capable of experiencing. Philosophers and psychologists have long sought to understand its complexities on emotional and physical levels. Journalist Norman Cousins credited the healing power of laughter to his recovery from a fatal illness. Jane Wollman points out that "(Laughter) excercises the diaphram and stomach muscles, in addition to massaging the internal organs. Moreover, by stirring up the endocrine system, it triggers the release of hormones that boost metabolism...Sigmund Freud thought laughter originated from the smile of an infant falling asleep at the breast-the emotional expression of pleasurable satiety (2)." Of course, for those who love the Bible, these healthy effects of laughter should come as no surprise. Thousands of years earlier, Proverbs 17:22 told us how "...a merry heart does good like a medicine." We read in Psalm 24:1 that "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof (King James Translation)." 1 Timothy 6:17 further tells us that God gives it all to us for our enjoyment. and that "the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)." It even states that God Himself sits in Heaven and laughs at human foolishness (Psalm 2:4). The Bible uses words such as “laugh,” “laughter,“ or other variations of those words over 200 times. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery tells us that “The Bible is predominantly a serious rather than a funny book. Yet it would distort the Bible to suppress the humor that is present (3).” As with all of life, the key is balance. As Ecclesiastes tells us, there is both a time to weep and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Mark Pinski, former religion writer for the Orlando Sentinel, rightly observes that:

(T)he ability to laugh at one’s faith is a sign of growth and theological maturity... humor is a way of explaining religion — to its adherents and to others. Increasingly, believing members of orthodox faith traditions are able to joke about their foibles and shortcomings before an audience of their community (4).

With these facts established, we will now look at a few specific examples of humor in the Bible. First let’s look at the Book of Exodus, chapter 32. Moses has been on Mount Sinai communing with God and receiving the Ten Commandments. While he was gone, he leaves his brother Aaron in charge. Unfortunately, though, we know what happens. The people’s commitment to God and to Moses turns out to be very fickle, and they have Aaron melt down their gold and make a golden calf idol for them to worship. Obviously, when Moses returns, he is not happy! He burns the idol, grinds it to powder, mixes it with water, and makes the people drink it. Is this funny? No, except for one place. When Moses confronts Aaron in verse 21, look at Aaron’s response in verses 22-24: "Don’t get so upset, my lord, … You yourself know how evil these people are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!” We may laugh at that, but in reality, haven’t we all given God those kind of excuses at some point? Next let’s look at 1 Kings chapter 18. This is the familiar story of Elijah and his showdown with the prophets of Baal. As most of you will recall, they had both built their altars and were engaged in a contest to determine who was serving the true God. The challenge was that both would call down fire from Heaven to consume their respective sacrifices and the one who answered was the one to be worshipped. The prophets of Baal went first, but they had a problem: Their god, Baal was only a statue. He could not hear them, let alone answer them. So when they called on him to send down the fire, obviously, they got nothing. Now the funny part: We see Elijah respond with a little sanctified “trash talking” in verse 27. The King James words it "And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked." In that day, "on a journey" was a Hebrew euphamism for going to the bathroom! This is reflected in many modern translations. In other words, “Where is you god, sitting on the toilet?” So ladies, cut your husbands some slack: "Potty humor" is biblical! Next, let’s look at that venerable guide for practical wisdom, the Book of Proverbs. Millions of believers, myself included, look to it regularly for important life lessons. But what we often miss is that they are often cloaked in very funny terms. Here are some examples:

Proverbs 11:22 A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

Proverbs 19:24 Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

Proverbs 21:9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

Proverbs 22:13 The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!”

Next we will look at the life of Jesus. Did He have a sense of humor? Now it is true that Isaiah 53:3 describes Him as a “man of sorrows,” but does that describe the whole of His human experience? I don't believe it does. Always keep in mind that Jesus was both fully God and fully human, and a part of being fully human is experiencing the full range of human emotion, both the joys and the sorrows. Jesus was not the dour, gloomy person that popular religious tradition has often painted Him as being. He "rejoiced (Luke 10:21)," which is the Greek word agalliaô which means "to exult, rejoice exceedingly, be exceeding glad." He was not a far-off ascetic who simply sat on a mountain at spouted platitudes. He met people where they were. He attended weddings and other social functions (John 2:1-11), even to the extent that He was (falsely) accused of being a glutton and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19). People from all walks of life actively sought out His company. Did you ever wonder why this was? While the spiritual aspects of His presence are obvious, could it have also been that He was (gasp) a fun guy to be around? Unfortunately, though, this side of Jesus is a much-neglected course of study in the theological world. However, a notable exception is the popular book called “The Humor of Christ” by a Quaker author named Elton Trueblood. Mr. Trueblood tells us of his inspiration for writing the book:

We were reading to our eldest son from the seventh chapter of Matthew' Gospel, feeling very serious, when suddenly the little boy began to laugh. He laughed because he saw how preposterous it would be for a man to be so deeply concerned about a speck in another person's eye, that he was unconscious of the fact that his own eye had a beam in it...His laughter was a rebuke to his parents for their failure to respond to humor in an unexpected place. (5)

Here Mr. Trueblood brings up a vitally important point: Many of Jesus' parables and illustrations had humorous overtones in the vernacular of that day. A common form of communication for Jews in that day was called hyperbole, or exaggeration to emphasize a point. A modern example would be “I haven’t seen you in a million years!” Here, Jesus uses it in a very funny way. Being a carpenter, He used the tools of His trade to make a stinging point about religious hypocrisy. “Why are you worried about a speck in your brother’s eye when you have a two-by-four in your own eye?” Another example: Matthew 15, starting with verse 21. A gentile woman comes to Jesus asking Him to heal her demon possessed daughter. But Jesus reply is shocking: “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel…It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” I have to admit that Jesus' response here always bothered me a little. At first glance, it seems that Jesus is being very cruel and insulting to this woman. That is, until you consider the humor element. Look at her response in verse 27: “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” Basically, she had just “one-upped” the Lord, and He commends her great faith and sets her daughter free. Elton Trueblood also reminds us that “Often a smile comes because Jesus reveals to us some of the absurdity of our own lives, where we need help to recognize it (6).” I can certainly say "amen" to that, can't you? Now I would like to address a topic that will no doubt prove to be a bit controversial: Exactly what kind of humor is appropriate for Christians? More specifically, I want to spend a little time talking about profanity, crude language and "off-color" humor. Our movies are rated primarily in three areas: Sexual content, violence and language. While we certainly do need to use discernment in how we address and evaluate these topics, many well-meaning believers say that we need to avoid any and all references to them. Of course, if we take this to its logical conclusion, then the first book we will have to throw away is the Bible itself! Lets face it: The Bible is, in places, a very violent book! Yes, it is God's Word, and as such, it does not ignore the darker aspects of life. The Bible describes a man getting a tent peg hammered through his skull (Judges 5:23-27). It tells us how King David paid his wife's dowry with 100 Philistine Foreskins (2 Samuel 3:14). It even describes, in very graphic detail, an overweight king named Eglon who was assassinated with a sword, soiling himself in the process (Judges 3:21-22)! And as for sexuality, have you read the Song of Solomon lately? Of course, the context is always the key. By including these stories, the Bible is not encouraging gratuitous violence. It is simply acknowledging that it does exist in the fallen world we live in. Furthermore, the Song of Solomon is not condoning perverse or promiscuous sexual conduct. Rather, it is a liberating celebration of sexuality between a man and his wife. I personally am glad that many Christian leaders are more willing to discuss these topics in an honest and frank manner (7). Locking away any topic as being "taboo" will ultimately do more harm than good. This is why much of what is offered as "wholesome" entertainment is often a shallow, unrealistic characature of life. I enjoy "Leave it to Beaver" reruns as much as anyone, but that is definitely not the world I live in! But the question still remains: When, if ever, is it appropriate for Christians to use "off-color" language? A certain well-known minister once shocked his audience by stating that "...millions of people are starving to death, and most of you don't give a ----!" He went on to rebuke them by saying that "The sad thing is, most of you are more upset at my using that word than you are about people starving!" Was this the best way to make his point? That is open to debate, but it does call challenge us in how we are going to define "bad words." Often, the word "profanity" is used to describe any and all forms of off-color language, but that goes beyond its actual meaning. The word "profanity" means "outside the Temple" and refers specifically to blasphemous or sacriligious terms. Of course, this should not be part of any Christians vocabulary (Exodus 20:7). Nor should immoral sexual talk (Ephesians 5:4) or racist or otherwise degrading language (Matthew 5:22). These principles are summed up in the following Biblical guidelines:

"No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear.”- Ephesians 5:4

"But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."-Colossians 3:8, NIV

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."-Colossians 4:6, NIV

Yet outside of these common-sense perimeters, the Bible simply does not give us an explicit list of "forbidden" words that we are never allowed to utter under any circumstances. More often than not, the definition of "bad words" is culturally determined rather than biblically mandated, and is therefore subject to change over time. For example, the word "gay" is now almost universally recognized as referring to homosexuality. Yet originally, it meant to be happy or light hearted. Similarly, to "have an affair" once meant to throw a dinner party or other social gathering. Now it means to commit adultery. "Grass" used to be something people mowed, now it is something people smoke! This is noteworthy because the Bible itself even uses rather crude language on occasion. Although it is sometimes obscured by our flowery King James English, there is an inherant "earthiness" to the Scriptures that is often overlooked.

Isaiah 64:6 states that man's righteousness is as "filthy rags." Literally translated, this is referring to a bloody menstruel cloth.

Matthew 15:17- Jesus illustrates a point by referring to a bowel movement.

Matthew 23:33- Jesus calls the religious leaders a "generation of vipers," or "sons of snakes." Referring to someone as the offspring of an animal remains a common and forceful means of denunciation. The modern equivilent would be "son of a (not-nice word for a female dog)."

Galatians 5:11-12- Paul wishes that the false teachers in the church would castrate themselves.

Phillipians 3:8- Paul compares his pre-Christian life to fesces.

So am I trying to justify bad language? Not at all. I am simply saying that we should define our terminology by the Bible itself, not simply letting cultural norms dictate to us what does and does not constitute improper language. God is not as prudish as we may have been led to believe! God gave us life to be enjoyed. Jesus said "I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)" (John 10:10, Amplified Bible). This is why Christians should be having more fun than anyone on earth! It only makes sense that people who are going to Heaven would be happier than people who are going to Hell! Not only that, this joy gives us a very powerful tool with which we can communicate both our faith and our humanity. In the words of Joel Hunter, Pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, Florida:

"The more seriously we take God, the less seriously we need to take ourselves. Self-deprecating humor not only reduces the intimidation factor, it personifies the possibility of success of people with flaws. Pastors who can joke about their own shortcomings are paradoxically making the ideals of religion seem more possible by putting them in a common human experience (8)."

It is sometimes said that "The medium is the message." While that may be true to some degree, we must also make sure that the medium does not obscure or compromise the message. As we have seen, there is certainly a place for humor in communicating spiritual truth, we must never let that distract from the seriousness of our message. The minister's chief role is to be a messenger of God, not simply an entertainer. The Bible says that walking with God is a life of pleasure (Psalm 16:11), delight (Psalm 37:4), sweetness (Psalm 119:103), joy (John 15:11) and freedom (John 8:32). Yet this relationship is built on very somber realities. In short, God is holy, man is sinful, but God loves us in spite of that. In His death on the cross, Jesus paid our sin debt so that we could receive God's forgiveness and experience this joy both here and forever! If you have never entered into this relationship, why not open you heart to Him now? © 2011 JHB NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture referances are from the New Living Translation.

1-Quoted in Allen, Steve. How To Be Funny: Discovering the Comic You. 1987. Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY. p 7. 2-Dictionary of Biblical Imagery: An Encyclopedia Exploration of the Images, Symbols, Motifs, Metaphors, Figures of Speech, Literary Patterns and Universal Master Images of the Bible By Leland Ryken, Jim Wilhoit, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, Daniel G. Reid Published by InterVarsity Press, 1998 p. 407 3-Pinski, Mark I. "On Religion" column." Putting the 'Fun' in Fundamentalism." USA Today. December 08, 2008. 4-Trueblood, Elton. The Humor of Christ. 1964. Harper & Row Publishers. New York, Evanston and London. P 9 5-Ibid. p 50 5-Altough he is a controversial figure,. I gratefully acknowledge various teachings from Pastor Mark Driscoll as a source and inspiration for portions of this message. 8-Quoted in Pinski,"Putting the 'fun' in fundamentalism" cited above.

#jameshboyd #keepitreal #yourfriendjames

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