tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45829538636431372082024-03-18T06:00:31.827-04:00BlogWorldview WarriorsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2502125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-90502017753521236902024-03-18T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-18T06:00:00.191-04:002 Corinthians 1:3-7<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A3-7&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 1:3-7</a></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/03/2-corinthians-11-2-and-introduction.html">Last week</a>, we looked at the introduction to 2 Corinthians. One of the main themes of this letter from Paul to the first-century church in Corinth is the idea of being comforted in affliction or suffering, and this initial paragraph of the letter’s content embodies that theme.
<p>Paul often follows the greeting in his letters with a statement of praise to God, as we see in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A3&version=NIV">verse 3</a>. We know from right after this passage (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A8-10&version=NIV">verses 8-10</a>) that Paul experienced great troubles while in Asia to the point of thinking they would die. That was likely very recently before he wrote this letter, so God’s comforting presence in the face of suffering is fresh on Paul’s mind and near to his heart. God’s compassion and comfort are what allowed Paul and his fellow travelers to get through the situation in Asia, to continue their mission to spread the gospel, and to write this letter.
<p>It’s important to note that Paul does not appreciate God’s comfort solely for his own benefit but so that he can comfort others (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A4&version=NIV">verse 4</a>). We as humans generally try to avoid suffering and remain in our comfort zones, but that is often not how God works. Following Jesus Christ is not an easy path, and we often end up in situations where we seek God’s comfort. This happens not only for our own edification and growth in the faith (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A2-4&version=NIV">James 1:2-4</a>) but also so that we can share that comfort with others. When God works in our lives, we are indebted to pay that forward by sharing our stories and helping and encouraging others through the trials they experience in life. That’s what it means to be the family of God – walking together through the easier times and the more difficult times in life (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+12%3A15&version=NIV">Romans 12:15</a>).
<p>Why does our suffering help us be more aware of God’s presence in our lives? When we experience suffering that often feels beyond our control in this life, we as believers remember that our only hope is in Jesus Christ. We share in the sufferings of Christ, and we share in His comfort (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A5&version=NIV">verse 5</a>). We cannot have one without the other. If we never experience suffering, then we won’t recognize God’s comforting presence in our lives. We trust that God’s character will remain true and He will remain faithful through all of the circumstances that come our way in this life, whether good or bad. He is always there to provide comfort to us, no matter what.
<p>The first part of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A6&version=NIV">verse 6</a> may seem counterintuitive to us: “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation.” How is distress for our comfort and salvation? We need to remember that this is a letter that Paul is writing to a local church. Paul is saying that if he and his fellow ministers are distressed, it is for the comfort and salvation of the people he is writing to. Because of Paul’s suffering, he can testify to the goodness of God in that situation as a witness to the people. He is equipped to encourage them because he has gone through these difficult situations himself. His distress will encourage the people and provide them comfort for when they, too, will go through difficulties.
<p>But it is not only Paul’s distress that will provide comfort to the Corinthians. When he has been comforted by God, that is also a testimony to the goodness of God that Paul can share with them. Either way, the people will be working toward developing patient endurance through Paul’s witness to them. Paul’s testimony of what he has been through will guide and encourage the Corinthian people as they will likely face similar sufferings for the gospel in the future.
<p>Paul affirms this in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A7&version=NIV">verse 7</a>: “And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” Paul trusts that as brothers and sisters in Christ, they will share with him both in suffering and in comfort. Paul is confident that their faith will remain strong in the future when they face suffering because of their identity as the Church. Paul shares how he and his traveling companions endured hardship but God brought them through it, which will strengthen their faith so they can endure what is to come.
<p>A form of the root word for comfort in Greek is used 10 times in this passage, so it’s important to talk a bit about that word. The root is <i>parakaleo</i> in Greek, which is the same root word Jesus used to refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A16&version=NIV">John 14:16</a>: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.” In that translation (NIV), the word is translated as advocate. It has the idea of a counselor, comforter, intercessor, helper, encourager, etc. The same is true for this word we’ve been translating as comfort in today’s passage. The <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2021/02/pneumatology-who-is-holy-spirit.html">Holy Spirit</a> is the person of the Trinity who provides this comforting, encouraging, counseling, helping, etc. in our lives.
<p>Where are you joining with fellow believers in their suffering? Where are you joining with fellow believers in comfort? How do you rely on the comfort that only God can bring during the distressing times of your life?
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-74879868469848067092024-03-15T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-15T06:00:00.132-04:00Backstory of the Kings 26: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p>The account of the kings ends with four revolving kings: <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/01/jehoahaz-and-jehoiakim-kings-of-judah.html">Jehoahaz</a>, <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/01/jehoahaz-and-jehoiakim-kings-of-judah.html">Jehoiakim</a>, <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/01/jehoiachin-king-of-judah.html">Jeconiah</a> (also known as Jehoiachin), and <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/01/zedekiah-king-of-judah.html">Zedekiah</a>. Three of these were brothers and the sons of Josiah. Jeconiah was Jehoiakim’s son, grandson of Josiah. All four kings were wicked kings, and the four of them lasted a combined 24 years. When Josiah fell at the battle with Egypt against Pharoah Neco, Judah became a vassal state to Egypt. Jehoahaz (ruled three months) and Jehoiakim (ruled 11 years) were selected by Neco to rule over Judah, and in that time frame Babylon had conquered Assyria and came in to finish the job of conquering the rest of the Middle East. Jeconiah lasted another three months when Babylon took him into captivity, and Zedekiah was the last one holding the bag when his decisions led to the final conquest and surrender of Jerusalem. His children were executed in front of him, before he was executed himself. Jeconiah, however, lived in Babylonian prison for a time before living the rest of his life eating at the table of the king of Babylon. All this is covered in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+36&version=NKJV">one chapter</a>.
<p>All four kings had Josiah as their father or grandfather. All four kings had the prophet Jeremiah consistently warning them and telling them what God said. Jeremiah 1-39 covers his dealings with these kings, often going back and forth between Jehoiakim and Zedekiah following themes of rebuke rather than chronology. Of the kings, only Zedekiah actually wanted to hear what Jeremiah had to say, but he wanted to save his reputation of being a tough guy and still ultimately rejected God’s message. It cost him his life.
<p>The political situation of Jerusalem here kept these kings running in circles, and time and time again, they wanted to hear hope and salvation rather than judgment. They did not want to think that God could judge them. The false prophets eventually realized that captivity was indeed happening but said it would only be a few years and they’d be back. Jeremiah got the real message as it would be seventy years, two full generations in captivity. This was the darkest moment in Israel’s history in the Old Testament, even warranting a full book to lament over the fall of Jerusalem (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations+1&version=NIV">Lamentations</a>).
<p>I believe Josiah raised his boys in Godly ways. Jeremiah certainly did not let them off the hook. But they made a choice that they wanted to do things their own way, and they didn’t want God telling them what needed to be done. God had already proclaimed the captivity would take place. They knew that God chose to postpone it for Josiah’s sake, but they took no heed to Jeremiah’s words. Why not? While it was not stated by these kings directly, the notion was told directly to Jeremiah by those who survived Jerusalem’s fall and were plotting to go to Egypt. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+44&version=NKJV">They believed that they had prosperity when they had their idols and worshiped the Queen of the Heavens</a>, but when Josiah tore down the idols, they lost their prosperity. They NEVER even conceived the notion nor could even process that it was their own idolatry that was at fault, not God’s, not Jeremiah, not Josiah. It was sinful people turning to sinful sources instead of God. None of Josiah’s reforms made a difference in his boys. And that is not because Josiah failed; it is because they didn’t want to follow it.
<p>All of these kings were young when they became king. Keep in mind Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king and ruled 31 years. He was 39 when he died. Jehoahaz was 23 when he became king, and Jehoiakim, his <i>older</i> brother was 25 when he became king a few months later. That means Jehoiakim was born when Josiah was 14, two years before he personally chose to walk with God. Jehoahaz was born two years later. Jeconiah, Jehoiakim’s son, was 18 when he became king. Jehoiakim was 25 with an 11-year reign before being sent off to Babylon, putting Jeconiah born when Jehoiakim was 18. Then Zedekiah was 21 when he became king, putting him at 9-10 years old when Josiah died. So the first two were old enough to know how to walk in the ways of the Lord, but they chose not to. The latter two could have known better, too, based on their upbringing and still chose not to. And unlike <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/03/backstory-of-kings-24-manasseh-and-amon.html">Manasseh</a>, captivity did not change their minds.
<p>Sin is so deadly that it truly will make someone insane and stupid. We have the advantage of hindsight and seeing God’s intentions and the spiritual side of things. If we lived in that time and we only thought in terms of the natural, we would likely think they were doing the best they could do and consider Jeremiah to be a crazy kook, much like how John the Baptist was viewed. But sin corrupts the mind, not just the spirit or the body. Because of our sin, we truly cannot think or see clearly, despite our finite limitations. And we see this demonstrated through the kings and their history.
<p>This study has been quite fascinating to me to see how all these kings are interlinked and what we can learn not just from them but from their backstory as Scripture has revealed. There is a LOT I did not cover and a lot of history that other books cover in greater detail, but I hope this series has given us a bigger picture of these kings. With some of the kings, there simply is not enough to work with to see what was going on behind the scenes, and that’s okay. The Bible could not cover everything without being a mile thick. But each king did not rule in a vacuum. Their reign had to deal with the previous king’s decisions and practices, and they had to set up the next king’s rule as well.
<p>One thing I want us to learn in this series is that we ourselves have a backstory, and we ourselves are also a backstory for someone else. Some call that concept their legacy. What legacy are we leaving? How are we preparing the next generation in how they are to live?
<p>We all have a backstory. It does not matter if it is good or bad. We have seen through the kings that one’s upbringing can play a role in how they turned out. It was not a promise that a good upbringing produces a Godly life, nor does a bad upbringing automatically produce an ungodly life. Each king had to decide how he would live, and only a few made a good choice.
<p>What is your backstory? What decisions are you making based on that backstory? Do not blame your backstory for your decisions. Your backstory may have put you in your circumstances, but it is your decision that matters: a decision whether you will follow what God says despite your backstory, even if it is a bad one, or whether you will go your own way, regardless of whether you were taught to follow God or not.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-33196111893893193542024-03-14T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-14T06:00:00.137-04:00Can You Be a Christian and Accept Evolution? Part 5<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/steve_risner.jpg" title="by Steve Risner" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve%20Risner">Steve Risner</a></b></p>
<p>We’re in the fifth and final week on this topic of “Can you be a Christian and accept evolution?” which was a question posed by an article I found on sciencenetwork.uk. <a href="https://sciencenetwork.uk/think/accept-evolution?fbclid=IwAR3ArDBE0Kr1Znfd3KFsveH0-vOYzrlt4lQ05NNwmzubDpT6ZMK9ti-XA0I">You can find that article here</a>. You can also find the first four of my blog posts on this <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept.html">here</a>, <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept_0979363927.html">here</a>, <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept_01983638942.html">here</a>, and <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/03/can-you-be-christian-and-accept.html">here</a>. Thanks for reading. Let’s jump right into it.
<p><i>“<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2019&version=NIV">Psalm 19</a> compels us to listen carefully to both science and the Bible on this issue.”</i> No, it doesn’t. They’re giving equal footing to nature as they do the Bible. Again, this is very similar to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism">paganism</a>—the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201%3A25&version=NIV">worship of nature</a>. I suggest trusting the Lord and His clear teachings on this. Is God so inept He couldn’t communicate well enough to get the message across to us? He required atheists or, at the very least unbelievers or those who reject Scripture, to point out the truth to us? I find that hard to believe.
<p><i>“…is there a way to take both Scripture and science seriously and accept a mainstream view of evolutionary theory?”</i> Not even close. The author says, “Well, yes!” like they’re excited to be a heretic. But the truth is if you don’t have reading comprehension issues, there is no way to reconcile universal common descent and the creation narrative in Genesis. It’s simply not possible. Suggesting you can reconcile these tells me you’re either not very bright, don’t understand what either are telling us, don’t care and just want to be able to walk both sides, or some combination of these. Yes, it seems quite evident that God made the biosphere capable of limited adaptation. That seems like something a loving God would do. It also seems like we can observe this happening in nature. But don’t be confused; this is not at all related to <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2021/07/abiogenesis-thats-not-evolution.html">abiogenesis</a> and universal common descent. Before you throw your hands up and say, “Abiogenesis isn’t part of evolution,” let’s be honest. First, this discussion is about far more than universal common descent. It involves the totality of the humanist origins myth from the moment of the Big Bang up until the emergence of man on the scene and all that allegedly evolved between the two. Secondly, abiogenesis is intimately linked to Darwinism and is taught alongside Darwinism in every textbook we have available to us on the topic.
<p><i>“I suspect that after another century or so of good science and good Biblical scholarship we’ll be able to draw some firmer conclusions.”</i> Again, the “truth” found in what this person is calling science is far from complete and will be changed many times over in the next 100 years. The Bible is the unchanging Word of God. This person wants to skew the meaning of Scripture to fit into some humanistic interpretation of nature that is misapplied to history. Atheism requires deep time; Creationism does not at all. There is no reason to believe in deep time unless you first have bought the humanist origins myth as true before looking at the evidence – then you HAVE to believe in deep time. But, again, the topic of origins cannot be a scientific one. The Bible is truth; I believe this, and I’m biased this way. Everyone is biased in some way, though many will deny it. Are you honest enough to admit it? But future scholarship of the Bible will only work to further the decay of the Church from the Truth found in Scripture. Many of the scholars who want to tell us about the Bible these days are secularists. They have no regard or love for the Bible and only look at it as <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201%3A25&version=NIV">a book of myths and legends</a> with the occasional nugget of historical truth. Nothing supernatural. Nothing applicable to the human condition. Let the Word of God say what it says. Accept it or reject it, but don’t reject it and act like you’re maintaining some high regard for Scripture or the Lord who inspired it.
<p><i>“But the very existence of these men and women – scholars committed to the authority of Scripture who also accept evolution – proves that it is indeed possible to be a faithful Christian and agree with the scientific consensus on this issue.”</i> Not at all, but even if it did; so what? And, again, many if not most of these scholars are not believers. They are not “committed to the authority of Scripture.” Even while Paul was doing his missionary work, there were those <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%202&version=NIV">who poisoned the Gospel</a> or even slightly changed it, making it something other than what it was. The author is trusting now in the authority of men (although I’ve not heard of most of these people in their list) and position rather than in the written Word of God. There are <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/progressive-christians-abortion-jes-kast/590293/">some Christians who will say that abortion</a> is okay—it’s a woman’s choice. Does the existence of these people mean this idea is good? Some Christians will say that the man is the dominating force in his home and if he sees fit to beat his wife and kids, that’s his right. Does the existence of these people mean this is right? Some Christians think there are other ways to heaven other than Jesus Christ. Jesus said <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2014/01/why-do-christians-claim-that-jesus-is.html">He is the only way</a>—that <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A6&version=NIV">no one comes to the Father but through Him</a>. Does the existence of these people mean it’s okay to seek God elsewhere? Some people, like Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, think their faith and the faith described in the Bible are harmonious. Does that mean it’s true since they exist? I hope you’re seeing how utterly preposterous this is. The existence of heretics (not saying all these folks are heretics mind you) does not mean heresy is respectable and equal to the Truth.
<p><i>“Paul’s aware of the complexity involved in interpreting God’s truth rightly, and he knows Christians will come to different conclusions on things.”</i> These complexities didn’t involve creation, did they? <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/the-word-of-god/apostle-pauls-use-genesis-13-romans-1/">He seemed pretty unwavering</a> on that as did <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/apostle-peter-relates-age-earth-debate/">Peter</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zbj48mn/revision/4">John</a>. <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/did-jesus-say-he-created-in-six-literal-days/">Jesus seemed convinced</a> the Word of God was true on the matter of creation, too. Again, the way theistic evolutionists argue, they suggest we can’t know anything from Scripture. That’s simply not true, though it is a logical conclusion of their beliefs. It’s simply wrong.
<p><i>“You don’t have to choose between two things that you hold dear.”</i> This is such a strange statement to me. Who holds evolution or, more specifically universal common descent, dearly? The fact that the Lord Almighty built life with the ability to have limited adaptive powers is awesome. But I don’t see how someone would hold common ancestry dearly. Are we putting way too much emotion into something that is nothing more than man’s attempt to explain nature and life without God? <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206%3A24&version=NIV">Jesus tells us we can’t serve two masters</a>. Our hearts can’t handle it. The two masters in this case would be Christ and nature. It just doesn’t work to worship the creation and the Creator.
<p><i>“Paul’s emphasis in these matters is that we are free in Christ.”</i> What a terrible misapplication of this thought. We are free from the power of sin. We are free in Christ to do what we ought to do. Prior to that moment of salvation, we were not capable of doing the good we ought to do. With Christ in us, we can. Freedom in Christ doesn’t mean we can believe anything we want. It doesn’t mean we can toss out any of the Holy Scriptures we don’t like. It doesn’t mean anything like what this person is suggesting it means.
<p><i>“In Christ you’re free to hold to young earth creation and you’re free to embrace evolution. You’re free to sit somewhere in the middle, and you’re free to be undecided.”</i> Just because I feel it’s worth stressing again: we are not “free in Christ” to believe anything we think sounds okay. In fact, we know the path is narrow. Compromise is not something the Lord appreciates in us. He tells us in Revelation He’d rather we were <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%203%3A16&version=NIV">hot or cold, not lukewarm</a>. We are not “free in Christ” to toss out entire sections of Scripture or foundational doctrines merely because a man or woman who was likely an unbeliever told us what they thought about origins that differed from the Bible. Again, do not be confused: origins is not science. You cannot observe one-time past events. You cannot make predictions about one-time past events. You cannot experiment on one-time past events. This is especially true if those events are surrounded by conditions we are in the dark about.
<p><i>“…heeding Paul’s command to ‘<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+15%3A7&version=NIV">accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you</a>.’”</i> This is what creationists tend to do. We do accept brothers and sisters who may be led astray concerning creation and the authority of Scripture. Some are fairly radical about it, but in general, we can accept them while simultaneously rejecting their bad theology. We have more similarities, in most cases, than differences and if we believe that Christ is the Son of God, that He lived a sinless life on earth and was crucified for our sins, only to rise again on the 3rd day and ascend into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father, we are brothers and sisters in a spiritual sense. But I would advise believers who have rejected what the Bible tells us about creation and the Flood to get a good footing because the slope is rather slick. I’ve witnessed too many who follow this path and eventually reject the Lord altogether.
<p>The author then, in their notations, explains that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo">St. Augustine of Hippo</a> is on their side here. This is simply not true. While St. Augustine had a complex view of Genesis that evolved over time, he held to a literal interpretation. This author also says Augustine did not conform to a 24-hour day time frame for the days of creation while he did maintain a historical interpretation of the book of Genesis. This is true. Augustine believed it was possible the Lord used the word “day” in the Genesis account of creation when, in fact, He created on each of those days in moments rather than 24 hours. In reality, we have no reason to believe God required 24 hours each day to complete His work. But each day is marked by something that He did unique to that day, in a specific order and consecutively. While evolutionists like to use him by misapplying his statements, Augustine was very much a Biblical creationist. He had some questions concerning exactly what happened on each of the days of creation and how long each day took (was it 24 hours or was it only seconds or minutes?) but he held firmly to the historicity of the narrative.
<p>I pray this series of posts has helped you, the reader, understand some of the ins and outs of this debate. Evolution is a thing that happens. But evolution is also a competing story for how God created everything there is. It depends on what you mean by “evolution” when you use the term. It can describe living things or the cosmos or any number of other things when we talk about it in this debate. God gave His creation the ability to adapt to different environments within a limited degree. He’s awesome that way. Praise Him for His mighty acts! He is worthy of all our praise!
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-79094267951257730012024-03-11T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-11T06:00:00.137-04:002 Corinthians 1:1-2 and Introduction<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
<br>To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:
<br>Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A1-2&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 1:1-2</a></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/03/1-corinthians-1615-24.html">Last week</a>, we finished going through 1 Corinthians, so the logical next step is to begin taking a look at 2 Corinthians. But before we get there, what has transpired for the Corinthian church between these two letters? While we don’t know a lot of details, scholars have some general ideas of what may have transpired.
<p>In 1 Corinthians, Paul addressed many issues that were occurring in the church at Corinth. It’s likely that the Corinthians fixed some of these issues before 2 Corinthians, as we don’t see Paul bringing them up again. For example, we do not see anything in this second letter regarding practicing the Lord’s supper or about lawsuits among believers.
<p>But, even though they may have made some issues better, others got worse. Paul did not want to make another “painful visit” to them (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+2%3A1&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 2:1</a>), but he did end up visiting them again (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+12%3A14&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 12:14</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+13%3A1-2&version=NIV">13:1-2</a>). An in-person visit from Paul would provide them with much more specific instructions to correct their ways than a letter could.
<p>Paul sent Titus from Ephesus to Corinth with a severe letter for them. We do not have the contents of this letter available to us, but we know it existed at one time due to the references to it in Scripture. Paul and Titus were to meet in Troas, but Titus did not show up there, so they ended up meeting in Macedonia instead. After leaving Ephesus after the riot (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19%3A23-20%3A1&version=NIV">Acts 19:23-20:1</a>), Paul spread the gospel in Troas, did not see Titus there, and then traveled to Macedonia (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+2%3A12-13&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 2:12-13</a>). Paul and Titus met up in Macedonia, and Titus shared his report of the Corinthians being responsive to the severe letter (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+7%3A5-16&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 7:5-16</a>).
<p>Paul worked in Macedonia for a while, and after he heard about additional problems at the church in Corinth, he wrote 2 Corinthians to them. The authorship of this letter is rarely disputed, given that Paul calls himself the author twice (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A1&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 1:1</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+10%3A1&version=NIV">10:1</a>). Writings of other early church fathers outside of the Bible also quote this letter, including Polycarp, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. It is likely that while Paul spent a few months in Greece (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+20%3A2-3&version=NIV">Acts 20:2-3</a>), likely in Corinth, he wrote Romans.
<p>This letter of 2 Corinthians was likely written at least a year and a half after 1 Corinthians. Scholars give a probable timeline of 1 Corinthians being written in the spring of AD 55, Paul having his “painful visit” to Corinth that summer, writing the “severe letter” (that we don’t have) in the spring of AD 56, Paul and Titus arriving in Macedonia during the summer of AD 56, and then Paul writing 2 Corinthians in the fall of AD 56.
<p>The letter is divided into three major sections: Paul discussing his apostolic ministry (chapters 1-7), discussing generosity specifically for the saints at Jerusalem (chapters 8-9), and more about being an apostle and Paul’s travel plans (chapters 10-13). Some of the key themes in the book can be seen in words or phrases that are often repeated, including comfort, affliction, and joy.
<p>This greeting at the start of the letter is consistent with what Paul would typically write. He calls himself “an apostle” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A1&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 1:1</a>) of Jesus even though he was not one of the twelve who walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Paul considered himself equal to the twelve because of the special revelation he received from Jesus during his conversion to the faith.
<p>Paul mentions Timothy during this greeting, which is significant for the Corinthians. Timothy was supposed to be Paul’s representative in Corinth (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+4%3A17&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 4:17</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A10-11&version=NIV">16:10-11</a>), but it appears that Titus had replaced Timothy in that position by the time 2 Corinthians was written. It is possible that Timothy did not have great success in working with the church at Corinth, hence the change in personnel.
<p>Paul promotes unity between this church and others in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A1&version=NIV">verse 1</a>, specifically calling out the province of Achaia, which contained multiple churches. This congregation was just part of the church that God was building in that region, and Paul makes sure that they know there are others who are part of God’s “holy people” in that area.
<p>Paul’s characteristic greeting in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A2&version=NIV">verse 2</a> combines both the traditional Greek greeting (chairein, which became charis, “grace”) and the traditional Hebrew greeting (shalom, or “peace”). This further should bring unity among the people who were from different traditions.
<p>As we journey through this letter from Paul to the first-century church at Corinth, I believe that we will see that its themes and instructions are still relevant to us as twenty-first-century believers.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM65WJPX" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbbC-uZsZeUEBPy6X2ulXw1CBJn9ZvLcjYbUvNa9h6eOU0cfaSRKRKlY_mR7exGGnsFaYp8BrLmT8MUquMdAWTo0X2C7biAxp0wcCqQKSf7tPrve-hdpcGh9rDpFZJGgn21zGJG71L7lTYeQB6hralh1CwGFn5Rm1M2isKuJgHQiLqjN9AtP3XCfsnQ/s1600/The%20Teacher.jpg"/></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-74661727941405808122024-03-08T06:00:00.001-05:002024-03-08T06:00:00.136-05:00Backstory of the Kings 25: Josiah <p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p><a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/01/josiah-king-of-judah.html">Josiah</a> became king when he was eight years old, just a year older than <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-16-joash.html">Joash</a> when he became king, and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+34-35&version=NKJV">reigned for 31 years</a>. His father <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/03/backstory-of-kings-24-manasseh-and-amon.html">Amon</a> was assassinated for his gross idolatry. Josiah was the last of the godly kings. His grandfather Manasseh was an abominable idolator until God utterly broke him by taking him into captivity in Assyria for a season. Amon was just as idolatrous, but he did not repent. He was killed two years into his reign. Josiah would have just barely known his grandfather in his repentant state, and he would have seen the turmoil of his father. For the first years of his reign, just as with Joash, there would have been adults who directed the formal decisions and guided him, but eight years into his reign, when Josiah was 16, he made the choice to follow the Lord.
<p>Josiah personally sought to seek and follow the Lord, which is a statement only given to Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, and Hezekiah before him. When one seeks the Lord, he will see the abominations and they will grieve him. As a teenager, Josiah went after all those high places. It took about ten years to go through the whole land to destroy the idols and the high places. He destroyed every idol, every high place, and every altar, everything associated with idol worship. Josiah got rid of it and destroyed it so no one could bring it back easily.
<p>Then 18 years into his reign, with all the idols removed, Josiah turned his attention to the Temple to repair it. That was when the Book of the Law was found, and Josiah realized just how far Judah had fallen from walking in the ways God set when they entered the land. The majority of the coverage of Josiah’s reign is on this event and Josiah’s move to get back to God’s ways. God was so pleased with Josiah that he would not allow Judah to fall into captivity during his lifetime. But the sins of Manasseh and the generations before him were still standing, and the judgment still had to come.
<p>I don’t know what triggered Josiah’s turn to the Lord, but he did have the advantage of being too young for the idolatrous ways of his father to be deeply rooted in him. He also had the advantage of being just old enough to see that what his father was doing was outright evil. There were no Biblical prophets at this time, as Jeremiah would begin his ministry during Josiah’s reign. There were prophets, but not one of the “big ones” from the start. Whoever guided and trained Josiah had to be godly. The prophetess Hulda ministered in Josiah’s 18th year and she is the one who reported Josiah’s utter grief over Judah breaking the Law. There was no actual copy of the Law that Josiah had access to until his 18th year. Otherwise, he would have heard it by then. He knew the Biblical principles that God did not like idolatry and he very likely knew the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+6%3A4-9&version=NKJV">Shema prayer</a> and the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A1-17&version=NKJV">Ten Commandments</a>. By the time they were twelve years old, Jewish boys were supposed to have the entire Pentateuch memorized, and it’s possible this was still being practiced traditionally through the idolatrous ages. But Josiah heard at least some of the law and knew of the True God and that truth took a firm grip on his heart.
<p>Josiah can also be compared to Joash because both were very young kings. Joash had a very godly man raise him. Josiah had no known Godly input. Joash departed the faith once his anchor passed away; Josiah turned towards the Lord regardless of his input. As I have mentioned, each person was responsible for his own choices. While the background of his early youth reflected Amon’s full-blown idolatry, Josiah still chose to seek the Lord. We don’t know how Josiah operated in those first eight years as a kid, but when he turned 16, he decided to seek the Lord personally.
<p>Josiah is the last king who would seek the Lord. God decided the judgment upon Judah during Manasseh’s reign, but God had a promise to uphold before he could let that happen. I mentioned above how Josiah got rid of the high places and idols. One of those idols was a golden calf, the one that Jeroboam made 300 years ago when he led the rebellion against Rehoboam. An unnamed prophet confronted Jeroboam and told him a future king named Josiah would destroy that idol and desecrate the priests serving that idol by burning their bones on their altars. When <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+17&version=NKJV">Assyria conquered Israel</a>, they did not destroy nor take the idol they feared the gods of that land and didn’t want to bring a curse upon them. A curse was indeed put on them, so they sent some of Israel’s priests who served those idols to teach the new occupants how to worship those gods. So the golden calf was intact in Bethel when Josiah came upon it. He did precisely what was prophesied about him – he destroyed the idol and burned the bones of the first priests on the altar before destroying the altar itself. God was not going to let Judah fall until this took place.
<p>In Josiah’s reign, we see the sovereignty of God and the foresight of God. We see God directing events to fulfill the prophecies He made, and we see this through all the kings. While each king is held responsible for his own decisions, all have done the way God has said they would go. God wanted Josiah to showcase one last shot for redemption, knowing that it would not last, but also to give a final cleansing before the bottom fell out. It was a final push for Godliness so that in the captivity there would be a few who would be a remnant for the captivity. Daniel and his three friends were children of nobles and would have sat under the ministry of Jeremiah before being taken to Babylon as teenagers. Josiah’s reforms set the stage for Daniel to be a Godly presence in Babylon.
<p>Next week, we’ll wrap up this series and look at Josiah’s sons. Josiah went to battle against Egypt, when he did not need to, and was killed in the battle. Egypt made Judah a vassal of Egypt, and Josiah’s sons brought the final judgment upon Judah.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6W1KJCT" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYTDnaFaTH7lYvyr5pFwZ1J1AzHYj4EM0RZsvgwPxa2r98B6f6s0EjofmJSu6OIi_SuVNLmoYwDru4EPn6z6nt7H1ac-9px--ucnIJ8YtTpJogB6jiMirKAtQPpMTFiD1jKu2QrCDXzOlkhm24oxFhkRvcm3086Fm2wdSQMl-oQ8MzLIgYdB2yIPUUg/s1600/Doctrines%20of%20Genesis.jpg"/></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-84693332323582614772024-03-07T06:00:00.001-05:002024-03-07T06:00:00.270-05:00Can You Be a Christian and Accept Evolution? Part 4<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/steve_risner.jpg" title="by Steve Risner" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve%20Risner">Steve Risner</a></b></p>
<p>This is week four on this topic of “<a href="https://sciencenetwork.uk/think/accept-evolution?fbclid=IwAR3ArDBE0Kr1Znfd3KFsveH0-vOYzrlt4lQ05NNwmzubDpT6ZMK9ti-XA0I">Can you be a Christian and accept evolution?</a>” I found an article with that says, “Yes” to this question, and I took issue with much of what they had to say. Before reading this post, I would recommend making sure you’ve read my other posts <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept.html">here</a>, <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept_0979363927.html">here</a>, and <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept_02002231162.html">here</a>. This post will make more sense then. Let’s jump into it.
<p><i>“We’re not free to disregard the Bible because it feels outdated.”</i> So, why are you doing this? The Bible is timeless in its principles. And when it comes to history, how could anyone argue that changes? History happened. It was recorded. No amount of time passing can change what happened.
<p><i>“We’re not free… to disregard science because its conclusions are inconvenient for our theology.”</i> As many evolutionists are, the author of this article is confused. They think “science” is what we’re talking about when it’s nothing more than philosophy or religion. Scientific “conclusions” like gravity, pH, electricity, and so on are things you can bank on by and large. But stories about chemicals turning into life and that simple life form diversifying into all sorts of highly complex, very specialized organisms is a very naïve belief system. Feel free to discard any other religion’s take on origins if it conflicts with the clear teaching of Scripture. In short, if you read the Bible and you look at nature and they don’t seem to agree, you’re very likely misinterpreting nature. One of these revelations is a written communication from God Almighty. The other is essentially art, which can be open to a million different interpretations, and none may be correct or complete. When in doubt, side with the Lord and His Word.
<p><i>“<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+19&version=NIV">Psalm 19</a> urges us to take both science and Scripture seriously.”</i> It actually does not do this at all, but theistic evolutionists want it to say this, so they feel justified in rejecting Scripture. Placing the two on equal standing is not a good idea at all. In fact, it’s a terrible idea and is akin to paganism. God gave us His Word for a reason. Nature, while able to point us to our Creator, does not speak divine truth to us. In fact, the nature we’re seeing now is cursed. The Fall was accompanied by a curse that God placed not just on mankind but on all of creation. In fact, Paul tells the Romans (and us) that “<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208%3A22&version=NIV">creation has been groaning</a>” since the Fall. The creation is essentially ill. The story it may be telling us now is nothing like the story it would have told us in Eden before Adam and Eve disobeyed God for the first time, introducing sin into the world. So, taking fallen man’s skewed interpretation of a cursed creation over the perfect Word of God is insane, in my opinion. What rational person would suggest we can understand more or even as much about God from nature as we can from the book He gave us?
<p><i>“At the same time, we’ve got to be realistic and humble about how good we are as fallen and limited people at interpreting God’s truth.”</i> This is partially true. We don’t know everything from the Word of God. But we can read His thoughts in His message to us, and what He clearly tells us about creation is undeniable. Either believe what it says or reject the Word. It’s up to you and where you put your final authority. I hate to repeat myself so much, but the truth here is still the same. We are fallen, and they get that right in this article. But we also have the Word of God, which is what He wanted us to know, and He has preserved it for us. Trust Him rather than sinful man’s take on origins. Man has been at war with God for nearly 6000 years. Do you think you can trust him more so than the Creator of all that is? And, again, what is easier to believe: that we grossly misinterpreted the clear teachings of God from His Word which He left for us, or that we misunderstood something we saw in nature, or we drew the wrong conclusion about something we saw in nature or we went a little too far in that interpretation—going beyond what we actually know to be true?
<p><i>“When it comes to science, we can only ever work with a partial data set, and it’s not like we can do repeatable experiments where we re-run the last 4 billion years to confirm our hypothesis.”</i> This is why origins is NOT a scientific topic of any kind. It’s impossible, and people will assault the integrity of the tool that is science by trying to force it to be something it is not and cannot be. Universal common descent is not repeatable. It’s not observable. It’s not able to be experimented on. It’s not able to have predictive power since it’s historical (you can’t predict something that will happen in the past). They’ve demolished their entire argument here by being truthful about why universal common descent is not science. It is rare to find a theistic evolutionist so honest about this, and it’s refreshing. I’ve literally conversed with hundreds over the years. Many are hostile toward the Bible and those who believe what it says. I’m thankful this person is genuine here.
<p><i>“When it comes to Scripture, we’re all too prone to bringing our own presuppositions and cultural baggage to God’s word and reading into it what we want to read.”</i> Fortunately, as a Biblical creationist, I’ve not done this to the best of my knowledge. This is precisely what others (old earth creationists and theistic evolutionists) do all the time. You need not twist Scripture with your own cultural or whatever biases to understand the creation narrative and the rest of the history found in Genesis. The book literally spans 1/3 of all of history. It’s all very important for understanding our condition and the solution that the Lord has given to us. There is no way to justify abandoning what everyone in the Bible and for almost 2000 years after Christ understood about creation. None. The cultural differences do not change what the clear teachings of ALL of the Scriptures are concerning creation (<a href="https://dailyverses.net/creation">a short and incomplete list can be found here</a>). And the culture changed over time from <a href="https://www.biblica.com/resources/bible-faqs/when-was-the-bible-written/">Adam and Eve to Noah to Jacob and his family to Moses and then David up to the time of Christ</a>. <a href="https://www.tyndale.com/sites/tyndalebibles/article/what-language-was-the-bible-originally-written-in/#:~:text=Therefore%2C%20those%20who%20read%20the,of%20Hebrew%29%2C%20and%20Greek.">Different languages</a> are represented <a href="https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/who-wrote-the-bible">in the Bible</a>. Different time periods. Even different locations. What culture would we be speaking about if that dictates how we understand the Word of God? If anything, the lens of our culture would force us to toss out much of Genesis and other creation passages. Thankfully, we don’t have to be blinded by our cultural biases, and we can accept God’s Word for what it says. I’ve found no reason not to after over 30 years of looking.
<p><i>“Though God has genuinely made truth accessible to us via both means, we could be (and probably are) making mistakes in how we read either science, Scripture or both (and we won’t necessarily know which).”</i> If you think it’s possible to misunderstand Genesis, then you literally cannot accept or know anything found in Scripture. None of it is able to be grasped if the opening chapters are in question. A 7-year-old can read or hear Genesis and understand the narrative. It’s very simple. The creation account, the Fall, the curse, the Flood, the dispersion, the covenant – it’s all important, all right there, and all easy to understand. Do we have everything right from Scripture? Of course not. But the odds of us having a perfect understanding of nature are far worse than us understanding God’s written communication to us. Especially if what we are trying to force nature to say to us is 100% opposed to what the Bible tells us. When there’s a conflict, trust His Word over anything else.
<p>Again, time has run out and we are out of space for this week’s post. I hope this has opened your eyes to some of the issues with forcing the idea of universal common descent (often referred to as simply “evolution”) into the Judeo-Christian teachings on creation. Take care and come back next week as we wrap up this series.
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-1580813080266078162024-03-04T06:00:00.001-05:002024-03-04T06:00:00.142-05:001 Corinthians 16:15-24<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
<br>The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
<br>I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
<br>If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!
<br>The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
<br>My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A15-24&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 16:15-24</a></blockquote>
<p>This passage wraps up the end of 1 Corinthians, the first letter we have from the Apostle Paul to the Church in Corinth. Paul provides his closing greetings here.
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A15&version=NIV">verse 15</a>, Paul references “the household of Stephanas.” Paul is promoting that household as an example for the Corinthians to follow. We do not know much about Stephanas or his household except for this reference. In that culture, it was common for when the head of a household was converted, everyone else in that household followed suit – not just the family members but also any servants associated with the household. Achaia was a province of Greece where the city of Corinth was located, so this household may have been local to the people of the church in Corinth.
<p>Paul points out that the household of Stephanas was devoted to serving God’s people. The word used for serving there is <i>diakonia</i>, which is where we get our English word ‘deacon’ from. The role of deacons in many churches is to serve people, whether that be service during the worship service or service outside of worship gatherings.
<p>Paul brings up this household as an example for the Corinthians to follow (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A16&version=NIV">verse 16</a>). The Corinthians were to join in the service of others as the household of Stephanas, and we are urged to do the same in our churches and communities today. The text implies that Stephanas’ whole family joined in service, and our whole families should join in serving others as well.
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A17&version=NIV">verse 17</a>, Paul mentions Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus by name. Scholars believe that these three men were the ones who brought the Corinthians’ letter to Paul that prompted this letter as Paul’s reply. We are not sure what was meant by Paul saying they have “supplied what was lacking.” It may mean that their delivery of the Corinthians’ questions encouraged Paul that they were open to his advice and instruction for their congregation.
<p>Paul wanted to recognize these three men (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A18&version=NIV">verse 18</a>) because of their delivery of the letter. Their presence refreshed Paul’s spirit and encouraged him for the sake of the Corinthian church. It is likely that these men also delivered Paul’s reply of 1 Corinthians back to Corinth, so the people there would also be refreshed by the results of this exchange.
<p>Next, Paul starts his actual greetings section to close out this letter. A section like this is typical of Paul in all his letters. Paul brings greetings from other churches to the Corinthians. When Paul mentions the churches in “Asia,” he’s referring to what we now know as western Turkey. There were already multiple churches located there, and Paul was promoting unity among the churches as they were all on the same mission from God to spread the gospel and make disciples of Jesus.
<p>Paul specifically calls out greetings from Aquila and Priscilla in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A19&version=NIV">verse 19</a> because they were influential in founding the church in Corinth (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+18%3A1-3&version=NIV">Acts 18:1-3</a>). According to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+18%3A18&version=NIV">Acts 18:18</a>, Aquila and Priscilla sailed to Syria with Paul after their visit to Corinth, and they were influential in the spread of the early church. They are also mentioned in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+16%3A3-5&version=NIV">Romans 16:3-5</a> where Paul writes that they risked their lives for him.
<p>It was a common practice at that time to greet other believers with a “holy kiss” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A20&version=NIV">verse 20</a>). This custom was also mentioned in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+16%3A15&version=NIV">Romans 16:15</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+13%3A12&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 13:12</a>, and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Thessalonians+5%3A26&version=NIV">1 Thessalonians 5:26</a>. It would show unity in the faith among the believers. This was not just something that the Christians did, but greeting with a kiss of friendship was a common practice in the Ancient Near East. Scholars note that it would have been culturally understood that this kiss of friendship would not cross genders; men would “holy kiss” men and women would “holy kiss” women.
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A21&version=NIV">verse 21</a>, Paul states that he writes this greeting in his own hand. This was a sign of authenticity for the letter. It was customary for letters to be dictated to a secretary of sorts who would do the actual writing.
<p>Paul felt the need to add a stern warning to the end of this letter in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A22&version=NIV">verse 22</a>, that anyone who does not love the Lord would be cursed, meaning that they would be under the wrath of God. This is how important it was for Paul that the recipients of this letter be followers of Jesus! Finally, he ends with a shorter benediction than is typical for him in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A23-24&version=NIV">verses 23-24</a>, concluding with sharing his love for the Corinthian believers, even if he did need to give them some harsh words throughout this letter.
<p>The main takeaway we can have from this section as modern believers is that we should regard this entire letter as authoritative Scripture. The people and places that Paul mentions are authenticated by other parts of Scripture. Paul’s indication that he wrote this greeting himself gives it validity as well. These concluding greetings and remarks can give us the confidence to trust Paul’s words throughout this letter as inspired by God and as an authority for our lives.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-63828166379382172102024-03-01T06:00:00.001-05:002024-03-01T06:00:00.256-05:00Backstory of the Kings 24: Manasseh and Amon<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p>Hezekiah was a godly king who tore down high places and destroyed idols including good things such as the Bronze Serpent. He got sick halfway into his reign, and God granted him 15 more years of his life. There is an indication that he was childless at this point with no heir. God said he would heal him and give him an heir. That child was born a couple of years later, Manasseh. When Hezekiah died, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+33&version=NKJV">Manasseh was just 12 years old, and he reigned for 55 years</a>. He had the longest reign of any king of Israel or Judah, and he was the worst of them.
<p><a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/12/manasseh-king-of-judah.html">Manasseh</a> followed all the idols that the pagans had around them – Baal, Asherah, Molech/Chemosh, not to mention practicing sorcery and divination and seeking mediums, a list that not even Ahab did. And as bad as all that was, he did something even more evil than all that: he put these idols and altars directly in the Temple itself. And catch this statement in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+33%3A9&version=NKJV">2 Chronicles 33:9</a>: Manasseh led Judah to do even more evil than the pagan nations whom the Lord had already destroyed through the Assyrian empire. Ezekiel gave some fierce words for this in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+23&version=NKJV">Ezekiel 23</a> and compared Israel and Judah to two harlots. For as bad of a rap as Israel has, Judah out-sinned Israel. If the trio of <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/12/backstory-of-kings-14-jehoram-ahaziah.html">Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah</a> were bad, <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/backstory-of-kings-21-jotham-and-ahaz.html">Ahaz</a> seemed to seek to top them and Manasseh went even further.
<p>Isaiah was nearing the end of his ministry, and he rebuked Manasseh for his idolatry. Tradition holds that Manasseh had Isaiah sawn in half. Manasseh wanted nothing to do with the prophets of God. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+22%3A23-31&version=NKJV">Ezekiel 22</a> gives a devastating lashing against the prophets and priests of that time: conspiring against God and using their position and the people’s innate trust in that position to rip them off for selfish gain. No one stood in the gap; no one stepped up to put a stop to it. Hezekiah tried. Isaiah tried. But the people didn’t listen to Hezekiah or Isaiah, and Manasseh had Isaiah removed.
<p>God had enough and had Assyria take Manasseh captive along with formally proclaiming the upcoming captivity to Babylon. Keep in mind that when Assyria took captives, they marched them in their chains, naked, and pulled along with a hook in their nose. This was only one of the many ways Assyria showed their brutal cruelty. In captivity, Manasseh was humbled. The teachings and preaching of his father Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah would have come to mind, and he remembered and sought the Lord. He returned to Jerusalem and began tearing down all the idols. He did not tear down the high places, but the people used them to worship the true God. Manasseh committed the most atrocious sins of all the kings, but he was humbled, and in that humility, he returned to serve the Lord until he died.
<p>We don’t know when during Manasseh’s 55-year reign his arrest and repentance took place, but this sets up the backstory to his son Amon who was born 33 years into his reign. Amon lasted only two years because he followed the footsteps of his father into idolatry, only he did not repent of his sins. He was assassinated as a result. His officials had no interest in seeing another Manasseh who would turn Assyria against Judah again, so they killed him and installed Josiah in his stead, a boy of only 8 years old.
<p>Let’s do the math. Amon was 24 when he was assassinated and Josiah was 8 at that time. So Amon was 16 when he fathered Josiah and 15 when he slept with Josiah’s mother. It’s not as crazy a situation as with Ahaz who fathered Hezekiah when he was 11, but still very young.
<p>Manasseh and Amon show the reverse cases of Joash and Hezekiah. Joash started well and ended bad. Hezekiah started well and ended well. Manasseh started bad and ended well. Amon started bad and ended bad. Manasseh had all the markings, precedents, and foundations laid for a good backing. Because Manasseh was just 12 years old when he became king, it is possible that Hezekiah’s death triggered anger and resentment in him. He was old enough to have an attachment to Hezekiah, so it’s not implausible for him to blame God for it and go to all the idols to spit in God’s face. But that is speculation.
<p>Amon likely lived through Manasseh’s repentance, but it may depend upon when that took place. I suspect the repentance was towards the end of his life, but I cannot prove that. I suspect Amon spent a good part of his youth engaged in idolatrous actions alongside his father. He clearly didn’t learn from his father about repentance and departing from the idols. He liked the idols and wanted to keep them. Instead of repenting from his sin, he multiplied it. In a way, God was merciful in allowing Amon to be assassinated, and the people in turn executed his killers. It wasn’t right to kill him, but God may have allowed it to give Amon’s little boy a chance to follow God and give him the opportunity to lead the nation in a last-minute revival while also fulfilling prophecy. That will be for next week.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-35886036003175530832024-02-29T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-29T06:00:00.217-05:00Can You Be a Christian and Accept Evolution? Part 3<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/steve_risner.jpg" title="by Steve Risner" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve%20Risner">Steve Risner</a></b></p>
<p>We are three posts deep into a reaction to an article I found at sciencenetwork.uk called “<a href="https://sciencenetwork.uk/think/accept-evolution?fbclid=IwAR3ArDBE0Kr1Znfd3KFsveH0-vOYzrlt4lQ05NNwmzubDpT6ZMK9ti-XA0I">Yes, you can be a Christian and accept evolution</a>.” The other two posts in this series are <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept.html">here</a> and <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept_0979363927.html">here</a>. You may want to catch up with those before continuing with this one if you haven’t read them already.
<p>Much of what we have discussed so far has revolved around the idea that “evolution” has a variety of meanings and some are even scientific while others are not. Let’s move on today and see what this author thinks.
<p><i>“So in theory God could certainly use evolution as a means of creation.”</i> In theory, yes. In reality, based on the clear teachings of Scripture, He did no such thing at all, period. Universal common descent is void of evidence from Scripture or the natural world and, frankly, makes no sense and defies experience and the laws of nature and probability. He could have, but this is nothing like “He did.”
<p><i>“…what do we do if it feels like scientific evidence is pointing us in the direction of one mechanism for creation, but Scripture points us in another?”</i> Trust God first. Where you put your final or ultimate authority is where you’ll land. If you think man is smarter than God, you’ll trust man’s currently popular version of the humanist origins myth which will likely change in a few years. Or if the Bible is your source of ultimate Truth, you’ll allow Him the privilege of being more learned than you and you’ll accept what He tells you. “Science” is in conflict with the Bible when that science is a religious notion built on piles and piles of assumptions and extrapolations. True science testifies to the beauty of God’s creative works and His marvelous deeds. Origins cannot be a scientific study; it just cannot. You can’t observe, test, or repeat one-time past events. This is not difficult to understand at all; this is history. One’s philosophy and/or worldview will dictate what story of origins a person believes, but none of them are scientific. So science cannot point us in a direction that is contrary to Scripture when it comes to origins. Science has very little to say about it.
<p>The author of this article then focuses on <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2019&version=NIV">Psalm 19</a>, a psalm of David. Regarding that psalm he says:
<p><i>“…the big point he [David] wants to make about the heavens is that they communicate something about God.”</i> Yes. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+19%3A1-2&version=NIV">They proclaim His awesome power and greatness</a>. His magnificence is beyond comprehension. They don’t utter nonsense about the Big Bang or universal common descent or anything like that at all.
<p><i>“Day and night, as we look up at the sky it is telling us something about the God who made it. The created world is like a letter from God to us saying ‘Look! I’m here! See what I’m like!’”</i> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+1%3A20&version=NIV">This is why the unbeliever is without excuse</a>. But it’s also a great reason not to hold hands with those unbelievers, trashing the Word of God and attacking Christians for their faith in Him and the truth of His Word. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%204%3A6&version=NIV">Don’t go beyond what is written</a>. The Bible doesn’t tell us that nature will tell us the Gospel; it simply tells us that <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%3A3&version=NIV">we have a Creator</a> we are accountable to.
<p><i>“It makes sense, then, for David’s mind to wander from one means of God’s self-communication to another.”</i> Suggesting the “book of nature” is nearly as easy to understand or as clear a communication as the written Word of God is laughable and preposterous in my opinion. What we understand about nature is constantly revised. What we “knew” 10 years ago is hogwash today. What we “know” today will be tossed out in a few years. But the Word of God stands firm and is unchanging. He specifically tells us how He created, and less directly He tells us when He did that. There is no reason from Scripture—none at all—to hold a different view other than the one presented in the Bible. The only reason anyone does is because secularists and humanists have told their own tale of origins, and some Christians or churches have entertained it as possible even though the Bible is completely at odds with this origins myth. Nature does not tell us about the Gospel. It does not tell us any of God’s moral laws. It simply demands that we acknowledge our Creator and give Him the awe and respect He is worthy of as the Creator of everything.
<p><i>“As nature illuminates for us something of what God is like, so does God’s written word, the Bible.”</i> Again, acting like one is equal to the other is not only absurd, but it’s possibly a little blasphemous. Maybe that’s a little extreme, but I’d rather be accused by God of being zealous for His Word than being wishy-washy with it, allowing humanism to decide for me what the Bible means. I will correct this statement, however; nature does not tell us what God is like. Not at all. Nature tells us there is a God and that He’s awesome, that’s it.
<p><i>“And Scripture goes further than creation can: it gives words to that which the heavens cannot articulate. The Bible spells out in detail God’s salvation plan for creation through Jesus, and gives us all that we need to know that salvation for ourselves.”</i> Yes, I agree.
<p><i>“So God uses both nature and Scripture to communicate with us about who he is.”</i> Does nature really tell us truths about the Creator, or does it just make it clear to us that there is a Creator God? If it does speak truths about God, what are they? Are these the same truths as found in Scripture? If not, why not? If they are found in Scripture, why do we need to look to nature for them?
<p><i>“The truth that we find in the pages of the Bible is God’s truth.”</i> Why do you assault the Word of God by suggesting the clear teachings of Scripture are not true? That some other version of creation is more accurate and we needed light shed on this true version of our origins by atheists and other God-hating people?
<p><i>“And the truth that we find by the study of the natural world using science is also God’s truth.”</i> You cannot possibly argue that science discovers truth in many respects to nature. What we “know” now will be laughed at in the future as more knowledge is gained, much like what we “knew” 100 years ago is mocked today. That’s “God’s truth” in your mind? God’s Truth is the Good News, and what strategy for communicating the Gospel does not include some form of creation? To understand why we need a Savior, we need to understand creation and the events that transpired shortly after. The Gospel doesn’t make sense without a historical interpretation of Genesis. That’s just the way it is. Don’t argue with me about it; talk to the Lord who inspired His Word to be written the way it was.
<p>We have come to a good ending point for this week’s post. I hope you’ve found this educational and thought-provoking. I always enjoy these. Take care and thank you for reading.
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-49802792046832758002024-02-26T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-26T06:00:00.146-05:00 1 Corinthians 16:5-14<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you —for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
<br>When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. No one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
<br>Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.
<br>Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A5-14&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 16:5-14</a></blockquote>
<p>You know you’re getting close to the end of a letter when you get to the section for personal requests as we see from Paul in today’s passage. Next week, we will finish up the letter of 1 Corinthians with Paul’s final greetings for this letter.
<p>The first section here contains Paul’s travel plans in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A5-9&version=NIV">verses 5-9</a>. The journey that Paull writes about here lines up with the travels we see in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19%3A21-22&version=NIV">Acts 19:21-22</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+20%3A1-3&version=NIV">Acts 20:1-3</a>. Paul did end up staying in Greece for about 3 months, which included his stop in Corinth, which was likely the “spend the winter” he referred to in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A6&version=NIV">verse 6</a>.
<p>Rather than explicitly asking them for money, Paul asks them to help him on his journey, which likely included supplies, equipment, etc. that he would need for his travels. Back in <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/08/1-corinthians-91-11.html">1 Corinthians 9</a>, Paul wrote about how he did not want to burden churches with fully supporting him financially, but he did expect them to help him with his travels to get to the next place to share the gospel.
<p>Especially after addressing the various topics and issues that he brings up in this letter, Paul knew that it would be best for him to spend a fair amount of time with the Corinthian church (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A7&version=NIV">verse 7</a>). They needed his guidance and instruction as they learned how to navigate being the church, especially in dealing with the pagan culture around them and the differing worldviews of Jews and Gentiles who had adopted the Christian faith.
<p>However, Paul was writing this letter from Ephesus, and his work there was not quite complete (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A8&version=NIV">verse 8</a>). He needed more time there before starting his next journey where he would visit Corinth. We see that by this point, Pentecost (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2&version=NIV">Acts 2</a>) was already a significant church holiday as it commemorated the birth of the Christian church. Paul would stay at Ephesus from the time of the letter writing until Pentecost (late spring), then travel to Macedonia in the summer, and then winter in Corinth.
<p>Paul notes that there is much opportunity for him at Ephesus and that God is working there. The verb tense he uses when writing that “a great door … has opened to me” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A9&version=NIV">verse 9</a>) implies that the opportunity continues to be open to him, not just a one-time thing. Paul does not mention who specifically opposes him there, but we can guess from what historians know about the culture of Ephesus that the opposition was likely those who worshiped the goddess Artemis and built shrines to her (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19%3A23-27&version=NIV">Acts 19:23-27</a>).
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A10&version=NIV">verse 10</a>, Paul talks about sending Timothy there, which we see corroborated in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19%3A22&version=NIV">Acts 19:22</a>. Timothy was traveling when Paul wrote this and would likely be arriving in Corinth soon (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+4%3A17&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 4:17</a>). Paul wanted to make sure they treated Timothy well when he arrived (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A11&version=NIV">verse 11</a>). The people of the church in Corinth should trust Timothy just as much as they would trust Paul himself. Timothy had been with Paul for several years at this point, so Paul had trained him up in the faith. When Timothy’s work was completed in Corinth, Paul expected them to supply Timothy’s travel needs just as they would for Paul. While we don’t know who the “brothers” coming with Timothy would be, it is likely that they may have included Erastus (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19%3A22&version=NIV">Acts 19:22</a>).
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A12&version=NIV">verse 12</a> when Paul brings up Apollos, it’s the same phrasing he uses to introduce new topics throughout the letter, implying that the Corinthians had brought up the topic with Paul. It appears from the text that Apollos and Paul were working separately. Paul could not convince him to go at the time, but Apollos would travel later. It is likely that Apollos was with Paul when the Corinthians asked Paul about him, but then he had left before Paul actually wrote this letter in reply.
<p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A13-14&version=NIV">Verses 13-14</a> include some brief commands of encouragement as Paul often includes at the end of his letters: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” These are good words to live by, whether applied to the first-century church in Corinth or the 21st-century church today. Watch out for any of the evils of this world that may pull you away from your faith, and stand firm in the gospel. We are all called to be courageous, strong, and loving as believers in Christ.
<p>While Paul’s travel plans may not seem all that important to us today, this is helpful for two reasons. First, we see corroboration between Acts and 1 Corinthians, thus further verifying the truth of the Scriptures. Second, it shows that Paul was not simply remaining where he was. Life was probably relatively comfortable for him in Ephesus, but he knew he could not stay there. Paul’s mission from God was to go and make disciples, and he couldn’t do that by staying in one place. That doesn’t mean that all of us are called to uproot our lives and move around all the time as Paul was, but God does call some of His followers to that lifestyle to further spread the gospel message, even in today’s world. With our modern technology, we have opportunities to spread the gospel without leaving home, but God does call us to go elsewhere at times as well.
<p>We sometimes forget that there were so many people besides Paul who were furthering the mission of the early church, so it is helpful for us to see others mentioned, including Apollos and Timothy. While Paul did great things for God’s Kingdom, he was by no means a one-man show. He needed others to support him and to help him with this monumental task of sharing the gospel throughout the known world. We, too, are not alone in this mission; in fact, we have thousands of believers all over the world to help us! But just as Paul did, we must all do our part and go where God calls us to go with the gospel message, whether near or far.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1792735367" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZjZRA-fXTlT_gFeql5DPyE5CN36pt7QKghrn4P1TZyIh4WrAN9XMA61DOIi9BuAceXoQjlOh5XfOAYcr7L_fUfFcVVJBrxxaZ3UX0gPEaTnwap6c31uN5PEAv3PLhIxSeTi7e7xm4mEF/s0/What+the+Bible+Says+About.jpg"/></a></div>
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-71128731595303039362024-02-23T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-23T06:00:00.153-05:00Backstory of the Kings 23: Hezekiah <p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p>Hezekiah is the king who got me started on this series that we have been working through for five months now. (We are nearly done!) It was in my personal studies of Isaiah that got me thinking about how Hezekiah followed the ways of the Lord when his father, Ahaz, was so wicked. I believe one answer is that Hezekiah was old enough to be in the court of Ahaz when Isaiah would prophesy over the siege of King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel, who God raised to punish Ahaz for his open idolatry. Every prophecy came true, and as a youth, Hezekiah saw that what Isaiah said came true.
<p><a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/12/hezekiah-king-of-judah.html">Hezekiah</a> is rivaled only by Ahab for getting the most “screen time” in Scripture. Hezekiah gets coverage in three books: 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah. Isaiah gives Hezekiah four chapters (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+36-39&version=NKJV">36-39</a>) of just history, not including numerous chapters of prophecy surrounding those events. There are four major events in Hezekiah’s reign that are covered. 1) <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+29-31&version=NKJV">Hezekiah brought reform</a> to Judah in not only reopening and repairing the temple but also removing high places and idols, including the Bronze Serpent that Moses made because the people were worshiping it. 2) Withstanding the siege of Assyria was the biggest event with much attention given to it. 3) Hezekiah had a sickness where he asked to be healed and was given 15 more years. 4) Hezekiah showed off his full wealth and resources before Babylonian envoys.
<p>I am not going to go into detail about each of these events. You can read that in <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/12/hezekiah-king-of-judah.html">Katie Erickson’s post about Hezekiah and his reign</a>. Instead, I want to focus on the backstory and what set up Hezekiah to make these decisions. Let me remind you from <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/backstory-of-kings-21-jotham-and-ahaz.html">two weeks ago</a> that Ahaz was 11 years old when Hezekiah was born. Ahaz wasn’t even old enough for his primary puberty growth spurt when he was engaged in sexual activity. As I said then, we don’t know the setting of that. I don’t believe Jotham gave him a wife at that age, but I do know Ahaz was heavily involved in idolatry and Jotham had no record of stopping any of the idolatrous practices. When Ahaz became king at 20 years old, Hezekiah was nine and I don’t think it would have taken him long to figure out that what his father was doing was dead wrong. I can picture Isaiah often taking Hezekiah aside and teaching him truth, as Isaiah was part of the king’s court. It is clear that Hezekiah followed the Lord. Departing so clearly and cleanly from what his father Ahaz was doing indicates both a Godly nurturing (which didn’t come from his father) and exposure to his father’s sins and seeing the path of destruction from them.
<p>Hezekiah was not merely a moral man like <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-16-joash.html">Joash</a>, <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-18-amaziah.html">Amaziah</a>, <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-19-jeroboam-ii-and.html">Uzziah</a>, and <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/backstory-of-kings-21-jotham-and-ahaz.html">Jotham</a>. He didn’t merely walk in God’s ways; Hezekiah sought the Lord. Shortly before writing this post, I was in Isaiah and going through Hezekiah’s dealings and events, and I saw a theme in Hezekiah’s mind: he wanted to glorify God. He wanted God’s name to be glorified above and beyond his own safety and protection. He did not beg God to deliver him from Assyria for his own protection but because Rabshakeh had blasphemed the name of God. Hezekiah was not concerned about his own life for his own life’s sake, but he thought that death would cut off his worship of God and feared that God could not be worshiped from the grave. That is what drove his prayer for deliverance from Assyria and also what drove his prayer for healing. It was not about self but about God’s name and God’s glory. Only David had a heart for God like Hezekiah did.
<p>But Hezekiah’s heart did not carry over to the people. Hezekiah was even accused of apostasy for destroying the high places because the people wanted their idols. As with <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/12/backstory-of-kings-11-ahab.html">Ahab</a> when in periods of utter darkness God preserved 7000 who had not bowed their knee to Baal, the reverse is found here. Hezekiah led the people to reform and to true worship, but the people did not want to follow God. The moment Hezekiah died, the plummet began. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh was the most wicked king of Judah, even worse than Ahaz; it was under Manasseh that God declared the judgment for Judah. Isaiah had been prophesying about the Babylonian captivity and restoration during Hezekiah’s reign, but my point is Hezekiah’s good life in leadership does not mean that the people followed the lead of their king in godliness.
<p>We can compare and contrast Hezekiah’s upbringing to <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-16-joash.html">Joash’s upbringing</a>. Both had idolatrous fathers, though Joash never met his. Both had Godly input: Joash had Jehoiada and Hezekiah had Isaiah. But Joash lost his Godly surrogate father and Hezekiah did not lose his mentor. Joash departed the faith and Hezekiah stayed faithful. Joash lived a moral life but showed that his faith was tied to his surrogate father. Hezekiah sought the Lord and His glory, and his morality followed that seeking. Joash just wanted to look good; Hezekiah wanted to honor God. There is a big difference between them.
<p>Each king is still responsible for his own life. Some had good upbringings and turned evil. Some had bad upbringings and were evil. Some had a bad upbringing and turned good. Others had a good upbringing, as we’ll see next week with Manasseh, and turned bad. A common theme throughout all the kings is how they handled idolatry. With Israel, they were judged by letting Jeroboam’s idols remain or not. With Judah, they were judged by how they let the high places remain or not. Hezekiah sought the Lord even from his youth, and he received God’s heart about worship – its quality and location. He would not allow God to have competition with fake idols.
<p>When I realized that Hezekiah was old enough to hear the prophecies given to Ahaz regarding the sieges by Rezin and Pekah, I believed that played a significant role in his faith and his belief in God. We have a few more kings to look at; I’ll address Manasseh and Amon together and then examine Josiah and then finally finish with the four kings, three of whom were Josiah’s children and one was his grandson to end the series.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GV91SYF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiH4Fe5MSaJeFjJJbckhyphenhyphenqs-UygdBX9dRUWl_hHRu_N3BFU96zp5-4kUh8fl8nFAzkf-x6L-uza6It4_wwGYDIWk_LmHVD2TxoQJEZ8qtaYa_fa_lxnWcd73i3ttKAKugOKkCmwj5Zgh3h/s0/Ten+Reasons.jpg"/></a></div>
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-23623224308171970212024-02-22T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-22T06:00:00.161-05:00Can You Be a Christian and Accept Evolution? Part 2<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/steve_risner.jpg" title="by Steve Risner" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve%20Risner">Steve Risner</a></b></p>
<p>Last week, we began looking at a writing from <a href="https://sciencenetwork.uk/think/accept-evolution">sciencenetwork.uk in association with UCCF</a>, talking about how being a Christian does not mean you must reject evolution. We started going through this article nearly line by line. You can view the first installment of this series <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept.html">here</a>. Let’s pick up where we left off:
<p><i>“[Evolution is] often implied to mean ‘the belief that all of the living world (and indeed the whole universe) came into being by a process of natural selection, genetic drift, etc. that was totally random, began purely by chance, and was absolutely unguided by any kind of Creator.’”</i> Most evolutionists would take issue with this oversimplification. But, yes, most evolutionists believe in the Big Bang, chemical and stellar evolution, the emergence of solar systems and planets, and eventually abiogenesis leading to universal common descent from a single common ancestor. Show me evolutionists who don’t believe these things are natural occurrences. There are likely some but very few. And when one says “evolution,” this is almost always what is meant. Why hold hands with atheists and other secularists to disrespect the Word of God while claiming to hold to some sort of truth? Was God not capable of informing us of His work and how He produced the universe? Was He just waiting for atheists/secularists like Darwin and Lyell and Huxley to explain the truth to us? In nearly all conversations, when the term “evolution” is talked about, this is what the discussion is about. They will start with “evolution” as the adaptation or small change due to a variety of reasons and then jump to “evolution” meaning this more naturalistic and unscientific approach to the living world.
<p><i>“Do you see how that last definition is very different to the previous two?”</i> We covered the previous two in the <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/can-you-be-christian-and-accept.html">previous blog post</a>. In the minds of most evolutionists, these uses of the word are not that different. If they are different, then most of the evolutionists I’ve interacted with (which is probably thousands by now) are dishonest because they talk about one definition and then assume it means the other is true as well. It’s very often we hear about “evidence for evolution” and the “fact of evolution” while what is being talked about are slight changes in a population over time—often adaptive changes that swing back and forth like the beaks on the finches that Darwin noted. If you’re going to talk about “evolution” like this, don’t confuse it with universal common descent. They are not the same thing and are hardly related.
<p><i>“Clearly, Christians have to reject the idea of a totally random, unguided start to life with no Creator!”</i> Clearly, the author of this article hasn’t interacted with many theistic evolutionists since nearly all of them that I’ve spoken with do, in fact, believe that random, natural processes did ALL of it without the assistance of God or without Him after He wound it all up and let it rip. So “clearly,” while Christians should reject a completely natural/materialistic origin for the universe and life, many (maybe most) do not. For a lot of them, God is something they throw on top of the mess as an afterthought. “Yeah, evolution is true, and random, unguided processes account for the biodiversity we see on earth, but, I mean, God was there.”
<p><i>“…if by ‘evolution’ you mean evolution without a Creator.”</i> This is interesting because the only real difference between atheistic evolution and theistic evolution is the theistic evolutionist will insert a Creator while the atheist has no need for one. In other words, there’s no real difference apart from the theistic evolutionist inserting a creator because he feels good about doing so. One of these is what the Bible refers to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+14%3A1&version=CEV">as a fool</a> to be pitied. The only difference between them and the other group is one is honest enough to admit there has to be a Creator. They just don’t like to believe what that Creator told us He did. The Word tells us the existence of the Creator is obvious to everyone and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201%3A20&version=NIV">that we are all without excuse</a>.
<p><i>“But rejecting evolution as a complete worldview doesn’t mean we have to chuck out evolution as a scientific theory.”</i> For most, the distinction is hardly noticeable. And if by “evolution” we’re meaning minute changes—adaptations, epigenetic changes, degenerative mutations, population isolation, etc.—then sure. We not only can accept this but we should. It’s what we see all around us. But if we mean something more like a slime ball in some warm pond somewhere that began to diversify into fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and then mammals until ultimately man; well, no, sorry. That’s not science. That’s not factual. That’s not even remotely plausible let alone likely.
<p><i>“We have a God who’s big enough and powerful enough to create any way he wants to, right?”</i> Of course, and He explained in a great amount of detail how He did this. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+1&version=NIV">On days 1-6, He was busy</a>, creating the universe, earth, seas and land, sun and moon, and sea, sky, and all the creatures. Finally, He created man in His own image. This is written very clearly in Scripture. Anything that doesn’t work with this is <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+12%3A30&version=CEV">in opposition to the Truth of God</a> and His creative acts. He could have done it any way He chose. He chose the way He told us about in the Bible (not just Genesis). I love how theistic evolutionists like to take the angle that “God is big enough to do it however He wanted,” but in the same breath they say, “There’s no way He could make the universe in 6 days. What? Is He some sort of magician?” I’ve had people say this very thing to me—people who claimed to be believers. I’m not sure what they believed in, but it didn’t seem to be the Bible or the God found in its pages.
<p><i>“Either mechanism for creation is totally legitimate for God to use if he wants to.”</i> Sure, but one involves a beautiful creative act while the other involves death, mutation, and genetic destruction. Which seems more God-like? Which one seems “<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201%3A31&version=NIV">good</a>”? Which one was described to us in detail by Him? Which one was attested to by numerous Biblical authors? Abiogenesis and universal common descent are nowhere to be found in Scripture. Not a single hint.
<p><i>“He’s God, after all!”</i> So let Him be God. Let Him be the authority on the matter. Stop calling Him a liar.
<p><i>“There’s nothing in the theory of evolution itself which says it couldn’t be designed and directed by God.”</i> In the minds of most evolutionists, this is false. In fact, the theory of evolution is built on naturalism. The Big Bang and all that comes with it is built on naturalism. Naturalism says nature is all there is and is responsible for all that happens. Again, the only difference between atheistic evolution and theistic evolution is one arbitrarily inserts a creator to fill in the gaps. That’s it. Because they want you to believe it’s scientific, many proponents of the theory of evolution will indeed claim there is no room for God in the theory because, by definition, the theory only describes nature. God is not natural; He’s supernatural.
<p>We’ll pause here again so we can digest this all and think about the implications. Is God God? Is He honest? Is He sufficient? Is He able to do what He said He did? Is He able to tell us what He did?
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-8632004484476643452024-02-19T06:00:00.002-05:002024-02-19T06:54:43.256-05:001 Corinthians 16:1-4<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A1-4&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 16:1-4</a></blockquote>
<p>After spending the past 7 weeks in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 15</a>, we have finally made it to a new chapter and a new section of this letter. There isn't really a common theme among the sections of this final chapter of 1 Corinthians, other than closing out the letter.
<p>This section contains Paul’s instructions for handling money in the church. The beginning word structure in verse 1 is the same as in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+7%3A1&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 7:1</a> when Paul introduced the topic of married life and in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12%3A1&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 12:1</a> when Paul introduced the topic of the gifts of the Spirit. It is likely, therefore, that this was another question the believers in Corinth had asked Paul – what do we do about collecting money? Specifically, it appears that the question was related to a collection for the church in Jerusalem. We do not know why the church in Jerusalem would be in specific need of money, however.
<p>We also don’t know for sure what Paul is referring to that he “told the Galatian churches to do.” We know that Paul was in Galatia in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+16%3A6&version=NIV">Acts 16:6</a>, and we have a letter in our New Testament that Paul wrote to the church there, of course. That may be referring to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+2%3A10&version=NIV">Galatians 2:10</a> (“All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along”), or he may be referring to something he told them in person that we do not have recorded.
<p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A2&version=NIV">Verse 2</a> gives specific instructions for setting aside money. Each individual or family should set aside money on the first day of the week in proportion to their income. While it doesn’t say specifically that this money would be collected during their worship gatherings, like how churches today collect weekly tithes and offerings, that could likely be implied through the context. Everyone was to participate in this, not just the rich, which is why the amount given should be related to that individual or family’s income.
<p>Paul encourages them to follow this habit weekly so that they can save it up for when he arrives, rather than collecting money in the moment. But note that this money is not just going to Paul, so this is not Paul being greedy; the money is headed to the church in Jerusalem (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A3&version=NIV">verse 3</a>). The Corinthian church was to appoint men to transport the money there, and Paul would write letters for those men to introduce them to the Jerusalem church and validate their role in this transfer. Paul’s affirmation would help the Jerusalem church not be suspicious of these messengers, and the church would trust that all of the money made it from Corinth to Jerusalem.
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A4&version=NIV">verse 4</a>, Paul mentions that he may go along with these messengers to Jerusalem, but is not clear whether Paul ultimately goes along or not. The distance between Corinth and Jerusalem was about 800 miles, so this would be a fairly significant trip for Paul and/or these messengers.
<p>What significance does this passage have for us as the modern church? Clearly, we are not taking up an offering to give to Paul when he stops by. But the principle here is that we should collect money for the Lord’s people as Paul instructs the Corinthian church to do. While we are all called to spread the gospel message and make disciples, not all of us do that as a full-time vocation. We need to financially support those who do this work full-time so that they can fulfill their role of spreading the gospel and equipping the saints. This does not simply apply to pastors and local churches but also to missionaries and those who run organizations that help God’s people accomplish these goals.
<p>It is also important to realize that giving a portion of our money to God should not be out of obligation or a burden but rather to celebrate what God has done for us and what He is doing in our lives and the lives of other believers. We know that everything is actually God’s (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+41%3A11&version=NIV">Job 41:11</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+50%3A10&version=NIV">Psalm 50:10</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+24%3A1&version=NIV">Psalm 24:1</a>, etc.), and whatever we “have” is really just on loan from Him, and we should do with our wealth whatever God wants us to do.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1692125710" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize-IjFtA_u9WpZvm2SDgYctfSVw5Wkzo9Qch1bJOlgSB4fj-njunx3LQZCJbDMIylOevaK18_k7l6QF-Y6VJ_YvTWl_ZTdSzirtkrzOsCvYZw_gnRlbs06p9xdJy0bI1R-4_5VcL15zvl/s0/Tough+Questions.jpg"/></a></div>
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-12399367427422677342024-02-16T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-16T06:00:00.139-05:00Backstory of the Kings 22: Hoshea<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p><a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/12/hoshea-king-of-israel.html">Hoshea</a> is the final king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel before it was taken by Assyria and completely scattered among the nations. Hoshea is not the cause of the complete conquering; he just happened to have the bag when the time came. Hoshea assassinated <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/backstory-of-kings-20-zechariah-through.html">Pekah</a> shortly after God humiliated him in his near taking of Judah during Ahaz’s reign, and Hoshea ruled for nine years. During those nine years, Hoshea rebelled against Assyria who made Israel a vassal during Menahem’s reign. That was the last straw, and Assyria came to flatten Israel and finish the job.
<p>Hoshea was not a godly king, but he had a unique moniker to describe him. He did not do evil as those who went before him did. He is the only king that lasted more than a month who was not identified as following the idols of Jeroboam. Shallum is the other one who did not have that charge against him, and he didn’t reign long enough to do so even if he wanted to. Hoshea never followed God, but he was not as evil as those who went before him. The non-mention of the idols of Jeroboam indicates that he did not bow before those golden calves, he just didn’t follow God.
<p>Israel fell under Hoshea. The bulk of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+17&version=NKJV">2 Kings 17</a> describes Israel falling to idolatry after idolatry after idolatry, and God had enough. His patience ran out, and He cast Israel out of their homeland until they learned not only to cease the idolatry but also to receive their Messiah. That day has not yet come, but Paul makes it clear in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+11&version=NKJV">Romans 11</a> that God is not done with Israel yet.
<p>Hoshea’s background is very simple: 32 years of political turmoil from Zechariah until the end of Pekah’s reign and Assyria had taken control over Israel, allowing them to exist as a mere servant or vassal state. They were allowed to exist and rule their own people, but they were subservient to Assyria. Hoshea made a final attempt to break free from Assyria and because he did not seek the Lord, he was doomed to failure. God had chosen to judge Israel – cast them out and scatter them because for too long they had blasphemed His name and His land by professing to be His people but serving every idol and not God Himself. Not one of the kings of Israel ever walked in the ways of the Lord; only Jehu and Hoshea came remotely close.
<p>As I noticed in this study, the reigns of Jeroboam II through Hoshea spam a total of 83 years, ¾ of which were Jeroboam II’s and Pekah’s reigns alone. But the Scriptures spend very little time describing these kings and their reigns. It was like the Chronicler gave up saying the same thing over and over and over again. Each king was evil, they did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, they followed such and such idols, and there are a few political and military maneuvers, but that is about it. They did not follow or seek after God, even in name only, and you can only write the same sins enough times before you get tired of it. God is mostly concerned about the spiritual status of the king and then of the nation. While God has indeed saved and preserved people despite wicked times, when the ruler and nation as a whole are turned towards idols, God’s mercy is the only thing keeping that nation intact.
<p>When the Holy Spirit-inspired author of Scripture gives up describing the sins of the kings, either showing the progressing away from them or further decline into sin, for multiple generations and multiple kings, there isn’t much to say other than there were no kings in Israel who wanted God as their ruler.
<p>This goes all the way back to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+8&version=NKJV">1 Samuel 8</a> when Israel asked for a king. They got Saul, the man who looked the part but never did the part. And they got king after king after king who wanted to do things his own way instead of God’s. All the kings of the Northern Kingdom were ungodly men, and Israel got precisely what they asked for; it was a curse upon them. They did not want God ruling over them. God had chosen them; He saved them from Egypt, He did all sorts of miracles for them, and He protected them and guided them, and they spat in His face for it. The amazing thing is how God was so merciful that He let them live that long.
<p>Hoshea was simply the last king carrying the bag when Israel fell. He is not to blame for it. The judgment was decided long ago. Had he chosen to walk with the Lord, God may have spared them as He did with Josiah in Judah, whom we will look at in a few weeks. But we can never know what would have happened. As bad as Israel’s sins were with non-stop idolatry, what Judah did was far worse. There are 8 kings left to discuss in Judah’s history, and only two of them were good. Next week, we’ll look at Hezekiah, the king who got the most attention in Scripture among the split kingdoms with only Ahab rivaling him for space.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CRXYNB1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtGkOLUHPj02h6RpU1GmS4JkeMyt8Ol3vD20lyKMoDUbtE9KI4rgvB5hDdL7LxkK2mBBax8NBex1Fn2UzR6ma08FKe6S4_Ok3M54WNBQ2uiSw63p2tCHoyKv2pB8hCuHQHpT2dDqWJrx6/s0/God+of+the+Psalms.jpg"/></a></div>
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-59253839733012850192024-02-15T06:00:00.013-05:002024-02-15T14:44:27.762-05:00Can You Be a Christian and Accept Evolution? Part 1<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/steve_risner.jpg" title="by Steve Risner" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve%20Risner">Steve Risner</a></b></p>
<p>After an abnormally long hiatus from writing, I had my interest piqued when someone online posted an article from <a href="https://sciencenetwork.uk/think/accept-evolution">sciencenetwork.uk about how it’s okay for Christians to believe in evolution</a>. This platform seems to be an extension of <a href="https://www.uccf.org.uk/">the UCCF</a>, University and Colleges Christian Fellowship. The article is titled, “Yes, you can be a Christian and accept evolution.” It was decently written and made some good points, but along the way, they often seemed to talk out of both sides of their mouth. As a Biblical creationist who has studied the topic for over 30 years, below is what I feel needed addressed from this article.
<p>The article begins by saying that their title is controversial. They’re correct. But it’s only controversial because people have forsaken sound logic and given up basic reading comprehension skills to toss out what the Bible clearly tells us about creation and when it happened. They’ve accepted the humanist origins myth first and then tried to cram the Bible’s narrative into that—melding two different religious views on the subject of origins.
<p>But they move on to say, <i>“…[the biology students are] being taught in lectures seems to totally contradict what their Christian community has told them they should believe about creation.”</i> This is disingenuous. It’s not that biology is teaching something contrary to some unfounded, odd interpretation of Scripture. This statement would be honest if it said, “…seems to totally contradict what their Bible has told them they should believe about creation.” This is obviously what the Bible shows us—<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus+20%3A11&version=NIV">God created the heavens, earth and all that is in them and He did it in 6 days</a>. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+1%3A26-27&version=NIV">Adam was created on day 6</a>, and from Adam to Jesus was about 4000 years give or take. Jesus lived 2000 years ago or so. This can be drawn from the Biblical text and corroborated with external sources. A belief in universal common descent is nowhere to be found in the pages of Scripture. In fact, much to the contrary.
<p><i>“…it’s a choice between the authority of God’s word and the weight of scientific evidence.”</i> This is why it’s hard to trust evolutionists. They say things out of both sides of their mouths, or they bait and switch, or they simply don’t understand what the basics are. It’s a choice between two competing worldviews. What they’re referring to as “science” is not science at all. Yes, evolution is a fact. But universal common descent is a fabrication and not scientific at all. This has been discussed ad nauseum, and evolutionists refuse to understand how the limits of science work. This is a clash of philosophy or, more accurately, religions. We don’t argue the facts or deny them. As Biblical creationists, we just understand that facts and opinions about those facts are not the same thing and don’t carry the same weight.
<p><i>“But what if you don’t have to choose?”</i> You don’t; this is a false dichotomy. Science and the Bible are not in conflict. However, the humanist origins myth and the Bible are seriously at odds.
<p><i>“…evolution does make sense of the data.”</i> I studied this for over 30 years in high school, college, and grad school. If you mean evolution as small changes in a population over time due to a variety of reasons, sure. If you mean evolution as in universal common descent, not at all. Not only does it not make any sense, but it’s also naïve. The number of perfectly timed and perfectly placed mutations necessary for real change to occur is beyond any reasonable person’s ability to stretch reality.
<p><i>“…this doesn’t mean you have to give up on the God who inspired Genesis.”</i> Sure. But believing in universal common descent does mean you have to reject what God said in Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, the Gospels, Paul’s writings, Peter’s writings, John’s writings, and a host of others. You are welcome to be inconsistent and carry internal contradictions, but don’t encourage others to follow you in this lunacy. As a follower of Christ and someone who trusts God’s Word, I reject the humanist origins myth—that is the Big Bang and all the cosmic evolution that had to take place after that, including abiogenesis and universal common descent from a single common ancestor.
<p><i>“And if your non-Christian course mate thinks the gospel is compelling, but they couldn’t possibly believe that the world was created in the space of one week – that doesn’t have to stop them from following Jesus.”</i> The Truth is offensive to those who are at war with God. Compromising the Truth of Scripture to win souls means you’re selling them a false Gospel. If you are embarrassed by the Bible and if you’re twisting the words of Scripture so you can win a friend, you’re not being honest with them or yourself. Can your friend believe a man dead 3 days rose from the grave under His own power and authority? It’s much harder, in my estimation, to believe in the Resurrection than it is to believe in the creation and Flood narratives.
<p><i>“…you <b>can</b> be a Christian and accept evolution.”</i> Very few people contest this, regardless of how you define evolution.
<p><i>“In reality, we use the word ‘evolution’ in an everyday sense to mean any of a whole spectrum of related ideas.”</i> This is what we’ve been saying forever. Evolutionists like to bait and switch or, more specifically, <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2021/06/only-theory.html">motte and bailey</a>. It happens all the time. They say one thing and get you to agree and then, without indicating it, they use the same word but apply a completely different definition.
<p><i>“‘Accepting evolution’ could just mean agreeing with the statement that organisms change and adapt to their surroundings over time, which is easy enough to observe in nature.”</i> Few do not understand and accept. This is actually scientific. It’s observable. It’s demonstrable. Creationists do not argue against this at all. This is what most evolutionists will get creationists to agree to, but then they switch meanings (see below).
<p><i>“…did everyone else look at <a href="https://creation.com/goodbye-peppered-moths">peppered moths</a> as a case study?”</i> This is glorified as a wonderful example of evolution when it has nothing at all to do with it. Both colors of moth existed before and after “selection.” The relative numbers of each may have changed for a period. That is not evolution and is not at all related to universal common descent. And, as this article points out, it’s one of the best examples they’ve got, yet folks still believe this nonsense. If this isn’t indoctrination, I don’t know what is.
<p><i>“Or we could use ‘evolution’ to mean the idea that all species, humans included, are descended from a single common ancestor, a single-celled organism swimming around in the primordial soup several billion years ago.”</i> Yes, you can believe this, but it’s at odds with actual science and is completely at odds with what the Bible clearly tells us in multiple places about creation. Even <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/did-jesus-say-he-created-in-six-literal-days/">the words</a> of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10%3A6&version=NIV">Christ Himself</a> contradict this belief in universal common descent. Why trust man’s skewed interpretation of data he’s collected from a fallen world—beliefs that will be overturned by the next generation—rather than trust the Words of Almighty God who was there and told us about it? Do you believe Him or not? What other supernatural or historical events do you not accept from Scripture? Atheists, who are openly at war with God, need the Big Bang and universal common descent for their faith to exist. It’s the only reason such things are accepted. But to make their situation not look so utterly naïve, they slap the label “science” on it so they’re arguing from the smart guy’s position. It’s not true at all. Naturalism explains a lot, but it cannot explain origins, not even close.
<p>We will rest here and pick it up again next week. I hope you find this quote-by-quote approach useful. I would encourage you, if you are interested, to search some of the key words in today’s blog post in the Worldview Warriors blog page to see other posts that have been written on the topics. Thanks for reading!
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-76024715315972517452024-02-12T06:00:00.002-05:002024-02-12T07:29:12.852-05:001 Corinthians 15:50-58<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
<br>“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
<br>The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
<br>Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A50-58&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 15:50-58</a></blockquote>
<p>Paul has been discussing the resurrection for this entire chapter, and he finally comes to his conclusion here, though this passage still leaves questions in our minds of exactly what will happen when the dead are raised.
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A50&version=NIV">verse 50</a>, he continues the contrast he brought up in <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/02/1-corinthians-1542-49.html">the previous section</a> about the perishable versus the imperishable. Our sinful bodies that we currently possess are not able to fully inherit the kingdom of God because they are perishable. These decaying bodies cannot be a part of the perfection that awaits us in eternal life. For us to experience eternity with God, our bodies must be changed so that they are perfect and imperishable. This is why our resurrected bodies are required to be different in some way than our current earthly bodies, as Paul <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/1-corinthians-1535-41.html">previously discussed</a>.
<p>Paul acknowledges in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A51&version=NIV">verse 51</a> that a lot of this is mysterious to us. The Corinthians did not fully understand the details, and neither do we, though Paul will attempt to inform them (and us). When Paul says that not all of the believers will “fall asleep,” he implies that some will still be alive when Christ comes back for His second coming, as referenced in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Thessalonians+4%3A13-17&version=NIV">1 Thessalonians 4:13-17</a>.
<p>All believers will receive some kind of body that is changed at the second coming of Christ. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A52&version=NIV">Verse 52</a> indicates that this change will be instantaneous – “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye.” Those who already died will be raised in their imperishable bodies, and those who are alive will be instantly changed and transformed.
<p>What does that change look like? Paul clarifies it a bit more in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A53&version=NIV">verse 53</a> by saying that the perishable will be “clothed” with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. Those whose physical, earthly bodies are decaying in the grave will be given new, imperishable bodies. Those who are mortal – still alive in this world – will be given immortal bodies that will last for eternity. All of our new bodies will never die or decay so that we can experience eternal life with Jesus Christ.
<p>Why is all this necessary? As Paul says in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A54&version=NIV">verse 54</a>, “The saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” This saying is reminiscent of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+25%3A8&version=NIV">Isaiah 25:8</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+13%3A14&version=NIV">Hosea 13:14</a>. Paul further references the rhetorical questions from Hosea in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A55&version=NIV">verse 55</a>: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Death does not have victory over us when we have our imperishable and immortal bodies. There is no sting of death when we will live forever with Jesus Christ.
<p>What is the sting of death? Paul tells us in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A56&version=NIV">verse 56</a> that it is sin. Sin is the only reason that death exists. Sin only has that power because of the law, which explains God’s perfect standards to us. Because we sin and we are not able to live up to the perfect standards set in God’s law, our punishment is death (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6%3A23&version=NIV">Romans 6:23a</a>).
<p>But, as the second half of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6%3A23&version=NIV">Romans 6:23</a> tells us, “the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul reiterates that here in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A57&version=NIV">verse 57</a> by saying, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is only because of Jesus Christ that we have this victory and will not succumb to the sting of death that we deserve. As <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+2%3A14-15&version=NIV">Hebrews 2:14-15</a> tells us, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
<p>But what does all of this mean for our daily lives as followers of Jesus? Paul tells us in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A58&version=NIV">verse 58</a>: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Because of all of this that Paul has explained to us, we should fully work out whatever God has for us to do. Even if things are rough in this world, we know that we will have true victory, perfection, and immortality in the life to come.
<p>Our bodies will be broken, sinful, and decaying while in this world, but because of Jesus Christ, we know that we will have perfect bodies in the future eternal life that we will share with Him. We should work toward that goal with everything that we do in this life, knowing that perfection awaits us one day because of the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0892B9T2T" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxw4yjyH3l-rgbceNzk6ZuDRCYqGkP4JwLDEfQK1RXXbc_-rCuoTfAMtCsZNHLyjE2tGx4IeDBQsXg9qb1rSgosvS3alwXetJzh6yetCgrcULvLHBEnrcHkpOmcnwfCCdsqxO3D9KOZZD0/s0/God+Is+Good.jpg"/></a></div>
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-79217341622478216202024-02-09T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-09T06:00:00.175-05:00Backstory of the Kings 21: Jotham and Ahaz<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p>The Bible races through <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-19-jeroboam-ii-and.html">Uzziah</a>’s 52-year reign in Judah then comes to Jotham and basically skips over that one, too. There is very little coverage of Jotham’s 16-year reign other than he walked with the Lord but did not tear down the high places. His reign overlapped with Uzziah due to Uzziah’s leprosy, but nothing else is said worthy of attention. Jotham’s son Ahaz got a lot more attention, not just in Kings or Chronicles but also in Isaiah. A large portion of the early chapters of Isaiah consists of Isaiah preaching to Ahaz. The rules of Jotham and Ahaz are covered in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+27-28&version=NKJV">2 Chronicles 27-28</a>.
<p><a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/11/jotham-king-of-judah.html">Jotham</a> was 25 years old when he became king and ruled for 16 years. <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/11/ahaz-king-of-judah.html">Ahaz</a> was 20 years old when he became king and ruled for 16 years. Jotham was born 27 years into Uzziah’s reign. Ahaz was born when Jotham was 21, four years before Uzziah died. But here is where it gets interesting. Hezekiah was 25 when he became king, and Ahaz was 36 when he died. What does that say? It means Ahaz fathered Hezekiah when he was 11 years old. That’s not biologically impossible, however, it does give a hint at what was going on spiritually during Ahaz’s youth.
<p>During Uzziah’s and Jotham’s reigns, it is noted that while they walked with the Lord, the people did not. Hezekiah showcased this in greater detail. He walked with the Lord, and he tore down the high places, but the people sought out their idols one way or the other. One such idol that Hezekiah would destroy was the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+21%3A6-9&version=NKJV">bronze serpent that Moses had made</a>. It was being worshiped during Jotham’s and Ahaz’s reigns and very likely long before that too.
<p>Jotham was moral, was religiously right before God, and did not bow before the idols, but he did nothing to stop his people from doing so. Ahaz went full-blown into idolatry. He didn’t merely worship the Baals and <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2016/07/who-is-goddess-asherah.html">Asherah</a>; he even sacrificed his children on the altar to Molech. Hezekiah was spared this fate because he was already 9 years old when Ahaz became king and was too old for such a sacrifice. The Molech worship required an infant, a newborn. Jotham was the fourth king in a row that did nothing about the idol worship going on in Judah, even though they did not worship them personally. When Ahaz became king, he went full out. Again, he fathered Hezekiah when he was 11 years old, which means he did the deed when he was 10. I get it was a different culture then, but it was the girls who tended to get married younger while the men often weren’t married until their 30s when they were old enough and mature enough to lead a home. We don’t know what was going on there other than idol worshiped was tolerated. Nearly all the idol worship going on involved sexual activity, and kids were not exempt. It was much more than just burning incense or a candle and offering food before a man-made statue. Whether Ahaz engaged in sexual activity as a ten-year-old in the practice of idol worship, or whether he witnessed something and was acting it out, or even if Jotham was involved or knew about it or what, it would not surprise me if this activity led to his choices as an adult to go full out in sin against God.
<p>Both Jotham and Ahaz sat under the ministry of Isaiah. Jotham had peace in his day, but Ahaz had trouble. God rallied both Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel to reduce Judah to just Jerusalem. Isaiah spent multiple chapters telling Ahaz how the battles and the sieges with Rezin and Pekah would go. God treated both these pagan kings as <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+7%3A1-9&version=NKJV">smoldering wicks, candles on their final flame</a>, before their final snuff out. But Ahaz refused to listen and instead turned to the idols even more than before. Syria beat him in battle and so Ahaz, instead of turning to the Lord as Isaiah strongly admonished him to do, turned to the gods of Syria and shut down the Temple. Because of his idolatry and his wickedness, he wasn’t even given a king’s burial when he died at a mere 36 years old.
<p>Jotham is an example of someone who walks the Christian walk but does nothing about the sin going on around him. Scripture says very little about him, simply indicating him building some walls and cities and defeating the Ammonites again. That’s all we have, but by examining the spiritual status on Uzziah’s side and on Ahaz’s side, we can see that Jotham’s walk with the Lord was personal and involved nothing else. He didn’t even train his son, Ahaz, to walk in the ways of the Lord. And when people are only concerned about their own salvation, even if God does let them in, they will be marked as one who would have “unfulfilled potential” written on their tombstone. They will have “Yes, they professed the faith, but there was nothing real about it.” Jotham’s own son was a prepubescent father who then walked in idolatry, and I don’t believe Ahaz just started it when he became king. He may have kept his idolatry quieter as a youth, but there is no indication he ever walked with God.
<p>Ahaz is partly a product of the apathy and complacency of a generation of four kings who supposedly walked with God but let the idolatry continue. Any one of these kings could have cut off the head of the snake, but they wanted to be politically correct and not offend the idol worshippers. They themselves may have thought it would be just fine to worship God at these high places. Joash and Amaziah turn to the idols. Uzziah usurped the role of a priest and sought to do a duty he was not permitted to do. Jotham did nothing but further build the kingdom’s physical might but did not touch the spiritual defenses. And Ahaz is a product of that, driven by his lust for power, for comfort, for ease, for everything that these other gods had to offer. He had no regard for God or Scripture or the things of God. He shut down the temple, which Hezekiah would reopen, and despised the wisdom of Isaiah, who proved God’s faithfulness time and time again. I believe it was Isaiah’s prophecies regarding Rezin and Pekah’s assault on Jerusalem going down precisely as he described that played a significant role in Hezekiah’s faithful rule and it was in that study that spawned this series. Next week, we’ll look at Hosea, the final king of Israel.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-37010374863801810242024-02-05T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-05T06:00:00.271-05:001 Corinthians 15:42-49<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
<br>If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A42-49&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 15:42-49</a></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/1-corinthians-1535-41.html">Just before this</a>, Paul began to address what our resurrected bodies will be like. In that passage, Paul established that our resurrected bodies will be different than our earthly bodies but yet mde from similar material. Here, he elaborates on that a bit, through we as humans still do not know many details of our resurrected bodies.
<p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A42-44&version=NIV">Verses 42-44a</a> calls out three characteristics of our natural, earthly bodies: they are perishable, dishonorable, and weak. In contrast, our supernatural or resurrected bodies will be imperishable, glorious, and powerful. This verse continues the metaphor from the previous section about how a seed that is sown must die before it is “raised” as a new plant. The seed and the plant are similar substances yet also very different, and the same is true with our natural bodies versus our super natural bodies.
<p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+3%3A20-21&version=NIV">Philippians 3:20-21</a> also illustrates this transformation for us: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Our lowly, natural bodies will undergo a transformation as we go from natural to supernatural, from physical to spiritual. Jesus Christ has the power to make that transformation happen for us.
<p>These contrasts help us see that there will be definite differences between our natural or earthly bodies the we possess today and the the supernatural, spiritual, resurrected bodies that we will experience one day in heaven. Jesus has brought immortality to those who follow Him, as referenced in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+1%3A10&version=NIV">2 Timothy 1:10</a>.
<p>The last part of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A44&version=NIV">verse 44</a> states, “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” When Paul says that our resurrected bodies will be ‘spiritual,’ he is not meaning that we won’t have bodies in some way and exist only as spirit. But our ‘spiritual’ bodies will be different and have different functions than our earthly bodies. They will be bodies that can last for eternity and are given to us by God Himself.
<p>These disctinctions are discussed more in the rest of this passage. In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A45&version=NIV">verse 45</a>, Paul develops a contrast between two categories – the first Adam and the last Adam. Paul has used this contrast before, specifically in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A12-21&version=NIV">Romans 5:12-21</a>. There, he talked about how sin and death came through one man (Adam) but life came through another man (Jesus). Here, he references the creation of Adam’s body in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%3A7&version=NIV">Genesis 2:7</a> in contrast to how the last Adam (Jesus) possesses a life-giving spirit.
<p>Paul continues in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A46&version=NIV">verse 46</a> by stating that the natural came first and then the spiritual. While the account in Genesis 2 shares that God created Adam’s physical body before breathing the breath of life into his nostrils, this more likely refers to the spiritual body that will never die once a person receives eternal life. There will be some kind of transformation that occurs in our bodies, because our new, spiritual bodies will never become corrupt like our current, earthly ones.
<p>Paul continues his contrast between Adam and Jesus by sharing their differences in creation. Adam was created from the dust of the earth, while Jesus was “of heaven” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A47&version=NIV">verse 47</a>). Jesus was not created, as He is God and has existed in eternity past. But when He came to earth as a man, He came from heaven. The Greek preposition used there could mean of, out of, from, etc.
<p>This world that God has created is one of order, and following that principle, all people who are on the earth are of the earth, and those who are in heaven are of heaven (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A48&version=NIV">verse 48</a>). We do not know exactly what that means, other than the continuing contrast Paul is making between earth and heaven. There will likely be some similarities, but our heavenly bodies will be different than our earthly bodies, just as heaven is different than the earth.
<p>Finally, Paul wraps up this contrast by focusing on the image that we bear as humans in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A49&version=NIV">verse 49</a>. The word used for ‘image’ there is the same word that’s used in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A26&version=NIV">Genesis 1:26</a> in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Just as we are created in God’s image on earth, we will also exist in God’s image in our heavenly bodies.
<p>We do get some further insight into what our resurrected bodies may be like when we look at the accounts of Jesus appearing on earth after His resurrection in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+24%3A36-43&version=NIV">Luke 24:36-43</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+20%3A19-21%3A25&version=NIV">John 20:19-21:25</a>. Jesus was recognizable to the disciples, but at the same time, they also didn’t recognize Him. Paul also writes on this topic further in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+5%3A1-10&version=NIV">2 Corinthians 5:1-10</a>, indicating that his responses here did not answer all of the Corinthians’ questions on this topic.
<p>This passage does not answer all of the questions that we have about our resurrected bodies either. We really do not know any specifics about what these new bodies will be like, other than that they will be like these earthly bodies but also different in fundamental ways. While our earthly bodies will die, are stained by sin, and are weak, our supernatural, resurrected bodies will live forever in perfection and power that is granted to us through our faith in Jesus Christ, which can only come about by the grace of our perfect God.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-57189972571335813912024-02-02T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-02T06:00:00.140-05:00Backstory of the Kings 20: Zechariah through Pekah <p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p>I am going to hit <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+15&version=NKJV">five kings</a> in one go here. Early in the history of the Northern Kingdom when <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/11/backstory-of-kings-9-nadab-and-baasha.html">Baasha</a> died, the kings <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+16&version=NKJV">Elah, Zimri, Omri, and Tibni</a> ruled in a span of 12 years, about half of which was Omri alone. Now we get to another moment of violent turbulence for the throne. Zechariah, son of <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-19-jeroboam-ii-and.html">Jeroboam II</a>, lasted six months before being assassinated. His killer, Shallum, lasted one month before being assassinated. His killer, Menahem, lasted ten years before dying. Menahem’s son Pekahiah lasted two years before being assassinated by Pekah. Pekah began his reign when <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-19-jeroboam-ii-and.html">Uzziah</a> died. So in Uzziah’s 52-year reign, he out-lived five kings from Jeroboam II to Pekahiah. Pekah was the second to last king of Israel, and I’ll focus on him more than the others.
<p>Of the five kings we will examine (<a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/11/zechariah-shallum-and-menahem-kings-of.html">Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem</a>, <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/12/pekahiah-and-pekah-kings-of-israel.html">Pekahiah, and Pekah</a>) only one, Shallum, is not marked for not departing from the sins of Jeroboam. Zimri who only had a seven-day reign was marked as such. Shallum was not identified as such, but he was no godly man. Shallum’s one-month reign is summarized in just four total verses, including his assassination of Zechariah.
<p>During the political turmoil of Israel, another power came into play: Assyria. Menahem paid off Assyria to not completely capture them and thus became a vassal, a servant state of Assyria. Israel was allowed its independence, but it was ultimately under the thumb of Assyria. Pekah eventually came into the picture and Assyria began to take the towns and cities of Israel. At the end of Pekah’s reign, he joined up with Syria, which had not been completely conquered yet, and advanced upon Judah. Ahaz, the grandson of Uzziah, was ruling at this time, a new king with only a few years under his belt, and he paid off Assyria to help him. The prophet Isaiah spent quite a bit of his early ministry warning Ahaz to follow the Lord and not to turn to idols or other nations.
<p>As I have mentioned in the past two weeks, the background for these kings is hardly given. There is not much to say. God had sent his prophets to warn Israel against turning from idolatry, yet those golden calves remained standing. That false representation of Jehovah remained, and God was tired of it. He let the kingdom of Israel stand for two reasons: 1) <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+13%3A23&version=NKJV">He did not want to break His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob</a>, and 2) <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+15%3A12&version=NKJV">He fulfilled His promise to Jehu</a> for his wiping out of Ahab’s line and the Baal worship. But once Jehu’s line met that promise, the bottom fell out, just as it did for Judah several generations later.
<p>None of these kings took any regard for God, and the only king that God ever seemed to take notice of was Pekah – and that, only in the context of telling Ahaz that he was nothing, a dying tree, and a fading vapor. Just a few years after Ahaz’s death, the entire nation of Israel would be consumed by Assyria. And none of these kings seemed to learn from the kings who went before them or even from their brothers in Judah. In all the political turmoil of three assassinations (there would be a fourth when Hosea murders Pekah), Pekah seems to be the one to bring stability. It was not a healthy stability, but for 20 years, there was political stability. Assyria still controlled Israel at this point as tributes were demanded, and Hosea would try to rebel against them. Menahem had little stability because of Assyria swooping in; he had no power to do anything about it other than to bribe his way out and tax his people to the point of shattering their economy.
<p>Everything in these kings’ reigns has nothing to do with God. They did not seek God. Jeroboam II set no principles or guidelines for what would follow. He just built up his political power, strengthened his army, and retook cities, but it was all political and not at all in any regard towards God. Jehu gave Israel a chance to turn to God. Elijah and Elisha were in active ministry, and Baal worship was out. But Jehu and those who followed gave little more than lip service to the true God. Those idols still stood and kept drawing people away from the true faith. Hosea was ministering during this time, and his message was a picture of a prostitute who kept going back and forth between her husband and other lovers. When we look at the history of the kings of Israel, we see them going back and forth between God and the idols. But the last one to turn towards God was <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-17-jehoahaz-and.html">Jehoash</a> when he sought the advice of Elisha. There is no indication of anyone from Jeroboam II all the way through Hosea ever seeking the Lord even for a moment.
<p>What can we learn from these kings? Jeroboam II was perhaps the strongest king of Israel politically. As soon as he died, the bottom fell out. It does not matter how strong of an economy or how strong politically a nation is; if God chooses to judge a nation, nothing man does to support it is going to stand. In the 41 years between Jeroboam II’s death and the formal fall of Israel to Assyria, it went from the strongest economy and military they had to total non-existence. There was some brief stability with Pekah, who kept things going the longest, but it was like the Great Depression between the two huge drops where there was momentary stability before everything crashed. God would judge Israel for its idolatry, and in two weeks when we examine Hosea to see how and why it all happened.
<p>Next week, we’ll look at Jotham and Ahaz who sat under Isaiah’s ministry and witnessed what was going on with Israel.
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<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-6956685915138831202024-01-29T06:00:00.001-05:002024-01-29T06:00:00.178-05:001 Corinthians 15:35-41<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A35-41&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 15:35-41</a></blockquote>
<p>In the <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/1-corinthians-1529-34.html">previous section</a>, Paul established that there is hope for a world beyond this one. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we too have the opportunity of life after we die a physical death in this world. Here, Paul begins to discuss how our resurrected bodies will be different and a bit about how we get to that point.
<p>The questions that were posed by the first-century Corinthians in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A35&version=NIV">verse 35</a> are ones that we still have today. First, they asked how the dead are raised, and then they asked what kind of body people will have after they are raised from the dead. Paul has made a convincing argument that resurrection will happen, based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and therefore the dead will be raised. But that naturally raises other questions in our minds about the details of how that will occur.
<p>But then in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A36&version=NIV">verse 36</a>, Paul calls those questions foolish! He then begins to use a seed analogy to explain how this will all work. The first step for a plant to come to life is that it must die. That plant doesn’t just magically happen; first, something has to die in order for it to exist.
<p>Paul’s explanation in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A37&version=NIV">verse 37</a> may seem obvious, but he needs to state that fact for his point to make sense. If you’re trying to grow a certain plant, you don’t put that plant in the ground for it to create more of itself. No; you put a seed for that plant in the ground. Now, of course, seeds do generally come out of the mature plant, but it won’t work very well to just stick that entire mature plant in the ground. You must first get the seed, which is “dead” in the ground. But then it begins to grow roots and sprout, thus producing new life.
<p>Paul applies the analogy to the resurrection in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A38&version=NIV">verse 38</a>, comparing how God has determined what type of plant will come from a seed to how He has determined what kind of bodies we will have after we are resurrected. The new plant looks different from the seed, yet it came from it. It has a new and different “body” to it, but that “new body” is still related to the seed.
<p>Paul introduces another analogy in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A39&version=NIV">verse 39</a>: that of people and different types of animals. While people, animals, birds, and fish are all alive, we have different kinds of bodies and different kinds of flesh. While all of these living creatures are made up of similar substances, God is able to make them into different creatures depending on what He wants to do.
<p>Paul brings up one more analogy in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A40-41&version=NIV">verses 40-41</a>: that of heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. These are the nonliving things that God created (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=NIV">Genesis 1</a>). Paul doesn’t tell us what he means by “earthly bodies,” but we can surmise that he means things like mountains, canyons, forests, etc. – the natural beauties that leave us in awe here on Earth. The heavenly bodies are the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets. These are all different from one another, yet they are also much the same, all being made of the same general substances. They have different levels of splendor or brilliance to them. The earthly bodies are different from the heavenly bodies, and the heavenly bodies are different from each other.
<p>It is amazing that today’s science has essentially confirmed what Paul stated. We know that everything in all creation is made up of a finite number of elements. Those elements combine in different ways to make up everything that exists in creation. Everything living is made up of its own unique DNA – just 4 chemical building blocks that combine in a myriad of ways but with slight differences between different creatures.
<p>Paul is telling us that God can take similar physical material and organize it differently to accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish with it. But what does that have to do with the resurrection?
<p>While that’s the end of the passage we’re looking at today, we need to take a sneak peek at the first part of the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A42&version=NIV">next verse</a>: “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.” This implies that God will be able to take our human bodies and organize the material differently to accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish with it. God is the almighty God, creator of the universe, so He can make our resurrected bodies to be whatever He wants them to be.
<p>As mere humans, we cannot know the mind of God except whatever He reveals to us. He has revealed to us in His creation that He can create anything and everything. If He can make a seed turn into a plant using the natural processes that He has created, then surely He can resurrect us humans through His supernatural processes! He will give us whatever bodies that He sees fit.
<p>God created us with a sense of wonder and curiosity, but that doesn’t mean we can discover everything, especially about what our resurrected bodies will look like at some point in the future. That is Paul’s point in this passage; our resurrected bodies will be different than our current bodies, just as a plant is different than the seed it came from, but we don’t know in what way they will be different. We simply need to trust God that He will do what is best out of His goodness and love for us.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KN5V2W7" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcle-4OUqY-1CvX-mIZnadnwdBDGR8dZKmOmXttnNmMN5fW1Hzbn5H2TPQGIIU3hFeCgpI9UvuGeKumO_jv0ql4RHXGsLJ3YszyCmkwutxnoOi6aYzMZicNIb25HpWOFwtnqZ6_0KKjzp/s600/Following+the+Twelve.jpg"/></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-390329188053205692024-01-26T06:00:00.011-05:002024-01-26T06:00:00.207-05:00Backstory of the Kings 19: Jeroboam II and Uzziah <p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p>I wanted to address both of these kings in one go because ultimately, Scripture does not say much about them. <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/10/jeroboam-ii-king-of-israel.html">Jeroboam II</a> has the longest reign of Israel at 41 years <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+14%3A15-27&version=NKJV">yet is barely given half a chapter of coverage</a>. All he is known for doing is continuing in the sins of Jeroboam and for restoring Israel’s territory that Syria had taken during the reigns of Ahab through Jehoash. <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/11/uzziah-king-of-judah.html">Uzziah</a> had the 2nd longest reign of Judah at 52 years, and he gets a bit more attention – <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+26&version=NKJV">a full chapter</a>. I have noted that Scripture is more concerned about each king’s spiritual state and the nation’s spiritual state than any political or social setting. So though it touches on the latter, Scripture emphasizes the former.
<p>Jeroboam II was one of the strongest kings of Israel whom God used to restore its lands because he was not ready to evict them from the land for their idolatry. However, he never followed the Lord. There is no indication of him being an immoral king, just an idolatrous king. He let the idols stick around, and that is all that is said about him.
<p>Uzziah came to the throne at a mere 16 years old because his father was assassinated for bowing before Edom’s idols and his foolish battle against Israel. He reigned for 52 years and walked in the ways of the Lord except not actively tearing down the high places of idol worship. But he went to the Temple to worship and did things God’s way for the most part. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+26%3A4-5&version=NKJV">He sought the Lord</a>, which cannot be said about <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-16-joash.html">Joash</a> or <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-18-amaziah.html">Amaziah</a>. Uzziah made Judah likely the strongest they had been since the days of Solomon. He subdued the Philistines and the Ammonites and held off attacks from Arabia. He built up Jerusalem’s defenses and became quite powerful. He didn’t have to fight against Joash or Jeroboam II of Israel. But his strength became his weakness, and he became proud. He went to offer incense in the temple, a job only the priests could do, and God struck him with leprosy of which he would die.
<p>So, what are the backgrounds of these kings? Jeroboam II was the third king following <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/12/backstory-of-kings-15-jehu.html">Jehu</a>, and his son Zechariah would finish the promise of God for four generations. Jeroboam’s rule indicates he would have been rather young when he became king to have a 41-year reign. He would have been a child or teenager when Jehoash fought against Amaziah and visited Elisha on his deathbed. Biblical prophets Amos and Hosea were prophesying in Israel, and so Jeroboam would have heard the messages. Again, there is no indication of him heeding them, repenting, or outright rejecting them; no comment is made. We just know that Jeroboam went about his business as a normal ruler who sought the best of for his kingdom, was not blatantly immoral, but never sought after the Lord.
<p>Uzziah was a teenager when he saw his father win over Edom, take the idols, and then stupidly go to war with <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-17-jehoahaz-and.html">Jehoash</a>. He knew his grandfather was assassinated, and now his own father was assassinated. He really didn’t want to walk the same path. We don’t know what Biblical prophets were speaking to him, but Uzziah was the first king since Jehoshaphat where Scripture explicitly states that he sought the Lord. His morality was overall about the same as his father Amaziah’s, and he knew that God was indeed real. No indication in Uzziah’s background would show a seed of his going to burn incense. That resulted from his pride that developed while he ruled and gained strength. And it was in that time of Uzziah’s leprosy that Isaiah began his ministry and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+6&version=NKJV">had his vision of the throne room</a>. Isaiah was in training as a prophet and would soon become the prophet for the king’s court.
<p>One thing I pick up from these two kings, who in a political and social context should receive a large percentage of attention, is that God doesn’t bother with people who seem to cruise in their lives. There is no indication of growth or decline in Jeroboam II. There is only a decline in Uzziah and only at the end of his life. Uzziah sought the Lord and was obedient, but besides a few battles and a giant overview, only his sin is discussed in detail. When we see the Bible dealing with political situations, it refers to how they tie their trust to God or not.
<p>We will soon look at Ahaz and Hezekiah, Uzziah’s grandson and great-grandson, where we get a strong emphasis on the political situation because it is a comparison between two kings who trusted the Lord versus trusting in the foreign nations for help. During Uzziah’s reign, another nation began to grow in power: Assyria. Assyria would be a nation that would wipe out the whole northeast part of the Middle East. Syria was beaten three times by Jehoash, and so both Judah and Israel did not have significant political or military powers threatening them. But they would be regaining their power, and we’ll see Syria, and particularly Assyria, showing their might before long.
<p>Next week, we’ll look at a series of kings of Israel in another political tumult that sets things up for the conquest by Assyria. Then we’ll come back to Judah to look at Jotham and Ahaz.
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<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-83914713448909362162024-01-22T06:00:00.002-05:002024-01-22T07:34:44.000-05:001 Corinthians 15:29-34<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I face death every day —yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
<br>Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God — I say this to your shame.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A29-34&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 15:29-34</a></blockquote>
<p>Resurrection is a key focus of Paul’s as he continues to discuss this topic throughout this section of his letter to the church in Corinth. Here, he shares some implications for not believing in the resurrection of the dead.
<p>However, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A29&version=NIV">verse 29</a> starts out with a confusing concept that scholars do not agree on. What is this baptizing for the dead? The verbs are present tense, which implies this was something that the early church was doing and would have understood, which is also why Paul gives no explanation of what that phrase means.
<p>Early church father Chrysostom believed that people would baptize dead bodies in the hope that they would be raised. Other scholars think perhaps it was a superstitious baptism for those who were not part of the church. Still others think that believers may have baptized loved ones’ graves, but there’s no historical evidence for that custom. Some scholars think this refers to living believers being baptized (or rebaptized) for the sake of deceased loved ones, but that does not agree with the gospel message. Another belief is that rather than referring to physical baptism, this verb refers to the concept of identifying: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, why are believers identified as dead men? Why should they be crucified with Christ?” However, the prepositions surrounding this statement do not support that interpretation.
<p>But whatever Paul meant by that phrase, the fact is that it seemed to be understood by the first-century Corinthians and Paul believed it would help them understand and accept the resurrection.
<p>He then brings up another point in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A30&version=NIV">verse 30</a>: if the resurrection is not a reality, why are they literally risking their lives every day for the sake of the gospel? Paul knows that the religious authorities are looking to kill Christians; he participated in that practice before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+9%3A1-2&version=NIV">Acts 9:1-2</a>). They were risking their lives simply to practice their faith. Why would they do that if there were no point to it if this world was all there is?
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A31&version=NIV">verse 31</a>, Paul states that he faces death every day. It is believed that Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus, where we know from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19&version=NIV">Acts 19</a> that while Paul did great ministry work there and many believed in the gospel, he was also in physical danger because of it. Then in the first part of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A30&version=NIV">verse 32</a>, he specifically mentions fighting wild beasts. This may have been literal, referring to specific punishment by the Roman authorities, but it may also have been figurative, meaning that the human enemies he fought with were like fighting wild animals.
<p>He continues in the second half of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A32&version=NIV">verse 32</a> sharing that there is nothing to be gained if the dead are not raised and this world is all we have. Why go through all that suffering for the sake of the gospel if there is no resurrection after this life? He then quotes <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+22%3A13&version=NIV">Isaiah 22:13</a>, and the context of that passage is God condemning reckless living. If there is no hope for a life beyond this world, we might as well gratify our desires for the pleasures of this world rather than risking our lives for the gospel message that brings hope for a world beyond this one.
<p>While Paul quoted from the Old Testament potentially for the benefit of the Jews in Corinth, he quotes in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A33&version=NIV">verse 33</a> from a Greek poet of the day for the benefit of the Greeks. The saying “Bad company corrupts good character” was from a comedy called Thais by the Greek poet Menander. Those who were in the church who did not believe in the resurrection were a threat to those who did believe in the resurrection. Those who did not believe may have enticed the others through the desires for worldly pleasures rather than the desire for a better life in eternity through being obedient to the gospel message.
<p>Paul delivers a harsh rebuke to them in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A34&version=NIV">verse 34</a>. Paul calls it out as a sin to deny the resurrection of the dead; if they deny the resurrection, then they deny Christ. This denial lead to them living in immoral ways as they were living for temporary pleasures rather than the eternal glory of Christ. Those who deny the resurrection deny the truth and are ignorant of God, and Paul says they should be shamed for that.
<p>We see this in our modern culture as well. Those who do not embrace the Christian faith and follow the ways of Jesus generally live more immoral lives and they deny the gospel of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus, and therefore the resurrection of all the dead one day, is a key tenant to the Christian faith. While we in the United States are not (yet) facing death every day for our faith, there may come a day when that will be our reality, as it is for Christians in other countries around the world. Why would we risk our lives for a faith that does not bring hope for the world beyond this one? We must be certain in the resurrection in order to face whatever trials we experience in this life, even including the threat of death.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM65WJPX" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbbC-uZsZeUEBPy6X2ulXw1CBJn9ZvLcjYbUvNa9h6eOU0cfaSRKRKlY_mR7exGGnsFaYp8BrLmT8MUquMdAWTo0X2C7biAxp0wcCqQKSf7tPrve-hdpcGh9rDpFZJGgn21zGJG71L7lTYeQB6hralh1CwGFn5Rm1M2isKuJgHQiLqjN9AtP3XCfsnQ/s1600/The%20Teacher.jpg"/></a></div>
<p><i>This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.</i></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-2398566524276972072024-01-19T06:00:00.001-05:002024-01-19T06:00:00.141-05:00Backstory of the Kings 18: Amaziah <p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p><a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/10/amaziah-king-of-judah.html">Amaziah was the second of four consecutive semi-good kings of Judah</a>. They were moral for the most part though they never bothered to tear down the high places. But they had problems. Of these four kings, only Jotham does not have a sin recorded against him and that is only because his reign, and the coverage of it, was short. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+25&version=NKJV">Amaziah ruled for 29 years and began his reign when he was 25 years old</a>. This put Amaziah being born 15 years into <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-16-joash.html">Joash’s reign</a>, making Joash 22 years old when Amaziah was born. Amaziah would be succeeded by Uzziah who was 16 when he became king, thus putting Uzziah’s birth 13 years into Amaziah’s reign, with Amaziah being 38 when Uzziah was born.
<p>Amaziah had two notable events in his reign, and both were battles: one against Edom in which he won and then brought back their idols, and the other against <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2024/01/backstory-of-kings-17-jehoahaz-and.html">Jehoash of Israel</a> in which he got spanked. Amaziah, like his father Joash, was assassinated to end his reign. In the first battle, Amaziah initially hired 100k troops from Israel, and God told him through a prophet to send them back and to trust Him for victory. But after the victory, Amaziah brought back the idols of Edom and worshiped them. Why would one worship the gods of the very people you just beat? Amaziah was rebuked and didn’t want to hear it.
<p>Amaziah got on a power trip and decided to do a skirmish battle against Jehoash. This wasn’t a political battle, or a need for resources, or a conquering battle. It was merely an arrogant, “I want to show off my strength” battle. Jehoash warned him against doing it and Amaziah did not listen. He lost badly, and Jehoash entered Jerusalem and took his choice of spoils. This was all directed by God to punish Amaziah for his idolatry and the people knew it too. Amaziah fled Jerusalem for his life, was hunted down, and was assassinated. The officials then put Uzziah on the throne at the mere age of 16.
<p>What set this up? What drove Amaziah’s thinking? Amaziah was still a youth when Joash had the temple repaired, but he watched his father turn to idolatry after Jehoiada passed. He saw how evil his father had turned and that led him to be assassinated. Amaziah clearly did not fall far from the tree. He did the same thing. He turned to idolatry and was assassinated for it as well.
<p>During Amaziah’s reign, it is believed that Jonah, Amos, and Hosea had their ministries, however, none of them directly witnessed in Judah. They primarily focused on Israel where Jehoash and Jeroboam II were ruling. There were plenty of unnamed prophets, including the two who rebuked Amaziah for seeking Israel’s aid for the battle with Edom and then for taking Edom’s idols and bowing before them. So it was not like Amaziah did not get a message from God. He did; he listened to the first but not the second. And in the rejection of the second, his doom was decided. He would lose a battle he instigated, and following the battle, he would be assassinated.
<p>One would wonder if Amaziah learned his lesson from his father, but hindsight is 20/20. Amaziah walked in the same path as Joash did from fearing God to idolatry to being assassinated. It is not much different than children of sinning fathers, whether it be drunkenness, adultery, pornography, abuse, drugs, or whatever. The kid will have a choice: seeing his dad and walking the same way he did or seeing his dad and walking away from that. The same can be true about the believing father. A believer’s child will see his father and either walk in the same path or walk away. In every case, the kid is still responsible for his own choices. Amaziah could not blame Joash for making him like he was. He can only blame himself for following the sins of his father.
<p>Joash departed the faith he was raised in. Amaziah walked in the same faith his father did: a nominal one that turned when the opportunity presented itself. Just raising your kid in Biblical ways is no guarantee he will walk in them. It helps greatly, but he still has to make his own decisions. Letting the world raise your kids is worse. That is what I pointed out last week with Jehoahaz and Jehoash walking in Jehu’s footsteps, only half-hearted before God at best. One thing I have noticed is that only those who intentionally continue in a godly man’s footsteps remain walking that way. Any other direction will go to another destination.
<p>Amaziah was killed for his idolatry; in a way, it was God’s mercy to not let it continue. Following them would be Uzziah, the king with the second longest reign of all the kings in part due to his youth upon ascension, but he too had his own problems. We’ll examine those and look at Jeroboam II, the longest-reigning monarch of Israel and the last one who would have a chance at turning things around but didn’t. After Jeroboam II, the bottom would fall out for Israel before God would send Assyria to wipe them off the map. Uzziah would contrast with Jeroboam II, but not by a lot. We’ll examine both kings together next week.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GV91SYF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiH4Fe5MSaJeFjJJbckhyphenhyphenqs-UygdBX9dRUWl_hHRu_N3BFU96zp5-4kUh8fl8nFAzkf-x6L-uza6It4_wwGYDIWk_LmHVD2TxoQJEZ8qtaYa_fa_lxnWcd73i3ttKAKugOKkCmwj5Zgh3h/s0/Ten+Reasons.jpg"/></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-20413508649673932382024-01-15T06:00:00.001-05:002024-01-15T06:00:00.133-05:001 Corinthians 15:20-28<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/katie_erickson.jpg" title="by Katie Erickson" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Katie%20Erickson">Katie Erickson</a></b></p>
<blockquote>But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
<br>- <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A20-28&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 15:20-28</a></blockquote>
<p>Paul has presented the case of Jesus Christ being raised from the dead in this chapter. Now he affirms that fact and explains what that means for believers – that Jesus Christ is the guarantee that we, too, will be raised from the dead one day.
<p>The Greek phrase translated as “But… indeed” at the start of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A20&version=NIV">verse 20</a> is a common one for Paul. He uses it in his letters multiple times when he makes a conclusive point about something. We don’t always see it translated that same way in English, but he uses this in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13%3A13&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 13:13</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3%3A21&version=NIV">Romans 3:21</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6%3A22&version=NIV">Romans 6:22</a>, and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+1%3A22&version=NIV">Colossians 1:22</a> just to name a few. It is a certain fact that Christ has been raised from the dead, and Paul has proven that through his discussion earlier in this chapter.
<p>But then we see the phrase “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” in the second half of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A20&version=NIV">verse 20</a>. What does that mean? In the Old Testament, the firstfruits are the first part of a harvest that would be offered to God as an offering (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+23%3A9-14&version=NIV">Leviticus 23:9-14</a>). This offering was to happen before they worked on the main harvest, and it was a promise that the rest of the harvest was coming. So in that way, Jesus’ death and resurrection happened before the full “harvest” of all the believers in Christ who were going to die and be raised again. Christ’s resurrection came first before the believers, and it was also a promise of the resurrection that all believers will experience one day.
<p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A21-22&version=NIV">Verses 21-22</a> sound very similar to the points Paul made in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A12-21&version=NIV">Romans 5:12-21</a> about the first and second Adam. Adam brought death to all mankind by introducing sin into the world, and Jesus Christ was the second Adam who brought life to all mankind through His death and resurrection. One man brought sin and death, and one man brought resurrection and life. The entire human race experiences sin because of Adam, but those who have faith in Jesus Christ will experience life through Him.
<p>Then, Paul gets into some concepts that are a bit harder to work through. In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A23-24&version=NIV">verses 23-24</a>, Paul presents a timeline of sorts. First, Jesus Christ was resurrected as the firstfruits, which is like that offering that happens before the main harvest. Next, those who belong to Christ will be resurrected; that phrase can be translated more literally as, “Then the ones of Christ in the second coming of him.” The Greek word for “second coming” is <i>parousia</i>. This term can simply mean a person being present, but when used to refer to Christ, it means His second coming. The next event is handing over the kingdom of God. This is a total conquest of the entire world by Jesus Christ, including everything that is visible and invisible, all earthly and spiritual powers and authorities.
<p>Everything will be under Christ’s feet (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A25&version=NIV">verse 25</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A27&version=NIV">verse 27</a>), meaning that He is the one true ruler and authority over everything because of His resurrection. This verse alludes to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+110%3A1&version=NIV">Psalm 110:1</a>, which says, “The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
<p>The final enemy that needs to be destroyed is death (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A26&version=NIV">verse 26</a>). We know that Jesus has already conquered death because He died and then was raised again. He was not simply resuscitated to live longer and then die a second death like humans who were raised (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+11&version=NIV">Lazarus</a>, for example) but Jesus is permanently alive and will never die. Death has no power over Him because He already defeated it! He will never again experience death.
<p>There is a caveat mentioned in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A27&version=NIV">verse 27</a>, that “everything” being under Jesus’ feet does not mean that God is under Jesus’ authority, because God is the one who gave that authority to Jesus in the first place. This is where the doctrine of the <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2021/01/theology-proper-who-is-god.html">Trinity</a> comes into play, that Jesus and the Father (and the Spirit) are all the same God yet separate persons within God.
<p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A28&version=NIV">Verse 28</a> continues this thought by explaining that Jesus (the Son) will be subject to God the Father (the one who put everything under Him). This is part of the interaction of the Trinity, but this verse also reinforces that God is one God – “so that God may be all in all.” But there is a process to it. The world was created by God, it fell into sin because of man, then was restored to order through Jesus’ death and resurrection and then His second coming, which we are still waiting for today. One day, God will truly be recognized by all as the sovereign one (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+22%3A3-5&version=NIV">Revelation 22:3-5</a>).
<p>Essentially, the main idea is that Jesus’ resurrection was a really big deal. Not only does it grant us as believers eternal life forever in Him, but it will bring the whole world into restoration and under Jesus’ power and authority. That idea of authority can either be a comfort if you’re on the “good side” of that authority, or it can be terrifying if you’re on the “wrong side.” While we are all on the wrong side because of our sin, we have the opportunity through the love of God to have faith in Jesus Christ and live our lives for Him. We can experience God’s forgiveness for all our sins through Jesus’ righteous death, which then puts us on the “good side.” Which side are you on?
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582953863643137208.post-50358829513716448252024-01-12T06:00:00.001-05:002024-01-12T06:00:00.413-05:00Backstory of the Kings 17: Jehoahaz and Jehoash<p><img src="http://www.worldviewwarriors.org/speakers/charlie_wolcott.jpg" title="by Charlie Wolcott" /><b><br />by <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Wolcott">Charlie Wolcott</a></b></p>
<p>When <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/12/backstory-of-kings-15-jehu.html">Jehu</a> died, his son <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/10/jehoahaz-king-of-israel.html">Jehoahaz</a> and grandson <a href="http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2022/10/jehoash-king-of-israel.html">Jehoash</a> followed. Both were alive when Jehu reigned, deduced by their relative short reigns of 17 and 16 years respectively. Their reigns combined are given just <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+13&version=NKJV">one chapter</a> indicating there really was not much to talk about from a Biblical perspective. Both kings did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, and both worshiped at those golden calf idols. Both kings were at war with Syria (Aram), namely <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+8%3A7-15&version=NKJV">Hazael the very king that Elisha anointed with tears, knowing what he’d do to Israel</a>. During their conflicts, both kings did seek the Lord rather than the Baals. Both kings knew of the ministry of Elisha and Jehoash in particular sought him out directly. So, what is the backstory of these two kings? Let’s explore.
<p>Jehu had been ruling for 28 years and he was noted primarily for his purging of Ahab’s household and all those who were loyal to him and to the idol worship of Baal. Little is said otherwise besides that he only gave lip service to the Lord and still followed the idolatrous practices of the worship of Jeroboam at the golden calves. It could be that growing up, that is what he was taught that the worship of God was to be like. Don’t forget that <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+12%3A25-33&version=NKJV">Jeroboam called those golden calves “Jehovah,” the gods who brought Israel out of Egypt</a>. But none of Jehu’s line departed from the idol worship there but rather engaged in it.
<p>Both kings had war with Syria, just as Ahab and his line did. During Jehoahaz’s reign, Hazael reduced Israel’s territory and Syria kept control over Israel with brutal pressure. Jehoahaz finally sought the Lord and God relented and pulled Syria away from them, but not without leaving <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+13%3A7&version=NKJV">Israel with only an army of 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers</a>. This army would not be able to do anything.
<p>Then Jehoash inherited this army and had to deal with Hazael and his son Ben-Hadad (not the same Ben-Hadad whom Ahab called his ‘brother’). Jehoash turned to Elisha upon hearing he was old, sick, and dying. Elisha had him shoot an arrow out of the window and then to strike the ground with the remaining arrows. Jehoash only struck the ground three times, instead of five or six or even seven, a number of completion. Elisha then promised three victories, one for each strike. Jehoash got the victories over Syria but did not completely take them out. Jehoash had another battle to deal with and that was with Amaziah, son of Joash of Judah, and won soundly.
<p>Beyond that, little is said other than a focus on their idolatry and not walking in the ways of the Lord. They knew God existed and they knew He was the True God, but they only came to Him in their most desperate hour and departed from Him otherwise. If you follow the remaining kings of Israel, the attention on them gets shorter and shorter, and I believe one reason why is because it just repeats more of the same. Jeroboam II’s reign is the longest reign and yet Zimri, who ruled only for seven days, is given more attention.
<p>The only two factors I can think of that influenced Jehoahaz and Jehoash to seek the Lord was the influence of Elisha. Unlike Ahab who would listen to Elijah or Micaiah and outright rejected them, these two at least respected Elisha enough to know to seek the Lord. We have a 40-year period of silence of Elisha’s ministry; he was active, we just don’t have a record of it. These kings knew that Elisha’s word was true but still wanted to go the way they wanted to go. It was only when all their other ways failed that they turned to God.
<p>But they also knew what their father and grandfather did in purging Baal worship, but because Jehu only purged Baal and not ALL idolatry, they would have seen Jehu justify idol worship, just not Baal worship. Both were held responsible for not departing from Jeroboam’s sin but for walking in those sins. They didn’t just allow that sin to continue; they engaged in it.
<p>What can we learn from these two kings? They weren’t your typical “immoral” or “corrupt” kings like Ahab was. They were your standard, everyday king, seeking the best for their country. They knew of God but did not honor or respect Him enough as THE God. They knew of Elisha as a true prophet of the True God and in their most desperate hour sought the Lord. But they did not continue following the Lord. There is no evidence these men were true believers. Jehu was a half-believer because he was obedient to his initial calling, but he was not loyal to the Lord.
<p>We can learn that God is merciful, and He will keep His promises. God did not want to destroy Israel due to their sin because of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+13%3A23&version=NKJV">His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob</a>. God was even merciful to <a href="https://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2023/12/backstory-of-kings-11-ahab.html">Ahab</a> for genuine remorse over his sin of murdering Naboth and saved the judgment for Ahab’s sons. But God also speaks in terms of generations, not just individuals; nations, not just individuals. God blessed Jehu for his obedience and granted four generations to follow him, but because Jehu did not walk in the ways of the Lord, that was all he would get. If he had followed in the ways of the Lord, Jehu may have been offered the promises given to David and Jeroboam for a lasting dynasty. Jehoahaz and Jehoash merely followed Jehu’s footsteps and did little differently.
<p>Just seeking the Lord once is not enough. While God may bless you for that one moment of obedience, God is much more interested in the lifestyle, not just one time obedience. These kings obeyed the Lord once, but their lives were marked as idolatrous and doing evil in the sight of God. We must obey the Lord as our way of life, not merely one time. We as evangelicals as a whole need to learn this. When we evangelize, we need to teach people that Christianity is a lifestyle of denying self and walking with Christ, not a one-time decision to plead for help and repent then live how we want to live otherwise. These two kings showcase that seeking the Lord once will not give you a good report with the Lord, unless it is a mark of a lifestyle. Choose wisely.
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