Faith (Greek for “strong conviction”)

Posted on June 13, 2019 by abdicate

If we’d learn to confess our sins and those of our parents and grandparents, we could then claim the promises of God. “Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” Jesus said. Is there sickness and disease (notice dis-ease) in heaven? No, there’s peace. Any Christian can be healed because Jesus healed us with His punishments.

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.

1 Peter 2:24
who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.

So why are there sick? Unbelief or sin. That’s it. I’m giving you scriptures unlike many of the others that speak in foolish ignorance like I used to. People develop all kinds of weird theology to hide their unbelief. Have faith (Greek for “strong conviction”). To build up that faith, hear the word of God, Romans 10:17. Listen to the word of God, not sinful men. That’s why they don’t post verses as proof of their theology. Anything other than the word of God is doctrines of devils, 1 Timothy 4:1. And boy, is that verse in fulfillment today! Return to having faith! Revelation 3:18!

1 John 5:18 We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him.

See? If we cease to sin, 1 Peter 4:1, the devil cannot touch us and we’ll have the power over him. But ceasing from sin isn’t taught anymore by those that do not want to stop their wilful sinning 2 Peter 2:14. These verse spell it out, if you believe.

Got an incurable disease or autistic child? Take dominion over the evil spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11) : John 15:7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.  Luke 1:37 For everything spoken by God is possible. John 14:14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it. 

Believing in your heart first (just like salvation) command the spirits to leave in Jesus’ Name.

Luke 10:19-20
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

What an amazing promise and yet it’s not taught in the churches. Don’t you realize that what Jesus did we can do too! (I’m still unlearning the junk from denominations myself!)

Mark 11:22-26 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.  For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says.  Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.  Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”  

Psalms 107:19-20 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses. He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.  

The Word (Jesus) gave us that same power. So use it, in Jesus’ name, and be free. It’s your choice. Believe the word of God and be free or not and continue suffering.

Imagine

Imagine if right now, you believed the word of God and all its promises, you confess all your known sins, Psalms 139:23, and start claiming the word of God and taking dominion over the enemy, what that would be like!? If you cannot believe in miracles, then how can you believe in salvation? It’s the same faith. Now that’s a scary thought! Don’t think I say this to plant the seed of doubt, but the check yourself (as I do):

2 Corinthians 13:5
Test your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

I’ve been in denominations for years, but when I witnessed for myself God’s healing promises, it changed my life. I found out the word of God is true today as it was at Creation, all of it! Those that say it’s not for today are lying charlatans, wolves in sheep’s clothing, or like I was, ignorant of the truth. This is why I post so many scriptures, so you can believe and have faith and live in faith.

Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.

Romans 1:17
For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”

Galatians 3:11
Now that no man is justified by the law before God is evident, for, “The righteous will live by faith.”

Is the faith you live life-changing? Are you taking dominion over the enemy or allowing him to roam free in your life and those under your authority? I don’t judge, I ask, because I ask this of myself.  I have a long way to go, but I do engage the enemy and I win through Jesus when I’m not found in sin. There is a cause and effect here people. It’s throughout the entire word of God.

Deuteronomy 28:1-2
It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that Yahweh your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.

Deuteronomy 28:15
But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come on you, and overtake you.

Look at all the “if you” in the scriptures. It’s always a choice.

Matthew 6:15
But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

WOAH! That’s the word of God. If you harbor ill-will and won’t forgive, then God will not forgive you! What’s that do to salvation?

Ephesians 5:5
Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.

2 Timothy 2:12
If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.

If we abide in faith, living in faith, then we take dominion just like Jesus did Who gave us the power to reign with Him, right now in this world!

1 John 4:17
In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world.

We are already seated in heaven with Jesus! Ephesians 2:6!

So, believe the word of God, or the words of men.

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Woodworking – a spiritual lesson

Posted on May 24, 2019 by abdicate

My wife recently wanted me to make something to hold a plant that grows on trees sideways that she could hang a wall. Then some more requests and before I knew it, she had a new hobby picked out for me. We move a lot for work, so I didn’t have all the fancy tools I thought I’d need to get the job done. That’s the materialistic teaching of the world – my first object lesson. So began the understanding of some powerful lessons. I’ve known all my life like everyone else that Jesus was a carpenter, but I never realized what that meant until I started studying woodworking.

Woodworking brings:

  • Patience – you have to learn before you can do
  • Constant learning – you will always find a new way to do something, rich and clever
  • Education which brings savings – you don’t need all the fancy tools in the world; a lot can be done with just a couple pieces of tools
  • Understanding that taking the shortcut will lead to ignorance and danger; if you do not respect the process, you will suffer the consequences; the fear in the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
  • Choosing the right action leads to safety in the Lord; selecting the right wood will ensure safety – softwood for a table leg will eventually collapse, and you’ll have to start over if you come out unscathed
  • Durable wood takes time to grow so does building our fortitude in life
  • Understanding the minutia of woodworking produces a better product – in life, we need to understand the complexities of the physical and spiritual realms to get the most out of them
  • The promise of creating something beautiful inspires us to push through ignorance and setbacks; this is how we obtain all the promises of God, which are Yes and Amen in Christ
  • Beauty comes from ugly; a knotted piece of wood can be cut, shaped, glued, and sanded to make a beautiful piece of art – like coal put under tremendous pressure produces a diamond, so the experiences of life create a diamond of a person
  • Generates Inspiration – ideas spring out for what to make and open a whole new area to grow in; the word of God gives us ideas to correct a fault or overcome any situation; a worn-out Bible is owned by someone who is not
  • Produces a creation – creating something from the inspiration brings about a sense of euphoria that I never realized when making webpages or studies; like the old saying, those that can, do
  • Attention to detail and taking your time reduces mistakes; reading the word of God and praying habitually reduces mistakes in our lives
  • Quality in workmanship creates a work of art; believing all the promises from the word of God creates a quality of life in us and those around us unobtainable by other means

While I’m just starting, I appreciate what it meant for Jesus to be a carpenter. In life, not His ministry, He already brought service to His community whereby they could have a better life. However, to do that, Jesus, as a man, had to learn how to make a table joint, or the type of wood needed a support leg. While we can dismiss the idea that they were just backward and rustic, I am confident that they created works that people today would pay thousands of dollars to obtain for themselves. Just look at some of the Japanese woodworking videos today that will put you in awe and realize that like God is our potter and we are the clay, by doing woodworking, we can better ourselves and those around us.

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Revelation – How it could happen

Posted on May 3, 2019 by abdicate

The Tribulation is one week long (i.e. seven years) broken into two parts at 3.5 years/42 months/times, time, half-a-time/1260 days, each part.

There is nothing in earth’s recorded history to compare to what’s to come. That means, no one will doubt the end of the world is upon the earth.

The first half is the Wrath of the Lamb. The second half is what the Hebrew scripture calls the Day of the Lord/Wrath of God.

Jesus takes the 7-sealed deed to the earth. He is the only One who can open because ALL authority was given to Him and to Him alone. The first seal is the arrival of the Antichrist who wins first through diplomacy (no arrows), but because it’s all a lie, he begins a global war, the second seal. As a natural course of the war, the third seal is opened unleashing famine and economic hardship. Next, the fourth seal is opened and because of the previous global events, death and hell come to claim their victims which also causes the animals to uncharacteristically attack en masse. Blaming those that don’t follow, many martyrs will die with the opening of the fifth seal. Possibly due to global warfare, the sixth seal is opened and a worldwide earthquake that moves all mountains and islands out of their place because it’s not a magnetic polar shift, but an actual polar shift (i.e. the north and south pole will become the equator) and since the equator is 20km wider than from north to south, everything will be moved out of its place due to centrifugal forces. Isaiah says the earth will be like a drunkard knocked out of its orbit. And since the heavens are snapped back into place (the heavens being stretched since creation – explains how galaxies billions of light years away can appear so in just 6 days, but that’s another thread) everyone wants to hide in caves and the mountains because with the fabric of space/time ripped open to reveal eternity and Jesus on His throne. All this, and before the 144,000 are sealed! Until that happens there’s no more wind on the earth. That means no weather patterns, no movement at all. What would you expect after tilting 50%! Finally, the seventh seal is opened and there’s silence in heaven for 1/2 an hour. Like everyone taking an anticipatory holding of their breath to see what’s next. With the last seal opened, Jesus takes owners ship of what He paid for 2000 years ago on the cross.

An angle throws the coals of fire from the altar down upon the earth. The voices, thunders, and lightnings, another earthquake are mentioned and explained later. So, lo and behold, come the seven trumpets. The first trumpet is sounded and a Coronal Mass Ejection occurs and hits the earth. Some years ago, we missed one by just 3 weeks a few years ago. That’s when seed vaults, movies, and construction of underground bunkers began in earnest. Look it up. A CME will hit the earth compressing the upper atmosphere to produce huge hailstones, but when it pushes through, it’ll melt all the planes flying (hence the blood), and burn up a third of the trees and all green grass. The second trumpet sounds and a burning chunk of the sun (part of the CME) hits the sea killing a third of its life and third of the ships. Or it’s a super-volcano eruption. Hard to tell what it could be because an asteroid or a meteorite wouldn’t necessarily burn underwater but these are special circumstances. Anyhow, the third angle sounds and another mountain (3 now?) falls to the earth and destroys a third of the drinking water – as if we don’t have enough to lose already. But this will also cause animals to attack too because they’ll want fresh water as well. So the water wars by now will certainly happen. So with three mountains/stars falling to the earth, it will cause the fourth trumpet to sound cause the earth’s rotation to change. Jesus said those days would be shortened so the earth’s rotation will speed up by 8 hours making a full day only 16 hours (1/3 less) thereby shortening the time, but not the count of days and still make “day” and “night” a third less. Since they are time/based object, 24 divided by 1/3 is 8, so 24 – 8 = 16 hour days. Hence the reason the Antichrist thinks to change the times because everything is in utter chaos.

I’ll skip the rest of the trumpets, woes, thunders, bowls, and plagues. Upon reaching Revelation 11, we have a flashback. The temple is built, the Two Witness arrive and preach for 1260 days. When they are killed mid-week by the Antichrist (for no one before him could overcome them), Jesus warned Israel to flee to the wilderness for 1260 days for Jerusalem to be trampled for 42 months. Because of the earth’s now-erratic orbit, and the shortening of the days (not able to keep time in check with a normal sunrise/sunset to go by), we now have the day in which no man knows the day nor the hour of Jesus’ second coming. Besides, Jesus came to get His bride for the Lamb’s Marriage Supper before all this chaos occurs. Oh, and not all Christians will be raptured, only those prepared and pure. That’s how there are so many left to die on the earth, to prove they are Christians as martyrs. The Bride is pure and is taken before the tribulation begins.

So, according to the timing of the Two Witnesses, they start the Tribulation period right with the treaty (covenant) by the Antichrist. They are killed in the midst of the week and the AC stops the sacrifices halfway through the 7-year period. Then Israel flees for 1260 days for when Jesus comes again to reign on the earth.

While we know these things WILL happen, what I’m doing here is speculating on HOW it could happen. The reason is that since I started doing this, I’m seeing just how destructive the Tribulation will be and how Isaiah 13:12 will happen:

Isaiah 13:12
I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.

One verse doesn’t negate another verse since these events are happening one after the other creating accumulative effects. Thankfully, because of studying God’s creation we are able to speculate due to observations and witnessing events like the Shoemaker-Levy comet in 1994. https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9

Remember in Revelation, a lot is going on, so a statement may be for only an unspecified period of time. One event does not negate another event. That is if you look at the events just surrounding the sun alone you have:

Revelation 6:12 – Seal
I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.

So, the earthquake causes the sun to turn black and the moon to blood, which indicates that the event happens and by the time the night rolls around the atmosphere clears out enough to see the moon be blood. If you can’t see the sun, you would not be able to see the moon, so the implications are that the event happens during the day to blacken the sun for a while. Also, “whole moon” can indicate that it was around the 15th of the month whenever the event occurs because that’s when there’s a full moon. Also, the 9.0 earthquake in Japan shortened the day and change the axis. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/japanquake/earth20110314.html Indeed, this event only changed it by microseconds, what will a “great earthquake” do.

Revelation 8:12 – Trumpet
The fourth angel sounded, and one third of the sun was struck, and one third of the moon, and one third of the stars; so that one third of them would be darkened, and the day wouldn’t shine for one third of it, and the night in the same way.

Then you have the aforementioned event where you have one third of everything darkened, and one third of the day and night, which are time-bound indicators. The only explanation is that the earth’s rotation spins up, thereby understanding that it is not the size of the sun and moon made smaller by one third, but only visible one third less as stated. Why/how would this happen? Two prior events hit the earth from space: Rev 8:8 “burning mountain”, Rev 8:9 “star falls” as well as the great earthquake causes the accumulation effect of rotation spun up. To do this they both hit west to east because looking at the north pole from space, the earth rotates counter-clockwise, thereby shortening the length of time the earth sees the sun and the moon by one third.

Revelation 9:2 – Locus from the Pit
He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke from a burning furnace. The sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit.

So, here’s a star hitting the earth that releases the locus and not only darkens the sun but the air as well. The recent California fires blotted out the sun and later then moon was blood. https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-california-fires-smoke-20181116-story.html And then the air cleared. This is likely how some of the events will have the sun/moon darkened, and then darkened again and again.

Revelation 16:8
The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire.

If the sun is scorching due to the earth being closer to the sun or is stuck facing the sun, this happened to Joshua so it could happen again which is possible because the other side of the plant would remain in a painful darkness. Since the sun is a type of antiseptic, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/18/658335490/grandma-was-right-sunshine-helps-kill-germs-indoors it could be that from the mark of the beast those soars from the first bowl (Rev 16:2) become worse in the darkness.

The first judgements begin on earth with the arrival of the antichrist and then war, famine, pestilences and death. One fourth of the earth, 7*.25 = 1.75 billion, people will die. Talk about a world war. With that much death and destruction if must be nuclear, 2 Peter 2:12.

Then the fabric of space is snapped back (since it’s been stretching for six millennia, Psa 104:2, Job 26:7, Isa 40:22; 44:24; 51:13, Jer 10:12; 51:15) revealing Jesus on His throne, Rev 6:16.

Since the fabric of space is ripped, now we can understand why the physical assault from space upon the earth. What would cause the earth to not have any wind? No wind, no clouds, no rain, Rev 11:6. I know there’s a lot here, but if we try to see how Revelation is written with these literal events happening, it’s not a hard thing to understand. The rest of the word of God helps us understand these events and how it’s impossible we’re in any point other than just prior.

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Questions by non-believers

Posted on April 26, 2019 by abdicate

1. If God is good, why is there evil in this world?

Free will – choice. God gave us dominion over the earth. The evil that continues is because of man. As such, a man asked God, “Why so much suffering and pain on earth?” and Jesus said, “Funny! I was going to ask you the same question.”

2. I’m a good person, so why do I have to accept Jesus to go to heaven?

Bad eggs in flour make bad bread. We are born tainted, so there is no “good person;” see the first question.

3. If God is so loving, why would He send someone to hell?

God sends no one to hell. It’s their choice. Jesus died paying for our penalty of sin (death), but we choose to not to believe and accept the free gift.

4. How do you know that God is real?

How do you know He’s not real? Proof of His existence is everywhere. One only need to seek Him out and have a teachable heart.

5. What about evidence in the Universe for the Big Bang?

The Big Bang is a scientific explanation against what the word of God says. The word of God says that the universe is like a fabric stretched out. Science is extrapolating what is visible rather than knowing all the conditions at Creation. Scientists are trying to reverse engineer the universe which is like a one-year-old child reverse engineer a Ferrari.

6. Why did God create this world?

For His pleasure. Why do you write music or paint a picture or write a poem?

7. Who created God?

God isn’t temporary like us, the created, so He has always been. No beginning, no end.

8. Why can’t you prove there is a God?

The proof is everywhere. What is the proof you seek? Adam was sinless and walked and talked with God, yet Adam still did not believe God. King David had all he could ever want and yet he was a murderer after God called him the apple of His eye. Proof of God is not what you seek. If you had it, you still would not believe. One has to believe in the possibility of something in order to discover it. Only a teachable heart can find the truth. 

9. Why do you say homosexuality is wrong?

Because it causes confusion. The same goes for fornication and bestiality. The homosexuality of the 1980s birthed the genderless push of today. Confusion and chaos.

10. What is “sin”?

To miss the mark as in arrows and target. A means of measuring that comes up short. You need a gallon, but you only have a quart. You owe $100 and you only have $1. Salvation is where God came to give you not $99, but $1 trillion.

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Evolution or God’s Word

Posted on January 28, 2019 by abdicate

My point to get Christians to stop questioning the word of God. Thomas doubted too. He didn’t believe Jesus’ own words, nor those of his fellows. In the end, history calls him Doubting Thomas. Every scientific advancement only proves the word of God correct, and literal. I’m not being passive aggressive, I’m pointing out man’s foolishness. Many many people believe man over God just because they provided information their itching ears were content with. There are so many things that can explain why things look the way they do, but instead of giving God the benefit of the doubt, these guys say “Reality doesn’t line up with the word of God” and I find that reprehensible, arrogant, and sad, because to question any part of the legitimacy of the word of God throws out the rest. If Genesis 1 did not happen as God said, then why does anyone have to believe that Jesus, born of a virgin, had to come and live as a man in the flesh to condemn sin so we can live. That’s exactly what’s happened. Darwin repented of his “findings” admitting he was angry at God for “taking” his child. The devil took his work and ran with it.

Today, hardly anyone believes in Creation. No Creation, no Adam and no Eve, no Adam and no Eve means no original sin, and no original sin, no need for Jesus. It’s that simple. The precision of the word of God is impeccable and amazing. It’s a mathematical wonder, with Pi in Genesis 1:1 and Euler’s Number in John 1:1, and it’s an awesome and accurate history book, and explains everything because nothing is new under the sun. It’s only the continued arrogance of men to question God.

Look at modern history with just 200 years of advancements, but then think about someone living 800-900 years. Those before the flood were far more advanced than we are today. This is why Noah was chosen because his line was the last pure human and just like in the days of Noah, we are messing with God’s image. Designer babies, manipulated crops, and glow-in-the-dark pigs/chickens/dogs. The list just goes on and one. God said “all flesh had corrupted his way” implying genetic manipulation, just like today. But that’s just insane to believe right because it’s just not possible. But there it is. Even dark matter is in Genesis 1 when you understand that the light spoken of was energy not just visible light. Visible light wasn’t even made until the fourth day. The earth is going to break orbit and its rotation is going to speed up in the last days, and it’s all right there in the word of God. Before 1948 almost all Christians believed Israel would never return, but the word of God said it would. We’re going to see the temple rebuilt because the word of God says so. Every prophecy is fulfilled 100% literally.

To see it and believe it requires a strong conviction. The word of God means what it says and says what it means. If you question Creation, you question Kingdom Power. If you don’t believe in Creation, you’ll never believe in God’s promises. If you don’t believe in God’s promises, then the gifts of the Spirit are taught that they only belonged to the apostles. If you don’t believe in the gifts of the Spirit, 100’s of people can pray and nothing happens. They all have no faith. Begging God is to doubt God. He said twice, “By his stripe you were healed!” Believe. Trust. Have a strong conviction. It’s not about prayer, it’s about believing God, and taking the promises by force. The devils believe IN God and tremble, but men do not believe God nor fear Him. The fear (awesomeness) of God is the beginning of wisdom. That is why evolution is so wrong, and no evidence will change the word of God into a lie.

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Faith and Healing

Posted on January 27, 2019 by abdicate

Everywhere I turn I see a need for healing. Yet, when the word of God is presented, people get greatly offended, Matthew 11:6. There is a cause and effect for just about everything, Deuteronomy 28(!). When we sin and don’t repent of it, it will manifest itself physically over time, James 1:15. Hidden sin eats away at the person. For example, hatred for another, cancer, bitterness, arthritis, anxiety (lack of peace) heart disease. This is the issue, dis-ease, i.e. not at peace. We’ve all been there. This is why James says to believe and confess, James 5:15-16. Believe what? All God’s promises are “Yes” and “Amen” (Greek and Hebrew), 2 Corinthians 1:20. Confess what? Our sins, 1 John 1:9. First, we MUST MUST MUST understand Who God is. He is love, 1 John 4:8. Evil doesn’t befall us because of Him, but because of our actions and stupidity, Deuteronomy 28. We are under His protection when we obey Him, Psalms 91.

The issue is the belief, not so much confession, but that’s equally as important. To believe something is to have a strong conviction about the subject. If I say “The sun will NOT rise tomorrow.” How many would have a strong conviction that my statement is true? No one. Yet, the word of God says someday it won’t, Isaiah 24:19-20. We live in a fallen world and all the information we gather is based on that fact. The truth is in the word of God which says we live in the shadow of the real, Hebrews 8:4; Colossians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 13:12. What is the real? The things not seen, the invisible, not the unknown, Hebrews 11:1

So, to quote Pilot, “What is truth?” John 18:38. Jesus and the word of God with the help of the Holy Spirit, John 16:13; 1 John 2:27. This question is linked to “What is faith?” Faith isn’t blind, Isaiah 1:18-20. The word faith doesn’t show up in the Hebrew Scriptures because it means actually “trust,” Habakkuk 2:4. In the Greek, it means to have a “strong conviction.”

Immovable Faith is:

        • Faith is NOT blind

        • Faith is NOT taking a leap into the unknown

        • Faith has to do with the invisible not the unknown

               ○ Faith is seeing you pay your bills on time

               ○ Faith is seeing yourself healthy

               ○ Faith is seeing yourself full of energy at the end of the day

Faith is a strong conviction that the things we do not see (health and peace) are there, we just need to take it, Matthew 11:12; Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24. Faith is built up like anything else, Romans 10:17. If we are to be good a mathematics, we must work out the problems. The more we do the better we get. To run a marathon, we must build up our stamina, Romans 1:17. The issue with Christians is they want microwave Christianity. We find out we’re sick and we want instant healing. If we have the faith, it’ll happen, if not, we need to build up that faith. To build up our faith is by hearing the word of God, Romans 10:17.

Every coach and motivational speaker has the proper understanding – see in our mind’s eye of being healthy. This isn’t easy believism, it’s changing our mind to execute what we believe based on the promises of God, Philippians 4:8-10. Imaging it helps us solidify the truth, Proverbs 23:7; Genesis 6:5. While the world says “Seeing is believing” in the scriptures is “believing is seeing.” If this were not so, the placebo effect would not be real. If you believe, you can change. This is based on the scriptures I’ve already posted above. But it’s also a choice. If we cannot get over the world view, we’ll never take by force the spiritual.

Miracles are not for the perfect, but for the believing, Matthew 9:29. Hope is confident expectation of good. If we maintain hope of being healed, we create the capacity to see the evidence that it’s possible, Romans 5:2-5. If we confidently expect to prosper, our mind will begin to work in such a way that we will begin to see the evidence that it is indeed possible. But if we think we’re going to fail, then we’ll see all the evidence pointing to failing. The evidence is there that we’re going to succeed, and the evidence is there that we’re going to fail. Literally, the tongue holds life or death for the path we choose, Proverbs 18:21; 1 Peter 3:10. It is just that simple. Believe the evidence based on the word of God and the finished work of Jesus or not. Our choice is whichever evidence we recognize for the outcome we expect. It’s not that the “other” evidence isn’t there. If we’re not alive to the evidence for sickness, then sickness withers up and dies. If we’re not alive to destructive things they eventually become unrecognizable in our environment. It’s not that they don’t go away if just that they’re not going to have an effect on us.

Remember something else about faith. Doubt is not the absence of faith. Doubt is the persuasion and deep belief in the evidence that is contrary to faith. Our problem isn’t we don’t have enough faith, our problem is our attention is on the evidence that proves it’s not going to happen. When we have our attention on the evidence that says “I’m never going to get out of this,” that’s what doubt is. Faith is when we have our eyes on the evidence that says “I’m coming out of this!” This is how one becomes fully persuaded like Abraham, Romans 4:20-22.

Finally, faith is not blind. We need to gather evidence of things. The greatest misconception is “Just take it by faith – blindly”. Isaiah says “Come let us reason together” which is what God wants to do and why we have 66 books in the scriptures written by 40 penmen over thousands of years. It’s to prove God’s work through His promises. When people say “take it by faith” they’re saying “just take it without evidence.” If God says we can reason (to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, be right) about our salvation, we can reason about everything else – get the evidence. Faith is not blind. Faith is based on very specific evidence.

At Creation, God knew what He wanted and decided the outcome before He spoke anything. The process is understanding the desired outcome in your mind’s eye, believing it in your heart and then speaking it into existence. We’re made in God’s image, and whatever we imagine, all things, if we believe, and ask for, it shall be given.

Matthew 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Romans 8:31-32
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

The choice is ours to believe or not. Period. Any ifs, thans, or buts, are just us not believing the plainly written word of God, Galatians 3:7; 3:26; Hebrews 11.

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Assumption – Science or the Scriptures

Posted on January 20, 2019 by abdicate

An assumption is “a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.”

Right off, we assume we know everything. Those things we do not understand we throw out assumptions to cover it up. Over and over the word of God is proven true, factual, and literal. For example, Paul says the word of God is written on our hearts. Until Watson and Crick published their findings in the 1950s that was just a metaphor. Today, we know that DNA is information, and it stores experiences up to 4 generations, just like Exodus says. Study after study has proven we are born knowing right and wrong, and science says we’re bent towards wrong 87% of the time. So why fight it? It’s just our nature they say. Making good evil and evil good – which is happening today.

With every new discovery, science keeps changing their assumptions. The evidence is so overwhelming that they clearly admit to a Designer, so instead of billions of years, it’s now billions of light years – aliens seeded us. Since their fallacy of billions of years is now defunct they’re moving to outer space. Now who has absurd faith?

Another assumption is that something observed today is the way it was thousands (or millions, in their case) of years ago. Everything observed on the globe was changed by the flood. Oh wait, they believe it to be a myth. So see, the bents everyone has is based on their beliefs. Atheists do not believe the word of God so they dismiss any “coincidence” pointing to the fact the word of God is true.  Bible-Beliving Christians, as someone said, choose to believe the word of God and are branded as ignorant. Someone on a thread said, “why would God lie in one book and have it different in His workbook.” That person will not listen to reason.

More assumptions are that constants are constants. The speed of light is not a constant, but academia rejects that fact and excommunicates anyone who proves it like the four physicists from Australia and the UK. They also assume the atmosphere has always been the same since – all time. Archeologists also reject reality because it’ll point to the word of God being true. The facts are, both sides state the “facts” and there can only be one, and that is the word of God.

There was a man who God made, and from his rib made a woman. They sinned. Because of that, Jesus had to come and die as a man to buy us back. Without a literal Adam and a literal Eve, there’s no need for a literal Jesus. Evolution is the antithesis of the word of God. No amount of scientific discovery can change that because there is one logical reason for the fallacy of evolution: why did it stop? I mean, if we have macroevolution, where are all the billions of transitions? There are none because there never were any. No one will answer these last two questions when/if they respond to my comment. I love science. I wanted to be a biochemist but was lured into computers instead. Both require the same thing to work: information. And Who put that information into our DNA? The Designer. The proof of a Designer is so overwhelming, some scientists are stating that we are indeed living in a program.

The way to prove the word of God is to first believe it is speaking the literal truth. All the answers are there. Just ask Matthew Fontaine Maury.

First, the word of God says that God made everything from the ground so it wasn’t aliens or a meteorite. Next, carbon-14 dating requires a constant flow of carbon-14 which the flood reset the baseline making things appear much older than they are. The current 1 part per trillion is a result of an absorption rate that was changed in the flood, killing off all living things. With less carbon-12 to dilute the carbon-14, the ratio of c-14 to c-12 would slowly begin to increase. If the ratio were doubled, everything measured would show it 5370 (half-life) years older, if it’s quadrupled, all organic material would appear 11,460 years older. Therefore, a radiocarbon year would not represent an actual year. Finally, the Flood would have released much of the trapped CO2 adding to the c-14 ratio, artificially increasing the “age” of an organic item. This is why the Flood is rejected, because it disproves organic material from being so old. Think about it. If the specimens were millions of years old, there wouldn’t be any c-14 left to identify any age. In the 1980’s they found that the radiocarbon is forming 28-37% faster than it is decaying. In other words, c-14 dating is eliminated as a choice for age dating.

Since the speed-of-light isn’t constant, then the star “billions-of-years away” may not be. In fact, the distance-to-time measurement of the speed of light has decreased so fast, experimental error cannot explain it. In fact, to date, there has never been an increase in the speed of light when using the same equipment to measure distance-to-time speed, but 100% of the time a decrease is recorded. Furthermore, extrapolating the decrease backward shows that the speed of light was ten billion times faster at zero than today. This makes sense when you see extremely distant galaxies have the same twist as nearer galaxies. The further away the observation, the more in slow motion it seems.

As to the billions of transitions, I’m sorry, they do not exist. I want to see all the steps between a fruit-fly and a human. They do not exists nor will they ever. Time is irrelevant if the process even exists. Many mix adaptability with macro-evolution, which goes from goo to you. I want to see the fruit-fly turn into a house fly. They can’t produce it and they’ll give some genetic reason, but the fact is, there are no hybrids of all the transitional states to observe. Evolution is based on a lie and is a lie. You have to make more assumptions about evolution than just to believe the word of God.

Anyhow, I believe Genesis 1-3 as literal, and as a scientist, I can see how it happened too without billions of years. We cannot equate God to man. If a man can make a clock and it appears older than it is, why can’t God. He did so in order for you to believe Him and His word trusting Him without all the knowledge. The more we study the more things we discover, and every discovery proves the word of God correct, and we adjust our beliefs. Before the 1950s there was no beginning of the universe. Scientists then said, “the word of God is wrong, there was no beginning” today, they admit through extrapolation, that indeed the universe had a beginning. Scientists still say “the universe is trillions of years old, the evidence is clear” but what if it isn’t. You see what you’re allowed to see. There are particles that affect things in ways we don’t even understand yet. Dark energy and dark matter were dismissed for years, but now it occupies 87% of the known universe! And it’s right there in the word of God in Genesis 1.

In a word, the more we learn about God’s creation the more complex it gets. It’s a fractal understanding by definition and in reality. In quantum physics, scientists have already discovered the scriptural definition of faith. In fact, Niels Bohr said, “An independent reality, in the ordinary physical sense, can neither be ascribed to the phenomena nor to the agencies of observation. ” Heisenberg once said, “The existing scientific concepts cover always only a very limited part of reality, and the other part that has not yet been understood is infinite. Whenever we proceed from the known into the unknown we may hope to understand, but we may have to learn at the same time a new meaning of the word ‘understanding’.” And Bohr expresses the same idea as follows: “As our knowledge becomes wider, we must always be prepared…to expect alterations in the point of view best suited for the ordering of our experience.”

The point is, we base so much on what we believe, the outcome of our observations skew the results. In other words, Proverbs 21:2 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the hearts.” Since we’re so biased, what frame of reference for the truth can we go to except the word of God.

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Translations

Posted on January 12, 2019 by abdicate

Someone stated that we need to stop reading into the Greek and Hebrew and just accept the “bible” as is. What a lazy Christian!

The problem is that biases are entered into translations. This is proven over and over in every translation. There is no “666” in the plain text, but you wouldn’t know that unless you go to the Greek. The most significant mistranslation isn’t the χξς though, but Sabbaton – meaning Sabbath. In 363–364 AD, at the request of Constantine, the Council of Laodicea (how apropos) met and codified many of the Christian beliefs without using the word of God. This is the birth of the Catholic church. They agreed upon 60 cannons and published them. Here are three of note:

Canon 29

Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema [cursed] from Christ.

Canon 37

It is not lawful to receive portions sent from the feasts of Jews or heretics, nor to feast together with them.

Canon 38

It is not lawful to receive unleavened bread from the Jews, nor to be partakers of their impiety.

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3806.htm

In other words, they changed the scriptures to excise the “church” from the Jews and implemented the Lord’s day as Sunday instead of Saturday. When the Reformation came, the Protestants were already well-established in tradition over the word of God. Therefore, if you want to know the truth, you must go back to the Greek and Hebrew to correct a lot of traditions. Until the Geneva Bible (1587) and the King James Bible (1611) (both after the Reformation and more Catholic than previous versions), Matthew 28 read as “first Sabbath”, not “first day of the week” thereby keeping with the commandment of Leviticus 23:15 and count the Sabbaths. Like most Americans who have never read the Constitution and know their rights, those that do not do their own homework are liable to get the answers wrong when the Teacher comes to grade us.

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Sabbath vs. First day of the week – Part II

Posted on November 26, 2018 by abdicate

Here are the verses with “σαββασ” in it. The word is just part of the whole word so that the search included all the suffixes and prefixes like:

run* will give you run, runs, running, etc.

Finally, I invite you to see for yourself when the exact same word is translated one way versus the other, Sabbath vs. first day of the week.

After the verse I put the KJV translation.

Matt 12:2 Sabbath –
οι δε φαρισαιοι ιδοντες ειπον αυτω ιδου οι μαθηται σου ποιουσιν ο ουκ εξεστι ποιειν εν σαββατω
But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

Matt 12:5 Sabbath – Sabbath –
η ουκ ανεγνωτε εν τω νομω οτι τοις σαββασιν οι ιερεις εν τω ιερω το σαββατον βεβηλουσι και αναιτιοι εισι;
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

Matt 12:8 Sabbath –
κυριος γαρ εστι και του σαββατου ο υιος του ανθρωπου
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Matt 24:20 Sabbath –
προσευχεσθε δε ινα μη γενηται η φυγη υμων χειμωνος μηδε εν σαββατω
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Matt 28:1 Sabbath, first day of the week –
οψε δε σαββατων τη επιφωσκουση εις μιαν σαββατων ηλθε μαρια η μαγδαληνη και η αλλη μαρια θεωρησαι τον ταφον
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Mark 2:27 Sabbath – Sabbath –
και ελεγεν αυτοις το σαββατον δια τον ανθρωπον εγενετο ουχ ο ανθρωπος δια το σαββατον
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Mark 2:28 Sabbath –
ωστε κυριος εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου και του σαββατου
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Mark 6:2 Sabbath –
και γενομενου σαββατου ηρξατο εν τη συναγωγη διδασκειν και πολλοι ακουοντες εξεπλησσοντο λεγοντες ποθεν τουτω ταυτα; και τις η σοφια η δοθεισα αυτω οτι και δυναμεις τοιαυται δια των χειρων αυτου γινονται;
And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Mark 15:42 Sabbath –
και ηδη οψιας γενομενης ( επει ην παρασκευη ο εστι προσαββατον )
And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

Mark 16:1 Sabbath –
και διαγενομενου του σαββατου μαρια η μαγδαληνη και μαρια η του ιακωβου και σαλωμη ηγορασαν αρωματα ινα ελθουσαι αλειψωσιν αυτον
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

Mark 16:2 first day of the week –
και λιαν πρωι της μιας σαββατων ερχονται επι το μνημειον ανατειλαντος του ηλιου
And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Mark 16:9 first day of the week –
αναστας δε πρωι πρωτη σαββατου εφανη πρωτον μαρια τη μαγδαληνη αφ ης εκβεβληκει επτα δαιμονια
Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

Luke 4:16 Sabbath –
και ηλθεν εις την { ναζαρετ}{ ναζαρεθ} ου ην τεθραμμενος και εισηλθε κατα το ειωθος αυτω εν τη ημερα των σαββατων εις την συναγωγην και ανεστη αναγνωναι
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Luke 6:1 Sabbath –
εγενετο δε εν σαββατω δευτεροπρωτω διαπορευεσθαι αυτον δια των σποριμων και ετιλλον οι μαθηται αυτου τους σταχυας και ησθιον ψωχοντες ταις χερσι
And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

Luke 6:5 Sabbath –
και ελεγεν αυτοις οτι κυριος εστιν ο υιος του ανθρωπου και του σαββατου
And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Luke 6:6 Sabbath –
εγενετο δε και εν ετερω σαββατω εισελθειν αυτον εις την συναγωγην και διδασκειν και ην εκει ανθρωπος και η χειρ αυτου η δεξια ην ξηρα
And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

Luke 6:7 Sabbath –
παρετηρουν δε αυτον οι γραμματεις και οι φαρισαιοι ει εν τω σαββατω θεραπευσει ινα ευρωσι κατηγοριαν αυτου
And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

Luke 13:14 Sabbath – Sabbath –
αποκριθεις δε ο αρχισυναγωγος αγανακτων οτι τω σαββατω εθεραπευσεν ο ιησους ελεγε τω οχλω εξ ημεραι εισιν εν αις δει εργαζεσθαι εν ταυταις ουν ερχομενοι θεραπευεσθε και μη τη ημερα του σαββατου
And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

Luke 13:15 Sabbath –
απεκριθη ουν αυτω ο κυριος και ειπεν υποκριτα εκαστος υμων τω σαββατω ου λυει τον βουν αυτου η τον ονον απο της φατνης και απαγαγων ποτιζει;
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

Luke 13:16 Sabbath –
ταυτην δε θυγατερα αβρααμ ουσαν ην εδησεν ο σατανας ιδου δεκα και οκτω ετη ουκ εδει λυθηναι απο του δεσμου τουτου τη ημερα του σαββατου;
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Luke 14:1 Sabbath –
και εγενετο εν τω ελθειν αυτον εις οικον τινος των αρχοντων των φαρισαιων σαββατω φαγειν αρτον και αυτοι ησαν παρατηρουμενοι αυτον
And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.

Luke 14:3 Sabbath –
και αποκριθεις ο ιησους ειπε προς τους νομικους και φαρισαιους λεγων ει εξεστι τω σαββατω θεραπευειν;
And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?

Luke 14:5 Sabbath –
και αποκριθεις προς αυτους ειπε τινος υμων ονος η βους εις φρεαρ εμπεσειται και ουκ ευθεως ανασπασει αυτον εν τη ημερα του σαββατου;
And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

Luke 18:12 twice in the week –
νηστευω δις του σαββατου αποδεκατω παντα οσα κτωμαι
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

Luke 23:54 Sabbath –
και ημερα ην παρασκευη και σαββατον επεφωσκε
And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

Luke 23:56 Sabbath –
υποστρεψασαι δε ητοιμασαν αρωματα και μυρα και το μεν σαββατον ησυχασαν κατα την εντολην
And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Luke 24:1 first day of the week –
τη δε μια των σαββατων ορθρου βαθεος ηλθον επι το μνημα φερουσαι α ητοιμασαν αρωματα και τινες συν αυταις
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

John 5:9 Sabbath –
και ευθεως εγενετο υγιης ο ανθρωπος και ηρεν τον κραββατον αυτου και περιεπατει ην δε σαββατον εν εκεινη τη ημερα
And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

John 5:10 Sabbath
ελεγον ουν οι ιουδαιοι τω τεθεραπευμενω σαββατον εστιν ουκ εξεστι σοι αραι τον κραββατον 
The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

John 5:16 Sabbath –
και δια τουτο εδιωκον τον ιησουν οι ιουδαιοι και εζητουν αυτον αποκτειναι οτι ταυτα εποιει εν σαββατω
And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

John 5:18 Sabbath –
δια τουτο ουν μαλλον εζητουν αυτον οι ιουδαιοι αποκτειναι οτι ου μονον ελυε το σαββατον αλλα και πατερα ιδιον ελεγε τον θεον ισον εαυτον ποιων τω θεω
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

John 7:22 Sabbath –
δια τουτο μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν την περιτομην ( ουχ οτι εκ του μωσεως εστιν αλλ εκ των πατερων ) και εν σαββατω περιτεμνετε ανθρωπον
Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

John 7:23 Sabbath – Sabbath –
ει περιτομην λαμβανει ανθρωπος εν σαββατω ινα μη λυθη ο νομος μωσεως εμοι χολατε οτι ολον ανθρωπον υγιη εποιησα εν σαββατω;
If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

John 9:14 Sabbath –
ην δε σαββατον οτε τον πηλον εποιησεν ο ιησους και ανεωξεν αυτου τους οφθαλμους
And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

John 9:16 Sabbath –
ελεγον ουν εκ των φαρισαιων τινες ουτος ο ανθρωπος ουκ εστι παρα του θεου οτι το σαββατον ου τηρει αλλοι ελεγον πως δυναται ανθρωπος αμαρτωλος τοιαυτα σημεια ποιειν; και σχισμα ην εν αυτοις
Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

John 19:31 Sabbath – Sabbath –
οι ουν ιουδαιοι ( { επει παρασκευη ην} ινα μη μεινη επι του σταυρου τα σωματα εν τω σαββατω { επει παρασκευη ην} ην γαρ μεγαλη η ημερα εκεινου του σαββατου ) ηρωτησαν τον πιλατον ινα κατεαγωσιν αυτων τα σκελη και αρθωσιν
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

John 20:1 first day of the week –
τη δε μια των σαββατων μαρια η μαγδαληνη ερχεται πρωι σκοτιας ετι ουσης εις το μνημειον και βλεπει τον λιθον ηρμενον εκ του μνημειου
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

John 20:19 first day of the week –
ουσης ουν οψιας τη ημερα εκεινη τη μια των σαββατων και των θυρων κεκλεισμενων οπου ησαν οι μαθηται συνηγμενοι δια τον φοβον των ιουδαιων ηλθεν ο ιησους και εστη εις το μεσον και λεγει αυτοις ειρηνη υμιν
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Acts 1:12 Sabbath –
τοτε υπεστρεψαν εις ιερουσαλημ απο ορους του καλουμενου ελαιωνος ο εστιν εγγυς ιερουσαλημ σαββατου εχον οδον
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.

Acts 13:14 Sabbath –
αυτοι δε διελθοντες απο της περγης παρεγενοντο εις αντιοχειαν της πισιδιας και εισελθοντες εις την συναγωγην τη ημερα των σαββατων εκαθισαν
But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Acts 13:27 Sabbath –
οι γαρ κατοικουντες εν ιερουσαλημ και οι αρχοντες αυτων τουτον αγνοησαντες και τας φωνας των προφητων τας κατα παν σαββατον αναγινωσκομενας κριναντες επληρωσαν
For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Acts 13:42 Sabbath –
εξιοντων δε εκ της συναγωγης των ιουδαιων παρεκαλουν τα εθνη εις το μεταξυ σαββατον λαληθηναι αυτοις τα ρηματα ταυτα
And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

Acts 13:44 Sabbath –
τω δε ερχομενω σαββατω σχεδον πασα η πολις συνηχθη ακουσαι τον λογον του θεου
And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Acts 15:21 Sabbath –
μωσης γαρ εκ γενεων αρχαιων κατα πολιν τους κηρυσσοντας αυτον εχει εν ταις συναγωγαις κατα παν σαββατον αναγινωσκομενος
For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

Acts 16:13 Sabbath –
τη τε ημερα των σαββατων εξηλθομεν εξω της πολεως παρα ποταμον ου ενομιζετο προσευχη ειναι και καθισαντες ελαλουμεν ταις συνελθουσαις γυναιξι
And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

Acts 17:2 Sabbath –
κατα δε το ειωθος τω παυλω εισηλθε προς αυτους και επι σαββατα τρια διελεγετο αυτοις απο των γραφων
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Acts 18:4 Sabbath –
διελεγετο δε εν τη συναγωγη κατα παν σαββατον επειθε τε ιουδαιους και ελληνας
And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Acts 20:7 first day of the week –
εν δε τη μια των σαββατων συνηγμενων των μαθητων του κλασαι αρτον ο παυλος διελεγετο αυτοις μελλων εξιεναι τη επαυριον παρετεινε τε τον λογον μεχρι μεσονυκτιου
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

1Cor 16:2 first day of the week –
κατα μιαν σαββατων εκαστος υμων παρ εαυτω τιθετω θησαυριζων ο τι αν ευοδωται ινα μη οταν ελθω τοτε λογιαι γινωνται
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Col 2:16 Sabbath –
μη ουν τις υμας κρινετω εν βρωσει η εν ποσει η εν μερει εορτης η νουμηνιας η σαββατων
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Heb 4:9 rest –
αρα απολειπεται σαββατισμος τω λαω του θεου
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

So here we have all these verse and the only pattern to translating Sabbath to “first day of the week” is to separate the Christians from the Jews.

Note how Luke 6:1 makes more sense now that you know “first” of seven Sabbaths to be counted, that Jesus was in the corn field the Second Sabbath of seven! :)

 

 

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Sabbath vs. First Day of the Week

Posted on November 26, 2018 by abdicate

First, I need to be verbose because I want to show that I did not arrive at this conclusion lightly or quickly.

Years ago I read a book that claimed that from the commandment to rebuild the city of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25) to the birth of Israel was exactly this or that many days. I thought, “How on earth did they come up with that?” How little did I know the impact in my life that little inquiry made.

Ten years later(!) I wrote my chronology study. How many amazing gems are within the letters, words and pages of the word of God! While I was confident about the years, and the day Jesus died, no matter what I did, I could not rectify “three days and three nights” from Wednesday to Sunday, nor Friday to Sunday. We all rationalize away these discrepancies to our theology by amending our theology. But God is never changing and cannot lie, so where’s the problem. I resorted to all kinds of things like using Excel to equate a cell for each day, then slice it into two for “day” and “night.” I prayed and formulated, and I just couldn’t get it to work out. I attacked Google like a madman seeing if anyone else had the answer. Nothing. Another ten years goes by and *bloop* the answer appears. That still small voice that kept telling me to return to the originals got loud enough to get my attention. Oh, to have listened 20 years ago!

Knowing Spanish and Italian pretty good, I knew about the issues of translations. No matter how pure my heart is, I still interject my thoughts and beliefs into translations. It’s the sin in us that keeps us in the dark, 1 Corinthians 13:12. Since I learned Italian first, I then married a Spaniard and after 13 years, I got a job in Spain. Though we spoke English, I tried to get beyond “kitchen Spanish,” that is, day-to-day repetitive home conversations. The Spaniards would chuckle at me so I asked them why. They said I was mixing Italian in with my Spanish. I asked my wife why her and her family didn’t correct me. “We thought it was cute,” she said. The point is, there are issues with what we know and how we come to know it. This is what traditions do to us, Colossians 2:8.

With that said, I’ve been a KJVer most of my Christian life. It dawned on me that maybe the Christians who were translating the Greek and Hebrew might have inadvertently introduced some “Italian” into their “Spanish,” that is, their theology. So, I started down the path to learning these ancient languages that honestly don’t match word-for-word their modern cousins. I found out I don’t have to! Part of learning a language is understanding the culture. Since the biblical times and cultures are not present today to study, then I can make do with the plain English, dictionaries, lexicons and morphology tools (verb tenses, noun gender, etc.)

Hebrew is very creative and is thematic in nature, that is, a word-for-word translation isn’t really possible on the whole no more than me being concise. :) What I mean is that each letter has its own meaning and the combination of those letters form new meanings in words and links them to other words. Greek is more precise in its meaning much like we do in English. For example the word for word (דבר debar) is the same as the word thing in Hebrew and the female version of word is a bee Deborah. What does word, thing, and bee have in common? One of my favorite phrases, “Like an arrow, when a word is released, has its own power, and just as hard to take back.” God spoke everything into existence, so it make sense that word and thing are related. It also give proof to the strong conviction we call faith. So the spoken word is its own thing with its own power and by word of mouth, the Good News is spread like a bee. Each letter of דבר (debar) means: door, in, man. A door in a man is his mouth which speaks דברים debarim) words. Now you can begin to understand Jesus’ words:

Matthew 15:10-11
He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand. That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

Ok, enough history. Here’s what I found. Young’s literal translation says:

Matthew 28:1 (YLT)
And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre,

I thought, how can it be the evening of the sabbaths and yet be toward the first of the sabbaths? It doesn’t make sense – to me. Having read so much, I remembered a verse:

Leviticus 23:15
You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed:

Ok, so the day after the Sabbath after the sheaf offering. Well when is that? The day after the 15th of Nisan (the first day of Unleavened Bread), Leviticus 23:6, which is the day after Passover, Leviticus 23:5. The first and last days of Unleavened Bread are Sabbaths, that is:

Leviticus 23:7
In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.

So, verse 15 is talking about the day after the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, the next day is the sheaf offering, and then the counting of the seven weekly Sabbath to Pentecost. Now we can understand the literal translation of Matthew 28:1 as

In the evening after the sabbath, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulcher.

Let’s break it down. I’m using Thayer’s and Mickelson’s dictionary. Here’s what the first part of the verse look like in Greek:

οψε δε σαββατων τη επιφωσκουση εις μιαν σαββατων

οψε
– Transliteration: Opse
– Phonetic: op-seh’
– Definition:
1. after a long time, long after, late
a. late in the day, i.e. at evening
b. the sabbath having just passed, after the sabbath

δε
– Transliteration: De
– Phonetic: deh
– Definition:
1. but, moreover, and, etc.

σαββατων
– Transliteration: Sabbaton
– Phonetic: sab’-bat-on
– Definition:
1. the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work
a. the institution of the sabbath, the law for keeping holy every seventh day of the week
b. a single sabbath, sabbath day

τη
– Phonetic:
– Definition:
1. He who is, and was, and is coming

επιφωσκουση
– Transliteration: Epiphosko
– Phonetic: ep-ee-foce’-ko
– Definition:
1. to grow light, to dawn

εις
– Transliteration: Eis
– Phonetic: ice
– Definition:
1. into, unto, to, towards, for, among

μιαν
– Transliteration: Mia
– Phonetic: mee’-ah
– Definition:
1. only one, someone

σαββατων
– Transliteration: Sabbaton
– Phonetic: sab’-bat-on
– Definition:
1. the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work
a. the institution of the sabbath, the law for keeping holy every seventh day of the week
b. a single sabbath, sabbath day

Yes, I left off the definition “seven days, a week” because it’s a new addition (albeit from ~180 AD). Here’s the problem: σαββατων is the Greek word for Sabbath(s) and appears 62 times in the New Testament. In ALL cases, except when referring to the Resurrection, it’s translated “Sabbath” and “first [day] of the week” when pointing to the Resurrection with the one exception of Luke 18:12 which could be translated, “I fast twice on the Sabbath.” After all, there are multiple meals a day, so it’s plausible. The actual Greek word for week is εβδομάδα (evdomáda) and it does NOT appear in the word of God at all. The rabbis translated the Hebrew scriptures into Greek (called the Septuagint) and in Daniel 9:27 they use εβδομάδα (evdomáda) for week and not σαββατων (sabbaton) as an example.

So why is it that sabbaton is translated week today? There’s not real answer and can only be attributed to the Gentiles rejecting Jewish heritage after the apostles all died. Furthermore, never before 100 AD has Sabbaton meant week. The web site Torah Times (http://torahtimes.org/commentary/refuted.htm) states:

“They added the definition ‘week’ to the lexicons on the basis of their own tradition. However, there is no independent confirmation of this addition to the lexicons from ancient sources contemporary with the Apostles. There are no papyri or manuscripts showing this. There are no letters, no comments. There is nothing! The trail of their chain of ‘authority’ goes cold in the second century A.D. They cannot trace farther back than this time which was known to be an era of great apostasy and heresy.”

These issues continue in translations like in Act 12:4 is translated “Easter” when that word in Greek is found, the other 26 times is translated Passover! Why would this happen? Because the devil wants us to be divorced from the Jews! And the modern church swallowed it up! The book of James is actually the book of Jacob! Many substitutions for traditions.

So what impact does it make to move the Resurrection from Sunday to Saturday? None according to Paul:

Colossians 2:16-17
Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.

However, the truth is the truth and it’s there for some significance. So, I inquired of the Lord and His word. Think about what the Sabbath is. It was instituted by God for Himself to accentuate the completion of His creative work. The exclamation point if you will. He “ceased” from His work, not “rested.” But even that distinction is helpful because you stop what you’re doing and by de facto, rest. Since the last word spoken by Jesus on the cross τετελεσται is translated “It is finished” it is literally the stamp on your bill “paid in full.” After His preaching to the captives, rose from the dead on the Sabbath showing He ceased from His work of Redemption (Grrr! Buzzwords!) meaning “paying the ransom”, or “delivering” us from penalty (of sin). If each day of Creation represents one day of history, when Jesus comes again and rules for a day (1,000 years – six verses(!) in Rev 20 and 2 Peter 3:8 making seven!) then the world will have “rest” from the curse and the devil – a Sabbath. The whole 6,000 years idea comes from the very first verse. Here it is in Hebrew:

בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ

The six red letters are the letter alef, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Not only do each letter have its own meaning, it also has a number assigned to it. A=1, B=2, C=3, etc. something the Jews didn’t do until around 300 BC after the Greeks same method. What that decision did was unlock a whole lot of gems in the word of God. Anyhow, alef is the only letter with two numeric meanings: one, and thousand.

Every word in the word of God, or as Jesus put it, every “yod and tagin,” Matthew 5:18, of the word of God has a purpose. “Yod” is the 10th and smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet and represents the work of a man’s arm and hand, Psalms 98:1, and the “Tagin” are the crowns on the flowery version of the Hebrew letters, hasoferet.com/cbh/2012/04/01/tagin-the-crowns-on-the-letters-of-the-torah which the hand written version of the Hebrew scriptures holds many amazing mysteries that are lost in translation (even into computer type).

There you have it. There are so many wonderful things in the word of God. Just as complex is the universe and how simplistically beautiful it is, so is the word of God.

I hope you made it this far and enjoyed it. (Continue to Part II)

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