Spiritual Adultery

Eph 5:31-32 (NIV) "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.

God uses a strong human urge, sex, to describe His relationship with us. Israel is "the Wife" of Jehovah. We, the church, are called "the Bride" of Christ. Most Christians understand that Scripture uses sexual desire to represent the longing and excitement God feels for us, and we should feel for Him. But do we see how God also uses sexual imagery to describe how we "whore" after false religions, worldly "wisdom", and the idols of this world?
James 4:4-5 (Phi) You are like unfaithful wives... never realizing that to be the world's lover means becoming the enemy of God! Anyone who deliberately chooses to be the world's friend is thereby making himself God's enemy. Or do you think what the Scriptures have to say about this is a mere formality?


Do we recognize how intense the desire is within us to chase after the latest religious fad, to believe comforting lies, to embrace the world? Scripture uses sexual imagery to show how strong our passions are for these things. God is a jealous God; we are His; and He takes a dim view of our "horneyness" to fellowship with lies, sophistries, and the world. The word of God, the truth--even if painful--will set us free. Brace yourself.
Eze 16:30 (NIV) "How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!"


When adultery and prostitution are applied to Israel, Babylon, etc., clearly it is the symbolic / spiritual sense. But because the images are so shocking and descriptive, it may take some effort not to miss the point by getting caught up in the "lurid" aspect of these texts. Please keep in mind that except where referring to specific people, adultery is being used in the spiritual, figurative sense in these studies.
Jer 2:20 (NIV) "Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, 'I will not serve you!' Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute."


While much of God's revelation is on this subject, the following verses should make the point that God is serious about us being loyal to Him with our affections, and Scripture uses the strongest, most graphic language to warn us not to "play the harlot".

The Truth About Us, Revealed By God
Jer 3:1-3 (NIV, all, except where noted) "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers--would you now return to me?" declares the Lord. "Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness... Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame."

Jer 3:6-10 ..."Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the Lord.


Looking For Someone Who Loves The Truth
Jer 5:1-6 "Go up and down the streets... If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city..." O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?... You crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. I thought, "These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God." But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds... their rebellion is great and their backslidings many.

Jer 5:7-13 "Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man's wife. Should I not punish them for this?" declares the Lord. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to the Lord. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the Lord. They have lied about the Lord; they said, "He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine." The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.


False Religion Is Worthless; Our Shame Will Be Exposed
Jer 7:8-11 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, 'We are safe'--safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord."

Jer 9:2-3 ...For they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. "They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me," declares the Lord.

Jer 13:22-27 "And if you ask yourself, 'Why has this happened to me?'--it is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind. This is your lot, the portion I have decreed for you," declares the Lord, "because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods. I will pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen--your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution! I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?"


The following two "parables" should be as well known as any in Scripture, but few have even read them. They are the big-picture story of God's relationship to man in history.

Parable 1: The Adopted Prostitute
Eze 16:1-5 The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices and say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem... On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.'"

Eze 16:6-8 "Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, 'Live!' I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare. Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine."

Eze 16:9-14 "I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord."

Eze 16:15-17 "But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen, nor should they ever occur. You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them."

Eze 16:22,25-26,28-30 "In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood. Woe! Woe to you, declares the Sovereign Lord... At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, offering your body with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by. You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and provoked me to anger with your increasing promiscuity... You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied. Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied. How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!"

Eze 16:25 (NAS) "...you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry."


Worse Than A Prostitute, WE PAY For This Abuse!
Eze 16:31-34 "...You were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment. You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors. So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you."

Eze 16:35-41 "Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols... therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see all your nakedness. I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery... I will bring upon you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger. Then I will hand you over to your lovers... They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you naked and bare. They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers."

Eze 16:42-43,47 "Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry. Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?... You not only walked in their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they."

Eze 16:58-60,62-63 "You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant. Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you... So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord."


Parable 2: Oholah and Oholibah
Eze 23:1-7 The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians--warriors clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after."

Eze 23:8-13 "She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her. Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her. Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister. She too lusted after the Assyrians--governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men. I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way."

Eze 23:17-20 "Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses."

Eze 23:21-23,25-27 "So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled. Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side... handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses... I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword... They will also strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry. So I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore."

Eze 23:28-31,34 "For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you naked and bare, and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your lewdness and promiscuity have brought this upon you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup into your hand... You will drink it and drain it dry; you will dash it to pieces and tear your breasts. I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord."

Eze 23:35-37 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution." The Lord said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices, for they have committed adultery... They committed adultery with their idols..."

Eze 23:40-41,43-44 "They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes and put on your jewelry. You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and oil that belonged to me... Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, 'Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is.' And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah."

Eze 23:46-49 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder. The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses. So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you. You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord."


Hosea Lives Out The Painful Truth About Us
Hosea 1:2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord."

Hosea 3:1-3 The Lord said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods..." So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver... Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you."

Hosea 7:11-13 "Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless--now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria. When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like birds of the air. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them. Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me."

Hosea 4:10-12 "...They will engage in prostitution but not increase, because they have deserted the Lord to give themselves to prostitution... They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God."

Hosea 7:4,6-7 "They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises... Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven... and none of them calls on me.'"

Hosea 2:2-3,5-7 "...Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. Otherwise I will strip her naked and make her as bare as on the day she was born; I will make her like a desert, turn her into a parched land, and slay her with thirst... She said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water...' She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.'"

Hosea 2:8-10,13 "She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold--which they used for Baal. Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her nakedness. So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands... I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the Lord.

Hosea 2:14-17,19-20,23 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.' I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked... I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord... I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. ' I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'"


See also Jer 3:11-4:4 for encouragement to repent from spiritual adultery.

Christ Is Returning For A Pure, Spotless Bride. Will You Be Part?
Mat 16:4 "A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.

Mark 8:38 "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Rev 19:7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready."

How Were Old Testament Saints Saved?

The OT saints were saved the same way the New Testament saints were/are saved, by faith.

For what does the Scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 4Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. 5But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, 6just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: 7"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. 8"Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account" (Rom. 4:3-8).

As you can see, the Bible tells us that Abraham was justified by faith (see Rom. 5:1 and Eph. 2:8-9). That is, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, v. 4 above. They were saved by faith in the Messiah in whom they were trusting. Only, for them it was a trust in the future Messiah. They knew He was coming as had been prophesied .
Also, the Holy Spirit was there in the OT times the same as the NT times. Consider Psalm 51:11, "Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me."
God did not change how He saved people in the New Testament. It has always been by faith. In the case of the OT people, they looked ahead in time to the Messiah. We look back to Him and see the cross.

What is Passover?

Passover is the religious festival that celebrates the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. The term is derived from the Hebrew pasach which means "to pass over."
When the Jews were in slavery to the Egyptians, the Lord raised up Moses to be their deliverer. Moses told the Pharaoh about the plagues that would descend upon the Egyptian people if Pharaoh would not let God's people go. Of course, pharaoh refused and the plagues hit Egypt with a fury. The last plague was the death of the first born of each family who lived in Egypt. Since the Jews lived in Egypt, they were subject to this plague the same as the Egyptians. However, the Lord provided a means of protection. If they would take the blood of a lamb and spread it over the doorposts of their homes, the Lord would "passover" them and the firstborn in their homes would be spared. Exodus 12:13, "And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."
It should be obvious that the Passover is typological of Christ. The shed blood of the lamb, of course, represents the shed blood of Christ. The Lord passed over the homes whose doors were covered in blood. That is, the judgment of God was not carried out upon those who were under the blood of the lamb.
After the Lord killed the firstborn in all the households of Egypt, Pharaoh let the Israelites go.

Is Jesus the Only Truth?

Imagine that you are trapped inside a large building, where people are arguing about various opinions about if there is a door and how to get out. Some believe that this wall has a door in it, others that wall. Groups are formed to encourage belief in which phantom door is best. One group asserts that the way out is up through ladders that extend into the sky. And here is a group trying to tunnel out using dark, secret, ancient maps. Another group is sure that any wall will have a door if you "just believe" that there is one (this group is famous for big lumps on their heads). And yet another group insists that "the door" and "outside" are merely a state of mind. Some have seen through all this nonsense and given up the search entirely.

Enter one who says: "I have some good news! There is a way out, but only one. It's a narrow, low door. I will prove it. Give up your deep, sophisticated, or silly notions and follow me!" But the various groups are so enamored with their own ideas that few pay much attention. The "phantom door" group thinks it unsporting to assert that there is only one door. The "sky exit" types complain that this "good news" lacks sophistication or intellectual appeal. The "deep ones" go to inspect the door, collect facts about it, even "hang out" around it, but never go through it. They become experts at door trivia. The "just believe" types are always happy to hear of a new door and are emboldened by this news to try ever harder to walk through doors that don't exist. More lumps on the head. In the end, for various reasons, very few make it out through the revealed door.


One Way?
John 10:7, 9a-10 (NIV) Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever come before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.... The thief comes only to steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Acts 4:12 (Phi) "In no one else can salvation be found. For in all the world no other name has been given to men but this, and it is by this name that we must be saved!"


Many find this aspect of Christianity offensive. "How arrogant! What an insult to the other great world religions!" But consider this: If God ever did desire to express what He was like, wouldn't He also make sure to say: "This is it--the true version" to differentiate His revelation from contradictory, man-made religions? If God ever has really revealed Himself, that religion would "stick out" by claiming to be exclusively true. Some are likely to be upset by this, but if there is any truth to be had, it must be packaged like this.

God Decides To Communicate With Man
John 1:1-2,14 (Phi) At the beginning God expressed himself. That personal expression, that Word, was with God, and was God, and he existed with God from the beginning.... So the Word of God became a human being and lived among us.

John 1:14b (NIV) We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 Tim 2:5-7 (Phi) For there is only one God, and only one intermediary between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. He gave himself as a ransom for all men--an act of redemption which stands at all times as a witness to what he is... (I speak the sober truth; I do not lie)....


Fact Or Fiction?

Christianity has claimed to be true from the very beginning. These events really happened.
1 Cor 15:1-7 (NEB) And now, my brothers, I must remind you of the Gospel that I preached to you; the Gospel which you received, on which you have taken your stand, and which is now bringing you salvation. Do you still hold fast the Gospel as I preached it to you? If not, your conversion was in vain. First and foremost, I handed on to you the facts which had been imparted to me: that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised to life on the third day, according to the Scriptures; and that he appeared to Cephas, and afterwards to the Twelve. Then he appeared to over 500 of our brothers at once, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, and afterwards to all the Apostles.

1 John 1:1-4 (Phi) We are writing to you about something which has always existed yet which we ourselves actually heard and saw with our own eyes: something which we had the opportunity to observe closely and even to hold in our own hands, something of the Word of life! For it was LIFE which appeared before us: we saw it, we are eyewitnesses of it, and are now writing to you about it. It was the very life of all ages, the life that has always existed with the Father, which actually became visible in person to us. We repeat, we really saw and heard what we are now writing to you about. We want you to be with us in this--in this fellowship with the Father, and Jesus Christ his Son. We write and tell you about it, so our joy may be complete.

Acts 3:15 (NIV) "You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this."

Acts 2:32 (NIV) "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact."


The Gospel Truth
Acts 13:30-31 (NIV) "But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people."

Acts 10:39-42 (Phi) "Now we are eyewitnesses of everything that he did, both in the Judaean country and in Jerusalem itself, and they murdered him by hanging him on a cross. But on the third day God raised that same Jesus and let him be clearly seen, not indeed by the whole people, but by witnesses whom God had previously chosen. We are those witnesses, we who ate and drank with him after he had risen from the dead! Moreover, we are the men whom he commanded to preach to the people and solemnly witness to the fact that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of both the living and the dead."

2 Pet 1:16-19 (NIV) We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

2 Cor 4:2b-4 (Phi) We speak the plain truth and so commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. If our gospel is "veiled", the veil must be in the minds of those who are spiritually dying. The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, and prevents the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, the image of God, from shining on them.


The Truth Has Nothing To Fear From Scrutiny
1 Thes 5:21 (NIV) Test everything. Hold onto the good.

Acts 17:11 (NIV) Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

2 Cor 13:8 (NIV) For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for it.


The Whole Truth And...
1 Tim 4:1-2,6-7 (Phi) God's Spirit specifically tells us that in latter days there will be men who abandon the true faith and allow themselves to be spiritually seduced by teachings of demons, teachings given by men who are lying hypocrites, whose consciences are as dead as seared flesh.... You will be a faithful minister of Christ Jesus if you remind your church members of these things. You will show yourself as a man nourished by the message of the true faith and the sound teaching he has followed. But steer clear of all these heathen old-wives' tales.


An Open Mind is A Cesspool of Thought. Rather:
2 Cor 10:5 (NIV) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Mat 7:13-14 (NIV) "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."


Truth As Trivia?

A.W. Tozer: "Truth in Scripture is more than a fact. A fact may be detached, impersonal, cold and totally disassociated from life. Truth, on the other hand, is warm, living, and spiritual.... At what point, then, does a theological fact become for the one that holds it a life-giving truth? At that point where obedience begins.... Truth that is not experienced is no better than error, and may be fully as dangerous. The scribes who sat in Moses' seat were not the victims of error; they were the victims of their failure to experience the truth they taught."

The Responsibility of Knowing The Truth
Jam 4:17b (Phi) If a man knows what is right and fails to do it, his failure is a real sin.

Heb 10:26 (NIV) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Phil 3:16 (Phi) It is important that we go forward in the light of such truth as we have already learned.


Do We Really Love The Truth or Do We Pick and Choose?

A.W. Tozer: "We can hold a correct view of the truth only by daring to believe everything God has said about Himself. It is a grave responsibility that a man takes upon himself when he seeks to edit out of God's self-revelation such features as he in his ignorance deems objectionable."
2 Thes 2:10b-12 (NIV) They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

2 Tim 4:2-5 (Phi) Preach the word... Reprove, correct and encourage, using the utmost patience in your teaching. For the time is coming when men will not tolerate wholesome teaching. They will want something to tickle their own fancies, and they will collect teachers who will speak what they want to hear. They will no longer listen to the truth, but will wander off after man-made myths. For yourself, keep your mind sane and balanced, meeting whatever suffering this may involve. Go on steadily preaching the gospel....


The Spirit Of Truth
1 Jn 2:20-21,24a,26-27 (TEB) But you have had the Holy Spirit poured out on you by Christ, and so all of you know the truth. I write you, then, not because you do not know the truth; instead, it is because you do know it, and also know that no lie ever comes from the truth.... Be sure, then, to keep in your hearts the message you heard from the beginning.... I write you this about those who are trying to deceive you. But as for you, Christ has poured his Spirit on you.... For his Spirit teaches you about everything, and what he teaches is true, not false....

John 16:12-13 (NIV) "I [Jesus] have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth."


The Truth Is Worth Repeating
2 Pet 1:12-15 (Jer) That is why I am continually recalling the same truths to you, even though you already know them and firmly hold them. I am sure it is my duty, as long as I am in this tent, to keep stirring you up with reminders, since I know the time for taking off this tent is coming soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ foretold to me. And I shall take great care that after my own departure you will still have a means to recall these things to memory.

John 8:31b-32 (NIV) "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8:31b-32 (NEB) "If you dwell within the revelation I have brought, you are indeed my disciples; you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."

Does God Want Us to be RICH???

When I saw the cover story in Time Magazine I was mentally transported back to the late 1980’s. The lead article posed the question, “Does God Want You to Be Rich?” I thought that question had been answered already as we watched Jim Baker hustled off to jail and Robert Tilton trying to rebuild his fallen empire. I do know this; if God wants you to be rich it will be a very scary thing. Jesus said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:24-25).

I think it is interesting that when a major news source wanted to know about God’s attitude toward rich people, they asked the wealthy folks. Why didn’t they talk to the poor? A more interesting question would be, “Does God Want You to Be Poor?” Honestly, I think God wants me to be middle-class. At least, that is where He has placed me at the moment. If He wants me to be rich, one of us is not doing a very good job.

The problem with the “Prosperity Gospel” is that it is based on two (at least) misunderstandings. The first is a problem defining success. If you were to ask people for the names of those who are financially successful, you would hear names like Gates, Buffett, and Dell. We immediately think of wealth when we define financial success. Since we all want to be successful, and we are confident that God wants us to be successful; the goal is to become wealthy.

However, a simple review of Scripture will help us redefine our concept of success. The only person Jesus ever commended for giving an offering was the poor widow who had very little to give and nothing left over after giving. The Apostle Paul might have been wealthy at one time, but most of his life was spent in and out of prison. He had very little money. Even Jesus died without as much as a change of clothes.

Some of God’s finest were also extremely rich. Abraham, David, Solomon, Barnabas, and many others prove that God is not opposed to wealth. The point is that God does not define success in monetary terms. It is possible to be rich and be a failure, or to be poor and be a failure. It is just as possible to be rich and be a success, or to be poor and be a success. The amount of money in our hands has no bearing on our standing with God.

A second flaw in the doctrine of the “Prosperity Gospel” is ignoring the close kinship between desiring money and loving money. Perhaps the most familiar verse of Scripture concerning money is 1 Timothy 6:10 - For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.

In order to understand this verse completely, perhaps it would be wise to comprehend the words of the preceding verse - But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9).

It seems incomprehensible to me that God’s desire for me is that I desire those things that will plunge me into ruin and destruction and cause me to wander away from the faith. It is a warning to be careful around those who promise wealth and prosperity. They are not doing me any favors by tempting me to strive after things that bring such despair. Many very promising followers of Jesus have fallen because of a desire for money. The problems caused by loving money did not end when Jim Baker went to prison. A well-known pastor in our city recently lost his ministry because of financial tomfoolery caused by the desire to be rich. It appears that his longed for prosperity was not from God after all.

Does God want you to be rich? Probably not! However, it is safe to say that He wants you to be a good steward of whatever comes your way.

Why So Much Disunity in The Church?

When Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) was executed, in approximately 30 CE, his message continued to be spread by some of his followers. They formed the Jewish Christian movement -- a reform Judaism group -- which was centered in Jerusalem. A few years later, Paul founded a competing Pauline Christian group, which was aimed primarily at converting Gentiles. Finally, a Gnostic Christian movement was formed.
Jewish Christians were killed or scattered by the Roman Army when they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE. Pauline Christianity was legalized in the 313 CE and became the official religion of the Empire circa 380 CE. The Gnostics were exterminated by or absorbed into the Church -- the successor to Pauline Christianity.
Strains between the surviving eastern and western regions of the Church reached the breaking point in 1054 CE when the leaders of the two groups excommunicated each other. This formally separated the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox churches. Although discussions are currently underway to bring them into unity, little progress has being made.
In 1517, Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic monk, set out to reform the Roman Catholic church by eliminating some of its abuses -- largely involving the church sacraments and the sale of indulgences. A split followed, producing the Protestant Reformation and a series of religious wars which decimated Western Europe. Protestantism subsequently split into many movements which themselves split into families of denominations. The result was the the thousands of individual Protestant denominations and sects that we observe today.
In 1534, the British Parliament passed an Act of Supremacy which declared the country independent of foreign powers, including the pope. This separated the English Church from the pope's authority. The Church of England was created under Edward VI when the Book of Common Prayer was authorized in 1549. Mary I restored the connection to Rome in 1553. But during the reign of Elizabeth I, her successor, a second Act of Supremacy was passed and the Book of Common Prayer reissued. The Church of England has since evolved into a worldwide movement, composed of the Anglican Communion divided int Provinces, Dioceses, and individual congregations.
In 1830 CE. Joseph Smith taught that the true Christian church died out early in the 2nd Century CE, when he believed that religious leaders abandoned many of the original teachings of Jesus Christ, Paul, and the other apostles. Smith founded The Church of Christ. This faith group subsequently divided into over 100 separate denominations and sects which form the LDS Restorationist movement.
Christianity remains in a state of flux today, with new faith groups being created, ceasing to exist, and merging with others. Other denominations have difficulty adapting to change. They have experienced schism over matters like literal interpretation of the Bible, inerrancy of the Bible, criteria for salvation, the morality of human slavery, the roles of women within the family and church, etc. More schisms are expected in the future over equal rights for gays and lesbians, including same-sex marriage.

Sorting Christian denominations today:
Today, there are over 30,000 separate Christian groups in the world. 1

There is a small but growing Gnostic Christian movement who trace their beliefs back to the early Gnostics. They believe that salvation comes from possessing esoteric knowledge.

The vast majority of Christian groups trace their ancestry back to Pauline Christianity as founded by Paul in the 1st century CE and refined through various early church councils and creeds. Most regard Yeshua as a man-god, a member of the Trinity along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. A few Christians in the liberal wing of the religion view Yeshua as a prophet, not a deity, and definitely not conceived by a virgin.

One way of sorting them is into eight "meta-groups."

Roman Catholicism, This has the largest membership of any meta-group in Christianity. It is headed by the Pope in Rome, whose rulings are considered infallible in certain cases. The church is coordinated by the Curia, which is composed of one Secretariat, and 27 agencies, each headed by a Cardinal. Local administration is by Bishops and Archbishops who control activity in their Dioceses and Archdioceses.


Eastern Orthodox Churches: a communion of autocephalous, (ecclesiastically independent) Christian faith groups which forms the dominant religious bodies in Bulgaria, Belarus, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. They play a significant role in ten other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, and have a scattered presence elsewhere in the world. They and the Roman Catholic Church formally separated from each other in 1054 CE, although they had been functioning nearly independently long before that date.


Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Churches: This grouping consists of five churches in the Middle East and South India. The Catholic Assyrian Church of the East and the Roman Catholic church separated from each other after the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE. The four Oriental Orthodox churches and the Roman Catholic Church separated from each other after the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, when the Oriental Orthodox churches rejected the Council's concept of Christ as one person "in two natures." The four Oriental Orthodox churches are:

The Armenian Apostolic Church in Armenia and Lebanon;

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt;

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church; and

The Syrian Orthodox Churches which include the See of Antioch and the Syrian Thomas Christians of South India.
A fifth church is often grouped with the Oriental Orthodox churches:

The Catholic Assyrian Church of the East 4



Protestantism: This is composed of a group of independent denominations, sects, and independent churches numbering in excess of 30,000 worldwide. They trace their history back to the Reformation which was triggered when Martin Luther circulated 95 theses in which he listed what he considered to be faults in the Roman Catholic Church -- both theological and in its policies. Protestant denominations have been grouped into 13 families, according to their historical roots. There are over 1,000 Protestant denominations in North America, ranging from extreme Fundamentalist to very Liberal. Included are such diverse groups as Quakers, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Scientists. 2 Most are democratically organized.


The Anglican Communion: This consists of 38 Provinces and a small number of extra-provincial dioceses. It includes the Episcopal Church in the US, the Anglican Church in Canada, and the Church of England in the UK. As noted above, the Church of England was created under Edward VI when the Book of Common Prayer was authorized in 1549. Its bishops meet in the Lambeth Conference every ten years, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury who is considered “first among equals.” The Communion is "bound together not by a central legislative and executive authority, but by mutual loyalty sustained through common counsel of the Bishops in conference" 3 Ultimate decision making power in a given province is controlled by three groups, consisting of the Bishops, the Priests, and a group of laity. Individual Anglicans range from very conservative to very liberal in beliefs.


Pentecostals: One source lists 177 separate Pentecostal denominations. In the early 1900s CE, it grew out of the Holiness movement which in turn had roots in Methodism, a Protestant denomination. A major defining feature of Pentecostalism is their belief in Glossolalia, or the ability to speak "in tongues". Another is the unusual freedom and spontaneity exhibited during their religious services. They are theologically very conservative.


The Restorationist faith groups share the belief that the "true" Christian church died out as the church abandoned many of the teachings of Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ), Paul, and other apostles -- perhaps early in the 2nd Century CE. This group includes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. Almost a hundred denominations trace their history back to that faith group. Other restorationist groups include the Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, etc. Their beliefs and practices differ greatly. However, all believe that their group, alone, has restored the original beliefs and practices of Yeshua and the apostles. Most regard themselves as the true Christian church. Most or all are obviously wrong.


Other groups: There are probably many hundreds of faith groups which do not neatly fit into any of the above five classifications. Three of the more interesting are:

Progressive Christianity, a very liberal Christian group which does not look upon itself as a denomination. Rather they are building a network of affiliated congregations, informal groups and individual members.

A group called the Two by Twos, The Black Stockings, The Church Without a Name, Cooneyites, etc. teach that their group has been in continuous but secret existence since the 1st century. They believe that their faith group was founded by Jesus, and is the only "true" Christian church.

Gnostic Christians This movement and its literature were essentially wiped out by the end of the 5th century CE by heresy hunters from mainline Christianity. They believe that salvation comes through Gnosis (knowledge.) They are currently experiencing a rebirth throughout the world.


Disagreements over classification of faith groups:

Many theologians combine the Anglican Communion and Protestant faith groups as a single grouping.

Others consider Pentecostalism as being part of Protestantism.

Some in the anti-cult movement and counter-cult movement classify some of the smaller denominations as "cults," "sub-Christians," or "none-Christian." and not as a part of Christianity.

Some Fundamentalists and other Evangelicals do not consider liberal Christian denominations to be part of Christianity.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. LDS & The Mormons) and other LDS restorationist denominations are not considered to be Christian by most conservative and some mainline denominations.
There are probably other disagreements not listed above. From the extensive Emails that we receive, it is obvious that many individuals and groups regard their own classification of faith groups to be the only valid one.

What if I Become Sick?

If you are a Christian and you are suffering with an illness (Mental or Physical) of some kind be encouraged. God has not forsaken you. I know it may feel like it but He hasn’t. I have received great comfort from Psalm 13, a Psalm of David. This Psalm has taught me that one of the major problems with suffering is dealing with anger and bitter feelings towards God Himself. We have been taught the new wave message of “positive confession”, but what God really desires from us is an honest confession. Out of all the books in the Bible, the one that has delivered me the most is the Psalms. To many believers Psalms is just a collection of praise song. Many theologians look at Psalms, Proverbs, and especially Ecclesiastes as books without much doctrinal weight or value. How wrong they are! Through all of my trials and tribulations, I have been able to find a point of contact and understanding by reading Psalms. My favorite Psalm is Psalm 13.

After you read it you may wonder, “How can this depressing psalm be someone’s favorite?” This is the most honest prayer in the scriptures. David asked God a question, “How long will you forget me Lord?” This honesty in prayer helped me realize that God wants to hear everything we have to say, the good and the bad. David felt abandoned by God. I can identify with this feeling. For the last three years I have been battling sickness. I have been poked, prodded, and examined. I have had Scarlet Fever. I have been misdiagnosed with Osteomylitis (bone infection). I was on an IV for 8 weeks; my lungs were scanned and X-rayed to find growths. I have granulomas (lesions) in different parts of my body that causes severe pain in my joints and my eyes, and the cause of all of this is an incurable illness called Sarcoidosis. I began to recite Psalm 13 as though I wrote it. The good news is found in the 5th and 6th verses. David obviously recalled how the Lord had been merciful and kind to him in the past. David’s was to continue to trust in the mercy of God and hope in the loving-kindness of the Lord. I feel that many of our prayers go unanswered because we are not honest with God. However David felt, that what he expressed to the Master. This is one of the keys to being a man after God’s own heart.”



13:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? (David felt like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had forsaken him. At times if we are honest, we feel the same way.)
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? (David was going through extreme emotional distress. Chronic illness can cause this kind of emotional trauma in ones life.)
3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; (David is not afraid to let the Lord know how distraught he is, and at the same time he makes his supplications known to God. I believe God honors an honest confession more than a positive one.)
4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. (David was able to trust in the Lord’s mercy because he had a relationship with Him. David although discouraged was able to rebound because of his love for the Lord)
2 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. (One of the keys to getting through a stressful season is to give God praise through it all)

This Psalm has helped me get through my most painful moments because it reminds me that God has and will continue to deliver me. We must trust in God’s sovereignty as well as His power. Trusting in His ability to know what is best for us takes more faith than running around “naming and claiming” everything. I was at a revival and someone asked me, “Have I claimed my healing yet?” I was really disturbed at this question; I realized that this person really did not know the Lord or me very well. If they knew me they would know I love the Lord with all my heart and whether I am healed or not I still love Him. If they really knew me they would know that I believe in the healing power of God but I also trust in His timetable and sovereignty. Don’t be discouraged saints of God; the Lord is on your case. The grace of God can keep us through all of our trials and tribulations no matter how severe they might be. One of the beautiful things about the Bible is that the characters were just like us. Men and women in the Bible suffered sickness, loss of life, and abuses. I believe God allowed every story in the Bible to be graphic and uncut because we need to see the hand of God in every situation, both good and bad. I love the rawness of the Old Testament, people were not all good and everyone wasn’t blessed all the time. People that were good suffered and people that were bad received mercy. God is sovereign and in control even when it looks like He isn’t.


9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (II Cor.12)


About five years I visited a woman from my church in the hospital, she suffered from Lupus and Cancer. Just one of these diseases is enough to destroy someone’s life. I asked her how she was feeling and the usual small talk. Before I left she looked at me and said something that made me well up with tears. She said, “The thing that hurts to most is that the saints of God think I did something wrong because of my condition.” This is what I call the “Spirit of Job’s Friends”; it is wrecking havoc in the Body of Christ. It is causing those that need love, a hug, and understanding to be shunned by the ones that should minister to them. The only time Job’s friends did any good was when they silently sat with him while he suffered. As soon as they opened their mouth, they hurt him. Telling someone that is sick things like, “You need faith!”, “Repent”, or “Stop claiming the sickness” is cold and insensitive. There are times when God renders His judgment on sinful ways, but in many cases the illness has nothing to do with sin. Let’s examine the Word.

15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
12 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. (Luke 18)

This woman was identified as a daughter of Abraham, meaning she was a believer! Jesus did not mention any of her sins. Was she sinless? Is anyone? Of course not, Jesus healed this woman for two reasons, 1. She was a daughter of Abraham 2. That He might be glorified. What does this mean? If you are a child of God suffering, Jesus sees your pain and will do something about it. Jesus understands pain because he felt it too!


2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
3 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9)

The disciples were just as dense as we are today! They ask the question, “Who sinned?” Well if he was born blind, what sin did he commit? Did he kick his mother in the womb? Truthfully all of us are born sinners! (Psalm 51). Why would God punish him for his parent’s sin? I’m glad Jesus answered their question. Jesus said “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents.” I am a firm believer that many today are not healed because those that minister forget that the glory belongs to the Lord of Host. If you watch the so-called great men and women of God today, they act like they are the healers and not Christ alone. God was very angry with Job’s friends! Why? Because they falsely accused Job and misrepresented God, They were also self-righteous as they bombarded Job with innuendo and accusation. The best thing you can do for someone that suffering is pray for them and keep you mouth shut. A hug goes a lot further in most cases than a lecture.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. (Romans 12)

These two verses say it all! But focus on verse 16, “condescend to men of low estate.” This means stay meek and humble in your character, because the same calamity could happen to you.

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
22 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (Heb.10)

6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Is Oral Sex Permissible According to The Bible?

The Bible makes no clear mention of oral sex at all. Therefore, it is difficult to produce an official biblical position. Nevertheless, based on the information that follows oral sex is not sinful and that it is permissible only within the bonds of marriage between a husband and wife.
The book Song of Solomon is a love poem between a husband and wife. This book is seen in two senses: physical love and a description of God's love for His church. Either way, the book definitely encourages a husband and wife to enjoy the sexual pleasures of one another. It is in this beautiful book that two scriptures appear which may shed light on the issue of oral sex. Let's take a look.

Song 2:3, "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
Song 4:16, "Awake, O north wind, and come, wind of the south; make my garden breathe out fragrance. Let its spices be wafted abroad. May my beloved come into his garden and eat its choice fruits!”
Notice in Song 2:3 that it says, "...and his fruit was sweet to my taste." Obviously this involves very intimate experience. Tasting one another can have a wide variety of applications. It appears that this is a veiled way of alluding to oral sex. Furthermore, if we look at Song 7:7 we read, “I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree. I will take hold of its fruit stalks.’ Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine." Apparently, fondling of the breasts is meant here. If such enjoyment of the body is intended, and since tasting (which involves the mouth) is part of that expression, it would seem safe to say that oral sex is permissible.
What does it mean to eat the choice fruits of his garden in 4:16? She is saying that she is "his garden" and that she desires that he eat of her fruit.
The poetic use of metaphors in describing the physical relationship is sometimes hard to fully apprehend, but it seems obvious from the context that intimate sexual union is implied.

"The beloved’s request that the winds blow on her garden, that is, herself (cf. vv. 12, 15) was a delicate, poetically beautiful invitation to her lover to fully possess her (come into her). She wished to be his with her charms as available as fruit on a tree."1

Therefore, oral sex is permissible between a husband and wife.

Bible Training

Ministers Manna

New Jersey Institute of Theological Studies

P.O. BOX 342, Camden, NJ 08101

CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES


ACCELERATED BIBLICAL TRAINING SERIES



The Correspondence School of Ministry is a new spiritual, educational training track of the New Jersey Institute of Theological Studies. This condensed, correspondence format will allow many of the basic courses of NJITS to be offered in a time frame better suited to the demands and time constraints of busy adults; particularly many of whom are already actively involved in ministry.


COORESPONDANCE format
The Correspondence Manual is to be read and the test at the end of the lesson book is to be taken and mailed back to the School for grading. The test can be taken with an open Bible. Some answers to the questions are NOT found in the manual but require the taker to study the scriptures for the answer.

Challenging studies
The goal of this course is to challenge the student to study the Word with intensity and diligence. There will be other study books coming out in the near future.



Affordable and bible based
Practical, anointed, and insightful spiritual training at an extremely reasonable amount.

· The total cost for the manual and the certificate after completion is only $50.00



· The material is packed with Bible based doctrine that will enable you're the student to be the man or woman of God you need to be. This is NOT a replacement for the training you SHOULD receive in your local church BUT it WILL enhance it greatly.


The Dean of the New Jersey Institute of Theological Studies


Elder Mark H. Stevens is an ordained Elder in the COGIC. He is the Dean of the Charles Harrison Mason Bible Institutes of New Jersey and the founder of The New Jersey Institute of Theological Studies. As a Chaplain he ministers at Cooper Trauma Center in Camden. He is also a staff Chaplain at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital. Elder Stevens graduated from the Institute of Jewish Studies, a School of the Philadelphia Bible University. He is an ETA (Evangelical Training Association) certified Bible Teacher. He holds a BA in Theology from Freedom Bible College and Seminary, and a Masters in Ministry from Freedom. His calling is that of Teacher. His classroom and pulpit is wherever the Lord leads him. This course is the first of many. Service men, hospital patients, and the incarcerated need training just like everyone else and THIS is a great start!

Is Hell Eternal?

The teaching that there is an eternal hell in which hordes of mankind will suffer eternal punishment can be a difficult doctrine to accept. We hear so much about God's infinite love and how He desires that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). However, those who develop their theologies based upon the "gentle" side of God do so with an incomplete picture. Not only is God loving (1 John 4:8-10), gracious (Exo. 33:19; 1 Pet. 2:3), and merciful (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 67:1; James 5:11), but He is also holy (Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 4:8), just ( Neh. 9:32-33; 2 Thess. 1:6), and hates sin (Psalm 5:5-6; Hab. 1:13). God punishes the sinner (Jer. 50:31; Ez. 44:12; Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9; 2 Pet. 2:9; Heb. 10:29).
The Bible teaches that there is a fiery hell, a place that Jesus warned people about.

"And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire," (Matt. 18:8).

Eternal fire is real. Jesus said it was. In fact, Jesus spoke a great deal about hell. It is what Jesus came here to save us from.
There will be a Day of Judgment when all people will face God. Those who are not covered by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross will be cast out into hell where they will undergo eternal punishment. "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matt. 25:46). In this verse, the same word "eternal" is used to describe the punishment of the wicked as well as the eternal life of the believer. The punishment is endless as is the eternal life of the believer. That is why the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) is so important, because it saves people from eternal damnation:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life, (John 5:24).

Following are a few verses that show the eternality of the hell and punishment. God uses different phrases to describe the same thing.

"And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power," (2 Thess. 1:9).
"Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 7).
These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever," (Jude12-13).
Is "forever and ever" without end?

The phrase "forever and ever" is used both of describing God's eternal worth and the duration of eternal damnation. The exact same Greek phrase is used in each of the verses in the table below.

forever and ever

aionas ton aionon
"ages of the ages"
Eternal - without end Eternal Damnation
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen," (1 Tim. 1:17).
". . . To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever" (Rev. 5:13).

"And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever" (Rev. 19:3).

"And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever," (Rev. 20:10).


The Greek phrase "aionas ton aionon," which is translated "forever and ever," occurs 18 times in the Greek New Testament. In 17 of them, the phrase means without end, extending into infinity. In Rev. 19:3, the phrase is used to describe the destruction of the great whore of Babylon (Rev. 17:1,4) whose smoke ascends forever and ever. It too is eternal and it signifies the beginning of the eternal judgment that comes upon her.
Also worth examining is Rev. 14:11: "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
The Greek in Rev. 14:11 is only slightly different. In the table above, "forever and ever" is translated from the Greek, "aionas ton aionon," which is literally "ages of the of ages." In Rev. 14:11, the Greek is "aionas aionon" which is literally, "ages of ages." In the latter, the single Greek word "of the" is missing. But it is not necessary and does not change the meaning of the text. Therefore, the scripture teaches the smoke of their torment goes up forever, without end.

Unquenchable Fire

Some believe that the fires of hell are symbolic and/or temporal. But the following verses show that they are not.
Matt. 3:12 says, "And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (See also Luke 3:17.)
Mark 9:43 says, "And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire." The word "unquenchable" is "asbestos" in the Greek. According to the enhanced Strong's lexicon, it means "unquenchable, the eternal hell fire to punish the damned."
The following citations are from Greek dictionaries and Lexicons. They show that the word "unquenchable," which is "asbestos" in the Greek, (which occurs only in Matt. 3:12, Luke 3:17, and Mark 9:43) means unquenchable, without end.

"unquenchable, inextinguishable" - Liddell, H. G., and Scott, Abridged Greek-English Lexicon, (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 1992, [Online] Available: Logos Library System.
"not quenched" - Vine, W. E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell) 1981, [Online] Available: Logos Library System.
"pertaining to a fire that cannot be put out" - "unquenchable." - Louw, Johannes P. and Nida, Eugene A., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, (New York: United Bible Societies) 1988, 1989, [Online] Available: Logos Library System
"unquenched, unquenchable" - Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1995, [Online] Available: Logos Library System.
"that cannot be put out" - Wigram-Green, The New Englishman's Greek Concordance and Lexicon, (Peabody Mass: Hendrikson Publishers, 1982, p. 771.
"inextinguishable" - William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 2nd ed. (Chicago, Ill: The University of Chicago Press), 1979, p. 114.
Is hell eternal? Yes it is. Are its fires without end? Yes they are. Is it a pleasant doctrine to discuss? Not really. But, hell is real. This is all the more reason to preach the gospel. Jesus said,

"And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire," (Matt. 18:8).

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All scripture quotes are from the NASB.

Are you Feeling Empty?

Some people know there is a God. They just know. They are aware of a calling, a presence, a special something about God that is in them. They want Him. They know they need to be connected to Him.
Are you like that? Is there a longing in your heart? Is there a soft but regular desire to be fulfilled, to be completed in a way that only being with God can accomplish? I know that feeling. I know it well.
As a child, I always knew that God existed. There was always a quality in my heart that desired Him, that "knew" He was there, that he was out there somewhere. I can't explain it. It was something I was born with. I needed God. I knew that I wouldn't be complete unless I was with Him and loving Him. I'm glad I've found Him, or should I say, I'm glad he found me.
Those who are looking for God know the echo in their hearts of God's voice calling them. They know it. They feel it. It is there. It is soft, yet persistent. It is gentle, yet constant. It echoes and draws us to Him, to find Him, to know Him, to touch Him.
Sometimes, we realize that everything in the world is ultimately meaningless unless we do what He wants, unless we are in His will. We can gain money and possession, but they don't satisfy. We know that when we die, it will all fall away and mean nothing. That is why we look up to the heavens. That is why we hear the voice of God calling us. Do you hear it? Do you feel its presence?
Are you looking for God? Is what you have in your life fulfilling, or do you feel empty. If these words resonate with you, then you need to encounter God by encountering Jesus. He is the good Shepherd of love and forgiveness. Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand," (John 10:27-28).
Did you get what Jesus said? He said that His sheep hear HIS voice and they follow Him. Is He calling to you? Do you hear his voice in your heart?
Do you want forgiveness of sins? Jesus forgives sins (Matt. 9:1-7; Luke 5:20; 7:48).
Do you want to know God? Jesus reveals God (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22).
Do you want to have joy and peace? Jesus gives them (John 15:11, John 14:27).

You won't find God in man made religions like Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. You only find God through Jesus who said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John 14:6). Trust Him. After all, He raised people from the dead, performed great miracles, died, and rose from the dead Himself. Who else has done that?

Caring for the Hurting and the Dying

. Because of the faith movement many are silent on this subject. Great Bible scholars are still mystified as to why the righteous do suffer. Some say all suffering is of the devil, if this is true, then why does God allow it? Some say a “good God” doesn’t allow bad things to happen to us. Well if you read the Bible there were those that had bad things happen to them, and they were greater than you or I. Human wisdom is not sufficient to even understand the mind of God. This is why Job, Joseph, David, and I are the primary subjects of this book.

I feel qualified to write it because I am a man that loves God; I am a preacher and defender of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I suffer daily with two incurable diseases one called Sarcoidosis and the other Lymphadema. When I came back from the Gulf War I started a downhill spiral of sickness and disease. Prior to the war I was a strong and vibrant young man. I don’t know what I was exposed to in Desert Storm, but I do know it made me sick! A great many Gulf War vets have returned to the states with a number of Auto-Immune Illnesses. Now before you write or call me to tell me I should believe God for healing, understand this. I have been saved since I was 14 years old. I have been a preacher over 25 years. I have cast out devils, survived 3 car accidents, run revivals, prayed healing for others and they recovered, and in the past I have been healed myself. I have had this illness over 10 years and it has gotten progressively worst. My joints hurt, my eyesight is deteriorating due to lesions on my brain and my right eye, I have trouble breathing, and I have chronic fatigue as well as Sleep Apnea. I have quoted every healing verse I know I have made positive confessions, I have been anointed with oil and prayed for by nationally and internationally known evangelist and pastors, and I am still not healed. Has my faith gotten weak? To be honest yes at times! I have learned something many preachers are negligent in sharing with God’s people…Good people do suffer and everyone doesn’t get healed.

We (the Pentecostal/Holiness church) have become Job’s friends. We treat the sick like lepers. We tell them faith can heal them, and if they don’t get healed they have no faith. We accuse them of secret sin and sometimes we tell them they are cursed or worst that they are demonized. I have heard preachers tell poor people that were sick…”If you give more, God will heal you!” Hmmmm when did Jesus tell a sick person THAT!?!

I am almost in tears as I write this because I can only imagine the pain Job must have felt when his friends attacked his character. I have studied the Book of Job with great intensity, and I want to share some personal insights I have gained from this book. If you are suffering be encouraged God knows and God cares never forget that. If you know someone that is suffering what they need is your love, prayers, and concern. (Psalm 120:1)

I am a Chaplain at the largest Trauma Center in New Jersey, Cooper University Hospital. It is located in the most violent city in America, Camden NJ. I have seen more my fair share of suffering. Many of the patients are Jesus loving believers, and the thing that hurts them more than their physical pain at times is the way they are treated by healthy and wealthy Christians. We often act like Job’s friends when we encounter the sick or downtrodden. We judge them as doing something to deserve their plight, why? It gives them a sense of security, Security from the thought that God would allow something bad to happen to a believer. Even the disciples treated a blind man this way by asking Jesus, “Who sinned…Him or his parents?” Jesus replied NIETHER!” Yes innocent people DO SUFFER. I hope this book will help us be more sensitive to the sick, handicapped, and the downtrodden.