Hold Fast Apologetics

What Does Scripture Say?

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A former Speech and Language Pathologist for nearly 20 years, I began educating our 3 children full-time in 2015 and have cherished every gifted moment (even the challenges). But what is interwoven into all aspects of daily life (as a wife, via motherhood, teaching, friendship, fitness, etc.) is Christian Apologetics (1 Peter 3:15)… which is why this blog exists.
  • Matthew 28

    Matthew 28

     Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord[a] descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 His[b] appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The[c] guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. 5 But the angel said[d] to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know[e] that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.[f] 6 He is not here, for he has been raised,[g] just as he said. Come and see the place where he[h] was lying. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He[i] is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” 8 So[j] they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 But[k] Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They[l] came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

    The Guards’ Report

    11 While[m] they were going, some[n] of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After[o] they had assembled with the elders and formed a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole his body[p]while we were asleep.’ 14 If[q] this matter is heard before the governor,[r] we will satisfy him[s] and keep you out of trouble.”[t] 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day.[u]

    The Great Commission

    16 So[v] the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When[w]they saw him, they worshiped him,[x] but some doubted.[y] 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them,[z] “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go[aa] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,[ab] 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember,[ac] I am with you[ad] always, to the end of the age.”[ae]

    Footnotes

    1. Matthew 28:2 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.
    2. Matthew 28:3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    3. Matthew 28:4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    4. Matthew 28:5 tn Grk “But answering, the angel said.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
    5. Matthew 28:5 tn Grk “for I know.”
    6. Matthew 28:5 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
    7. Matthew 28:6 tn The verb here is passive (ἠγέρθη, ēgerthē). This “divine passive” (see ExSyn 437-38) points to the fact that Jesus was raised by God.
    8. Matthew 28:6 tc Expansions on the text, especially when the Lord is the subject, are a common scribal activity. In this instance, since the subject is embedded in the verb, three major variants have emerged to make the subject explicit: ὁ κύριος (ho kurios, “the Lord”; A C D L W Γ 0148 ƒ1,13 565 579 700 1241 M lat), τὸ σῶμα τοῦ κυρίου (to sōma tou kuriou, “the body of the Lord”; 1424), and ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (ho Iēsous, “Jesus”; Φ). The reading with no explicit subject, however, is superior on both internal and external grounds, being supported by א B Θ 33 892* co.
    9. Matthew 28:7 tn Grk “And behold he.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
    10. Matthew 28:8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s instructions to tell the disciples.
    11. Matthew 28:9 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί(kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate that the return of the women from the tomb was interrupted by this appearance of Jesus. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
    12. Matthew 28:9 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    13. Matthew 28:11 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    14. Matthew 28:11 tn Grk “behold, some of the guard.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
    15. Matthew 28:12 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
    16. Matthew 28:13 tn Grk “him.”
    17. Matthew 28:14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
    18. Matthew 28:14 tn Here ἐπί (epi) followed by the genitive = “before,” especially in the language of lawsuits (BDAG 363 s.v. 3).
    19. Matthew 28:14 tc ‡ αὐτόν (auton, “him”) is found after πείσομεν (peisomen, “we will satisfy”) in the majority of witnesses, though it seems to be motivated by a need for clarification and cannot therefore easily explain the rise of the shorter reading (which is found in א B Θ 33 pc). Nevertheless, English style requires the pronoun. NA28includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
    20. Matthew 28:14 tn Grk “and make you free from care” = “we will keep you out of trouble.”
    21. Matthew 28:15 tc ‡ The word ἡμέρας(hēmeras, “day”) is found after σήμερον(sēmeron, “today, this [day]”) in some early and significant witnesses (B D L Θ lat, as well as other versions and fathers), but may be added for emphasis (cf. Acts 20:26; 27:33; Rom 11:8; 2 Cor 3:14). But since the idiom with “day” is unquestionably found only in Paul’s speeches in Acts or his letters, intrinsic evidence is against the addition. The shorter reading (found in א A W 0148vid ƒ1,13 33 565 579 700 1241 1424 M) is thus preferred. NA28includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity. Whether authentic or not, the translation is not affected.
    22. Matthew 28:16 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ instructions in v. 10.
    23. Matthew 28:17 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
    24. Matthew 28:17 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
    25. Matthew 28:17 tn The Greek text reads here οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν (hoi de edistasan). Some scholars argue that the article is functioning like a personal pronoun, thus “they doubted” (e.g., D. A. Hagner, Matthew [WBC], 2:884). If so, then all the disciples would be in view. The translation of the text takes οἱ as an alternative pronoun which has a partitive notion (i.e., some of the disciples doubted, but not all). The difficulty with the personal pronoun view is that there are no examples of it in Matthew in which the same subject immediately precedes with its own verb (as would be the case in “they worshiped…they doubted”). Such, in fact, would be quite awkward, for the article would be unnecessary since the pronominal referent is already embedded in the verb. The only reason for the article here would be to distinguish the subject in some way; but if the same subject is in view, no distinction is being made.
    26. Matthew 28:18 tn Grk “coming, Jesus spoke to them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn, “saying”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί(kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
    27. Matthew 28:19 tn “Go…baptize…teach” are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” According to ExSyn 645 the first participle (πορευθέντες, poreuthentes, “Go”) fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle (aorist participle preceding aorist main verb, with the mood of the main verb usually imperative or indicative) and thus picks up the mood (imperative in this case) from the main verb (μαθητεύσατε, mathēteusate, “make disciples”). This means that semantically the action of “going” is commanded, just as “making disciples” is. As for the two participles that follow the main verb (βαπτίζοντες, baptizontes, “baptizing”; and διδάσκοντες, didaskontes, “teaching”), these do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles, since they are present participles and follow the aorist main verb. However, some interpreters do see them as carrying additional imperative force in context. Others regard them as means, manner, or even result.
    28. Matthew 28:19 tc Although some scholars have denied that the trinitarian baptismal formula in the Great Commission was a part of the autographic text of Matthew, there is no ms support for their contention. F. C. Conybeare, “The Eusebian Form of the Text of Mt. 28:19, ” ZNW 2 (1901): 275-88, based his view on a faulty reading of Eusebius’ quotations of this text. The shorter reading has also been accepted, on other grounds, by a few other scholars. For discussion (and refutation of the conjecture that removes this baptismal formula), see B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning (SBLDS 19), 163-64, 167-75; and Jane Schaberg, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (SBLDS 61), 27-29.
    29. Matthew 28:20 tn The Greek word ἰδού(idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).
    30. Matthew 28:20 sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.
    31. Matthew 28:20 tc Most mss (Ac Γ Δ Θ ƒ13 565 579 700 1241 1424 M it sy) have ἀμήν (amēn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ƒ1 33 al lat sa.
  • Psalm 95 and Colossians 1

    Psalm 95 and Colossians 1

    As you read the following two chapters, ask yourself the following question: “Am I challenging Jesus’s authority in my life, or am I resting in it?” When we acknowledge that only God is God, and that we are the sheep of His pasture, we sing a new song of praise! A praise that lifts His name above all others!

    Psalm 95

    Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
    Let us shout out praises to our Protector who delivers us.[b]
    2 Let us enter his presence[c] with thanksgiving.
    Let us shout out to him in celebration.[d]
    3 For the Lord is a great God,
    a great king who is superior to[e]all gods.
    4 The depths of the earth are in his hand,[f]
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
    5 The sea is his, for he made it.
    His hands formed the dry land.
    6 Come, let us bow down and worship.[g]
    Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.
    7 For he is our God;
    we are the people of his pasture,
    the sheep he owns.[h]
    Today, if only you would obey him.[i]
    8 He says,[j] “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah,[k]
    like they were that day at Massah[l] in the wilderness,[m]
    9 where your ancestors challenged my authority,[n]
    and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
    10 For forty years I was continually disgusted[o] with that generation,
    and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray;[p]
    they do not obey my commands.’[q]
    11 So I made a vow in my anger,
    ‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”[r]

    Footnotes

    1. Psalm 95:1 sn Psalm 95. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God as the creator of the world and the nation’s protector, but he also reminds the people not to rebel against God.
    2. Psalm 95:1 tn Heb “to the rocky summit of our deliverance.”
    3. Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “meet his face.”
    4. Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “with songs of joy.”
    5. Psalm 95:3 tn Heb “above.”
    6. Psalm 95:4 tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.
    7. Psalm 95:6 tn Heb “kneel down.”
    8. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “of his hand.”
    9. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (ʾim, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
    10. Psalm 95:8 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the following words are spoken by the Lord (see vv. 9-11).
    11. Psalm 95:8 sn The name Meribahmeans “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13, see also Pss 81:7; 106:32). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
    12. Psalm 95:8 sn The name Massahmeans “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see Exod 17:1-7, as well as Deut 6:16; 9:22; 33:8).
    13. Psalm 95:8 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
    14. Psalm 95:9 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
    15. Psalm 95:10 tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite or an imperfect. If the latter, it emphasizes the ongoing nature of the condition in the past. The translation reflects this interpretation of the verbal form.
    16. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”
    17. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “and they do not know my ways.” In this context the Lord’s “ways” are his commands, viewed as a pathway from which his people, likened to wayward sheep (see v. 7), wander.
    18. Psalm 95:11 tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).

    Colossians 1

    Colossians 1New English Translation

    Salutation

    1 From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the saints, the faithful[b]brothers and sisters[c] in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you[d] from God our Father![e]

    Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

    3 We always[f] give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since[g] we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 5 Your faith and love have arisen[h] from the hope laid up[i] for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel[j] 6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel[k] is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing[l] among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 7 You learned the gospel[m]from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave[n]—a[o] faithful minister of Christ on our[p]behalf— 8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

    Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

    9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you,[q] have not ceased praying for you and asking God[r] to fill[s]you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may live[t] worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects[u]—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of[v] all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share[w] in the saints’[x]inheritance in the light. 13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves,[y] 14 in whom we have redemption,[z] the forgiveness of sins.

    The Supremacy of Christ

    15 [aa] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn[ab]over all creation,[ac]
    16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions,[ad] whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.
    17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together[ae] in him.
    18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn[af] from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.[ag]
    19 For God[ah] was pleased to have all his[ai] fullness dwell[aj] in the Son[ak]
    20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him,[al] whether things on earth or things in heaven.

    Paul’s Goal in Ministry

    21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your[am] minds[an] as expressed through[ao] your evil deeds, 22 but now he has reconciled you[ap] by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him— 23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm,[aq] without shifting[ar] from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

    24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship[as] from God—given to me for you—in order to complete[at] the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious[au] riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim him by instructing[av] and teaching[aw] all people[ax] with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature[ay] in Christ. 29 Toward this goal[az] I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully[ba] works in me.

    Footnotes

    1. Colossians 1:1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
    2. Colossians 1:2 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
    3. Colossians 1:2 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
    4. Colossians 1:2 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
    5. Colossians 1:2 tc Most witnesses, including some significant ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 2464 M it bo Hier), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa Ambst) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.
    6. Colossians 1:3 tn The adverb πάντοτε(pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν(eucharistoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri humōn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι(proseuchomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).
    7. Colossians 1:4 tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousantes) is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).
    8. Colossians 1:5 tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.
    9. Colossians 1:5 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην(apokeimenēn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
    10. Colossians 1:5 tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tō logō tēs alētheias) as indicated in the translation.
    11. Colossians 1:6 tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
    12. Colossians 1:6 tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.
    13. Colossians 1:7 tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
    14. Colossians 1:7 tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος(sundoulos); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households.
    15. Colossians 1:7 tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, hos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, ho dēlōsas).
    16. Colossians 1:7 tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (hēmōn, “us”; P46 א* A B D* F G 326* 1505) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (humōn, “you”; found in א2 C D1 Ψ 075 33 1175 17391881 2464 M lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as the initial reading. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε(emathete) and is explicit in v. 8(ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (huper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (since the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.
    17. Colossians 1:9 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
    18. Colossians 1:9 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
    19. Colossians 1:9 tn The ἵνα (hina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.
    20. Colossians 1:10 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripatēsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseuchomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
    21. Colossians 1:10 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν(areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”
    22. Colossians 1:11 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.
    23. Colossians 1:12 tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.
    24. Colossians 1:12 tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (tōn hagiōn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”
    25. Colossians 1:13 tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).
    26. Colossians 1:14 tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματοςαὐτοῦ (dia tou haimatos autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss(614 630 1505 2464) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Mlatt co as well as several other versions and fathers. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.
    27. Colossians 1:15 sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum(i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
    28. Colossians 1:15 tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).
    29. Colossians 1:15 tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pasēs ktiseōs) is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.
    30. Colossians 1:16 tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.
    31. Colossians 1:17 tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.
    32. Colossians 1:18 tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.
    33. Colossians 1:18 tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”
    34. Colossians 1:19 tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the similar phrase “all the fullness of deity” in 2:9 lends credence to God as the subject of εὐδόκησεν(eudokēsen).
    35. Colossians 1:19 tn The Greek article τό(to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.
    36. Colossians 1:19 tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikēsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
    37. Colossians 1:19 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
    38. Colossians 1:20 tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464al latt sa), but equally significant witnesses have it (P46 א A C D1 Ψ048vid 33 M al sy bo). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. The phrase, however, has stronger evidence geographically. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as autographic. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In sum, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original, though a decision is not easy. The NA28 prints the prepositional phrase in brackets indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
    39. Colossians 1:21 tn The article τῇ (tē) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
    40. Colossians 1:21 tn Although διανοία(dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς(echthrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
    41. Colossians 1:21 tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en tois ergois tois ponērois) is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.
    42. Colossians 1:22 tc Some of the better representatives of the Alexandrian and Western groups have a passive verb here instead of the active ἀποκατήλλαξεν (apokatēllaxen, “he has reconciled”): ἀποκατηλλάγητε(apokatēllagēte) in P46 B, ἀποκατήλλακται [sic] (apokatēllaktai) in 33, and ἀποκαταλλαγέντες(apokatallagentes) in D* F G. Yet the active verb is strongly supported by אA C D2 Ψ 048 075 0278 1175 1505 1739 1881 2464 M al lat sy. Internally, the passive creates an anacoluthon in that it looks back to the accusativeὑμᾶς (humas, “you”) of v. 21 and leaves the following παραστῆσαι(parastēsai) dangling (“you were reconciled…to present you”). The passive reading is certainly the harder reading. As such, it may well explain the rise of the others. At the same time, it is possible that the passive was produced by scribes who wanted some symmetry between the ποτε(pote, “at one time”) of v. 21 and the νυνὶ δέ (nuni de, “but now”) of v. 22: Since a passive periphrastic participle is used in v. 21, there may have been a temptation to produce a corresponding passive form in v. 22, so that the ὑμᾶς of v. 21 functioned as subject by way of constructio ad sensum. Since παραστῆσαι occurs ten words later, it may not have been considered in this scribal modification. Further, the Western reading (ἀποκαταλλαγέντες) hardly seems to have arisen from ἀποκατηλλάγητε(contra TCGNT 555). As difficult as this decision is, the preferred reading is the active form because it is superior externally and seems to explain the rise of all forms of the passive readings.tn The direct object is omitted in the Greek text, but it is clear from context that “you” (ὑμᾶς, humas) is implied.
    43. Colossians 1:23 tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”
    44. Colossians 1:23 tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.
    45. Colossians 1:25 tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”
    46. Colossians 1:25 tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.
    47. Colossians 1:27 tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (tēs doxēs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”
    48. Colossians 1:28 tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέωstates, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες(nouthetountes, “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anthrōpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες(didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.
    49. Colossians 1:28 tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouthetountes) and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskontes) are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).
    50. Colossians 1:28 tn Here ἄνθρωπον(anthrōpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.
    51. Colossians 1:28 tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.
    52. Colossians 1:29 tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis ho, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”
    53. Colossians 1:29 tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”
  • Jesus Outside of the Bible?

    Jesus Outside of the Bible?

    Ladies, did you know that Jesus was mentioned outside of the Bible by Greco-Roman, Syrian, and Jewish (Non-Christian, possibly “hostile”) sources? It’s true!

    Per Dr. Gary Habermas, scholars agree that there are 130 sources, both Christian and non-Christian, referencing Jesus outside of the New Testament. These sources are only within 100-150 years of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. That is incredibly early for that period of time! Please take time to both watch these videos as well as to read the article below by J Warner Wallace.

    Image: “Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith”
    4 minutes with Dr. Gary Habermas
    44 minutes with Mikel Del Rosario
    60 minutes with J. Warner Wallace

    “Is There Any Evidence for Jesus Outside the Bible?” by J Warner Wallace

    coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible

    J. Warner Wallace

    By J. Warner Wallace

    October 30, 2017

    The reliable Gospel eyewitness accounts aren’t the only ancient description of Jesus. There are also non-Christian descriptions of Jesus from the late 1stto 5th Century. What do the non-Biblical accounts say about Jesus and how are we to assess them? It’s been my experience that two people can examine the same event (or even the same historical character) and disagree about what they have seen. Many years ago President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, and the entire event was captured on video tape. There were hundreds of eyewitnesses. The tapes were watched over and over again. Yet, in the midst of such a robust eyewitness record, people still argue to this day about what they saw and what actually happened. Was it a lone shooter or an elaborate conspiracy? Something very similar occurred when the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists. Most of us either saw the attack live on television or watched the video for months afterward. But the event is still interpreted in a variety of ways. Was this the act of international terrorists or an elaborate governmental conspiracy? Two well documented historical events with a rich set of evidences. In spite of this, both events have been interpreted in a variety of ways. It shouldn’t surprise us then to find the historical records of Jesus Christ might also experience the same type of scrutiny and diverse interpretation. Did Jesus truly live, minister, died and rise from the grave as the Gospels record or was it an elaborate conspiracy? One thing we know about the Kennedy assassination and the World Trade Center attack: regardless of interpretation, there were eyewitnesses to the events, and the events didtruly occur. In a similar manner, the ancient evidence related to Jesus reveals there wereeyewitnesses and He did exist in history. Is there any evidence for Jesus outside the Bible? Yes, and the ancient non-Christian interpretations (and critical commentaries) of the Gospel accounts serve to strengthen the core claims of the New Testament.

    Hostile Non-Biblical Pagan Accounts
    There are a number of ancient classical accounts of Jesus from pagan, non-Christian sources. These accounts are generally hostile to Christianity; some ancient authors denied the miraculous nature of Jesus and the events surrounding His life:

    Thallus (52AD)
    Thallus is perhaps the earliest secular writer to mention Jesus and he is so ancient his writings don’t even exist anymore. But Julius Africanus, writing around 221AD does quote Thallus who previously tried to explain away the darkness occurring at Jesus’ crucifixion:

    “On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.” (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18:1)

    If only more of Thallus’ record could be found, we might find more confirmation of Jesus’ crucifixion. But there are some things we can conclude from this account: Jesus lived, He was crucified, and there was an earthquake and darkness at the point of His crucifixion.

    Tacitus (56-120AD)
    Cornelius Tacitus was known for his analysis and examination of historical documents and is among the most trusted of ancient historians. He was a senator under Emperor Vespasian and was also proconsul of Asia. In his “Annals’ of 116AD, he describes Emperor Nero’s response to the great fire in Rome and Nero’s claim that the Christians were to blame:

    “Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.”

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    In this account, Tacitus confirms several historical elements of the Biblical narrative: Jesus lived in Judea, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and had followers who were persecuted for their faith in Christ.

    Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD)
    Sometime after 70AD, a Syrian philosopher named Mara Bar-Serapion, writing to encourage his son, compared the life and persecution of Jesus with that of other philosophers who were persecuted for their ideas. The fact Jesus is known to be a real person with this kind of influence is important. Mara Bar-Serapion refers to Jesus as the “Wise King”:

    “What benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as judgment for their crime. Or, the people of Samos for burning Pythagoras? In one moment their country was covered with sand. Or the Jews by murdering their wise king?…After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men…The wise king…Lived on in the teachings he enacted.”

    From this account, we can add to our understanding of Jesus: He was a wise and influential man who died for His beliefs. The Jewish leadership was somehow responsible for Jesus’ death. Jesus’ followers adopted His beliefs and lived their lives accordingly.

    Phlegon (80-140AD)
    In a manner similar to Thallus, Julius Africanus also mentions a historian named Phlegon who wrote a chronicle of history around 140AD. In this history, Phlegon also mentions the darkness surrounding the crucifixion in an effort to explain it:

    “Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth to the ninth hour.” (Africanus, Chronography, 18:1)

    Phlegon is also mentioned by Origen (an early church theologian and scholar, born in Alexandria):

    “Now Phlegon, in the thirteenth or fourteenth book, I think, of his Chronicles, not only ascribed to Jesus a knowledge of future events . . . but also testified that the result corresponded to His predictions.” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 14)

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    “And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place … ” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 33)

    “Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but that he arose after death, and exhibited the marks of his punishment, and showed how his hands had been pierced by nails.” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 59)

    From these accounts, we can add something to our understanding: Jesus had the ability to accurately predict the future, was crucified under the reign of Tiberius Caesar and demonstrated His wounds after he was resurrected.

    Pliny the Younger (61-113AD)
    Early Christians were also described in early, non-Christian history. Pliny the Younger, in a letter to the Roman emperor Trajan, describes the lifestyles of early Christians:

    “They (the Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food—but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.”

    This early description of the first Christians documents several facts: the first Christians believed Jesus was GOD, the first Christians upheld a high moral code, and these early followers met regularly to worship Jesus.

    Suetonius (69-140AD)
    Suetonius was a Roman historian and annalist of the Imperial House under the Emperor Hadrian. His writings about Christians describe their treatment under the Emperor Claudius (41-54AD):

    “Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (Christ), he (Claudius) expelled them from the city (Rome).” (Life of Claudius, 25:4)

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    This expulsion took place in 49AD, and in another work, Suetonius wrote about the fire which destroyed Rome in 64 A.D. under the reign of Nero. Nero blamed the Christians for this fire and he punished Christians severely as a result:

    “Nero inflicted punishment on the Christians, a sect given to a new and mischievous religious belief.” (Lives of the Caesars, 26.2)

    There is much we can learn from Suetonius as it is related to the life of early Christians. From this account, we know Jesus had an immediate impact on His followers: They were committed to their belief Jesus was God and withstood the torment and punishment of the Roman Empire. Jesus had a curious and immediate impact on His followers, empowering them to die courageously for what they knew to be true.

    Lucian of Samosata: (115-200 A.D.)
    Lucian was a Greek satirist who spoke sarcastically of Christ and Christians, but in the process, he did affirm they were real people and never referred to them as fictional characters:

    “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account….You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property.” (Lucian, The Death of Peregrine. 11-13)

    From this account we can add to our description of Jesus: He taught about repentance and about the family of God. These teachings were quickly adopted by Jesus’ followers and exhibited to the world around them.

    Celsus (175AD)
    This is the last hostile, non-Christian account we will examine (although there are many other later accounts in history). Celsus was quite antagonistic to the claims of the Gospels, but in his criticism he unknowingly affirmed and reinforced the Biblical authors and their content. His writing is extensive and he alludes to 80 different Biblical quotes, confirming their early appearance in history. In addition, he admits the miracles of Jesus were generally believed in the early 2nd century:

    “Jesus had come from a village in Judea, and was the son of a poor Jewess who gained her living by the work of her own hands. His mother had been turned out of doors by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, on being convicted of adultery [with a soldier named Panthéra (i.32)]. Being thus driven away by her husband, and wandering about in disgrace, she gave birth to Jesus, a bastard. Jesus, on account of his poverty, was hired out to go to Egypt. While there he acquired certain (magical) powers which Egyptians pride themselves on possessing. He returned home highly elated at possessing these powers, and on the strength of them gave himself out to be a god.”

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    Celsus admits Jesus was reportedly born of a virgin, but then argues this could supernatural account could not be possible and offers the idea Jesus was the illegitimate son of a man named Panthera (an idea borrowed from Jews who opposed Jesus at the time). But in writing this account, Celsus does confirm several important claims: Jesus had an earthly father who was a carpenter, possessed unusual magical powers and claimed to be God.

    Hostile Non-Biblical Jewish Accounts
    In addition to classical pagan sources chronicling the life of Jesus and His followers, there are also a number of ancient hostile Jewish sources describing Jesus. These are written by Jewish theologians, historians and leaders who were definitely notsympathetic to the Christian cause. Their writings are often very harsh, critical and even demeaning to Jesus. But there is still much these writings confirm:

    Josephus (37-101AD)
    In more detail than any other non-biblical historian, Josephus writes about Jesus in his “the Antiquities of the Jews” in 93AD. Josephus was born just four years after the crucifixion. He was a consultant for Jewish rabbis at an early age, became a Galilean military commander by the age of sixteen, and he was an eyewitness to much of what he recorded in the first century A.D. Under the rule of Roman emperor Vespasian, Josephus was allowed to write a history of the Jews. This history includes three passages about Christians, one in which he describes the death of John the Baptist, one in which he mentions the execution of James (and describes him as the brother of Jesus the Christ), and a final passage which describes Jesus as a wise man and the messiah. There is much legitimate controversy about the writing of Josephus, because the first discoveries of his writings are late enough to have been re-written by Christians who were accused of making additions to the text. So to be fair, we’ll examine a scholarly reconstruction stripped of Christian embellishment:

    “Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him accused by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians named after him has not disappeared” (This neutral reconstruction follows closely the one proposed by John Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus: The Roots of the Problem and the Person).

    Now there are many other ancient versions of Josephus’ writing which are even more explicit about the nature of Jesus’ miracles, life and his status as the Christ, but let’s take this conservative version and see what we can learn. From this text, we can conclude: Jesus lived in Palestine, was a wise man and a teacher, worked amazing deeds, was accused by the Jews, crucified under Pilate and had followers called Christians.

    Jewish Talmud (400-700AD)
    While the earliest Talmudic writings of Jewish Rabbis appear in the 5th century, the tradition of these Rabbinic authors indicates they are faithfully transmitting teachings from the early “Tannaitic” period of the 1st Century BC to the 2nd Century AD. Scholars believe there are a number of Talmudic writings referring to Jesus, and many of these writings are said to use code words to describe Jesus (such as “Balaam” or “Ben Stada” or “a certain one”). But for our purposes we’ll be very conservative and limit our examination to the passages referring to Jesus in a more direct way:

    “Jesus practiced magic and led Israel astray” (b. Sanhedrin 43a; cf. t. Shabbat 11.15; b. Shabbat 104b)

    “Rabbi Hisda (d. 309) said that Rabbi Jeremiah bar Abba said, ‘What is that which is written, ‘No evil will befall you, nor shall any plague come near your house’? (Psalm 91:10)… ‘No evil will befall you’ (means) that evil dreams and evil thoughts will not tempt you; ‘nor shall any plague come near your house’ (means) that you will not have a son or a disciple who burns his food like Jesus of Nazareth.” (b. Sanhedrin 103a; cf. b. Berakhot 17b)

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    “Our rabbis have taught that Jesus had five disciples: Matthai, Nakai, Nezer, Buni and Todah. They brought Matthai to (to trial). He said, ‘Must Matthai be killed? For it is written, ‘When (mathai) shall I come and appear before God?’” (Psalm 92:2) They said to him, “Yes Matthai must be killed, for it is written, ‘When (mathai) he dies his name will perish’” (Psalm 41:5). They brought Nakai. He said to them, “Must Nakai be killed? For it is written, “The innocent (naqi) and the righteous will not slay’” (Exodus 23:7). They said to him, “Yes, Nakai must be kille, for it is written, ‘In secret places he slays the innocent (naqi)’” (Psalm 10:8). (b. Sanhedrin 43a; the passage continues in a similar way for Nezer, Buni and Todah)

    And this, perhaps the most famous of Talmudic passages about Jesus:

    “It was taught: On the day before the Passover they hanged Jesus. A herald went before him for forty days (proclaiming), “He will be stoned, because he practiced magic and enticed Israel to go astray. Let anyone who knows anything in his favor come forward and plead for him.” But nothing was found in his favor, and they hanged him on the day before the Passover. (b. Sanhedrin 43a)

    From just these passages mentioning Jesus by name, we can conclude the following: Jesus had magical powers, led the Jews away from their beliefs, had disciples who were martyred for their faith (one of whom was named Matthai), and was executed on the day before the Passover.

    The Toledot Yeshu (1000AD)
    The Toledot Yeshu is a medieval Jewish retelling of the life of Jesus. It is completely anti-Christian, to be sure. There are many versions of these ‘retellings’, and as part of the transmitted oral and written tradition of the Jews, we can presume their original place in antiquity, dating back to the time of Jesus’ first appearance as an influential leader who was drawing Jews away from their faith in the Law. The Toledot Yeshu contains a determined effort to explain away the miracles of Jesus and to deny the virgin birth. In some places, the text is quite vicious, but it does confirm many elements of the New Testament writings. Let’s take a look at a portion of the text (Jesus is called ‘Yehoshua’):

    “In the year 3671 (in Jewish reckonging, it being ca 90 B.C.) in the days of King Jannaeus, a great misfortune befell Israel, when there arose a certain disreputable man of the tribe of Judah, whose name was Joseph Pandera. He lived at Bethlehem, in Judah. Near his house dwelt a widow and her lovely and chaste daughter named Miriam. Miriam was betrothed to Yohanan, of the royal house of David, a man learned in the Torah and God-fearing. At the close of a certain Sabbath, Joseph Pandera, attractive and like a warrior in appearance, having gazed lustfully upon Miriam, knocked upon the door of her room and betrayed her by pretending that he was her betrothed husband, Yohanan. Even so, she was amazed at this improper conduct and submitted only against her will. Thereafter, when Yohanan came to her, Miriam expressed astonishment at behavior so foreign to his character. It was thus that they both came to know the crime of Joseph Pandera and the terrible mistake on the part of Miriam… Miriam gave birth to a son and named him Yehoshua, after her brother. This name later deteriorated to Yeshu (“Yeshu” is the Jewish “name” for Jesus. It means “May His Name Be Blotted Out”). On the eighth day he was circumcised. When he was old enough the lad was taken by Miriam to the house of study to be instructed in the Jewish tradition. One day Yeshu walked in front of the Sages with his head uncovered, showing shameful disrespect. At this, the discussion arose as to whether this behavior did not truly indicate that Yeshu was an illegitimate child and the son of a niddah. Moreover, the story tells that while the rabbis were discussing the Tractate Nezikin, he gave his own impudent interpretation of the law and in an ensuing debate he held that Moses could not be the greatest of the prophets if he had to receive counsel from Jethro. This led to further inquiry as to the antecedents of Yeshu, and it was discovered through Rabban Shimeon ben Shetah that he was the illegitimate son of Joseph Pandera. Miriam admitted it. After this became known, it was necessary for Yeshu to flee to Upper Galilee. After King Jannaeus, his wife Helene ruled over all Israel. In the Temple was to be found the Foundation Stone on which were engraven the letters of God’s Ineffable Name. Whoever learned the secret of the Name and its use would be able to do whatever he wished. Therefore, the Sages took measures so that no one should gain this knowledge. Lions of brass were bound to two iron pillars at the gate of the place of burnt offerings. Should anyone enter and learn the Name, when he left the lions would roar at him and immediately the valuable secret would be forgotten. Yeshu came and learned the letters of the Name; he wrote them upon the parchment which he placed in an open cut on his thigh and then drew the flesh over the parchment. As he left, the lions roared and he forgot the secret. But when he came to his house he reopened the cut in his flesh with a knife an lifted out the writing. Then he remembered and obtained the use of the letters. He gathered about himself three hundred and ten young men of Israel and accused those who spoke ill of his birth of being people who desired greatness and power for themselves. Yeshu proclaimed, “I am the Messiah; and concerning me Isaiah prophesied and said, ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’” He quoted other messianic texts, insisting, “David my ancestor prophesied concerning me: ‘The Lord said to me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.’” The insurgents with him replied that if Yeshu was the Messiah he should give them a convincing sign. They therefore, brought to him a lame man, who had never walked. Yeshu spoke over the man the letters of the Ineffable Name, and the leper was healed. Thereupon, they worshipped him as the Messiah, Son of the Highest. When word of these happenings came to Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin decided to bring about the capture of Yeshu. They sent messengers, Annanui and Ahaziah, who, pretending to be his disciples, said that they brought him an invitation from the leaders of Jerusalem to visit them. Yeshu consented on condition the members of the Sanhedrin receive him as a lord. He started out toward Jerusalem and, arriving at Knob, acquired an ass on which he rode into Jerusalem, as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah. The Sages bound him and led him before Queen Helene, with the accusation: “This man is a sorcerer and entices everyone.” Yeshu replied, “The prophets long ago prophesied my coming: ‘And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,’ and I am he; but as for them, Scripture says ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.’” Queen Helene asked the Sages: “What he says, is it in your Torah?” They replied: “It is in our Torah, but it is not applicable to him, for it is in Scripture: ‘And that prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.’ He has not fulfilled the signs and conditions of the Messiah.” Yeshu spoke up: “Madam, I am the Messiah and I revive the dead.” A dead body was brought in; he pronounced the letters of the Ineffable Name and the corpse came to life. The Queen was greatly moved and said: “This is a true sign.” She reprimanded the Sages and sent them humiliated from her presence. Yeshu’s dissident followers increased and there was controversy in Israel. Yeshu went to Upper Galilee. the Sages came before the Queen, complaining that Yeshu practiced sorcery and was leading everyone astray. Therefore she sent Annanui and Ahaziah to fetch him. The found him in Upper Galilee, proclaiming himself the Son of God. When they tried to take him there was a struggle, but Yeshu said to the men of Upper Galilee: “Wage no battle.” He would prove himself by the power which came to him from his Father in heaven. He spoke the Ineffable Name over the birds of clay and they flew into the air. He spoke the same letters over a millstone that had been placed upon the waters. He sat in it and it floated like a boat. When they saw this the people marveled. At the behest of Yeshu, the emissaries departed and reported these wonders to the Queen. She trembled with astonishment. Then the Sages selected a man named Judah Iskarioto and brought him to the Sanctuary where he learned the letters of the Ineffable Name as Yeshu had done. When Yeshu was summoned before the queen, this time there were present also the Sages and Judah Iskarioto. Yeshu said: “It is spoken of me, ‘I will ascend into heaven.’” He lifted his arms like the wings of an eagle and he flew between heaven and earth, to the amazement of everyone…Yeshu was seized. His head was covered with a garment and he was smitten with pomegranate staves; but he could do nothing, for he no longer had the Ineffable Name. Yeshu was taken prisoner to the synagogue of Tiberias, and they bound him to a pillar. To allay his thirst they gave him vinegar to drink. On his head they set a crown of thorns. There was strife and wrangling between the elders and the unrestrained followers of Yeshu, as a result of which the followers escaped with Yeshu to the region of Antioch; there Yeshu remained until the eve of the Passover. Yeshu then resolved to go the Temple to acquire again the secret of the Name. That year the Passover came on a Sabbath day. On the eve of the Passover, Yeshu, accompanied by his disciples, came to Jerusalem riding upon an ass. Many bowed down before him. He entered the Temple with his three hundred and ten followers. One of them, Judah Iskarioto apprised the Sages that Yeshu was to be found in the Temple, that the disciples had taken a vow by the Ten Commandments not to reveal his identity but that he would point him out by bowing to him. So it was done and Yeshu was seized. Asked his name, he replied to the question by several times giving the names Mattai, Nakki, Buni, Netzer, each time with a verse quoted by him and a counter-verse by the Sages. Yeshu was put to death on the sixth hour on the eve of the Passover and of the Sabbath. When they tried to hang him on a tree it broke, for when he had possessed the power he had pronounced by the Ineffable Name that no tree should hold him. He had failed to pronounce the prohibition over the carob-stalk, for it was a plant more than a tree, and on it he was hanged until the hour for afternoon prayer, for it is written in Scripture, “His body shall not remain all night upon the tree.” They buried him outside the city. On the first day of the week his bold followers came to Queen Helene with the report that he who was slain was truly the Messiah and that he was not in his grave; he had ascended to heaven as he prophesied. Diligent search was made and he was not found in the grave where he had been buried. A gardener had taken him from the grave and had brought him into his garden and buried him in the sand over which the waters flowed into the garden. Queen Helene demanded, on threat of a severe penalty, that the body of Yeshu be shown to her within a period of three days. There was a great distress. When the keeper of the garden saw Rabbi Tanhuma walking in the field and lamenting over the ultimatum of the Queen, the gardener related what he had done, in order that Yeshu’s followers should not steal the body and then claim that he had ascended into heaven. The Sages removed the body, tied it to the tail of a horse and transported it to the Queen, with the words, “This is Yeshu who is said to have ascended to heaven.” Realizing that Yeshu was a false prophet who enticed the people and led them astray, she mocked the followers but praised the Sages.

    Now in spite of the fact that the ancient Jews who wrote this did their best to argue for another interpretation of the life of Christ, they did make several claims here about Jesus. This passage, along with several others from the Toledot tradition, confirm: Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, healed the lame, said Isaiah foretold of His life, was worshipped as God, arrested by the Jews, beaten with rods, given vinegar to drink, wore a crown of thorns, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, was betrayed by a man named Judah Iskarioto, and had followers who claimed He was resurrected and ascended, leaving an empty tomb. Many elements of the Biblical record are confirmed by these hostile accounts, in spite of the fact they deny the supernatural power of Jesus. Click To Tweet

    Let’s review what we’ve learned from hostile pagan and Jewish sources describing Jesus. We’ll do our best to discount the anti-Christian bias we see in the sources, just as we discounted the pro-Christian bias we think might exist in some versions of the writing of Josephus. Many elements of the Biblical record are confirmed by these hostile accounts, in spite of the fact they deny the supernatural power of Jesus:

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    Jesus was born and lived in Palestine. He was born, supposedly, to a virgin and had an earthly father who was a carpenter. He was a teacher who taught that through repentance and belief, all followers would become brothers and sisters. He led the Jews away from their beliefs. He was a wise man who claimed to be God and the Messiah. He had unusual magical powers and performed miraculous deeds. He healed the lame. He accurately predicted the future. He was persecuted by the Jews for what He said, betrayed by Judah Iskarioto. He was beaten with rods, forced to drink vinegar and wear a crown of thorns. He was crucified on the eve of the Passover and this crucifixion occurred under the direction of Pontius Pilate, during the time of Tiberius. On the day of His crucifixion, the sky grew dark and there was an earthquake. Afterward, He was buried in a tomb and the tomb was later found to be empty. He appeared to His disciples resurrected from the grave and showed them His wounds. These disciples then told others Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven. Jesus’ disciples and followers upheld a high moral code. One of them was named Matthai. The disciples were also persecuted for their faith but were martyred without changing their claims. They met regularly to worship Jesus, even after His death.

    Not bad, given this information is coming from ancient accounts hostile to the Biblical record. While these non-Christian sources interpret the claims of Christianity differently, they affirm the initial, evidential claims of the Biblical authors (much like those who interpret the evidence related to Kennedy’s assassination and the Twin Tower attacks come to different conclusions but affirm the basic facts of the historical events). Is there any evidence for Jesus outside the Bible? Yes, and the ancient non-Christian interpretations (and critical commentaries) of the Gospel accounts serve to strengthen the core claims of the New Testament. For more on this, please refer to Forensic Faith:

    Image from Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith

    For more information about the reliability of the New Testament gospels and the case for Christianity, please read Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. This book teaches readers ten principles of cold-case investigations and applies these strategies to investigate the claims of the gospel authors. The book is accompanied by an eight-session Cold-Case Christianity DVD Set (and Participant’s Guide

  • 1 Thessalonians 5

    1 Thessalonians 5

    1 Thessalonians 5:18

    Inspired by God, the first letter to the Thessalonians was written by Paul (possibly alongside Timothy and Silas) on or around A.D. 50. Per Dr. Gary Habermas, New Testament scholars are now attesting that 1 Thessalonians could be the earliest New Testament Epistle. The video below shows Dr. Gary Habermas explaining the importance of the Creeds in dating the books of the New Testament! Please set-apart time to watch/listen!

    45 minutes of teaching by Gary Habermas on the Creeds of the early church (Paul, Peter, etc).

    ✏️Matthew Henry’s Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 5

    1 Thessalonians 5

    The Day of the Lord

    Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers,[a] you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children[b] of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

    Final Instructions and Benediction

    12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[c] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

    23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

    25 Brothers, pray for us.

    26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

    27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

    28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

  • 1 Peter 4

    1 Peter 4

    4 So, since Christ suffered[a] in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin,[b] 2 in that he spends the rest of his time[c] on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires. 3 For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the non-Christians[d] desire.[e] You lived then[f] in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts,[g] and wanton idolatries.[h] 4 So[i] they are astonished[j] when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you.[k] 5 They will face a reckoning before[l] Jesus Christ[m] who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 Now it was for this very purpose[n] that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead,[o] so that though[p] they were judged in the flesh[q] by human standards[r] they may live spiritually[s] by God’s standards.[t]

    Service, Suffering, and Judgment

    7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.[u] 8 Above all keep[v] your love for one another fervent,[w] because love covers a multitude of sins.[x] 9 Show hospitality[y] to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another[z] as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let it be with[aa]God’s words.[ab] Whoever serves, do so with the strength[ac] that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong[ad] the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

    12 Dear friends, do not be astonished[ae] that a trial by fire is occurring among you,[af] as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed[ag] you may also rejoice and be glad.[ah] 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory,[ai]who is the Spirit of God,[aj] rests[ak] on you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker.[al] 16 But if you suffer as a Christian,[am] do not be ashamed, but glorify[an] God that you bear such a name.[ao]17 For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house[ap] of God. And if it starts with us, what will be the fate[aq] of those who are disobedient to the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of[ar] the ungodly and sinners?[as] 19 So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good.[at]

    Footnotes

    1. 1 Peter 4:1 tc Most mss (א2 A P 5 33 81 436 442 1175 1611 1852 M) add ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν(huper hēmōn, “for us”); others (א* 69 1505 syp) add ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν (huper humōn, “for you”), the first hand of א also has ἀποθανόντος (apothanontos, “since he died”) instead of παθόντος (pathontos, “since he suffered”). But the reading without ὑπὲρ ἡ/ὑμῶν best explains the rise of the other readings, for not only is there confusion as to which pronoun belongs here, but the longer readings, being clarifications, are evidently scribally motivated. The shortest reading is found in significant and early witnesses (P72 B C Ψ 323 1243 1739 sa) and is strongly preferred.
    2. 1 Peter 4:1 sn Has finished with sin. The last sentence in v. 1 may refer to Christ as the one who suffered in the flesh (cf. 2:21, 23; 3:18; 4:1a) and the latter part would then mean, “he has finished dealing with sin.” But it is more likely that it refers to the Christian who suffers unjustly (cf. 2:19-20; 3:14, 17). This shows that he has made a break with sin as vs. 2 describes.
    3. 1 Peter 4:2 tn This verse may give the purpose or result of their “arming” themselves as called for in v. 1b and then the translation would be: “so that you may spend the rest of your time…” But it is better to take it as explanatory of the last phrase in v. 1: what it means to be finished with sin.
    4. 1 Peter 4:3 tn Grk “the Gentiles,” used here of those who are not God’s people.
    5. 1 Peter 4:3 tn Grk “to accomplish the desire of the Gentiles.”
    6. 1 Peter 4:3 tn Grk “having gone along,” referring to the readers’ behavior in time past.
    7. 1 Peter 4:3 tn According to BDAG 857 s.v. πότος the term refers to a social gathering at which wine is served, hence “drinking parties” (cf. TEV, NASB). However, the collocation with the other terms in v. 4suggests something less sophisticated and more along the lines of wild and frenzied drinking bouts.
    8. 1 Peter 4:3 tn The Greek words here all occur in the plural to describe their common practice in the past.
    9. 1 Peter 4:4 tn Grk “in/by which,” referring to the change of behavior described in v. 3. The unbelievers are astonished by the readers’ moral transformation. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
    10. 1 Peter 4:4 tn Or “are surprised, are taken aback.” The same verb occurs in 4:12.
    11. 1 Peter 4:4 tn Grk “blaspheming,” giving the result of their astonishment. Here the target of their “blasphemy/vilification” is not God but the Christian.
    12. 1 Peter 4:5 tn Grk “give an account to.”
    13. 1 Peter 4:5 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (Jesus Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
    14. 1 Peter 4:6 tn Grk “since for this purpose the gospel was preached even to the dead,” referring to the purpose described in the clause to follow in v. 6b.
    15. 1 Peter 4:6 sn In context the phrase those who are dead refers to those now dead who had accepted the gospel while they were still living and had suffered persecution for their faith. Though they “suffered judgment” in this earthly life (i.e., they died, in the midst of physical abuse from the ungodly), they will enjoy life from God in the spiritual, heavenly realm because of the gospel (v. 6b). It clearly does not assume a second chance for conversion offered to unbelievers who had died; why would Peter urge people to suffer in this life for the sake of the gospel if he believed that mercy would be extended to all the dead in the hereafter (cf. 2:7-8; 4:1-5, 12-19)?
    16. 1 Peter 4:6 tn Grk “so that they may be judged…but may live.” Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
    17. 1 Peter 4:6 tn Or “in their earthly lives,” since “flesh” here denotes the physical, earthly life. The phrase “in the flesh” is retained to preserve the links with 3:18 and 4:1 which use the same wording.
    18. 1 Peter 4:6 tn Grk “according to men.”
    19. 1 Peter 4:6 tn Grk “in spirit,” referring to the heavenly, eternal realm of existence (cf. 3:18).
    20. 1 Peter 4:6 tn Grk “according to God.”
    21. 1 Peter 4:7 tn Grk “for prayers.”
    22. 1 Peter 4:8 tn The primary verb of v. 8 is a participle (“having”) but it continues the sense of command from v. 7.
    23. 1 Peter 4:8 tn Or “constant.”
    24. 1 Peter 4:8 sn The statement of v. 8b, love covers a multitude of sins, is proverbial: It is quoted from Prov 10:12 (cf. Jas 5:20). It speaks of the forbearance that comes with love: Christian love is patient and forgiving toward the offenses of a fellow Christian (Matt 18:21-22; 1 Cor 13:4-7).
    25. 1 Peter 4:9 tn There is no main verb in this verse (“showing hospitality” translates the adjective φιλόξενοι [philoxenoi]), but it continues the sense of command from v. 7.
    26. 1 Peter 4:10 tn Grk “serving it to one another.” The primary verb is a participle but it continues the sense of command from v. 7.
    27. 1 Peter 4:11 tn Grk “if anyone speaks—as God’s words.”
    28. 1 Peter 4:11 tn Or “oracles.”
    29. 1 Peter 4:11 tn Grk “if anyone serves—with strength…”
    30. 1 Peter 4:11 tn Grk “is/are.”
    31. 1 Peter 4:12 tn Or “do not be surprised, taken aback.” The same verb occurs in 4:4.
    32. 1 Peter 4:12 tn Grk “at the burning among you, occurring to you for testing.”
    33. 1 Peter 4:13 tn Grk “in the revelation of his glory.”
    34. 1 Peter 4:13 tn The verb “be glad” is used also in 1:6 and 1:8. The verbs of v. 13b are used together in Matt 5:12 and Rev 19:7.
    35. 1 Peter 4:14 tc Many mss, some of them significant and early ([א] A P 33 81 323 945 1241 1739 pm bo), add καὶ δυνάμεως (kai dunameōs; “and of power”) here. The shorter reading is supported by P72 B K L Ψ 049 pm). Although the evidence is evenly divided, the longer reading looks to be an explanatory or liturgical expansion on the text and for this reason should be considered secondary.
    36. 1 Peter 4:14 tn Grk “the Spirit of glory and of God.”
    37. 1 Peter 4:14 sn A quotation taken from Isa 11:2.
    38. 1 Peter 4:15 tn The meaning of the Greek word used here is uncertain. It may mean “spy, informer,” “revolutionary,” or “defrauder, embezzler.” But the most likely meaning is “busybody, one who meddles in the affairs of others, troublesome meddler.” The translation given in the text is intended to suggest this general idea.
    39. 1 Peter 4:16 tn The verb is implied by the context but not expressed; Grk “but if as a Christian.”
    40. 1 Peter 4:16 tn These are third person imperatives in Greek (“if [one of you suffers] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed…let him glorify”), but have been translated as second person verbs since this is smoother English idiom.
    41. 1 Peter 4:16 tn Grk “in this name.”
    42. 1 Peter 4:17 tn Grk “to begin from the house.”
    43. 1 Peter 4:17 tn Or “the end.”
    44. 1 Peter 4:18 tn Grk “where will he appear.”
    45. 1 Peter 4:18 tn The personal references in v. 18 are generic singulars, but they have been changed to the plural in English to maintain consistency with the plurals of v. 17.sn A quotation from Prov 11:31 (LXX).
    46. 1 Peter 4:19 tn Grk “in doing good.”
  • Immutability of God

    Immutability of God

    It’s my prayer that learning about God’s immutability (unchanging nature) will encourage you immensely! Friend, while you and I change throughout our lifetime here, God (God, the Father; God, the Son; and God the Holy Spirit) does not! Both His character and His promises hold true and are faithful!

    Come near to me and hear this: “From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;
    from the time that it happened, I was there. Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me
    with his Spirit.”

    Isaiah 48:16

    “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.”

    Jude 1:5

    “Then the Judeans[a] replied,[b] “You are not yet fifty years old![c] Have[d] you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth,[e] before Abraham came into existence,[f] I am!”[g] 59 Then they picked up[h]stones to throw at him,[i] but Jesus was hidden from them[j] and went out from the temple area.”

    John 8:57-59

    As define “immutability” effectively for you, this post will provide both God’s (Scriptural) Words about Himself from OpenBible as well as a definition gleaned from Scripture by GotQuestions. Ladies, let’s keep praying for one another as well as opening up our Bibles and reading daily…we need His Words!

    “How can the Incarnation be reconciled with God’s immutability?” by GotQuestions

    Great theological minds have had to wrestle with this very question, often in the course of responding to false teachers. As the early theologians formulated their answers, they upheld the affirmations of Scripture.

    On the one hand, they upheld the full divinity of Jesus Christ, and rightly so. There are biblical passages that explicitly assert His divinity, such as John 1:1, and other passages which imply His divinity by showing Him performing actions that only God can do: judging humanity, forgiving sin, healing people, and creating the cosmos.

    At the same time, the early theologians upheld the full humanity of Jesus Christ. Scripture gives proof that Jesus was a human being, able to suffer, die, and experience weaknesses, both physical and emotional.

    When “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14), He did not become two people (one divine and one human), but He became one Person with two distinct natures, a fully divine nature and a fully human nature. The Word was unchanged as He entered a union with sinless human nature in a physical body (Hebrews 10:5).

    Here lies the specific answer to the question: as to Jesus’ divine nature, He is unchanging. As to His human nature, He is changeable. As God, Jesus is unchangeable, infinite, ever-supreme in every way. But as to His human nature, He is changeable, subject to weakness, able to suffer, able to die. He is simultaneously divine and human, infinitely strong and suffering weakness, immortal and mortal. He is the God-man.

    The Son of God did not change His nature at the Incarnation. The divine nature did not “blend” with the human nature—that would have required change. Rather, the divine nature resides with the human nature in the Person of Christ. The Incarnation means that Jesus can lay claim to both His divine nature and His human nature.

    In John 17:5, Jesus prays to the Father, “Glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” Both of Jesus’ natures are evident in this request. He refers to His pre-existence with God in which He shared the Father’s glory (evincing His divine nature), and He asks to be glorified (evincing His human nature).

    God must be immutable, since He cannot degrade into a worse state and He cannot improve into a better state. He is ever-perfect and, as God, cannot be otherwise. Perfection is an absolute, and it is impossible for Him to be “more perfect.” By contrast, a human being lacks infinite capacities. A human is finite and mutable and always has room for improvement, which explains the fact that Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).

    In the end, the great theological minds of the fourth and fifth centuries who wrestled with this problem responded by saying, in so many words, “We cannot fully explain it, but based on Scripture, we know that Jesus Christ was both human and divine. We are bound to affirm what Scripture affirms even if we must admit that aspects of the Incarnation are a wonderful mystery. Mysterious or not, we avow what God has revealed to us concerning this.”

    There is a wonderful connection to our salvation that flows out of this mystery of the Incarnation. It is that Christ, God the Son incarnate, is the ideal ambassador between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5). As God, He can perfectly represent God to us; as a human, He can perfectly serve as our advocate before God the Father, making peace on our behalf. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).

    What Does Scripture Day about Immutability?

    Immutability

     

    Malachi 3:6 ESV / 22 helpful votes 

    “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

    James 1:17 ESV / 18 helpful votes 

    Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

    Hebrews 13:8 ESV / 14 helpful votes 

    Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

    Numbers 23:19 ESV / 11 helpful votes 

    God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

    Psalm 125:1 ESV / 5 helpful votes 

    A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the Lordare like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

    Psalm 33:11 ESV / 5 helpful votes 

    The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

    Exodus 3:14 ESV / 4 helpful votes 

    God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

    Revelation 1:5 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

    Hebrews 11:1-40 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. …

    Hebrews 7:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.

    Hebrews 7:1-28 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. …

    Hebrews 6:1-20 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, …

    Hebrews 5:11-14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

    Hebrews 5:1-14 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; …

    Hebrews 1:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

    Hebrews 1:1-14 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? …

    2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

    2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

    Ephesians 2:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

    Galatians 3:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

    Romans 3:1-9:33 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) …

    Romans 1:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

    Romans 1:1-32 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, …

    John 20:19-23 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

    John 16:33 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

    John 14:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

    John 10:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

    John 8:44 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

    John 8:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

    John 5:39 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

    John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

    John 3:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

    John 3:1-36 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. …

    John 1:1-51 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. …

    John 1:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

    Luke 23:42 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

    Luke 13:34 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!

    Mark 7:1-37 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” …

    Matthew 25:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’

    Matthew 24:1-51 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. …

    Matthew 18:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

    Matthew 16:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

    Matthew 6:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

    Matthew 5:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

    Matthew 4:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

    Malachi 3:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.

    Malachi 3:3 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.

    Malachi 3:1-18 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lordof hosts. …

    Jeremiah 18:7-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.

    Jeremiah 8:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord.

    Isaiah 46:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

    Isaiah 44:28 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

    Isaiah 40:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

    Isaiah 27:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

    Isaiah 11:6-7 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

    Isaiah 7:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

    Ecclesiastes 1:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

    Proverbs 9:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

    Psalm 145:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

    Psalm 104:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

    Psalm 102:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    But you are the same, and your years have no end.

    Psalm 94:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?

    Psalm 74:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

    Job 41:15-24 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. One is so near to another that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. …

    Job 41:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?

    Job 41:1-34 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? …

    Job 40:15-24 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. “He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! …

    Job 40:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.

    Job 39:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south?

    Job 38:29 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?

    Job 38:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

    Job 37:6-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour. He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it. Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens. From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.

    Job 3:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.

    2 Chronicles 22:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.

    2 Kings 24:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

    2 Kings 8:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

    2 Kings 1:1-18 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went. The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” …

    2 Samuel 1:1-27 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” …

    1 Samuel 15:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

    Ruth 1:1-22 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. …

    Deuteronomy 14:22-29 ESV / 2 helpful votes

    “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. …

    Leviticus 27:30 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.

    Exodus 20:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

    Genesis 9:3 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

    Genesis 9:2-3 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

    Genesis 7:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

    Genesis 6:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.

    Genesis 6:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

    Genesis 1:29-30 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

    Genesis 1:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

    Genesis 1:21-25 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

    Genesis 1:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes 

    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …

  • Gnosticism: A Biblical Perspective

    “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough!”

    2 Corinthians 11:4

    In 2021 I began learning about an old Christian heresy called, Gnosticism. And friends, it has been heartbreaking, not to mention mind-blowing to witnessing how prevalent Gnostic beliefs are in society…Even in many of our churches! Below you will find articles by GotQuestions.org as well as 2 videos and 1 Podcast episode which will (Lord willing) equip you as to detect what is Biblical teaching, (Historic Christianity) from any Gnostic version you might encounter.

    🔍A quick example of Gnostic Terminology: “True Self,” “Divine Self,” ”Authentic Self”, “Essence,” and/or ”Divine spark.” These are Gnostic in meaning, and therefore heretical when applied to Christianity. Please pray for the Church as well as keep reading God’s Word (Bible). We need to know what is Truth as to recognize the counterfeits.

    “Gnosticism presents a radically self-centred alternative gospel. Instead of pointing to Christ, Gnosticism proclaims that salvation comes from inside, finding your
    true identity within. It denies the goodness of the Creator and the glory of his creation. It denies the Incarnation, the resurrection and the need for redemption. Gnosticism sets itself against true Christianity at every point. It has been described as the ultimate heresy. This false teaching was faced by the Church in the second and third centuries AD.”

    The Christian Institute, Gnosticism

    “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge,’ for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.”

    1 Timothy 6:20-21


    “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

    Colossians 2:8

    Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. 

    1 John 4:1-3
    https://www.christian.org.uk/

    “What is the definition of the term Gnostic?” By GotQuestions

    The definition of the word Gnostic is about as easy to nail down as a flopping fish. It is derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning “to know.” In the case of Gnosticism, what is “known” has shifted over the thousands of years since Gnosticism first reared its head during the formation and solidification of the early church.

    Basically, the Gnostic believes in acquiring special, mystical knowledge as the means for salvation. According to Gnostic beliefs, there is a Great God that is good and perfect, but impersonal and unknowable. The creator of the universe was actually a lesser deity—a cheap knock-off of the “true God”—who wanted to create a flawless material universe but botched the job. Instead of having a utopia, we ended up with a world infected with pain, misery, and intellectual and spiritual blindness; all matter is now corrupt and evil. However, when this lesser deity created man, he accidentally imbued humanity with a spark of the “true” God’s spirit, making man an inherently good soul trapped in the confines of an evil, material body.

    Contrary to a message of salvation through Christ alone (Acts 4:12), the Gnostic Jesus brings a message of self-redemption. Man only needs to examine his inner “spark” to find the knowledge needed to free himself from his material body and reach God. This alleged purity of heart is the exact opposite of what is stated in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”

    Today, Gnosticism has evolved and branched out from the exclusively spiritual into the secular and scientific. Psychologist C. G. Jung praised Gnosticism as superior to traditional Christianity as a way of thinking. Another form of Gnosticism denies the existence of God altogether, while embracing an eternal—but still flawed—universe. This atheistic form of Gnosticism doesn’t see the material world as totally evil, but as flawed and incomplete. Mankind becomes the “deity,” and it is his right to improve the human body and the world around him through his own wisdom.

    Christianity and Gnosticism are mutually exclusive; however, it is easy for a Gnostic mindset to seep into our own thinking if we’re not careful (1 Peter 5:8). The Gnostic is pursuing goodness, but, instead of seeking to be regenerated by Christ, he grabs hold of a man-centered purpose for living. Gnostic thought makes man “wise in [his] own eyes” (Isaiah 5:21), something Proverbs 3:7pointedly advises against: “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”

    Gnostic thinking claims that deeper truth can be found apart from God. But Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Instead of searching our corrupt, flawed “inner selves” for answers, we should instead test everything against the revealed Word of God (1 Thessalonians 5:21). In the end, it is God’s truth alone that can be trusted.

    Related Articles by GotQuestions:

    Video Resources

    25 minutes with Dr. Ryan Reeves

    65 minutes with Remnant Radio

    Podcast/MP3 Episode by Apologetics315

    Apologetics315

    February 2, 2009

    Gnosticism: Past & Present MP3 Audio

    Nick Needham gives a church history talk on the topic of Gnosticism: Past & Present, in which he discusses the roots of Gnosticism and what form it takes in our present day. Although the audio quality is not the best, it is a helpful listen. Original audio here, with some other church history lectures.

    Download MP3 Audio here. Enjoy.

  • Contemplative Prayer: Is It Biblical?

    Contemplative Prayer: Is It Biblical?

    The following post consists of 2 videos (at the end), along with 2 articles. The first piece was written by GotQuestions.org and the second, much larger exposition, was authored by Marcia Montenegro on behalf of Midwest Christian Outreach. Both provide a Biblical perspective regarding the growing popularity of Contemplative Prayer within numerous churches. Friends, please grab your Bibles and be Bereans alongside me…We need to examine this trend, as popular does not equate always equate to Biblical. We need to trust (and follow) God and His Word, not our feelings and experiences.

    “What is contemplative prayer?” By GotQuestions

    It is important to first define “contemplative prayer.” Contemplative prayer is not just “contemplating while you pray.” The Bible instructs us to pray with our minds (1 Corinthians 14:15), so, clearly, prayer does involve contemplation. However, praying with your mind is not what “contemplative prayer” has come to mean. Contemplative prayer has slowly increased in practice and popularity along with the rise of the emerging church movement—a movement which embraces many unscriptural ideas and practices. Contemplative prayer is one such practice.

    Contemplative prayer begins with “centering prayer,” a meditative practice where the practitioner focuses on a word and repeats that word over and over for the duration of the exercise. The purpose is to clear one’s mind of outside concerns so that God’s voice may be more easily heard. After the centering prayer, the practitioner is to sit still, listen for direct guidance from God, and feel His presence.

    Although this might sound like an innocent exercise, this type of prayer has no scriptural support whatsoever. In fact, it is just the opposite of how prayer is defined in the Bible. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6). “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:23-24). These verses and others clearly portray prayer as being comprehendible communication with God, not an esoteric, mystical meditation.

    Contemplative prayer, by design, focuses on having a mystical experience with God. Mysticism, however, is purely subjective, and does not rely upon truth or fact. Yet the Word of God has been given to us for the very purpose of basing our faith, and our lives, on Truth (2 Timothy 3:16-17). What we know about God is based on fact; trusting in experiential knowledge over the biblical record takes a person outside of the standard that is the Bible.

    Contemplative prayer is no different than the meditative exercises used in Eastern religions and New Age cults. Its most vocal supporters embrace an open spirituality among adherents from all religions, promoting the idea that salvation is gained by many paths, even though Christ Himself stated that salvation comes only through Him (John 14:6). Contemplative prayer, as practiced in the modern prayer movement, is in opposition to biblical Christianity and should definitely be avoided.

    “CONTEMPLATING CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER: IS IT REALLY PRAYER?” By Marcia Montenegro

    [First published in Midwest Christian Outreach Journal, February, 2005; this version has been modified with additional information]

    “God’s first language is silence.” 1

    “Progress in intimacy with God means progress toward silence.” 2

    “The important thing is that we are relaxed and our back is straight so that the vitalizing energies can flow freely.” 3

    Contemplation is “a pure and a virginal knowledge, poor in concepts, poorer still in reasoning, but able, by its very poverty and purity, to follow the Word ‘wherever He may go.’” 4

    Contemplative Prayer, also called Centering Prayer or Listening Prayer, has been taught by Roman Catholic monks Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, and Basil Pennington, as well as by Quaker Richard Foster, and is being advocated by many others. There is no one authority on this method, nor is there necessarily a consistent teaching on it, though most of the founding teachers quote medieval mystics, Hindu, and Buddhist spiritual teachers.

    According to http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org, “Centering Prayer is drawn from ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, notably the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, Lectio Divina, (praying the scriptures), The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. It was distilled into a simple method of prayer in the 1970’s by three Trappist monks, Fr. William Meninger, Fr. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating at the Trappist Abbey, St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts.” It should be added, “During the twenty years (1961-1981) when Keating was abbot, St. Joseph’s held dialogues with Buddhist and Hindu representatives, and a Zen master gave a week-long retreat to the monks. A former Trappist monk who had become a Transcendental Meditation teacher also gave a session to the monks.” 5

    The influence of Buddhism and Hinduism on Contemplative Prayer (hereafter referred to as CP) is apparent. Words such as “detachment,” “transformation,” “emptiness,” “enlightenment” and “awakening” swim in and out of the waters of these books. The use of such terms certainly mandates a closer inspection of what is being taught, despite the fact that contemplative prayer is presented as Christian practice.

    Themes that one finds echoed in the CP movement include the notions that true prayer is: silent, beyond words, beyond thought, does away with the “false self,” triggers transformation of consciousness, and is an awakening. Suggested techniques often include breathing exercises, visualization, repetition of a word or phrase, and detachment from thinking.

    Beyond words: The Silence

    As we see from the quotes above, silence is assumed to be God’s “language.” This seems contradictory since language usually involves the use of words, or at least symbols. From whence did this idea arise? Some quote Ps. 62:5, “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.” But the passage is about depending on God for refuge and salvation, and is not instructing how to pray. The emphasis is expectation for God only – only God can save. Even if the psalmist is praying, it is not telling us that silence is the only way to pray, or that we must approach God in silence. However, Keating states that vocal prayer is not “the most profound prayer.” 6

    According to St. John of the Cross, who is heavily quoted by CP advocates, entering an “advanced state of Contemplation” requires education and training.7 This type of prayer has “nothing to do with the words and petitions of what is commonly called prayer. It is not articulate; it has no form.”8 Certainly one of the ironies of CP is that it essentially is not prayer.

    It is a Zen Buddhist concept that truth is beyond words (this is also a Taoist view; Zen’s roots are in Taoism and Buddhism). Zen teaches that truth must be realized as one practices sitting meditation (zazen), cultivating an empty mind by letting go of thoughts so that rational thinking is transcended; or perhaps, as in the Rinzai school of Zen, one’s awareness is triggered by koans such as, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” or “What was your face before you were born?” According to Zen, Buddha’s “real message remained always unspoken, and was such that, when words attempted to express it, they made it seem as if it were nothing at all.” 9

    The Unity School of Christianity, a church founded on New Thought principles, and whose founders were influenced by Eastern beliefs, is a forerunner of the New Age Movement. Jesus is known as a “Way-Shower” and is believed to have become the Christ when he attained perfection; all people are believed to have the inner potential to be the same as Christ. In a Unity booklet, “The Adventure Called Unity,”10 it states that prayer involves

    “[C]oncentrating one’s entire intellect on God, affirming a positive statement of truth, meditating on Divine Principles, and finally turning within one’s own being in a wonderful time of quiet which Unity calls ‘the silence,’ wherein one becomes receptive to the ‘still small voice’ of God.” 11

    The above, with the exception of the phrase “Divine Principles,” is similar to statements found in CP literature. Unity also asserts that “spiritual communion takes place through prayer and meditation in the silence.” 12

    A popular Bible passage used to advocate silent meditation as prayer is Ps. 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” However, this is being taken out of context.13 A study of this Psalm shows this is actually a rebuke from God to those striving against Him. Some translations render this as “Cease striving and know that I am God,” (NASB, ESV). Charles H. Spurgeon’s remarks on verse 10 are “Hold off your hands, ye enemies! Sit down and wait in patience, ye believers! Acknowledge that Jehovah is God, ye who feel the terrors of his wrath! Adore him, and him only, ye who partake in the protection of his grace.” 14 

    Praying in silence, or ruminating on a passage of scripture in silence, is normal, but silence should not be regarded as superior to words; nor does the Bible give any support to the notion that the “language of God” is silence. Interestingly, Foster even warns about silent CP, saying that it is for more mature believers, that “we are entering deeply into the spiritual realm” where we may encounter “spiritual beings” who are not on God’s side. He suggests a prayer of protection in which one surrounds himself with “the light of Christ,” saying “all dark and evil spirits must now leave,” and other words to keep evil ones at bay.15 I could not help but think of my New Age days when I was taught to invoke a white light of protection before psychic activity or contact with the dead. Jesus, in teaching the disciples to pray, said, “Keep us from the evil one,” but this was a petition to guard us from Satan’s schemes, not a formula for warding off evil spirits while we pray.

    In the preface to a book about Christ, an author states that Jesus is not outside our mind, but that “it is in your mind that Jesus addresses you. He is your most intimate friend speaking to you, sometimes in words, often beyond words.”16 This book is a classic New Age book, yet these words are not that dissimilar to many statements made by CP authors.

    Silence can be soothing and comforting; we can get deep insights when we are quiet. But simply trying to be quiet is not prayer, and there is no biblical basis for the belief that real prayer is wordless. After all, God has given us a written revelation, and God’s laws and words are acclaimed throughout the Bible, such as Psalm 119, which extols God’s word as a treasure and lamp. In Is. 40:8, we learn, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever,” and Jesus declares to the Father in Jn. 17:17, “Your word is truth.”

    Beyond the mind: No-thinking

    According to Keating, CP should be “detachment” from thought, getting into a state of “no-thinking” and that “it is the time to let go of all thoughts, even the best of thoughts,” so that only “pure awareness” exists.17 He even claims that the Holy Spirit will not “barge in” if we are using reason and intellect, and it is “only when we are willing to abandon our very limited human modes of thought and concepts and open a welcoming space that the Spirit will begin to operate in us at this divine level . . . when we Center we practice leaving our human thoughts and reason behind and attending to the Divine, to the Spirit.”18 This presents a radical redefinition of prayer, as well as a false duality between thought or reason and spirituality, a concept common in the New Age.

    Pennington discusses “a shift in consciousness” and going beyond “ordinary consciousness” into a state of “pure consciousness” in which we leave the “false self” for the “true self,” and attaining a “unity-consciousness” with God.19 He quotes “the Fathers”20 as saying that “so long as a man is aware he is praying, he is not yet praying,” and he agrees with Merton that we should “rise above thought.”21 Pennington has a chapter titled “Pure Consciousness” in which he states that God “is known in pure consciousness rather than by some subject-object knowledge.”22

    A writer for Youth Specialties, an organization devoted to youth ministries, states that his interest in CP began by reading Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, and later, mystics like Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, and Morton Kelsey.23 He built a prayer room and reports: “In that space I lit candles, burned incense, hung rosaries, and listened to tapes of Benedictine monks. I meditated for hours on words, images, and sounds. I reached the point of being able to achieve alpha brain patterns, the state in which dreams occur, while still awake and meditating.” This sounds like going into an altered state of consciousness — a light trance state — which is the same state one enters in Eastern/New Age meditation, and which parallels techniques of self-hypnosis. In fact, the purpose of Eastern and New Age meditation is to go beyond the mind because the belief is that the mind is a barrier to spiritual enlightenment. This same writer also states that at a retreat, “We held ‘thin place’ services in reference to a belief that in prayer, the veil between us and God becomes thinner. Entire nights were devoted to guided meditations, drum circles, and “‘soul labs.’”24

    Yet in the Bible, meditation on God or on the words of God is never presented as an exercise without thinking. Many of the words translated as “meditation” in the Bible are words meaning to muse, ponder, utter, or make a sound. Most of these words are in Psalms where the psalmist is praising the precepts and words of God and affirming that these are what we should learn, obey, and think upon. This is definitely not leaving ordinary thinking for another level of consciousness. Nor do we take actions to make a (non-existent) “veil” between God and us thinner. Did not the death of Jesus on the cross rip the heavy veil in the Holy of Holies of the Temple, forever serving as a symbol of how Jesus opened the way to God for those who believe?25

    Due to Eastern and New Age influences in our culture, the word ‘meditation’ has come to mean a technique to enter another state of consciousness, to go inward, to go beyond thinking, or to realize spiritual enlightenment. We cannot read these techniques and purposes into the Biblical word translated as “meditation,” which originates from several different Hebrew words that do not carry the Eastern-New Age meanings. The contexts of these words indicate an active pondering, thinking and learning, not a technique nor a disengagement from the mind.

    Beyond self: the false self vs. the true self

    Thomas Merton claims that “the superficial ‘I’ is not our real self,” but only our “individuality” and “empirical self,” not the “hidden and mysterious person in whom we subsist before the eyes of God.”26 This kind of thinking is found also in Keating and Pennington.

    Keating states that CP takes us to a place “in which the knower, the knowing, and that which is known are all one. Awareness alone remains. The one who is aware disappears along with whatever was the object of consciousness. This is what divine union is.”27

    Little realizing that he was anticipating many of the teachings of CP today, one writer on mysticism asserts that the “highest state of the mystic life can only be reached when there has been a complete death of the selfhood” and when one enters the “Dark Silence, that Nothingness, that Wayless Way.”28 The author goes on to say that mystical states are “more than states of feeling, they are states of knowledge.”29 This is a gnostic view of knowledge– a secret knowledge obtained only by those able to attain these higher states.

    Keating and Merton both discuss the false self and the true self. Keating capitalizes Self, and states, “God and our true Self are not separate. Though we are not God, God and our true Self are the same thing.”30According to Merton, our “external, everyday self” is mostly a “fabrication” and is not “our true self” which “is not easy to find. It is hidden in obscurity and ‘nothingness,’ at the center, where we are in direct dependence on God.”31 Likewise, another writer asserts that the “basic idea always found in God-mysticism is that of the return of the spirit to its immortal and infinite Ground, which is God.”32 Note the word “return,” as though our spirits were originally with God, a distinctly unbiblical notion.

    Buddhism teaches that our identities are merely fleeting images or impressions, like images on film, or a “sequence of happenings, of processes,”33 and that we must discover our true nature, the Buddha nature. The “conventional ‘self’ or ‘person’ is composed mainly of a history of consisting of selected memories.”34 As one Zen Buddhist says, “There is no you to say ‘I.’ What we call ‘I’ is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale . . . when your mind is pure and calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing: no ‘I,’ no world, no mind nor body; just a swinging door.”35 Self is illusory in Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism, because the only reality is the Absolute, the Tao, or the Buddha nature.

    The CP teachers do not say that we are really God, but they present a dichotomy between a false and true self. The Bible talks about the old sin nature versus the “new creature” in Christ; it is not put in terms of “true” and “false” selves, or illusion and truth, but rather in terms of bondage to sin and regeneration. It is not a matter of awareness, but rather a matter of being born again and being regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Merton does acknowledge this point in one book,36 though he still speaks of false and true selves, sometimes in Freudian psychological terms, sometimes in spiritual terms. Is our sin nature a “false self?” Not false in the sense of not being real, certainly. Such terms echo Eastern concepts, and, at the very least, are confusing and misleading.

    Beyond natural: special spiritual techniques

    Most of the CP teachers announce that CP is not a technique, and then they go on to recommend various techniques. Pennington offers three “rules or guides,” which include being relaxed, to be “in faith and love to God who dwells in the center of your being,” to “take up a love word,” and “whenever you become aware of anything, simply, gently return to the Lord with the use of your prayer word.”37

    Merton, Keating and Pennington, and sometimes Foster, suggest repeating a word or phrase such as Jesus, Lord, Father, Friend, or the Jesus Prayer38during CP. This can be repeated aloud or “deep within,” or used as a word to return to when one become aware of anything else. Pennington advises, “Memorize it and slowly repeat it to yourself, allowing it to interact with your inner world of concerns, memories, and ideas.”39 Keating credits the mystical Cloud of Unknowing for this idea, and states that it should be a “love word” which will take us “beyond our ordinary consciousness” as “an outreach of love to the Infinite.”40

    In Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, Transcendental Meditation, and sometimes in New Age meditation, a word, called a mantra, is given to the meditator to repeat. This is often the name of a deity, or sometimes a phrase meaning, “I am That,” “Not this, not that,” or simply, “I am.” The purpose of this mantra is self-purification, and to become open to spiritual truths. Repeating a word or phrase over and over is also one of the tools of self-hypnosis.41 Many of the terms used by CP teachers are the same terms used in hypnosis and in Eastern/New Age teachings (i.e., “shift in consciousness, “pure consciousness,” “emptying the mind,” “creating a space,” “go beyond thought,” etc.).42

    Foster quotes heavily from CP teachers and mystics. There are problematic statements such as, “Let me suggest we take an experiential attitude toward spiritual realities;” “We are working with God to determine the future! Certain things will happen in history if we pray rightly;” and, when praying for others, we should not pray “if it be Thy will” to God.43 He advocates using a visualization technique when praying in order to bring about the results.44 He also comments that “God is not a male deity as opposed to a female deity.”45

    The focus on relaxation, repeating a word or phrase, concentrating on breath, detaching from thought, and trying to go beyond reasoning should cause concern. Having learned and practiced various forms of Eastern and New Age meditation for many years before becoming a Christian, I can attest to the ability to enter a light trance state using the techniques suggested by CP advocates. This state is one which New Agers and others call “pure consciousness,” where one is suspended from active thought and the ability to make judgments. In fact, Zen Buddhism teaches that one needs to cultivate the ability to detach and to set aside judgment. The mind is open and receptive, without critical thinking skills in place.46Although Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we are not immune to deception or delusion; otherwise, the Bible would not so consistently warn believers about deception and false teachers.

    Do techniques bring closeness to God, especially when such techniques are parallel to Eastern religious practices? Ephesians 2:13 tells us, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” We draw near to God through Christ (Heb. 4:16), not through techniques. When First John talks about abiding in Christ, it speaks of following Christ’s commandments and showing love for each other.

    Beyond the west: wisdom from the east

    Keating quotes from a major Buddhist text, the Diamond Sutra, to discuss “letting go,” and tells the reader that although psychic powers such as levitation may result from CP, such powers “are like the frosting on a cake and we cannot survive on frosting alone,” and so, if the reader is interested in psychic phenomena, to “be sure to practice them under an approved master.”47 Such warnings about getting attracted to psychic gifts resulting from meditation are commonly issued by those teaching Hindu and Buddhist meditation.

    One author on mysticism, who also discusses many of the same techniques as used in contemplative prayer, declares: “[M]ay we not see in the mystics the forerunners of a type of consciousness, which will become more and more common as mankind ascends higher and higher up the ladder of evolution?”48 This idea is parallel to one in the New Age, which posits that as man spiritually progresses, he will gain an expanded consciousness that will include psychic or super mystical powers and insights into the nature of reality. Referring to mystics and practitioners of the medieval practice of contemplation, the author states that the contemplative has contact “with the same Reality” as the mystic, and that he “feels he has received a pure, direct vision of truth.”49 This idea is found in Eastern meditation beliefs that teach one perceives or attains truth in a more pure form through meditation techniques and in non-thinking states.

    Pennington writes of his admiration for “the great Yogi, Swami Satchidanandaji” and his (Pennington’s) approval of an American professor who, “in search of true wisdom,” had gone to India to study under a Hindu Swami.50 He states that for “most Hindus, Jesus is just one of the many manifestations of the one God” but that “each person is entitled to have his or her own chosen deity or manifestation of God. Jesus is the manifestation for the West.”51 Pennington also acknowledges that both Merton and another person saw the parallels of CP with Sufi meditation and prayer,52 and he approves of Christians’ participation in Transcendental Meditation.53 He writes that CP can be learned and used effectively by anyone (i.e., non-Christians), and that he has not “hesitated” to share it with anyone.54

    Another CP teacher heavily influenced by the East is Thomas Merton. Merton was a man of great intelligence, and this is apparent in his writings. But he writes of his meetings with the Dalai Lama in Asia, saying he felt a “spiritual bond” with him; he stated that he found parallels between the meditation concepts and methods of the Catholic monks with the Tibetan Buddhists, and he was even discussing establishing a Tibetan Buddhist meditation center in the U.S.55 He also called Tibetan Buddhist leader Chogyam Trungpa “wise” and a “genuine spiritual master.”56 Merton was even considering being initiated into dzogchen, an esoteric Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, and was thinking of editing a book of Buddhist writings.57 These projects were cut short by his sudden accidental death in Asia in December, 1968, although he had written on Zen Buddhism previously.

    Merton’s Asian Journals, the last words he penned, reveal his fascination with Eastern beliefs and practices. While never showing an inclination to substitute Eastern beliefs for Christianity for himself, he seemed to acknowledge Eastern religions as equally valid and showed a willingness to adapt some of their beliefs into his Christian ones. What else can one think when he writes of seeking advice on initiation into dzogchen and thinking of helping to establish a Tibetan Buddhist meditation center? Most Christians instead would be in quest of dialogue with these Buddhists in order to present Christ to them, not seeking initiation into their practices or to spread their teachings.58

    Reflecting on God’s word, in the sense of thinking it over and letting it sink in, are normal ways of learning and understanding. Using our mind is not a barrier to understanding God or his word. In fact, in Matt. 22:37-38, Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” This references Deut. 6:5, which is rendered in many versions as loving God with all one’s “heart,” soul, and strength (or might).

    The NET Bible gives this explanation about the Hebrew word, lebab, which is translated “heart” in Deut. 6.5: “Heb ‘heart.’ In OT physiology the heart was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart.”59 Even the Greek word for “heart,” kardia, used in Matt. 22, is translated as “mind” in other passages. Another explanation: “The Hebrew word for heart is ‘LEB’ . . . The Greek counterpart is ‘KARDIA.’ Zodhiates says in his Hebrew Lexicon that the main use of the word heart refers to ‘the totality of man’s inner or immaterial nature’ . . . The heart is the seat of your intellect, feelings and will. It is ‘almost a synonym for mind.’”60 Vine’s Expository Dictionary states, “The heart, in its moral significance in the O.T., includes the emotions, the reason and the will.”61 The words translated as “understanding,” “mind,” and “heart” are often interchangeable in the Bible. “The heart in the Scripture is variously used; sometimes for the mind and understanding, sometimes for the will, sometimes for the affections, sometimes for the conscience, sometimes for the whole soul. Generally, it denotes the whole soul of man and all the faculties of it, not absolutely, but as they are all one principle of moral operations, as they all concur in our doing good or evil.”62

    The false dichotomy in our culture between mind and heart does not exist in the Bible! Our culture associates feelings and often spirituality with the heart, and separates that from thinking, but this is a modern concept, not a Biblical one.

    We see this fictitious dichotomy in CP between the mind or reasoning on the one hand, and feelings or spiritual experiences on the other. Foster creates a theme of this in one of his books in which he endorses the prayer of the mind apart from the prayer of the heart.63 The message comes across clearly that if one is using one’s mind, one is unable to truly commune with God – one must go beyond the rational in order to actually experience closeness with God. One must go beyond words into silence to have true union with God. Not only are these concepts not supported by the Bible, but they also set up false expectations and are likely to evoke artificial experiences.

    Christian prayer should be taught as it is modeled in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament. Some key passages include: Matt. 5:43-45 (pray for our enemies); Matt. 6:6 (pray without showing off); Matt. 6:9-13 (the Lord’s Prayer); Matt. 7:6 (do not pray with repetitions); Matt. 9:38 (pray for God to send workers into His harvest); Matt. 21:22 and James 1:6 (pray in faith); Lk. 18:1-8 (pray/petition without losing heart); ask in the name of Christ (Jn 16:23-24); Rom. 8:25-27 (the Holy Spirit prays for us when we do not know how to pray); 1 Cor. 14:15 (pray with the spirit and with the mind); 1 Thess. 5:17 (pray without ceasing – not mindlessly, but having an attitude of prayer and being in the Lord in all things); and James 5:14-16 (pray for the sick). Our prayers are to make use of words and thought.

    A feature article on the Roman Catholic apologetics website, Catholic Answers, warns: “Many people assume centering prayer is compatible with Catholic tradition, but in fact the techniques of centering prayer are neither Christian nor prayer. They are at the level of human faculties and as such are an operation of man, not of God. The deception and dangers can be grave.”64

    Final words

    People promoting CP often present a false dilemma between “neatly packaged” evangelical Christianity oriented toward logic and reason, versus the experiential, mystical aspects of CP. This idea is becoming more common now with the influence of postmodernism. This has been shown to be a false dilemma. By supporting reason and thinking as part of communication with God, one is in harmony with the biblical text; one is not discriminating against silent prayer, feelings or experiences.

    Nowhere in the Bible is prayer a technique or a way to go beyond thinking. Creating a whole theology of prayer apart from the Bible is dangerous, precisely because we are entering an area fraught with subjectivism, truth based on experience, and therefore, an area where we can be deceived. CP teachers tell us that prayer is listening to and having “divine union” with God,65 but the Bible presents prayer as words and thoughts. CP tells us to focus inward, but the Bible admonishes us to focus outward on the Lord. An evaluation of CP reveals it to be a melange of New Age and Eastern-tinged techniques and concepts that exist outside the Bible.

    CP is a misnomer, since it is neither contemplation nor prayer as found in the Bible. We should be wary of any instruction that advises us to:

    -Breathe a certain way before or during prayer 
    -Maintain a certain posture or bodily position 
    -Repeat a word or phrase, even if it’s from the Bible, or use a word or phrase to stay “focused” 
    -Go beyond thinking or thought 
    -To turn inward in order to find or be with God 
    -Be in silence in order to truly pray 
    -Believe that CP is true prayer

    1 Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart (Rockport, MA: Benedict’s Monastery, 1992), 57.
    2 Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (NY: HarperCollins, 1992), 155.
    3 M. Basil Pennington, An Invitation to Centering Prayer (Liguori, MO: Cistercian Abbey of Spencer, Inc., 2001), 20.
    4 Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (Abbey of Gethsemani, Inc., 1961), 4.
    5 The Rev. John D. Dreher, “The Danger of Centering Prayer,”http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1246339/posts
    6 Keating, 89.
    7 F. C. Happold, Mysticism: A Study and An Anthology (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1964), 73.
    8 Ibid.
    9 Alan Watts, The Way of Zen (NY: Pantheon Books, Inc., 11957), 55. The writer of this article studied both Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, and was taught Tibetan and Zen Buddhist meditation by teachers in those traditions; she practiced both forms of meditation.
    10 By Charles R. Fillmore, the founder of Unity along with his wife, Myrtle; (published by Unity, Unity Village, MO).
    11 “The Adventure Called Unity,” 9.
    12 Phil and Mary Stovin, revised and edited by the Executive Ministry Team and Management Staff of the Association of Unity Churches, “twenty questions and answers about Unity,” (Lee Summit, MO: Association of Unity Churches), 10. [Bolding is mine].
    13 For a fuller discussion of this passage, see my article at Meditation and Psalm 46:10
    14 The Treasury of David at (http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/TreasuryofDavid/tod.cgi?book=ps&chapter=046&verse=010) .
    15 Foster, 156-157.
    16 Paul Ferrini, Love Without Conditions: Reflections of the Christ Mind, (Heartways Press, 1995).
    17 Keating, 44, 57, 74, 90, 91.
    18 Ibid., 36.
    19 M. Basil Pennington, Centered Living: The Way of Centering Prayer (NY: Image, Doubleday, 1988), 51, 92-93, 192.
    20 Catholic mystics known as the “desert fathers.”
    21 Ibid., 53, 77.
    22 Ibid., 95.
    23 Mike Perschon, “Desert Youth Worker,” http://youthspecial target=”_new”ties.com/articles/topics/spirituality/desert.php
    24 Ibid.
    25 Matt. 27:51; Mk. 15:38; Lk. 23:45; Heb. 10:19-20.
    26 Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation, 7.
    27 Keating, 74.
    28 Happold, 52.
    29 Ibid., 54.
    30 Keating, 127.
    31 Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer (The Merton Legacy Trust, 1969; Garden City, NY: Image Books Edition, Division of Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971), 70.
    32 Happold, 44.
    33 Joseph Goldstein, “Exercise/Eating” in Jean Smith, ed., Breath Sweeps Mind: A First Guide to Meditation Practice (NY: Riverhead Books, 1998), 184.
    34 Watts, 20.
    35 Shunryu Suzuki, “The Swinging Door” in Breath Sweeps Mind: A First Guide to Meditation Practice, 158.
    36 Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (Abbey of Gethsemani, 1961), xiv, 41. However, a clear understanding of the atonement is not presented and Merton states that “God wills that all graces come to men through Mary,” 168.
    37 Pennington, Centered Living, 199.
    38 “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
    39 Pennington, An Invitation to Centered Prayer, 50.
    40 Keating, 51.
    41 “A Lesson in Self-Hypnosis,” http://www.barbaraford-hammond.com/selfhyp.htm ; “How Can I Learn Self-Hypnosis?”http://www.ingenieus.com/ingenieus_page_24_self_hypnosis.htm ; “Live More of Your Life with Self-Hypnosis,”http://www.maxpages.com/autohypnosis
    42 See Breath Sweeps Mind and Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness (Boston: Beacon Press, 1976).
    43 Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (NY: HarperCollins, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998), 23, 35, 37.
    44 Ibid., 41-44.
    45 Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, xi.
    46 The meditator is conscious, but there are alterations in the brain patterns.
    47 Keating, 7, 8, 74.
    48 Happold, 34.
    49 Ibid., 39.
    50 Pennington, Centered Living, 7.
    51 Ibid., 7, 191.
    52 Ibid., 191. Sufism is a mystical offshoot of Islam that started in Persia.
    53 Dreher. Note: Transcendental Meditation involves an initiation honoring dead gurus, and the mantras are usually the names of Hindu deities.
    54 Ibid., 192.
    55 Merton, The Asian Journals (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1975), 125, 166, 179.
    56 Ibid., 30. Note: Trungpa was the leader of the particular school of Tibetan Buddhism I studied in the late 1970’s. Trungpa established several centers in the U.S.
    57 Ibid., 30, 31.
    58 In fact, it is from these very teachings (Tibetan Buddhism and others) that I was delivered in late 1990!
    59 NET Bible, http://netbible.bible.org/
    60 Greg Brown, “The Dangers of Hypnosis,”http://logosresourcepages.org/Occult/hypnosis.html
    61 “Heart=Mind: A Biblical Perspective,”http://www.biblestudymanuals.net/heart.htm [W. E. Vine, ed. F. F. Bruce, Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Old Tappan, N.J.: Revell Co., 1981) 206-207].
    62 Greg Herrick, “The Seat of Sin, The Heart, ” http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=858
    63 Foster, Prayer: The Heart’s True Home, 136 (this theme is found throughout the book).
    64 Dreher.
    65 Foster, Prayer: The Heart’s True Home, 159 (this view is also found in Keating and Pennington).

    Christian Answers for the New Age

    About CANA

    Video Resources

    60 minutes with Alisa Childers and Marcia Montenegro (starts at 3:45)
    4 minutes with John MacArthur
    60 minutes with Pastor Chris Quintana and Doreen Virtue
  • Know Thyself: A Biblical Perspective

    Know Thyself: A Biblical Perspective

    “Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you – unless, indeed, you fail the test!”

    2 Corinthians‬ ‭13:5‬ ‭

    Friends, sin makes everything about us. Not only is “i” central to this tiny, English word, but it is the primary lens through which our self-bent hearts interpret meaning and purpose. “I know best!” “I need to be right.” “I know what they need!” And on and on it goes. Sin sets our gaze “in.” It focuses our minds upon the desires and dreams we have as opposed to recognizing that God’s might be completely different.

    “There is a way that seems right to a man,
    but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12

    Are we living as we used to live: Following the whims of our hearts and seeking the approval of man? Or, are we looking to God for His wisdom and leading? You see, looking within is what we used to do… it’s the old way of examining ourselves. We are not to set our minds on us, but on things above where Christ is (Col 3:2). And to acknowledge Him in all our ways (Prov 3). It’s his Holy Spirit that needs to examine our hearts…and it’s completely by His grace.

    “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
    ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭

    “in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
    ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:2-10‬

    Its not the flesh (old self) that should control the flesh (self-control), and it’s not the heart which can judge the heart? It’s not even by knowing your personality type that all of your brokenness can be quelled (a false hope). Friends, it’s by Grace alone! It’s through the Gospel of Jesus!

    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
    ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:22-23, 25‬ ‭

    As we pray (depend on Him) and read God‘s word (fill our minds with Truth) the peace and joy that Jesus gives holds us through each and every circumstance. Repentance brings rest, dear sister. Look to Him! Repent and look up! Let God examine your heart…He knows what He is doing!

    Friends, if you hear anyone quote Augustine and/or Calvin in such a way that promotes “knowing yourself as to know God,” please do the following 3 things:

    • 1) Grab your Bible.
    • 2) Read Augustine’s words (Calvin’s source) for yourself (here).
    • 3) Peruse this Biblical response by Marcia Montenegro from Christian Answers for the New Age (here).

    2 Corinthians 13 NET

    Paul’s Third Visit to Corinth

    13 This is the third time I am coming to visit[a]you. By the testimony[b] of two or three witnesses every matter will be established.[c]2 I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone,[d]3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He[e] is not weak toward you but is powerful among you. 4 For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God’s power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God’s power toward you. 5 Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless, indeed, you fail the test![f] 6 And I hope that you will realize that we have not failed the test![g] 7 Now we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong, not so that we may appear to have passed the test,[h] but so that you may do what is right[i] even if we may appear to have failed the test.[j] 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the sake of the truth. 9 For we rejoice whenever we are weak, but you are strong. And we pray for this: that you may become fully qualified.[k]10 Because of this I am writing these things while absent, so that when I arrive[l] I may not have to deal harshly with you[m] by using my authority—the Lord gave it to me for building up, not for tearing down!

    Final Exhortations and Greetings

    11 Finally, brothers and sisters,[n] rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 [o] Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship[p] of the Holy Spirit be with you all.[q]

    Footnotes

    1. 2 Corinthians 13:1 tn The word “visit” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
    2. 2 Corinthians 13:1 tn Grk “By the mouth.”
    3. 2 Corinthians 13:1 sn A quotation from Deut 19:15 (also quoted in Matt 18:16; 1 Tim 5:19).
    4. 2 Corinthians 13:2 tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
    5. 2 Corinthians 13:3 tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
    6. 2 Corinthians 13:5 tn Or “unless indeed you are disqualified.”
    7. 2 Corinthians 13:6 tn Or “that we are not disqualified.”
    8. 2 Corinthians 13:7 tn Or “that we may appear to be approved.”
    9. 2 Corinthians 13:7 tn Or “what is good.”
    10. 2 Corinthians 13:7 tn Or “even if we appear disapproved.”
    11. 2 Corinthians 13:9 tn Or “fully equipped.”
    12. 2 Corinthians 13:10 tn Grk “when I am present,” but in the context of Paul’s third (upcoming) visit to Corinth, this is better translated as “when I arrive.”
    13. 2 Corinthians 13:10 tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
    14. 2 Corinthians 13:11 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:8.
    15. 2 Corinthians 13:12 sn The versification of vv. 12 and 13 in the NET (so also NRSV, NLT) is according to the versification in the NA28 and UBS5 editions of the Greek text. Some translations, however, break the material up into three verses, i.e., 12-14 (NKJV, NASB, NIV). The same material has been translated in each case; the only difference is the versification of that material.
    16. 2 Corinthians 13:13 tn Or “communion.”
    17. 2 Corinthians 13:13 tc Most witnesses, especially later ones (א2 D Ψ M lat sy bo), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amēn, “amen”), while several early and significant mss (P46 א* A B F G 0243 6 33 630 1175 1739 1881 sa) lack the particle. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. That so many diverse witnesses lacked the word here is strong testimony to its absence for the original text of 2 Corinthians.
  • The Enneagram Family Tree: How it Began and How it Grew

    The Enneagram Family Tree: How it Began and How it Grew

    A heartfelt Thank You to Marcia Montenegro, Jay Medenwaldt, Alisa Childers, Krista Bontrager, Melissa Dougherty, CRI, Dr. Christopher Berg, Dr. Rhenn Cherry, Midwest Christian Outreach, Cultish (Apologia Studios), Women in Apologetics, Steven Bancarz, Sean McDowell, Unbelievable with Justin Brierley, Fr Mitch Pacwa, Doreen Virtue, Dr. Douglas Groothuis, Brandon Medina, and Apologetics315 for all of the research they have undertaken regarding this topic! Some of their resources are shared below.

    Contents

    What is the Enneagram?

    www.naturalhealthcourses.com

    You might be asking, “Isn’t the Enneagram just a personality test?” At first glance, that is all the Enneagram appears to be…which seems harmless. So why write this?

    With the Enneagram becoming a growing focus within numerous evangelical churches (i.e. utilized for staff trainings, hiring of staff members, discipleship, etc), it’s incredibly important that we slow down and “interview” the Enneagram.

    We prayerfully need to conduct a background check (ie What are the roots? Is it Christian?), not to mention examine the theology of its teachers, authors, etc (How do they define the nature of God? Who is Jesus? What is sin? What is Salvation?)

    This post will provide notable research as to help you test the claims of Enneagram proponents, as well as to determine if the Enneagram is indeed Biblical. Friends, there is nothing unkind about doing so…it’s actually what we are supposed to do! (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1; Acts 17)

    “As Christians, it is important to investigate any new practice or teaching prior to use, and the Enneagram is no different.”

    Dr. Chris Berg

    Contrary to claims made by Cron, Stabile, Rohr, McCord, and Heuertz, the Enneagram does not have ancient roots, nor is it Christian. Far from it, actually! The nine-pointed diagram itself was constructed in 1916 by an Armenian esoteric philosopher named, George Gurdjieff, as a way to know the secrets of cosmic reality. According to Gurdjieff’s pupil, P.D. Ouspensky (1878-1947), the enneagram circle with 9 points was designed as “…a ‘cosmic blueprint’ — a diagrammatic representation of the fundamental laws that create and sustain everything from the whole of Creation to individual organisms. The Enneagram demonstrates the interaction of the Law of Three and the Law of Seven that gives rise to all phenomena…All of Creation, the Physical world, the Subtle world, the Causal world and beyond that the Absolute – everything is contained in 9.” For more on this please click here.

    Fast forward to the late 1960’s and you will find both Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo creatively utilizing Gurdjieff’s invention for new purposes. Please read the timeline below for more in-depth information pertaining to Ichazo and Naranjo. However, because these two men are considered the primary authors of the Enneagram of Personality, it’s critical that I detail how they derived the personality traits. Ichazo, a Bolivian philosopher, attached “Ego Fixations” to the 9 points, all the while claiming he was inspired and guided by two Spirit Guides named, Metatron and the Green Qu’Tub.

    “What evidence do we have that there’s one capital sin at the core of your personality? Except Oscar Ichazo and his spirit Metatron said so.”

    Father Mitch Pacwa

    Say what?! Yes, you read that correctly. It was the testimony of both Ichazo and Naranjo that Spirit Guides had provided explicit guidance regarding the development of the personality types and traits. Friends, that’s serious. Let that sink in, please.

    2 minutes

    Claudio Naranjo confessed in a video interview from 2010 that he and Ichazo not only fabricated the lore of ancient origins but also confided that the Enneatype descriptions were submitted through Automatic Writing. This demonstrates that this tool is not spiritually neutral. It was not inspired by God but by means of divination. Per Got Questions, Divination refers to uncovering hidden knowledge by supernatural means (article). God redeems persons who commit divination, but not the act of divination itself. It’s seeking another spirit for guidance…that’s not ok! (Deut 18; and Acts 19).

    There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.

    Deuteronomy 18:10-12

    While the origins are shown to be nefarious at best, what is most concerning is the theology attached to the Enneagram. As you will see from the videos and links provided within this post, what is promoted by the Enneagram authors mentioned above is not in-line with essential Christian doctrine… but is instead a pragmatic syncretism of various spiritual doctrines pointing heavily to a Gnostic worldview. The “Enneagram Wisdom” is not wisdom you and I should take to heart, friends. It’s spiritual guidance from spiritual sources which are not obedient to God, and therefore will lead you away from His Word.

    “Gnosticism presents a radically self-centred alternative gospel. Instead of pointing to Christ, Gnosticism proclaims that salvation comes from inside, finding your true identity within. It denies the goodness of the Creator and the glory of his creation. It denies the Incarnation, the resurrection and the need for redemption. Gnosticism sets itself against true Christianity at every point. It has been described as the ultimate heresy. This false teaching was faced by the Church in the second and third centuries AD.”

    Christian Institute, Gnosticism

    “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

    1 John 4:1

    Friends, when an author slaps scripture upon a New Age tool, does it then become Christian? Per GK Chesterton, no more than standing in a garage makes someone a car!

    Sadly, this is what we are witnessing with the Enneagram. A tool designed to seek spiritual guidance and instruction from spirits disobedient to God cannot be Christianized by human will. Sinners (ie. former adulterers, psychics, liars, etc) can be saved by the Grace of God through the Gospel but not the sin (adultery, divination, lying, etc).

    Praying with fervency that the information shared within this post will greatly assist you on the “interviewing” journey. If you have any questions along the way, please do not hesitate to email me (gal220black@gmail.com)… I’ll certainly reach-out to the experts and see if I can get some answers for you! Reader, you are loved!

    Timeline and Family Tree

    1. George Gurdjieff

    George Ivanovich Gurdjieff
    1866–1877 – 29 October 1949

    As research from Ron Huggins, Marcia Montenegro, Midwest Christian Outreach, and Father Mitch Pacwa has demonstrated, the earliest evidence we have for the existence of the Enneagram is around AD 1916 with George Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff was an Arminian esoteric philosopher and the sole architect of the 9-pointed shape called the Enneagram. And this was confirmed in a video shared below, where Claudio Naranjo (the inventor of the Enneatypes), labeled Gurdjieff as the inventor of Enneagram. Elaborating further, Naranjo described the inherent design as mathematical not psychological, and that it did not originate by way of Christianity. It’s inherent design was and is actually heavily influenced by Gnosticism as well as the Occult. To quote Gurdjieff, “All knowledge can be included in the Enneagram and with the help of the Enneagram it can be interpreted. And in this connection only what a man is able to put into the Enneagram does he actually know, that is, understand. What he cannot put into the Enneagram makes books and libraries entirely unnecessary. Everything can be included and read in the Enneagram.” To Gurdjieff and his followers, the Enneagram (through the Law of 3 and the Law of 7) provided a manner in which all knowledge included in the cosmos could be known….

    Credit for image belongs to Wikipedia. The Fourth Way enneagram is a figure published in 1949 in In Search of the Miraculous by P.D. Ouspensky

    “(Gurdjieff’s) Enneagram to describe one’s essential nature as opposed to one’s personality”

    Christopher Heuertz, The Sacred Enneagram, page 46.

    “If you meditate and the Devil comes, make the Devil meditate.”

    Gurdjieff

    “It is only by grounding our awareness in the living sensation of our bodies that the ‘I Am,’ our real presence, can awaken.”

    Gurdjieff

    2. P. D. Ouspensky

    Russian writer Piotr Demianovich Ouspensky
    1878-1947

    Per Wikipedia, “Ouspensky studied the Gurdjieff system directly under Gurdjieff’s own supervision for a period of ten years, from 1915 to 1924.” Neither Gurdjieff or his pupil, Ouspensky, utilized the Enneagram for the purposes of personality. However, Ouspensky was curious what he could find by wrapping the planets around the Enneagram…(see Rodney Collin). Ouspensky went on to author at least 4 books about Gurdjieff, “The Fourth Way,” as well as “In Search of the Miraculous,” are included in those works.

    “If a man gives way to all his desires, or panders to them, there will be no inner struggle in him, no ‘friction,’ no fire. But if, for the sake of attaining a definite aim, he struggles with desires that hinder him, he will then create a fire which will gradually transform his inner world into a single whole.”

    P.D. Ouspensky

    “The problem of Eternity, of which the face of the Sphinx speaks, takes us into the realm of the impossible. Even the problem of Time is simple in comparison with the problem of Eternity.”

    “A New Model of the Universe: Principles of the Psychological Method in Its Application to Problems of Science, Religion and Art”. Book by P.D. Ouspensky, 1931.
    The Law of Seven
    https://ggurdjieff.com/ouspensky/

    3. Rodney Collin

    Rodney Collin
    26 April 1909 – 3 May 1956

    Enter Rodney Collin. According to Wikipedia, Collin “was a British writer in the area of spiritual growth. His work was heavily influenced by his teacher P. D. Ouspensky and, through him, G. I. Gurdjieff and their system of spiritual development. Collin was one of the most well-known of Ouspenky’s students not to mention a prolific writer.” Around 1954, Rodney Collin was the first to apply an element of personality to the Enneagram which corresponded to Ouspensky’s planetary assignments.

    “Collin claimed that once you’ve become firmly cognizant of your own planetary personality type you can improve yourself by trying to incorporate elements from the first two planetary types, as it were, downstream in the enneagram flow sequence from your own according to the formula 142857. So, for example, if you are a martial type (point 5 on Collin’s enneagram), you can improve yourself by incorporating features first from the Jovial type (point 7), and then second from the Lunar type, representing “cool instinctive certainty” (point 1).”

    Anne Kennedy; http://www.equip.org; “The Road Back to Where? A Look at Self-Discovery using the Enneagram”
    https://ggurdjieff.com/rodney-collin/
    Biographical information as provided by a webpage dedicated to George Gurdjieff.

    4. Oscar Ichazo

    Oscar Ichazo
    July 24, 1931 – March 26, 2020

    Oscar Ichazo, like Ouspensky and Collin, was a follower of Gurdjieff’s esoteric teaching. In 1968, Ichazo founded the Arica School in Arica, Chile which focused upon both New Age and Occultic practices. Per Wikipedia and Ramparts magazine, Ichazo’s Arica School promulgated “A body of techniques for cosmic consciousness-raising and an ideology to relate to the world in an awakened way.”

    Per the research of Brandon Medina, Marcia Montenegro, Midwest Christian Outreach, and Dr. Ron Huggins, Ichazo claimed to had been inspired and guided by two Spirit Guides: “Metatron” and the “Green Qu’Tab. It was during this time at the Arica School, while being instructed by these “fallen angels,” that Ichazo reports seeing a vision of 108 enneagram shapes…picking the modern day design as his own invention. Upon each point, Oscar was inspired to place what he called “Ego Fixations.” According to Gnostic philosophy, these fixations exemplify what is termed as the False Self. Gnosticism proposes that we have a True is pure, divine Self which has never been separated from God. Ichazo believed that if we shed the “False Self,” how we see ourselves via our emotions and experiences, we can unmask the True Self.

    Per an article on CatholicCulture.org, Father Mitch Pacwa explained that Metatron told Ichazo “to take the Enneagram — just as a drawing without any names on it—and on the Enneagram place the capital sins.” Pacwa goes on to say, “Wait a minute—how many capital sins are there? 7, so he didn’t have enough, so he made up 2 more. For No.3, appropriately enough, he added the capital sin of “deceit”. Then for the No.6 he added “cowardice”. He put the other capital sins—1 Anger, 2 Pride, 4 Envy, 5 Avarice, 7 Gluttony, 8 Lust, and then of course, indolence is sloth. So he put the 7 capital sins plus deceit and cowardice on the points, and then gave them these names of ego-flattery etc. And that’s all that he had. That’s all that Ichazo had from the spirit.”

    Mitch Pacwa asked a necessary question, “What evidence do we have that there’s one capital sin at the core of your personality? Except Oscar Ichazo and his spirit Metatron said so.”

    Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known. 19 Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone. When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total 50,000 silver coins.

    Acts 19 (post-cross. God redeems the sinner, not the practices)

    5. Claudio Naranjo

    Claudio Benjamín Naranjo Cohen
    24 November 1932 – 12 July 2019

    Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean Psychiatrist and spiritual seeker, traveled to the Arica School with the intention of learning from Oscar Ichazo. Claudio specialized with psychogenic drugs and spirit contact in hopes to grow spiritually. In an interview from 2011 (here), Naranjo shares that affinity and appreciation for Shamanism. As defined by the Society for Samantic Practice, “Shamanism is the world’s oldest spiritual path coupled with practical strategies for survival. It is a nature-based path of direct revelation meaning that each person has access to Spirit and spirits without need of any hierarchical structure.” This further exemplifies Claudio Naranjo’s Worldview, which is far from Christian. Often termed the “Father of the Enneagram,” Claudio confesses per the video shared here that the personality types added to the 9 points were derived predominantly through spirit contact…by way of Automatic Writing.

    1m 40 confession of Naranjo regarding both origins and design.
    2010 interview in Germany. Naranjo provides details distinguishing the original design by Gurdjieff (Mathematical) with both his and Ichazo’s (Psychological). He also explicitly proclaims at the 3-minute mark that the Enneagram wasn’t/isn’t Christian.

    Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. 10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, 11 one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer.

    Deuteronomy 18

    *God is unchanging (immutable). He redeems creation through the work of His Son, Jesus, but not the idolatrous acts that seek other spiritual influences. This is important to understand, Biblically.

    7. Bob Oches and Helen Palmer

    Jesuit Father Bob Oches
    Jan. 22, 1930 to May 4, 2018

    Per Jesuits.org, “In the 1970s, Catholic theology students were taught the Enneagram in Chicago by Father Fr. Ochs, S.J. Ochs changed the Enneagram to suit his theological purpose of integrating the Enneagram with the teachings of St Ignatius Loyola..” It was through the instruction of Bob Oches at the Chicago seminary that Father Mitch Pacwa learned it, later teaching it to Richard Rohr, Don Riso, and others.

    Helen Palmer
    “The Psychic Who Made Mother Jones Nervous.” http://www.enneagram.com

    Per New Dimensions Radio, “Helen Palmer is an internationally recognized teacher of intuition, and the best-selling author of five works in the human consciousness sector. Helen’s work with the Enneagram was the subject of a 2003 PBS documentary entitled, “Breaking Out of the Box: Discovering the Enneagram. ” Palmer is head of the Center for Enneagram Studies and Teaching. Helen Palmer and Bob Oches both trained directly under Claudio Naranjo and had an incredible impact, per their own confessions, upon both Christopher Heuertz and Beth McCord.

    “The immediate goal is to recognize the inner patterns that drive your outer behavior. These patterns vary according to the type of person you are, and can be internally witnessed by a faculty of spiritual awareness commonly called the Inner Observer“. – Helen Palmer

    What does Richard Rohr say about Helen Palmer? “She was a Psychic…I mean a psychic intuitive. She was convinced that you could train people to be psychic (‘read the soul’)!” This clip was at the 19-minute mark: https://youtu.be/AmZnedWQGM0

    Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods”—gods whom you have not previously known—“and let us serve them.” 3 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being.

    Deuteronomy 13

    “Don’t turn to psychics or mediums to get help. That will make you unclean. I am the LORD your god.”

    Leviticus 19:31

    “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

    Acts 19:18-19 (post-cross)

    8. Mitch Pacwa, Don Riso, and Russ Hudson

    Father Mitch Pacwa
    July 27, 1949

    Father Mitch Pacwa, an American Jesuit Priest, was trained to utilize the Enneagram by Bon Oches at their seminary in Chicago. Pacwa later taught an Enneagram course to the most central person in this entire timeline, Franciscan Friar Richard Rohr. Upon discovering the rather dubious origins of the Enneagram, Fr Pacwa promptly condemned its usage, and set-forth to warn other Catholics!

    “I have mentioned all this in terms of its roots, to de-mythologise the absolute nonsensical myth of it being a 2000-year-old Sufi system. That is untrue. It’s less than 30 years old. I don’t intend to say in any way that the Catholic teachers of the Enneagram are promoting pantheism; they don’t know its pantheistic roots; they don’t know about its occultic roots; they don’t know that it came from spirit channelling; they don’t know that it was originally a form of fortune-telling. They haven’t got a clue of that. They all believe the old myth — or the not so old myth — the 30-year-old myth of it being an ancient system.” – Mitch Pacwa

    https://www.equip.org/article/tell-me-who-i-am-o-enneagram/

    Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them! 18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive. 19 Your obedience is known to all and thus I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

    Romans 16

    Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

    Ephesians 5:11
    Don Riso
    17 January 1946 – August 30, 2012

    Don Riso, an ex-Jesuit, studied the Enneagram from the same man that taught Fr Mitch Pacwa, Bob Ochs. Per Wikipedia, “In 1987, Riso published his 12 years of Enneagram thinking in his first book, Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery. This work showed the influence of Carl Gustav Jung and also of Karen Horney. Three years later he published Understanding the Enneagram.” Approximately 10 years after his book had published, Riso co-founded the Enneagram Institute in Stone Ridge, New York.

    “One of the ego’s main defenses against doing so (experiencing our Essence) is the belief that spirituality is something rarefied, impractical, and very far away. In fact, it is closer than we think, as the mystics assure us: we do not have to go anywhere or accomplish anything. What we must learn is to stop running away from ourselves . . . The good news is that you are already here: your Essence already exists entirely and perfectly . . . We do not need to learn something new or anything to be our True Nature. Spiritual progress involves seeing what is right under our noses – really, what is right under the layers of our personality. Spiritual work is therefore a matter of subtraction, of letting go, rather than of adding anything to what is already present.”

    Don Richard Riso, The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types

    In the quote above from Don Riso’s book, “The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types,” two capitalized words jump out us immediately, “Essence” and “True Nature?” Friends, these are not Christian terms but instead are Gnostic. Gnosticism is very complex, but at the heart of it all is a different God, a very different Christ, a divine human nature (given a “spark”), and a salvation which is obtained through enlightenment. Per GotQuestions.org, “Psychologist C. G. Jung praised Gnosticism as superior to traditional Christianity as a way of thinking.” And Jungian psychology is a huge part of the Enneagram family tree; especially with Richard Rohr! For more pertaining to Gnosticism, GotQuestions has a concise definition here. However, if you want an intensive lesson, please check-out this 1-hour video by Remnant Radio here.

    https://www.christian.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/gnosticism.pdf

    Let’s take a look at how a Gnostic website defines, “Essence.” GnosticsStudies.org, articulates Essence in this way, “What makes every newborn child beautiful and adorable is its Essence; the Essence in itself constitutes our true reality… The Essence that each one of us carries within our Interior comes from above, from Heaven, from the stars…” But that’s not all!

    “Unquestionably, the marvelous Essence emanates from the note “LA” of the Cosmic Octave (The Milky Way, the Galaxy we live in). The precious Essence passes through the note “SOL” (the Sun) and then passes through the note “FA” (the Planetary Zone) entering into this world and penetrating into our own interior.

    Our parents created the appropriate body for the reception of this Essence that emanates from the Stars… Essence is the basis of the human being’s physical, emotional and mental makeup.”

    -paraphrase from Ch. 4 (The Essence) & Ch. 5 (To Accuse Oneself) of Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology

    And you were dead in the trespasses and sins2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

    Ephesians 2:1-9

    And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

    Mark 10:18
    Russ Hudson

    “Type isn’t a ‘type’ of person, but a path to God.”

    Russ Hudson

    Co-founder of the Enneagram Institute with Don Riso, Russ Hudson is keeping extremely busy with his Enneagram workshops. The following is a description for a conference taking place in July of 2022: “More people are aware of the Enneagram than ever before. But in many cases, this powerful system of transformation is reduced to a simple typology without any reference to its rich history and roots, not to mention its original purpose.” According to his website, www.Russhudson.com, Hudson is “the founder and president of Russ Hudson Consulting, and is the co-founder of the Enneagram Institute as well as a Founding Director and former Vice-President of the International Enneagram Association—a global organization advancing knowledge of the subject.”

    “but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”

    1 Thessalonians 5:21

    “Russ worked with Don Riso for several years to develop a scientifically-validated test instrument, the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI), now considered a standard test in the Enneagram field. The RHETI has been used by Fortune 500 companies including Amoco, AT&T, DuPont, Motorola, General Motors (Cadillac Division), Prudential Insurance, and SONY.”

    Russ Hudson, www.RussHudson.com

    General Conclusion
    “Unless you’ve done graduate work in psychometrics, the scientific data probably doesn’t mean a whole lot to you (which is why there are two parts to this article). For those who have studied psychometrics, it’s a no-brainer that the enneagram simply cannot do all its proponents claim it can. Any scientist who studies personality would simply look at the reliability scores and conclude the test is not accurate enough to be helpful, and therefore, they wouldn’t use it because the potential for harm will be too high. I hope this information is helpful and informative, for those who’ve been silently skeptical of the enneagram and for those who are fans of it. My goal was and is to be as objective as possible, which is why I included statistics that may have been hard to understand. In this article, I mostly wanted to get the data out. In part 2, I explain why the enneagram still seems to work (for some), why it matters if we use it or not, and offer recommendations for better tools that can be used as a replacement.”

    Jay Mendenwaldt, “The Enneagram, Science, and Christianity (Part 1)”

    “Is the Enneagram Institute’s RHETI® version 2.5 Scientifically Validated?” By Jay Mendenwaldt

    Jay Medenwaldt covers the Psychometrics of the Enneagram. #BarnumEffect #ConfirmationBias
    Rohr explains at the 1:35 minute mark why the Enneagram is NOT a tool derived through Scientific study and testing. Instead, the Enneagram is a man-made tool designed to give spiritual guidance. Acknowledging this foundational aspect of the Enneagram negates the Genetic Fallacy argument that it can be redeemed for Christian use despite its origins. Seeking spiritual input from fallen angels is not safe. God forbids it (Deuteronomy 18; Acts 19).

    9. Richard Rohr

    Franciscan Friar Richard Rohr
    1943

    But of all of the concerns presented thus far, possibly the most pertinent to consider is the theology of Richard Rohr.

    “We overcome our evil not by a frontal and heroic attack, but by recognizing it, naming it, and letting it go. The Enneagram works by insight. Once we see our False Self for what it is, we are no longer attached to it, and it no longer blocks us from realizing our inherent union with God. The Enneagram helps us see our own compulsive blindness and how we are acting at cross-purposes with our best interest. Realizing that, we can eventually flow with our gift and integrate our sin, our shadow, our failure, the “stone” which we rejected. We finally see that I am what I am, good and bad put together into one self; and God’s mercy is so great and God’s love is so total that God uses even my sin in my favor! God is using all of me to bring me to God. That is the Good News!” 🚩

    Richard Rohr’s Daily Mediation, May 25, 2014

    I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel (“good news”)—7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

    Galatians 1:6-7

    Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

    1 Corinthians 15:1-11

    12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

    1 Corinthians 15:12-17

    Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

    Romans 10:9-13

    And you were dead in the trespasses and sins2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

    Ephesians 2:1-9

    “The whole Enneagram diagram is called ‘the face of God.’ If you could look out at reality with nine pairs of eyes and honor all of them, you would look at reality through the eyes of God.” 🚩

    Richard Rohr, “The Enneagram (part 1)” May 26, 2014; Rohr’s Daily Meditations

    Per Rohr’s bio at the Center of Action and Contemplation, Franciscan friar Rohr is an ecumenical teacher who bears witness to the deep wisdom of Christian mysticism and traditions of action and contemplation. He professes to follow what is called, Perennial Wisdom, as well as sees God and Creation through the lens of Panentheism.

    Rohr’s theological and anthropological views are being introduced to the evangelical church through his books, “The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective” as well as the “The Universal Christ.” Both which have had an incredible impact upon numerous pastors and authors, namely Suzanne Stabile, Ian Cron, Christopher Hereutz, Rob Bell, Beth McCord, David G. Benner, and Oprah Winfrey. Most of whom have been incredibly influential regarding the Enneagram entering the Church. Borrowed from researched conducted by Christian Apologists, Steven Bancarz and Alisa Childers (here), Richard Rohr advocates the following unbiblical viewpoints regarding Jesus and the Biblical Gospel…

    Rohr’s claims will be be listed first 🚩, with a Biblical response shared afterwards 🔍.

    • 🚩 Rohr claims that the Big Bang was his Christ’s first incarceration with Jesus being the 2nd. This showcases a blur between the Creator and Creation, and promotes both God snd man as being one in essence…this lends itself to Panentheism. 🔍 Per Christian Apologist, Norman Geisler, “Panentheists think of God as a finite, changing, director of world affairs who works in cooperation with the world in order to achieve greater perfection in his nature…they believe the world is God’s body.”1 (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59; Ephesians 3; Malachi 3:6 God affirms, “I the Lord do not change;”James 1:17; Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Isaiah 46:9-11; and Ezekiel 24:14.)
    • 🚩Rohr claims that Jesus and the Christ are two different/separate beings. 🔍 Biblically, we know by studying God’s Word that the term “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word, “Messiah.” Christ is also read, “Anointed One.” By reading what God has intentionally gifted us (the Bible), “Christ” is not a separate Being, as is proclaimed in Gnosticism, but is instead a title as well as a role for which Jesus was meant to fulfill. Acts 17:2-3; John 20:28; Acts 2:36; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 John 1:7)
    • 🚩Rohr teaches that Jesus did not exist before the virgin birth; (🔍John 1; John 8:59-59; Jude 1:5; Mark 14:61-64)
    • 🚩Rohr advocates that You and I are Christ. Rohr reports that we are actually the Christ. He teaches that sin blinds us to this purposed reality, and that we just need to be conscious of this. Per New Age beliefs, this is dependent upon a works-based path of spiritual maturity; The concepts being taught by Richard Rohr mimic Brahman more than Christianity; (🔍Matthew 24; Isaiah 45:5; Romans 8; Eph 2)
    • 🚩Rohr denies the necessity of the cross (🔍Romans 3:23, 5:8; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor 15)
    • 🚩Rohr writes in the “Universal Christ” that we should worship dirt and rocks, then trees, and then angels, … each before we worship God (🔍Luke 4:8; Romans 1:23-24)
    • 🚩Rohr declares that God doesn’t have a name; (🔍YAHWEH Exodus 3:14, 6:3)
    • 🚩Rohr instructs that the “True Self” is the Divine Self or the part of us that has NEVER been separated from God. (🔍Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1)
    58 minutes with Richard Rohr. Please emulate the Berean example of Acts 17 and examine the theology presented here alongside Scripture.

    According to seminary professor and author Douglas Groothuis, “Richard Rohr is a heretic in the robes of a Franciscan priest. To be more specific, he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a false teacher, and a deceiver (see Matthew 7:15–19; Acts 20:29–31). Groothuis backs-up his “strong claims” in his article for the Christian Review Institute, “A Heretic’s Christ, a False Salvation: A Review of The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe Richard Rohr.” Click here for the article. Friends, Paul passionately warned the church to be both aware of as well as prepared for those proclaiming “a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11). And sadly, Richard Rohr is promulgating a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a very different gospel. We need to pray for Friar Rohr.

    10. Ian Cron, Suzanne Stabile, Christopher Heuertz,
    and Beth McCord

    Ian Cron
    The Road Back to You

    Per Ian Cron’s website, Cron is recognized as “a bestselling author, psychotherapist, Enneagram teacher, Episcopal priest, and the host of the popular podcast “Typology,” which has over 20 million downloads.” Cron, an admirer of Richard Rohr, has had an incredible impact upon many hearts through both his books and podcasts.

    Within the first few chapters of The Road Back To You, Ian Cron provides us with two red flags 🚩 to thoughtfully consider. Firstly, under the chapter entitled, “A Curious Theory of Unknown Origin,” Ian enthusiastically discloses the expansive impact Hudson, Palmer and Rohr have had upon his Enneagram education. This should immediately cause us to pause and evaluate Mr. Cron’s worldview, and how much both Gnosticism (secret wisdom) and Perennial Wisdom have influenced his own theology. Secondly, in chapter 2, Cron reinforces our need to our responsibly “test the spirits” (1 John 4) when articulating that the purpose of the Enneagram is to bring us back to our “Authentic Self- the beautiful essence of who we are.” This terminology is NOT referring to our “new life” in Christ, which Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:24, and Galatians 2:20, boldly instead reflects the same worldviews of Ichazo, Naranjo, and Rohr regarding the Gnostic Christ as the “Divine Self” which has always been within you.🚩 Ian goes on to say, regarding the “Authentic Self” (Chapter 2), “As (Thomas) Merton put it, ‘Before we can become who we really are, we must become conscious of the fact that the person we think we are, here and now, is at best an imposter and a stranger.’ Becoming conscious is where the Enneagram comes in.”

    Per Marcia Montenegro’s article, “The Christian Enneagram Authors: What You Should Know and Why,” Cron refers to the “Enneagram as coming ‘outside’ of the Christian tradition and thus acknowledges it is derived from non-Christian teachings (which is true). Rather shockingly, Cron also tells Beatrice Chestnut that ‘If you told me there was no trinity, it probably wouldn’t change any of my plans for today.’ For a professing Christian to say the Trinity has no import for one’s life is either to dismiss it as inconsequential or as possibly untrue. This is quite a reckless statement.” Marcia goes on to lovingly alert, Ian Cron held an Enneagram seminar called “Luminous” with New Age Enneagram teacher and psychotherapist Beatrice Chestnut in 2019.

    “The Enneagram doesn’t put you in a box. It shows you the box you’re already in and how to get out of it.”

    Ian Morgan Cron, The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
    https://www.equip.org/article/the-road-back-to-where-a-look-at-self-discovery-using-the-enneagram/
    Suzanne Stabile

    Per her website, SuzanneStabile.com, “Suzanne Stabile is a highly sought after speaker and teacher, known for her engaging laugh, personal vulnerability and creative approach to Enneagram instruction. After 25 years of studying the enneagram, learning from people’s stories, cultivating relationships, and learning under Father Richard Rohr, she has become a bestselling author and world class teacher of the enneagram and how individuals can best utilize this spiritual tool.”

    For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

    Hebrews 4:12-13

    14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

    Hebrews 4:14-16

    Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

    2 Corinthians 12:8-10

    But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.30 And because of him[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

    1 Corinthians 1:26-31

    As cited by Marcia Montenegro, Suzanne explains that “when people begin to commit themselves to a deeper spiritual journey, the first two things that happen are they run into the fact that they don’t like themselves. And the Enneagram helps you get over that. And the second thing is struggles with family of origin and with other people. And the Enneagram helps you get over that.” — From https://bit.ly/2HIqpOL

    Notice how the Enneagram is touted as the tool to help us “get over” both our personal and interpersonal brokenness. The Enneagram seems to be the prominent hero of our story, per Suzanne Stabile, not the Biblical Gospel of Jesus. This is a heartbreaking observation regarding the Enneagram!

    Marcia Montenegro provides a wonderful resource regarding Russ Hudson and Suzanne Stabile on her Christian Answers for the New Age (Facebook), click here.
    https://religionnews.com/2022/06/02/as-enneagrams-popularity-soars-having-an-experienced-teacher-is-more-important-than-ever/?fbclid=IwAR0P344vG7_QmjcZcEBaCEUUv62PG6sV4LUR5_eGUgyLb5Vjxdlk90YFo6E
    Chris Heuertz

    “So how have we gotten so far off track? How do we heal ourselves from the false identities we’ve reinforced? Ultimately, how do we find our way home to the God of love and our true identity? This is where the Enneagram comes in. It reveals our path for recovering our true identity and helps us navigate the journey home to God.” (23)

    Chris Heuertz, The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth

    5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
    6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
    7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
    8 It will be healing to your flesh
    and refreshment to your bones.

    Proverbs 3:5-8

    Per Christopher Heuertz’s webpage, Chris was first introduced to the Enneagram in the slums of Cambodia, and was later “trained under some of the great living Enneagram masters — including Father Richard Rohr.” Heuertz exploded onto the Enneagram scene with his incredibly popular 2017 book, “The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth” (printed by Zondervan), promting a handful of pastors and seminary professors to respectfully vet Heuertz’s theology. One of those professors was Dr. Kenneth Berding from Biola University. Dr. Berding’s book review of “The Sacred Enneagram” is not only FILLED with quotes collected directly from the source (Heuertz), but tests them responsibly against scripture: *How does The Sacred Enneagram approach the essential Christian doctrines of God’s nature, *the Lordship of Jesus, *Sin, *Salvation, *Sanctification, and the avoidance of syncretism. The following two-paragraph quote encompasses the conclusion of Berding’s book reveiw:

    “Christopher Heuertz is promoting many false doctrines in his book The Sacred Enneagram.  I write this with great grief and deep sorrow.  The Sacred Enneagram is full of incorrect and misleading religious assertions.  His teaching does not match what the Bible communicates regarding sin, salvation, sanctification, and probably also other core doctrines such as the nature of God, the person of Jesus Christ, and the atonement.  He portrays the Enneagram as sacred, powerful, searching, alive.  He mixes false religious ideas together with Christianity, and seems unconcerned about the Enneagram’s syncretistic origins.

    I hope that Christians henceforth will be careful of Mr. Heuertz’s teachings. As I mentioned above, I’m relatively new to the discussion, and so haven’t yet been able to determine whether there are any positive uses for the Enneagram (somehow untethered from its mystical and religious overtones) or whether we should avoid the Enneagram altogether. I can say that if a book written by a professing Christian and published by an evangelical publisher can go this far astray, then, at the very least, we need to proceed with caution.”

    Dr. Kenneth Berding, “The Not-So-Sacred Enneagram: A Book Review of “The Sacred Enneagram” by Christopher L. Heuertz.” Talbot School of Theology Faculty Blog

    “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.“

    Romans 16:17

    Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

    Acts 20:28
    Beth McCord

    “They’ll say well that’s not in the Bible,” she says. “Well, the Myers-Briggs isn’t in the Bible. You know, there are lots of things that aren’t in the Bible but are still helpful.”

    (Oh man, don’t get me started regarding “Pragmatism!” – Mer)

    Beth McCord interview with Relevant Magazine in 2018
    yourenneagramcoach.com

    As found on McCord’s professional website, Your Enneagram Coach, her mission is to come “alongside individuals and help them re-write their story, allowing them to see that lasting change, meaningful relationships, and a life of deep purpose is possible. This passion is what drove her to create this community, a safe place for individuals to explore the Enneagram.”

    “To be fair, self-help isn’t all bad. It’s not like Scripture tells us to sit back and just pray about all our bad habits and watch them magically disappear. Rather, the message we would like to emphasize is that self-helpism has limits. There is a line between being good stewards of our bodies, emotions, and behaviors versus trying to change our own hearts or sin nature apart from the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. The message within self-helpism (and within every “ism” mentioned in this book) is idolatry: Humanity takes something good and even powerful, and then mistakes it for God—giving it powers that are God’s alone.”

    Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Mama Bear Apologetics™: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies

    Per a wonderfully comprehensive article written by Brandon Medina, Medina quotes the words of Richard Rohr from a daily devotional written on May 25, 2014 (found here). Rohr said “the enneagram is used to discern spirits, to help recognize your False Self, and lead you to encounter your True Self in God.” Rohr goes on to write that “we need support in unmasking our False Self and distancing ourselves from our illusions. With the self-knowledge that the Enneagram gives us, we are not dealing only with the acknowledgment of sin. (Note: In the Enneagram tradition, ‘sin’ is simply that which doesn’t work, i.e. self-defeating behavior.)”🚩 These quotes by Rohr further demonstrate that the Enneagram is something that cannot be Christian-ized by the addition of Scripture. And therefore, despite what the McCords might champion, it’s NOT spiritually neutral! Therefore, its promotion as a “Christ-centered” tool is extremely misleading. For more information from Brandon Medina’s, The Enneagram – A History (Part 3), please click here.

    Friends, I earnestly hope and pray this reaches Beth…as I would genuinely appreciate dialoguing about all of this with her over a cup of coffee. When thinking upon how the church has arrived at this place regarding the Enneagram, Galatians 2 comes to mind readily. Written by Paul to the church of Galatia before he was martyred in AD 64, the letter to the Galatians passionately encouraged the church to remember the one true Gospel of Jesus; especially in-the-face-of false teachings. It was in this letter that Paul also documented an interaction with his Brother-in-Christ, Peter, and how even Peter needed direct encouragement. Paul had personally witnessed how Peter was being pressured by the circumcision party to add the cross of Grace when he had visited:

    But when they (pro-circumcision party) arrived, he (Peter) stopped doing this and separated himself because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision.13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them.

    Galatians 2:11-13

    We can learn so, very much from that interaction between Paul and Peter when it comes to the Enneagram! God has intentionally provided us with this historical account of one friend lovingly providing needed correction to another (face-to-face) so that we could witness community at work! Paul knew that the cause of the Gospel was way too significant for fear to inhibit correction. And I would humbly speculate that Peter was sincerely grateful for his brother’s boldness! Friends, if Peter, a man who both walked and talked with God (Jesus, the 2nd Person of the Trinity) face-to-face, was capable of making mistakes (post-cross), you and I most certainly will! And when we do, let’s pray that a sister and/or brother will follow the example provided to us in Galatians 2, and remind us of the Gospel of Grace…

    Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

    Proverbs 27:6

    Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

    2 Timothy 2:15

    All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

    2 Timothy 3:16-17

    Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

    1 Kings 18:21

    Notable Resources

    “Nothing in the Bible indicates God cares about personality traits. Peter was impulsive (as we see from some passages), Moses was insecure regarding his speech, Paul wrote he had a thorn in his side (we don’t know what that was), Gideon made a lot of bad decisions, and on and on. God used them despite all of this. God cares about character, not personality. He cares about obedience.” 💥

    Marcia Montenegro
    60 minutes with Marcia Montenegro
    65 minutes with seminary professor, Dr. Ron Huggins
    40 minutes with seminary professor and author, Dr. Doug Groothuis. A Christian perspective.

    What is the Gospel?

    4 minutes with Voddie Baucham
    15 minutes with Steven Bancarz

  • “A Different Jesus?” Studying 2 Corinthians 11 and Matthew 24

    “A Different Jesus?” Studying 2 Corinthians 11 and Matthew 24

    Voddie Baucham

    Who is Jesus? Is Jesus merely a highly evolved man who achieved enlightenment and therefore showed us the way to Christ (as the New Age Movement purports)? Or, is He who He claimed to be…the Messiah and the only Son of God?

    “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

    C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

    Friends, we cannot make Jesus be anyone other than who He is and has always been: the Son of God (2nd Person of the Trinity). Richard Rohr and other New Age theologians view Jesus as a created being who simply pointed us to a being called the Christ (Gnosticism), and that you gave never been separated from Christ. 🚩 This is not Biblical! Sisters, “Christ” is the Greek translation for the Hebrew term, “Messiah.” It also means “Anointed One.” Jesus is the Messiah, and “Christ” was His title …not a separate being.

    4 minutes with Voddie Baucham

    A recent Barna study out of Arizona State Christian is that only 37% of “Christian” Pastors have a Biblical worldview (how we define God, Sin, and Salvation). Given this research as well as the increased usage of the Enneagram within numerous churches, it is very evident is that the Church at-large is genuinely anemic regarding God’s Word. Friends, we need to be in the Bible daily! If we aren’t reading God’s Word often, we could be placing any savvy-sounding teaching as Truth…possibly receiving and accepting a “different Jesus,” “a different spirit,” and/or a “different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11). Gals, let’s test all that we hear and read against Scripture and hold on to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Love you all!

    40 minutes with Dr. Doug Groothius regarding the need for Biblical literacy as well as how Richard Rohr’s theology (and anthropology) is highly unbiblical.🚩

    2 Corinthians 11

    I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband,[a] to present you as a pure[b] virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that[c] just as the serpent[d] deceived Eve by his treachery,[e] your minds may be led astray[f] from a sincere and pure[g] devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims[h] another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed,[i] or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received,[j] or a different gospel than the one you accepted,[k] you put up with it well enough![l] 5 For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.”[m] 6 And even if I am unskilled[n] in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way. 7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself[o] so that you could be exalted, because I proclaimed[p]the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so that I could serve you![q]9 When[r] I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs.[s] I[t] kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine[u] will not be stopped[v] in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do![w] 12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals[x] in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful[y] workers, disguising themselves[z] as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself[aa] as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves[ab] as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.[ac]

    Paul’s Sufferings for Christ

    16 I say again, let no one think that I am a fool.[ad] But if you do, then at least accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence[ae] I do not say the way the Lord would.[af] Instead it is, as it were, foolishness. 18 Since many[ag]are boasting according to human standards,[ah] I too will boast. 19 For since you are so wise, you put up with[ai] fools gladly. 20 For you put up with[aj] it if someone makes slaves of you, if someone exploits you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone behaves arrogantly[ak] toward you, if someone strikes you in the face. 21 (To my disgrace[al] I must say that we were too weak for that!)[am] But whatever anyone else dares to boast about[an](I am speaking foolishly), I also dare to boast about the same thing.[ao] 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times. 24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one.[ap] 25 Three times I was beaten with a rod.[aq] Once I received a stoning.[ar] Three times I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I spent adrift in the open sea. 26 I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers,[as] in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness,[at] in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers, 27 in hard work and toil,[au] through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing.[av] 28 Apart from other things,[aw]there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern[ax] for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin,[ay] and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If I must boast,[az] I will boast about the things that show my weakness.[ba] 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying. 32 In Damascus, the governor[bb] under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus[bc] in order to arrest[bd] me, 33 but I was let down in a rope-basket[be] through a window in the city wall, and escaped his hands.

    Footnotes

    1. 2 Corinthians 11:2 tn That is, to Christ.
    2. 2 Corinthians 11:2 tn Or “chaste.”
    3. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”
    4. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “the snake.”
    5. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “craftiness.”
    6. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”
    7. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tc Although most mss (א2H Ψ 0121 0243 1739 1881 M) lack “and pure” (καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, kai tēs hagnotētos; Grk “and purity”) several significant and early witnesses (P46 א* B D[2] F G 33 81 104 ar r co) retain these words. Their presence in such mss across such a wide geographical distribution argues for their authenticity. The omission from the majority of mss can be explained by haplography, since the -τητος ending of ἁγνότητος is identical to the ending of ἁπλότητος (haplotētos, “sincerity”) three words back (ἁπλότητος καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος); further, since the meanings of “sincerity” and “purity” are similar they might seem redundant. A copyist would scarcely notice the omission because Paul’s statement still makes sense without “and from purity.”
    8. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Or “preaches.”
    9. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed.”
    10. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “a different spirit which you did not receive.”
    11. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “a different gospel which you did not accept.”
    12. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Or “you endure it very well.”
    13. 2 Corinthians 11:5 tn The implicit irony in Paul’s remark is brought out well by the TEV “I do not think that I am the least bit inferior to those very special so-called ‘apostles’ of yours!”sn The ‘super-apostles’ refers either (1) to the original apostles (the older interpretation) or (2) more probably, to Paul’s opponents in Corinth, in which case the designation is ironic.
    14. 2 Corinthians 11:6 sn Unskilled in speakingmeans not professionally trained as a rhetorician.
    15. 2 Corinthians 11:7 sn Paul is referring to humbling himself to the point of doing manual labor to support himself.
    16. 2 Corinthians 11:7 tn Or “preached.”
    17. 2 Corinthians 11:8 sn That is, serve them free of charge (cf. the end of v. 7).
    18. 2 Corinthians 11:9 tn Grk “you, and when.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.
    19. 2 Corinthians 11:9 tn If the participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) is taken as temporal rather than adjectival, the translation would be, “for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, fully supplied my needs” (similar to NASB).
    20. 2 Corinthians 11:9 tn Grk “needs, and I kept.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.
    21. 2 Corinthians 11:10 tn That is, that Paul offers the gospel free of charge to the Corinthians (see 2 Cor 11:7).
    22. 2 Corinthians 11:10 tn Or “silenced.”
    23. 2 Corinthians 11:11 tn Grk “God knows!” The words “I do” are supplied for clarity. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
    24. 2 Corinthians 11:12 tn Grk “an opportunity, so that they may be found just like us.”
    25. 2 Corinthians 11:13 tn Or “dishonest.”
    26. 2 Corinthians 11:13 tn Or “workers, masquerading.”
    27. 2 Corinthians 11:14 tn Or “Satan himself masquerades.”
    28. 2 Corinthians 11:15 tn Or “also masquerade.”
    29. 2 Corinthians 11:15 tn Or “their works.”
    30. 2 Corinthians 11:16 tn Or “am foolish.”
    31. 2 Corinthians 11:17 tn Grk “with this confidence of boasting.” The genitive καυχήσεως (kauchēseōs) has been translated as an attributive genitive (the noun in the genitive functions as an adjective of the noun modified).
    32. 2 Corinthians 11:17 tn Or “say with the Lord’s authority.”
    33. 2 Corinthians 11:18 sn Many is a reference to Paul’s opponents.
    34. 2 Corinthians 11:18 tn Grk “according to the flesh.”
    35. 2 Corinthians 11:19 tn Or “you tolerate.”
    36. 2 Corinthians 11:20 tn Or “you tolerate.”
    37. 2 Corinthians 11:20 tn See L&N 88.212.
    38. 2 Corinthians 11:21 tn Or “my shame.”
    39. 2 Corinthians 11:21 sn It seems best, in context, to see the statement we were too weak for that as a parenthetical and ironic comment by Paul on his physical condition (weakness or sickness) while he was with the Corinthians (cf. 2 Cor 12:7-10; Gal 4:15).
    40. 2 Corinthians 11:21 tn The words “to boast about” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and this phrase serves as the direct object of the preceding verb.
    41. 2 Corinthians 11:21 tn Grk “I also dare”; the words “to boast about the same thing” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and this phrase serves as the direct object of the preceding verb.
    42. 2 Corinthians 11:24 tn Grk “forty less one”; this was a standard sentence. “Lashes” is supplied to clarify for the modern reader what is meant.
    43. 2 Corinthians 11:25 sn Beaten with a rodrefers to the Roman punishment of admonitio according to BDAG 902 s.v. ῥαβδίζω. Acts 16:22 describes one of these occasions in Philippi; in this case it was administered by the city magistrates, who had wide powers in a military colony.
    44. 2 Corinthians 11:25 sn Received a stoning. See Acts 14:19, where this incident is described.
    45. 2 Corinthians 11:26 tn Or “bandits.” The word normally refers more to highwaymen (“robbers”) but can also refer to insurrectionists or revolutionaries (“bandits”).
    46. 2 Corinthians 11:26 tn Or “desert.”
    47. 2 Corinthians 11:27 tn The two different words for labor are translated “in hard work and toil” by L&N 42.48.
    48. 2 Corinthians 11:27 tn Grk “in cold and nakedness.” Paul does not mean complete nakedness, however, which would have been repugnant to a Jew; he refers instead to the lack of sufficient clothing, especially in cold weather. A related word is used to 1 Cor 4:11, also in combination with experiencing hunger and thirst.
    49. 2 Corinthians 11:28 sn Apart from other things. Paul refers here either (1) to the external sufferings just mentioned, or (2) he refers to other things he has left unmentioned.
    50. 2 Corinthians 11:28 tn “Anxious concern,” so translated in L&N 25.224.
    51. 2 Corinthians 11:29 tn Or “who is caused to stumble.”
    52. 2 Corinthians 11:30 tn Grk “If boasting is necessary.”
    53. 2 Corinthians 11:30 tn Or “about the things related to my weakness.”
    54. 2 Corinthians 11:32 tn Grk “ethnarch.”snThe governor was an official called an “ethnarch” who was appointed to rule on behalf of a king over a certain region.
    55. 2 Corinthians 11:32 tn Grk “the city of the Damascenes.”
    56. 2 Corinthians 11:32 tn Or “to seize,” “to catch.”
    57. 2 Corinthians 11:33 tn In Acts 9:25 the same basket used in Paul’s escape is called a σπυρίς (spuris), a basket larger than a κόφινος (kophinos). It was very likely made out of rope, so the translation “rope-basket” is used.
    15 minutes with Steven Bancarz

    Matthew 24

    Now[a] as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings.[b]2 And he said to them,[c] “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth,[d] not one stone will be left on another.[e] All will be torn down!”[f]

    Signs of the End of the Age

    3 As[g] he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things[h] happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered them,[i]“Watch out[j] that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’[k] and they will mislead many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.[l] 7 For nation will rise up in arms[m] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes[n] in various places.[o] 8 All[p] these things are the beginning of birth pains.

    Persecution of Disciples

    9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations[q] because of my name.[r]10 Then many will be led into sin,[s] and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive[t] many, 12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved.[u] 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations,[v] and then the end will come.

    The Abomination of Desolation

    15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation[w]—spoken about by Daniel the prophet—standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand),[x] 16 “then those in Judea must flee[y] to the mountains. 17 The one on the roof[z] must not come down[aa] to take anything out of his house, 18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 Woe[ab] to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! 20 Pray[ac] that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great suffering[ad] unlike anything that has happened[ae] from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’[af] or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. 24 For false messiahs[ag] and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 Remember,[ah] I have told you ahead of time. 26 So then, if someone[ai] says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’[aj] do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him. 27 For just like the lightning[ak] comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures[al] will gather.[am]

    The Arrival of the Son of Man

    29 “Immediately[an] after the suffering[ao] of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.[ap] 30 Then[aq] the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,[ar] and[as] all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They[at] will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven[au] with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven[av] to the other.

    The Parable of the Fig Tree

    32 “Learn[aw] this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also you, when you see all these things, know[ax] that he is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth,[ay] this generation[az] will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.[ba]

    Be Ready!

    36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it—not even the angels in heaven[bb]—except the Father alone. 37 For just like the days of Noah[bc] were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood, people[bd] were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. 39 And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away.[be] It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man.[bf] 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left.[bg] 41 There will be two women grinding grain with a mill;[bh] one will be taken and one left.

    42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day[bi] your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief[bj] was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.[bk]

    The Faithful and Wise Slave

    45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave,[bl]whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves[bm] their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work[bn] when he comes. 47 I tell you the truth,[bo] the master[bp] will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if[bq] that evil slave should say to himself,[br] ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 51 and will cut him in two,[bs] and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    Footnotes

    1. Matthew 24:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
    2. Matthew 24:1 sn The Jerusalem templewas widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.
    3. Matthew 24:2 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς(apokritheis) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
    4. Matthew 24:2 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
    5. Matthew 24:2 sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.
    6. Matthew 24:2 tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on a stone which will not be thrown down.”
    7. Matthew 24:3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    8. Matthew 24:3 sn Because the phrase these things is plural, more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.
    9. Matthew 24:4 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
    10. Matthew 24:4 tn Or “Be on guard.”
    11. Matthew 24:5 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
    12. Matthew 24:6 tn Grk “it is not yet the end.”
    13. Matthew 24:7 tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.
    14. Matthew 24:7 tc Most witnesses (C Γ Δ Θ0102 ƒ1,13 700 1241 1424 M) have “and plagues” (καὶ λοιμοί, kai loimoi) between “famines” (λιμοί, limoi) and “earthquakes” (σεισμοί, seismoi), while others have “plagues and famines and earthquakes” (L W 33 lat). The similarities between λιμοίand λοιμοί could explain how καὶ λοιμοίmight have accidentally dropped out, but since the Lukan parallel (Luke 21:11) has both terms (and W lat have the order λοιμοὶ καὶ λιμοί there too, as they do in Matthew), it seems more likely that scribes added the phrase here. The shorter reading does not enjoy overwhelming support ([א] B D 892 sa, and other Greek and versional witnesses), but it is nevertheless significant; coupled with the internal evidence it should be given preference.
    15. Matthew 24:7 sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.
    16. Matthew 24:8 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    17. Matthew 24:9 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).
    18. Matthew 24:9 sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.
    19. Matthew 24:10 tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.
    20. Matthew 24:11 tn Or “and lead many astray.”
    21. Matthew 24:13 sn But the person who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.
    22. Matthew 24:14 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).
    23. Matthew 24:15 sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:14, 19, 24; Rev 3:10).
    24. Matthew 24:15 sn This parenthetical comment is generally regarded as a command by the author made directly to the readers, not as part of Jesus’ original speech. For this reason the statement is not placed within quotation marks.
    25. Matthew 24:16 sn Fleeing to the mountainsis a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.
    26. Matthew 24:17 sn On the roof. Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.
    27. Matthew 24:17 sn The swiftness and devastation of the judgment will require a swift escape. There will be no time to come down from the roof and pick up anything from inside one’s home.
    28. Matthew 24:19 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    29. Matthew 24:20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    30. Matthew 24:21 tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”
    31. Matthew 24:21 sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.
    32. Matthew 24:23 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.
    33. Matthew 24:24 tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
    34. Matthew 24:25 tn Or “Pay attention!” Grk“Behold.”
    35. Matthew 24:26 tn Grk “they say.” The third person plural is used here as an indefinite and translated “someone” (ExSyn 402).
    36. Matthew 24:26 tn Or “in the desert.”
    37. Matthew 24:27 sn The Son of Man’s coming in power will be sudden and obvious like lightning. No one will need to point it out.
    38. Matthew 24:28 tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment. See also Luke 17:37.
    39. Matthew 24:28 tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.
    40. Matthew 24:29 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    41. Matthew 24:29 tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”
    42. Matthew 24:29 sn An allusion to Isa 13:10; 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.
    43. Matthew 24:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
    44. Matthew 24:30 tn Or “in the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.
    45. Matthew 24:30 tn Here τότε (tote, “then”) has not been translated to avoid redundancy in English.
    46. Matthew 24:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
    47. Matthew 24:30 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full authority to judge.
    48. Matthew 24:31 tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.
    49. Matthew 24:32 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
    50. Matthew 24:33 tn The verb γινώσκετε(ginōskete, “know”) can be parsed as either present indicative or present imperative. In this context the imperative fits better, since the movement is from analogy (trees and seasons) to the future (the signs of the coming of the kingdom) and since the emphasis is on preparation for this event.
    51. Matthew 24:34 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
    52. Matthew 24:34 sn This is one of the hardest verses in the gospels to interpret. Various views exist for what generationmeans. (1) Some take it as meaning “race” and thus as an assurance that the Jewish race (nation) will not pass away. But it is very questionable that the Greek term γενεά (genea) can have this meaning. Two other options are possible. (2) Generationmight mean “this type of generation” and refer to the generation of wicked humanity. Then the point is that humanity will not perish, because God will redeem it. Or (3) generation may refer to “the generation that sees the signs of the end” (v. 30), who will also see the end itself. In other words, once the movement to the return of Christ starts, all the events connected with it happen very quickly, in rapid succession.
    53. Matthew 24:35 sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.
    54. Matthew 24:36 tc ‡ Some significant witnesses, including early Alexandrian and Western mss (א*,2b B D Θ ƒ13 it vgmss IrlatHiermss), have the additional words οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός (oude ho huios, “nor the Son”) here (so NA28). Although the shorter reading (which lacks this phrase) is suspect in that it seems to soften the prophetic ignorance of Jesus, the final phrase (“except the Father alone”) already implies this. Further, the parallel in Mark 13:32 has οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, with almost no witnesses lacking the expression; significantly, Mark does not add “alone” to the Father. It is thus doubtful that the absence of “nor the Son” is due to pious scribal motives. In keeping with Matthew’s general softening of Mark’s harsh statements throughout his Gospel, it is more likely that the absence of “nor the Son” is part of the autographic text of Matthew, being an intentional change on the part of the author. Further, this shorter reading is supported by א2a as well as L W ΓΔ ƒ1 33 565 579 700 1241 1424 M al vg sy co Hiermss. Although the external evidence is not as impressive for the shorter reading, it best explains the rise of the other reading (in particular, how does one account for virtually no mss excising οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός at Mark 13:32 if such an absence here is due to scribal alteration? Although copyists were hardly consistent, for such a theologically significant issue at least some consistency would be expected on the part of a few scribes). Further, although some have claimed that the doubled οὐδέ is “necessary on internal grounds” (Bart D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament [New York: OUP, 1993], 92; see also Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, SP 1 [Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1991], 342: “…the syntax of the sentence (‘neither the angels … but the Father alone’) demands it.”), this is hardly the case. Indeed, apart from one quotation from the LXX, Matthew never elsewhere uses the correlative οὐδέ construction. Thus, on a redactional, intrinsic, and source-critical basis, the shorter reading is to be strongly preferred. See D. B. Wallace, “The Son’s Ignorance in Matthew 24:36: An Exercise in Textual and Redaction Criticism,” Studies on the Text of the New Testament and Early Christianity: Essays in Honour of Michael W. Holmes, ed. Daniel Gurtner, Paul Foster, and Juan Hernández (Leiden: Brill) 182–209.
    55. Matthew 24:37 sn Like the days of Noah, the time of the flood in Gen 6:5-8:22, the judgment will come as a surprise as people live their day to day lives.
    56. Matthew 24:38 tn Grk “they,” but in an indefinite sense, “people.”
    57. Matthew 24:39 sn Like the flood that came and took them all away, the coming judgment associated with the Son of Man will condemn many.
    58. Matthew 24:39 tn Grk “So also will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
    59. Matthew 24:40 sn There is debate among commentators and scholars over the phrase one will be taken and one left about whether one is taken for judgment or for salvation. If the imagery is patterned after the rescue of Noah from the flood, as some suggest, the ones taken are the saved (as Noah was) and those left behind are judged. The imagery, however, is not directly tied to the identification of the two groups. Its primary purpose in context is to picture the sudden, surprising separation of the righteous and the judged (i.e., condemned) at the return of the Son of Man.
    60. Matthew 24:41 tn According to L&N 46.16, this refers to a hand mill normally operated by two women.
    61. Matthew 24:42 tc Most later mss (L 0281 565 579 700 1241 M lat) have here ὥρᾳ(hōra, “hour”) instead of ἡμέρα (hēmera, “day”). Although the merits of this reading could be argued either way, in light of the overwhelming and diverse early support for ἡμέρᾳ (א B C D W Δ Θ ƒ13 33 892 1424, as well as several versions and fathers), the more general term is surely correct.
    62. Matthew 24:43 sn On Jesus’ return pictured as a thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.
    63. Matthew 24:44 sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it would take some time—so long, in fact, that some will not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).
    64. Matthew 24:45 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
    65. Matthew 24:45 tn Grk “give them.”
    66. Matthew 24:46 tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.
    67. Matthew 24:47 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
    68. Matthew 24:47 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
    69. Matthew 24:48 tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).
    70. Matthew 24:48 tn Grk “should say in his heart.”
    71. Matthew 24:51 tn The verb διχοτομέω(dichotomeō) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).
  • Scriptures Which Celebrate Life (at all stages)

    Scriptures Which Celebrate Life (at all stages)

    Friends, this post contains both scripture and videos regarding the value of life as given by God…both in the womb and outside of the womb. The first video includes answers to the top 6 objections to pro-life arguments (apologia), and the second thoughtfully explores the current cultural impact of secular sexuality. Let’s keep praying as well as reading His Words, Sisters! We need to His help as to love well. The endeavor to help these moms, dads, and unborn children continues (ie prayer, donations, fostering, adopting, friendship, and more). It’s in His strength and for His glory…always. ♥️

    “Yes. There are going to be many scared and desperate women out there who need the church to come alongside them in love and support to not just say “no” to abortion, which is right, but to show them and their babies the extravagant love of God. This just might be one of the biggest opportunities of our generation to SHOW UP as God’s people to the fatherless and widow.”

    Megan McArthur (friend and sister)

    Video Resources

    70 minutes with Scott Klusendorf and Alisa Childers
    80 minutes with Nancy Pearcy, Krista Bontrager, and Alisa Childers.

    Scripture

    Exodus 20:13
    “You shall not murder.”

    Jeremiah 1:5
    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

    Psalm 139:13-16
    For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

    Jeremiah 1:4-5
    Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

    Isaiah 44:2
    Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

    Genesis 1:27
    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

    Galatians 1:15
    But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,

    Isaiah 49:1
    Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.

    Job 31:15
    Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

    Psalm 139:13
    For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

    Psalm 127:3
    Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

    Psalm 51:5
    Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

    Deuteronomy 5:17
    “‘You shall not murder.

    Isaiah 49:5
    And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—

    Psalm 127:3-5
    Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

    Exodus 23:7
    Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.

    Luke 1:36
    And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

    Isaiah 13:18
    Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.

    Genesis 25:21-22
    And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

    Revelation 22:15
    Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

    John 10:10
    The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

    Luke 2:12
    And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

    Luke 1:41-44
    And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

    Ecclesiastes 11:5
    As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

    Genesis 25:22
    The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

    Revelation 21:8
    But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

    Acts 7:19
    He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

    Hosea 9:14
    Give them, O Lord— what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

    Psalm 139:1-24
    To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. …

    Psalm 22:10-11
    On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

    Job 3:16
    Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light?

    Job 3:3
    “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.’

    Genesis 1:28
    And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

    Genesis 1:26
    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

    Titus 2:4
    And so train the young women to love their husbands and children,

    Ephesians 6:4
    Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

    Romans 13:8-10
    Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

    Luke 1:43
    And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

    Luke 1:39-44
    In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? …

    Luke 1:31
    And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

    Luke 1:15
    For he will be great before the Lord. And he (John) must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

    Luke 1:13
    But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

    Hosea 12:3
    In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God.

    Lamentations 2:20
    Look, O Lord, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?

    Jeremiah 22:3
    Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

    Proverbs 31:8
    Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.

    Proverbs 22:6
    Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

    Proverbs 6:16-19
    There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

    Psalm 139:15
    My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

    Exodus 21:22-24
    “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

    Genesis 25:21
    And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

    Genesis 9:5-6
    And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

    Hebrews 13:4
    Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

    1 Timothy 5:14
    So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander.

    Colossians 2:1-23
    For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. …