Tag: bible

Resurrection is Spiritual Not Physical

The Talpiot Tomb, the family tomb where Jesus’ body might have been laid to rest, invites the brave to consider the heavy concept of physical versus spiritual resurrection. Since the time of Christ, many of the most important bible stories in the New Testament are confined to a literal interpretation by elite theologians and simple pastors alike. This leads the listener down an obligatory dead-end alley of literal interpretation, with no room for discerning another possibility. But I say this needn’t be the case. That in careful interpretation–and introspection–the bible can actually be more aptly interpreted in these stories in a spiritual, versus physical, way.

In order to not become distracted here, I will stick to one story on my mind: the story of Jesus’ resurrection. This is not an exhaustive exegesis of this concept, but merely an opening of the door into this miraculous event and my argument that a spiritual interpretation is the only explanation that makes any sense.

I appreciate that the bible is an ancient document. I mean it was orally transmitted millenia ago, and the latest biblical tales all occurred by the end of the first century AD. So we are talking ancient ancient history. It is pretty hard for most of us to ponder what it must have been like to live over 2,000 years ago! And even if that is our personal jam, we still probably wouldn’t come too close to an accurate understanding because it’s just so long ago. I mean, germ theory, physics, and astronomy have all become so much better understood than in those times. Also, we have collective generations of people behind us who have relied upon the bible to make meaning of their lives, which has shaped us and our culture whether we realize it or not. So the way we think about things is very different than how they thought about things.

Ancient man was necessarily much more literal-minded than we need to be today. We understand that there are tiny machinations of things at work that the naked eye cannot see, but which cause real material changes to occur. In those days, if you couldn’t see it, it was all ascribed to the gods, or God. As Christians we know everything was made by God, but God uses the natural processes He made to cause events and effect change. God does this in a supernatural way we cannot understand as His ways are not our ways, but it filters down to us in a natural way, if we have eyes to see this.

Because ancient people lived in a more concrete way, from day to day, they needed to be shown the gospel in a way that they could understand. God doesn’t always want everyone to understand everything as evidenced in Jesus’ parables. Remember how his own disciples struggled to make meaning of similes and metaphors? But the thrust of the gospel–Jesus being raised on the 3rd day–was the keystone upon which Christianity was founded, and it was imperative that chosen ones got it so that they could then pass it along. If this concept was not grasped, Christianity would have slowly died out. God knew this, so in His genius, He provided for different interpretations to be available in the one bible for all men, for all time.

Some men and women are literal-minded, they need to perceive a truth in order to believe it. Others are more abstract-minded, they are able to understand the immaterial without difficulty. Because God makes both kinds of people, He provided that the bible also accommodated this reality.

In several places in the bible, namely Acts and 1st Corinthians, Paul says that Christ died, was buried, and on the third day was raised according to the scriptures. He goes on to say Christ was seen by hundreds of the brethren and apostles, and lastly by him. In Acts, Paul literally says he ‘saw’ Christ when he was still Saul, yet we know that he only had a vision of Christ, so he ‘saw’ and heard Christ in his mind’s eye as it were in a bright flash of Light; none of his other traveling companions saw or heard Christ speak though they did witness the bright Light. So as we can see, he uses the word ‘saw’ literally and figuratively, regardless of the circumstance. This is hard for us to understand because we use language differently. Paul also does this with the word ‘sleep’ for death of the brethren. Because Paul understands–and preaches–so intimately that believers do not die but pass into eternal life, he does not use the word death at all regarding believers who pass away, but the term ‘sleep’. We think of sleep as one thing usually: nighttime slumber or napping. I am convinced that Paul, through God’s inspiration, was taking liberty with words that men used in their daily lives to mean something literal and assigning to them a more abstract meaning. So that those with eyes to see and ears to hear could understand on a deeper or more spiritual level, as needed.

Paul had the difficult task of spreading the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection to all men: those that needed to believe literally, and those that were able to understand deeper, less visible, truths while remaining true to the simple story of the gospel.

If you read the accounts Paul gives of Christ being resurrected from the dead, you can see that he never closes it off to having to be a physical, bodily resurrection! He always leaves an ‘out’ as it were for those who are able to understand that our bodies are spiritually resurrected into who we will be in heaven. Paul becomes ‘all things to all men’ when he teaches on this subject, which is the cornerstone of Christianity. Some men cannot believe unless they envision Jesus’ physical body floating into heaven in a supernatural event. But some (like me) cannot believe unless I imagine it as an invisible spiritual supernatural event. This is also the case for me regarding the ‘virgin’ birth where virgin had different meanings in those days. But I already posted about that.

I can imagine easily that Jesus’ spirit laid dormant 3 days then rose into Heaven to be with God, making a way for all of His chosen ones–those who believe in Him–to also make this journey in the blink of an eye when our bodies pass from life to death. Those 3 days must have been terrible! This would have been an invisible event to living creatures and seen only by heavenly beings. People who have had near-death experiences speak of signs of heaven and of hell. It baffles my mind that people, especially in our day, have a hard time believing something that they cannot see. For me, things unseen are truer than things seen!

So when preachers and teachers become dogmatic that the bible must be interpreted only literally or only figuratively, they are both wrong. God allows for those with eyes to see and ears to hear the truth of how He works. Some people, because of the way they are made, cannot believe something unless it is presented to them in a concrete way; others are able to believe in a more abstract way. The point is that Jesus rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God, and will return ‘in the clouds with honor and great glory’ to rule again.

It tickles the imagination to think of His spiritual return, what this will look like. He will be in His spiritual body. We don’t know what his physical body looked like or what his spiritual body will look like when He returns. But everyone will KNOW it is Him in that time. I can’t personally believe that a physical Jesus-esque body will float down to us from the sky…

But maybe something like a reverse black hole happens: a WHITE expanding cloud from the heavens envelop us, while His brighter blinding Light and His consciousness pervades our every cell so that all living creatures KNOW He is Jesus returning to rule and reign.

Females Shall not be Preachers

This post was a long time in the making, like years. Because this topic is so controversial, I needed to wait and consult different theologians and thinkers and delve into the pages of scripture seeking its truth regarding this subject. I know it’s clear that the Apostle Paul told the pastor Timothy (and Titus) that he himself does not allow a woman to speak in church, but I needed more than Paul’s opinion and practice; I needed my Savior’s opinion. Interestingly, those who seek the answer to women pastors never seem to discuss what Jesus thought or did in the matter: it always seems to come down to Paul.

I understand that Paul was swimming upstream in a raging torrent of culture which had come out of Asherah pole worship in earlier times to goddess temple worship in their time. Priestesses were ensconced in temples and were worshiped as gods in lewd ways constrained only by men’s imaginations. Women also logistically were not given the same rank as men in society. Paul was not part of Jesus’ living ministry and therefore was not witness to Jesus’ tender moments with the Marys or others whom He traveled and preached alongside. Therefore, Paul only heard second-hand about these situations, and he graciously allowed women to be benefactors for the Way, but stopped it there.

To begin, I do have a bias in this and it might not be what you think. I do not think women should be preachers, pastors, or elders (basically all the same thing in the New Testament). It has never sat well with me to hear women preach in church, unless I was at a woman’s conference. Whenever I show up to church and the person on the stage is a female who is going to deliver the Sabbath message, my insides groan, and I have to fight the urge to flee. But I also don’t think women should be presidents of public institutions such as President of the United States. Private corporations I seem to be okay with. I mean, you can do what you like with your own money, but I don’t want a woman deciding the fate of my country, state, or local domains. I just don’t think women are blessed with the same ability to judge the affairs of men as men are. But to muddy my waters more, my selected denomination, Assemblies of God, does think women can be ordained ministers in order to preach to the assembly. So I really needed to get to the bottom of this dilemma.

With that being said, I do understand that women in the Old Testament were judges (Deborah) and prophets (Abigail), although it was rather rare. Just reading the bible shows us that the canonized prophets were all male, except for Esther. And Esther was the only scroll not secreted away by the Essenes, the male elite who sequestered themselves away waiting for the Teacher of Righteousness. These OT female roles appeared outside the temple or tabernacle in the fields and had a specific purpose. In no stretch of the imagination could we see in our mind’s eye a female standing in the sacred temple opening a scroll and reading from it as our Great Priest did with the Isaiah scroll. But that was OT days. After Jesus, maybe things were different. After all, Jesus seemed to treat women as equals and was very loving and understanding toward them.

The bible in the book of Luke tells us that Jesus spent all night in prayer asking the Father whom He should choose to be his first disciples. In the morning, He called 12 male disciples to Him, and they became the ones who would spread the good news that the Kingdom of God had come. Close to 30 years old at this time, Jesus certainly might have known of at least one woman (even if only his own mother) who could have had adequate knowledge of His mission and ministry to preach it well. Yet He chose men. He then sent them out 2×2, in pairs. Joan Taylor and Helen Bond are a pair of British theologians and professors who have written and instructed that Jesus had female disciples, and they try to make a weak case for those same disciples church-planting for Him. I refute their feminist message (respectfully). Disciple means a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher. That Jesus had female followers and supporters is not disputed by anyone. But what they propose is that these women traveled about like the men and would have preached the gospel; essentially opening the door to the likelihood that Jesus appointed women who would have become church leaders, or pastors.

One the main tenets of Joan’s argument for this lies in the interpretation of the 2×2 bit above. In New Testament Greek, the phrase duo duo is used for how Jesus sent His disciples out. Duo duo simply means ‘in pairs’. She tries to link this phrase with the story of Noah’s ark where Noah was supposed to gather the animals 2×2, in pairs. Except in that instance, pairs in the Hebrew language (the language of the old testament), meant obviously male and female with the purpose being for the animals to procreate once the flood waters subsided. The tenuous link she provides for saying that duo duo means male and female comes when she uses the Septuagint’s translation which translates the Hebrew OT into Greek. The Septuagint was written in the 3rd century BC. Guess what Greek words the Septuagint uses for this phrase from Genesis? Yep, duo duo. So Joan argues that because they chose the phrase duo duo for the pairs of animals that obviously meant male/female, that is how Jesus also sent out His disciples to preach the Good News, as male/female pairs. Preposterous!

As a bible student myself, I know that you cannot take one phrase–or even a set of verses–out of context and assign a heavy, or outlandish, meaning to them if they don’t agree with the other parts of scripture. The concept of systematic theology says that you must interpret events in the bible in light of what the whole book (God’s divine word and meaning) is saying. Other later scholars translated this Hebrew phrase differently, as brought to us in the Interlinear translation, for example. It was only in the Septuagint she was able to link the idea of duo duo to male/female and even then, duo duo can mean simply, ‘a pair’.

Let’s look at it. Would Mark, Luke, and the other gospel writers really witness, or know those who witnessed, the remarkable event that Jesus chose female disciples but not record it? Joan and Helen would have us believe that Jesus chose 12 male disciples, and that He then expected each of them to be paired with an unknown female disciple whom he might not be married to, to walk to distant places and stay in strangers’ homes, sleeping and bathing together? That was totally unheard of in the holy land, and most other places, in those times. No self-respecting Jewish household would permit entry of these disciples!

After Jesus called the twelve, He received many more followers, including women. He then sent out 70 (or 72) in pairs again. This same argument stands: Would Jesus have sent out male/female pairs? I have already shown this is impossible. Would He have sent out solely female pairs? Let’s think about that. Jesus, who loves women and understands their often abused and overlooked plight, is going to send 2 women out on the Roman roads and footpaths into the unknown without a weapon or money, and with minimal clothing? No way! They could be raped, killed, taken, enslaved, or sold. Plus, Jesus came to first share His gospel with the lost Jews. How would Jews He was trying to reach take the message which John had begun, and Jesus had continued, if this High Priest was sending out women alone and unprotected to preach to them when it was completely against their culture and everything they knew to be right?

Once I realized that Jesus did not send out women, based on these two episodes in the bible, I knew I had discovered the truth about female pastors: Jesus never intended women to preach His word. Women could be disciples (Joanna). Women could understand and learn from Him (Mary and Martha). Women could anoint and heal (Mary). Women can evangelize (share the gospel message, Priscilla). Women can prophecy, judge, and teach men outside the pulpit (OT). Women can be counselors to women, and through women, their men (NT). But women cannot be preachers, elders, priests, pastors, or be a shepherd of a congregation. Women can basically do everything else, but:

The role of church leader, teacher, and shepherd is made specifically for a male.

~Selah

A Prophetic Dream?

I was standing in a sort-of fantastical world in my dream, down below a platform where 3 others were standing, yet with direct line-of-sight to all of them. The first one I noticed was standing in the middle and He was a representation of God (represented by Bill Gates in my dream, weird I know). He has a steel rod in his hands that He would place in the fire in front of Him. When He did this, the rod would turn golden-red as with forging iron. He was very slow and careful in His movement, but very sure.

His son was to His right and He also had a similar rod. God was teaching His Son how to wield this rod of iron, but the boy was a bit more uncertain and unwieldy with it, to the point I was beginning to feel some mild trepidation because I was standing below them and knew that if the Son slipped, I would be torched. But He gained good control of His rod and they both stood regal near the fire holding their golden-red rods aloft in front of them, ready.

Then to God’s left a ways was my ex-husband. He was acting silly and did not seem to be aware of the scene or seriousness of the portent of God and His Son standing ready with torches of red-hot iron. He thought he could play with God’s fire, and he took his own little medium he used for tinder and while he was making mocking faces, he touched his own hair with his stick, and it caught on fire. Down below I was watching in disbelief, unable to understand why he would want to do that, but he obviously thought it was a game, and he could control God’s fire.

Before he knew it the fire was spreading in his hair and gaining strength and began going down his neck. He started trying to put it out but was not successful. He dove off the platform onto the ground and I saw flames licking his upper body and remember thinking if I got too close, I would also catch on fire, but nonetheless I ran toward him to help put out the fire. He began yelling and I saw in my mind’s eye his fear and his realization he was going to die a terrible death; that we was wrong and God was REAL. It was awful. I then turned to try and find a blanket or something to smother the flames because I was not able to stop the fire with my hands.

And then I woke up.

What does this mean? Does it mean my ex is going to burn in hell for his mockery of me, and God? I have asked he and his wife to church so many times, and they refuse. I have shared my newfound faith with him over the decades since our divorce and he has declined this knowledge. God showed me that people think idolatry is a joke, but it isn’t. They think hell isn’t real, but it is. They think they can play with fire, and nothing is reverent or sacred to them; everything is fodder for them to mock. But some things should not be mocked! Something obviously needs to be done to save his soul, but I am not sure how or what to do.

The interesting thing is that he did it to himself. God nor His Son ever laid the fatal flame of fire to him. In my dream, he thought he was invincible. And it had eternal consequences.

Psalm 2: The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom

Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”

 “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Selah~

Part 2: The Finger of God

[Artwork shown above is the famous Creation of Adam by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel ceiling] It is the most beautiful masterpiece of the story of creation where the finger of God creates man.

To follow up on my previous post, and upon further study, I was shown the bigger picture of what the finger of God means. It isn’t ‘fingers’ in the book of Daniel as it is translated. The Hebrew word for finger of a man’s hand writing on the wall is actually singular: a finger. See my previous post for more information. The phrase finger of God is used 4 times in the Old Testament and 3 times in the New Testament, respectively in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Daniel, Matthew, Luke, and John. And its overall meaning is a biblical expression that signifies the authority and power of God in the world.

FINGER OF GOD

Finger of God means so much. It means God’s divine power to create and judge.

1) The first time the phrase “finger of God“ appears in the Hebrew Bible is in the eighth chapter of the Book of Exodus, interestingly first noted by Pharoah’s magicians who most certainly danced with demons or even had demons. Demons are usually the first to recognize God:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.'” And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals. And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. ~Exodus 8:16-20

2) The second time finger of God is mentioned is also in the book of Exodus:

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. ~Exodus 31:18

3) The third time finger of God is used is in the book of Deuteronomy:

And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. ~Deuteronomy 9:10

4) The fourth, and last, time finger of God made a debut in the Old Testament is in the book of Daniel during King Belshazzar’s great feast:

Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

In the same hour the finger of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished. ~Daniel 5:1-9

5) The fifth time the phrase finger of God is expressed as Spirit of God and used is by Jesus as depicted in the book of Matthew when the priests accuse Jesus of consorting with demons:

 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ~Matthew 12:26-28

6) The sixth time the phrase finger of God is used, it is in the same narrative but adapted by Luke:

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ~Luke 11:14-20

7) Finally, the last entry of the concept of finger of God is in the book of John when Jesus writes something mysterious in the earth:

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” ~John 8:2-11

Interpretation

Jesus the man became an expert in the Hebrew bible and interpreted it the way the Word, Yahweh, had intended all along. It is my theory that Jesus wrote MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN (MMTU) in the sand outside the temple as described in the parable of the woman caught in adultery. In the original story from the book of Daniel, this phrase means God has numbered you and you are finished (Mene). You have been weighed in the balances and found lacking (Tekel). Your people are divided and will be conquered (Pharsin).

When Jesus contends with the Pharisees about His authority to cast out demons as quoted in example 5 above, He understands full well the implication of what division in a people means (inevitable doom) and uses that logic to His advantage. This is further evidence that He did write MMTU in the earth as the finger of God with the authority to cast out demons, judge, and rule according to the will of His Father, Almighty God, as these Hebraic words essentially mean you have earned God’s wrath, and your fall is coming.

Jesus has adopted the phrase finger of God in His argument with the ruling priest clans regarding His authority to cast out demons and judge. He used the reference finger of God in at least these two instances that we know about, which harkens proclamation of the Law and the prophets which then attest to Him, the coming Messiah. He appropriates this mantle with authority when He applies the phrase finger of God to His arguments and miracles.

I think this is sufficient evidence to show that the mystery of what Jesus wrote with His finger in the sand has been solved: Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin

Praise God for giving us this knowledge. It is another sign that we are nearing the Great Tribulation, because God wants to make it clear that judgment is coming nigh.

Part 1: The Finger of God: The Writing in the Sand and the Writing on the Wall

I was doing a bible study on parables today and the story about the woman caught in adultery was called to mind, where Jesus wrote something mysterious in the sand. And He famously said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone”. Ahh, so classic. As the instructor was mentioning it briefly, God flashed to me the illustration of the hand writing on the wall in the king’s palace in the book of Daniel. The similarity of this parable and the story in Daniel of the writing on the wall are so obvious once you think about it! Upon further deduction, I do think Jesus was writing the same Aramaic phrase in the earth that the hand was writing on the wall:

Mene Mene Tekel Pharsin

This phrase means God has numbered you and you are finished (Mene). You have been weighed in the balances and found lacking (Tekel). Your people are divided and will be conquered (Pharsin). This phrase would definitely have rung true also in Jesus’ time since the Jewish nation was oppressed by the Romans, and there was constant threat of persecution and crucifixion. Death was pervasive. The Sanhedrin were always afraid of upsetting the Roman apple cart and being unable to practice their religion in Israel.

If this was what Jesus inscribed in the dirt, what would have affected the scribes and pharisees more was Jesus’ reference to the book of Daniel where this phrase made its debut. Jesus was schooling them as the voice of God. I suggest that they were so shocked by Him and His use of these words that they slowly, one by one, were convicted and dumbstruck, and walked away silently. It was noted elsewhere in the New Testament writings that Jesus drew on Old Testament prophets and writings to show his divinity and purpose. The Pharisees and Sadducees were always becoming stymied and speechless by Him. So it makes total sense that he was doing the same thing in this depiction.

Jesus said to the woman, “I don’t judge you. Go and sin no more”. The irony is that in true Jesus fashion, He took the judgment the men intended for the woman and turned it back on the men! They received judgment while she was forgiven and renewed.

There are some striking similarities between the two stories about mysterious writing that make me convinced this was the import of Jesus’ writing.

The Writing on the Wall

Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, was king of Babylon and decided to have a party for a thousand of his nobles. They brought out the golden vessels taken from the house of the Lord in Israel and used them to toast to many gods. At that moment finger of a man’s hand came out and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace across from the lampstand. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s color was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that he was trembling mightily and sent to find someone who could read this writing and reveal its meaning. The one who could tell the king its meaning would be clothed in purple, given a chain of gold around his neck, and shall rule 3rd in the kingdom. That night King Belshazzar was killed. ~Daniel 5:1-7

The Parable of the Woman Caught in Adultery

As Jesus was teaching in the temple at dawn, the scribes and pharisees brought to Him a woman having been taken in adultery. They said, Teacher, in the Law Moses commanded that such should be stoned. You, then, what do you say? They said this to tempt Him in order to accuse Him. But bending down, Jesus wrote with the finger in the earth, not appearing to hear. He then stood up and said, “The one among you without sin, let him cast the first stone at her.” And bending down again, He wrote in the earth. But hearing, and being convicted by the conscience, they went out one by one, beginning from the older ones, until the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing there. And Jesus stood back up, and observing no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did not one give judgment against you?” And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I give judgment. Go, and sin no more.” ~John 8:1-11

Similarities

  • Finger There are really no other stories I can think of in the bible where fingers of a hand write something that strikes fear into men. I think it’s too coincidental that Jesus wrote with a finger in the earth of the temple yard, and that fingers of a man’s hand wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace.

The Hebrew word “etsba” primarily refers to a “finger.” It is used in the Bible to denote the physical finger of a person or, metaphorically, to describe the work or action of God. The term can also imply precision, skill, or the act of pointing. Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Hebrew culture, the finger was often symbolic of power and action. The use of fingers in gestures, such as pointing or writing, was significant in communication and expression. The finger of God, as mentioned in the Bible, signifies divine intervention or the execution of God’s will with precision and authority.

  • Mysterious The writing on the wall was written in a language unknown by King Belshazzar, but known to the Hebrew people, and Daniel. The writing in the earth is a mystery to everyone but the Jews who were present. I doubt even the woman knew what was written since women were mostly illiterate in those times.
  • Judgment Both writings proclaimed some judgment upon man. In Daniel, it was because of the sin of idolatry; and in John, it was because of the hypocritical mindset of the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus was showing that the law is something that is written in our hearts versus something to be used to hurt people.
  • 3rd Highest The other compelling symbolism I found tying these two narratives together is that the person who revealed the writing’s meaning in Daniel would receive a purple robe, golden necklace, and rule third in the kingdom. This all implies kingship and authority. Jesus knew this when he wrote MENE MENE TEKEL PHARSIN in the sand. We know his meaning was understood when the Jewish leaders quietly walked away. I am sure few understand the full import of His meaning, that He understood His place as the 3rd in the Holy Trinity: Father, Holy Spirit, and Son.
  • Holy Bread The most exciting discovery for me to glean from these two texts is that hidden meaning you have to dig to find. It is in the comment regarding the location of the writing in the palace: “on the wall across from the lampstand”. In the tabernacle and later in the temple, there were explicit locations for the items that were used by the priests outside the Holy of Holies (where the ark of the covenant and the 10 Commandments were kept). Some of these pieces of furniture were the alter, the table of incense, and the lampstand. But across from the lampstand was located the table of shewbread. Jesus is symbolic of the showbread! The showbread was a constant reminder of God’s covenant with his people and his provision for the 12 tribes of Israel, represented by the 12 loaves. Jesus is the true Bread of Life, giving unfailing sustenance to all who partake of Him. Light from the golden lampstand illuminated the table of showbread causing it to sparkle with a dazzling beauty as the small ornately tooled table stood stately on the right side of the holy place.

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. ~John 6:51

Jesus is always teaching us that He is the completion of the law; He is the New Covenant. In this story He is the writing on the wall, He is the bread of life, and He is the one who has been given the authority to judge men.

The Bitter Woman at the Well

That Jesus not only spoke to women but entered into discussion with them, ate with them, lived among them, and loved them is a profound, often overlooked aspect of His life and ministry. In those days women were tolerated in the male-dominated world…to serve men. They were treated as lesser-than men in society as reflected in the law at the time. They had meaning only insomuch as they served men in the domicile, and in society. They were generally not sought after for their thoughts, insights, or leadership.

If you read the account of the woman at the well and really pay attention to it so that you live it out in your mind, you can see that she was actually being quite flippant with Jesus, and dare I say, downright defiant? She spoke as a woman embittered by life, as so many women in that day were, I am sure. Here was this strange man who demanded something from her while she was carrying out yet another mundane daily chore. He was probably the spark that ignited her seething fuse and she ‘went off on him’ once he spoke to her.

We can understand that she was undoubtedly living under a chronic degree of anger about her subservient role of ‘woman’, and not just any Hebrew woman, but as a lowly Samaritan woman who was not of the ‘chosen’ clan of the Jews. She was a serial divorcee and wife (of 5 previous husbands), and also knew the reality of living in sexual immorality since the current man she lived with was not her husband. She undoubtedly had children of various fathers. Men in those times could divorce a woman for any reason, and one gathers that her biting tongue might have been some of the reason for this lady’s difficulties. We can imagine this as a vicious cycle of being redeemed by a man only to be discarded by him (partially of her own doing) and feeling like a victim in this. This anger leaked out upon Jesus who happened to be resting at the ancient well of Jacob, thirsty and tired from his journey.

The Story

A tired and weary Jesus sat down beside the well in the city of Sychar and asked for a drink from the first woman who came to the well. And she said, “Since you are a Jew, how can you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” [interpretation: Ha! Not on your life, Mister!] not giving Him a drink

And He essentially replied, “If you had asked me, I would have given you living water to drink (eternal life). But she said to Him, “Sir, you don’t have a pail to draw water, and the well is deep, where do you get living water? [interpretation: Looks like you are up a creek without a paddle! If you have water, where is it?] not giving Him a drink

She continues, “You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, together with his sons and his cattle, are you?” [interpretation: (reveling in her revenge) Who do you think you are? We are children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which makes us legitimate heirs in this land] not giving Him a drink

Jesus responded (again about the living water), “Everybody who drinks of this water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never get thirsty any more. Instead, the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (Jesus is intimating His superiority over the patriarchs of Israel). Then the woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” [interpretation: (in a sarcastic tone) Prove it to me!] still not giving Him a drink

Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come here.” (proving it through His knowledge of her). The woman replied by saying, “I don’t have a husband.” [interpretation: Oh crap! (probably in a sheepish but defiant tone)] still not giving Him a drink

Jesus countered that He knew she didn’t have one husband, but five! And that she doesn’t have a husband, indeed, but is living with a man. “You told the truth about that!” (as if nothing she had said thus far had been the truth). The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem–” [interpretation: Oh, you think you are so smart, Mr. Prophet, who do you think you are? If you’re so great, why aren’t you in Jerusalem with your own kind? (deflecting off of herself and her own sins) still not giving Him a drink

Jesus entered into a lengthy explanation for her about impending doom upon Israel, that salvation will come from the Jews, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and how to worship God properly–in spirit and truth. (He is patiently parleying with her). The woman said to Him, ” I know that the Messiah is coming, and He will make everything clear to us.” [interpretation: Yes, this is something we can agree upon, the Messiah, (while still not validating Him)] and still not giving Him a drink

Jesus said to her, “I am HE, the very One Who is speaking to you!” They were interrupted by the return of the disciples, and the woman left her water jar and ran off to the city and proclaimed Jesus Christ to everyone. still not having given Him a drink

This conversation must have gone on about 10, 15, 30 minutes, if not longer, because it sounds like they were talking much of the time the disciples were gone!

And this whole time our thirsty Savior was not given a drink of water by a lowly sinner!

This shows me that Jesus has eternal patience with women, even sinful women. That He cares about each of us and is willing to take the time necessary to overcome our bitterness and self-sabotage. Men in those days did not discourse with women like this, especially between cultures, clans, and classes! She was totally beneath Him in every way, yet He spent so much of His precious time saving her, probably one of the most sinful women of her city.

In this account are many good lessons to learn. First, God loves everyone and wishes that none should perish but all to have eternal life in Him. Second, we must spend time one-on-one with folks preaching the Good news of Jesus Christ, Who is the Living Water. And third, no one is ‘beneath’ us and our love and ministry. If Christ can lower Himself to care about the lowest class of people, the most sinful citizens of either gender, who might be breaking the law of God, we can too.

But most of all, Lord let me never not be willing to serve You (or Yours) a drink of water!!

For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. ~Mark 9:41

Baptism by Water & Spirit

Jesus replied, ‘Let me assure you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter God’s kingdom’. ~John 3:5

I used to interpret the phrase ‘born of water’ as a reference to natural birth because I think of the waters surrounding the baby, the amniotic fluid. 🙂 But this is not what Jesus is saying. He is saying that it is necessary to be baptized of water, then of the Spirit, for salvation. Being born of a woman is the least of matters, as it means being born of the flesh.

John was a prophet who came first as a voice crying out in the Wilderness to reveal the Son of Man, Yahweh, the Word, his cousin, Jesus. John baptized people in the River Jordan for repentance of sins, which was a necessary first step for salvation. Those who believed in Jesus then became saved. And when Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, he sent the Holy Spirit to baptize people with the Spirit so that all who repent and call upon the name of Jesus can be saved.

Dr. James Tabor teaches that prophet and Priest go together in the ancient Hebrew beliefs, especially that of the Essenes. John the Baptizer was the prophet to Jesus’ Priest. When asked to give an account of himself to the Pharisee messengers, John denied being The Prophet, yet he was A prophet, as explained by Origen, a prolific early church scholar. Indeed, Jesus testified to John being ‘more than a prophet’. John WAS a prophet, but he did not want to make himself important, he wanted all the glory to go to Jesus. He must increase and I must decrease. ~John 3:30

When sharing the gospel, it is necessary to baptize someone in the knowledge of repentance of sins and belief in Jesus. Then He will send the Holy Spirit to them. If there is only one baptism of sins, and this involves repentance, it makes no sense why babies should be baptized. Babies are incapable of repenting of their sins. Repentance of sin requires the ability to think about God and oneself in relation to God, and to critically think about our sin in a regretful way. How ridiculous that infant baptism is so popular in the world’s oldest Christian tradition. How can something so obvious gain such a foothold upon believers?

I think this is an unfortunate illustration of what happens when followers of Christ do not read and follow the word but rely on men to interpret the word for them. The Puritans were aware of this and printed the bible for all to read and study. And they were persecuted grandly for this, necessitating them to flee the motherland to worship God in the way He called them to. Catholicism added much to the early church, but they have also caused much harm with inaccurate interpretations and applications of the scriptures.

This verse about being born again also shows that one needn’t wait to become baptized once they become a follower of Jesus. It should literally happen concurrently since it represents a cleaning and washing away of repented sin.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin and I will be made whiter than snow.

❤

As a Child

I am reminded by Jesus that God cares most about what is inside me than what is outside me. Specifically in the way that I love Him and love my neighbor. This is sort-of hard to grasp because we usually think the meat of love is the expression of love, because after all, in biblical economy love is an action.

But as in mobius fashion, the ways of God are not always that easy to grasp. This is what is at the heart of the Mary and Martha story. Mary wanted to serve and love God first, and learn from Jesus by sitting at his feet, and that appeared selfish. Martha wanted to serve others first, by cooking and serving, and that was expected and acceptable by society standards. Not only did Jesus clarify that loving God over your neighbor comes first, but one’s heart-felt gentle expression of love is more important than working yourself to the bone doing what is expected. Remember that Martha loved Jesus too.

Expectation comes in many forms. Social mores “are preferred and socially sanctioned ways of behaving in any given society. Mores are the traditional customs and codes of behavior that are typically followed in a place or in a group but are not codified by law. In other words, mores are the unwritten rules of social behavior, backed by morality“. Mores are the unwritten expectations each culture or group places on a person in that group. Mores are a psychological term that represents a culture’s morality. It’s fundamentally a religion for the secular. And this can even creep into the Christian church. We just call it ‘legalism’. Christians already have a code of ethics given to us by God Himself and it is contained in the bible, and is sufficient.

As human beings, we are always judging and comparing others and their aura as it relates to us. Our brains scan and conduct micro-calculations below the surface of our awareness all the time. We note when people behave differently or outside what we are used to and we develop expectations for behavior this way. As we grow older, these expectations become more cemented in our mind. It is easy for us to become ‘close-minded’. That is why children and youth are more ‘easy going’ because these ideologies are not yet as fixed in their minds. Older folks scoff at the whimsicality of youth and think they ‘don’t know any better’ or ‘they will learn’. But Jesus warns about this when He says:

Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 18:3

As with many, the full import of this verse did not register with me before, but now it does. Jesus wants us to be as children and youth in that they have not allowed rigid expectations to guide their thinking; they are simple-minded and single-minded in their approach to what they want. And what all Christians should want the most is a close, loving relationship with God. Not serving our neighbor and our neighbor’s expectations–or society’s mores–first, but Him first.

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom!

‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ~Matthew 15:8-9

Oh, how often have we gone astray, even as believers, because we obey the doctrines of man (mores) over God’s commandments! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. (Matthew 23:26) The more I study and learn about the real God, the more I realize it is what is in the heart of man that matters first and foremost, followed by the outward action, because the action flows from the heart. No matter our intentions, or even our good deeds, if our heart harbors darkness, no light can issue forth from us. That is why He is most concerned about our inner selves, our heart, and our mind, because these affect our soul, and ultimately our very ability to love.

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” ~1 Samuel 16:7

We must have grace for others because only God can see into the true essence, or heart, of another. Once our heart is aligned and in love with God, then we can love our neighbor as we should. And this will be a lifelong process, which is called sanctification. This is why grace is so important. Grace is what replaces legalistic expectations of others in our mind, to keep us young in the Lord. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God and we have different sins that might plague us. We are called to exhort and gently rebuke each brother and sister to keep the biblical standard, but this must come from a soft place in our heart that has no condemnation.

For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ~Romans 2:1

As soon as we judge others out of our rigid mores, we will be judged, for with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ~Matthew 7:2

God calls us to love as children do, completely and without expectation and judgment. ❤

God’s Nomenclature

Nomenclature means simply devising or choosing names for things. God gives general names to things as He creates them as shown in the first verses of the bible. Day and night. Light and dark. Matter and antimatter (waters/expanse/waters). Earth and seas. Grass and trees. Sun and moon. Swarmers in the sea and air. Cattle and creepers on the earth. Man and woman.

He then makes Adam a steward over all the earth and the creatures in it, and Adam is given the responsibility for giving each creation its name: Out of the ground the Lord GOD formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field…~Genesis 2:19-20

Adam may have given general names to animals, but through observation and study, Carolus Linnaeus in the mid-1700s refined these into a naming system called ‘binomial nomenclature’ based on a creature’s physical characteristics. This works by giving an animal a latin name based on a general category (genus) followed by a more specific characteristic (species) of it. Linnaeus was Christian who believed that God created everything. This term to identify animals and plants is still used today!

An example of binomial nomenclature is the name Tyrannosaurus rex. Tyrannosaurids were bipedal carnivores with massive skulls filled with large teeth. Despite their large size, their legs were long and proportioned for fast movement. In contrast, their arms were very small, bearing only two functional digits. This is the general category of its kind. Rex means king. That specifies that this creature was the largest of the tyrannosaurs.

We believe that this system works well for animals, but not for man, such as in Homo sapiens, etcetera, because ‘Homo’ is a genus of great apes, and the bible is clear that man is created on the last day by God, in His image. This is where science starts turning into atheistic philosophy and guesswork with the use of phytological trees and untenable links for presumed evolution between species.

And GOD called, “Make man in Our image and all in Our likeness; and may he have dominion over fish in the sea, and over birds in the heavens, and over cattle over all the earth, and over all creepers creeping on the earth.

And created GOD the holy man in His image.  Male and female He created them and GOD blessed them.

A great, brief article on the subject is written by Roger Patterson where he teaches us a new concept of creation called the ‘created kind’. “Created Kind (Baramin): the original organisms (and their descendants) created supernaturally by God as described in Genesis 1; these organisms reproduce only their own kind within the limits of preprogrammed information, but with great variation. A group of creation scientists called the Biology Study Group is currently attempting to classify animals within created kinds, or baramins (from the Hebrew bara—create and min—kind).”

Orchard Family Tree

Illustration from Dr. Kurt Wise and Creation Science Fellowship of Pittsburgh from the 1990 ICC Proceedings, Bob Walsh editor, vol. 2, p. 358.

As modern Christians, we must appreciate that we have been raised in an era of atheistic science and textbooks influencing our school curriculum since the 1950’s. As such, we need to rethink what we have been taught and assumed to be true. We do this by going back to the bible and lining out scientific understanding with scripture. If science fits scripture, we keep it, if not, we throw it out. The burden of proof is on those making their various hypotheses and theories, and so far, the bible has never been proved wrong.

All Sufficiency of Scripture

Forged by Fire

In the years following my atheistic separation and subsequent divorce, I was plagued with horrible feelings of death. I was either wanting to die or feeling like I was dying. I watched in dismay and hopelessness as my children parceled their way out of my life, and into my ex’s. This also felt like death. I would try to explain the despair to my friends. I would say to them, “I have lost my family,” or, “It’s like my children have died!” because the grief over losing them felt like death. They couldn’t understand! And this added to my grief. Even though they mostly listened to my lament, they disregarded this feeling and negated my experience, reassuring me that I did not lose my children or family. I felt like I literally needed to attend a grieving parent group for families of lost/dead children because they were the only ones who would be able to understand some of what I was feeling. Job became my kindred spirit because he also lost everything, yet even Job still had his wife! Then I stumbled upon this bible verse

But every man is tempted when of his own lust he is drawn away and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.

That this verse gave me comfort shows just how miserable a state I was in. There was something healing in God showing me a reason for the situation I was in, that it was of my own making. This knowledge gave me a starting place to work from.

As time went by and I leaned more and more into knowing God, He did heal me of my anguish and brought comfort to me. I got saved in Jesus. Then I began extending God’s love into each of my relationships, including my children and ex and his new family. This took years, and is still happening. It sometimes takes a long time to save a soul. I had tremendous difficulty forgiving myself for the anguish I had caused my children. Finally, after about 13 years I realized I was forgiven by God and the past was in the past. I was free to be who I am in the Lord.

I came to understand that feeling consuming thoughts of death and wanting to die means that your spirit inside you (your soul) is shouting at you that it’s time to die–to your old life. When sin has wreaked its havoc and death is occurring in small and large ways all around you, the bible teaches us this is inevitable when we follow the lust in our hearts. Satan has won. Or has he? Once death has occurred, there is no recovering that life or way of being, unless you want to be a walking zombie. The bible calls these those ‘who sleep’, like our modern-day term ‘zombie’. The walking dead.

Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ~1 Corinthians 15:18

But God is a life-giver and wants to restore us to the way He sees us and who He made us to be. As the great sinner King David once sang, ‘Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, uphold me by Your generous Spirit‘! We get off track when we do not follow His plan for us, and the only way back is to repent and humble ourselves and turn back.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

It’s now been 14 years since my devastating divorce and loss of my family as I knew it. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me in memory, and I counsel people against divorce now because of what I know and have been through. But I also have the hindsight and understanding through God now that even though we all suffered an excruciating death of life as we had known it, we had to so that He could restore ALL of us to new life in Him. My children and ex might not be aware of this, but I am. The path we were on, largely due to us and our sin against God, would have led us all into certain destruction and eternal death. God, in His sovereign mercy knew this and stopped it. He allowed my marriage to die so that I could be born anew from the ashes. And save everyone in the process. Indeed, there was really no other way we all could have been saved, or else I think He would have made a way for that. He is omniscient where we are blind. But now I am beginning to see.

Poor Judas. He was a necessary part of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but woe to him for being that pawn. He chose suicide because he too felt the gravity of what he had done and could see no hope. Judas could have realized his feelings of wanting to die just meant his old heart was hardened and he needed a spiritual death, not a physical one. He could have called out and repented to Jesus and been forgiven and saved, but he chose the prideful and selfish way out, which is what suicide is. Killing others is also the epitome of selfishness. Wanting to kill and die is your soul song crying out to you that it’s time to cleave from your old life and be born again in Jesus Christos. The alternative is hell for eternity, the bible teaches us.

It is better for part of you to perish than to be thrown into hell. ~Matthew 5:29

As I come out of those old atheistic ways and forge a new path with God, I am taking all that love and forging new relationships with my children based on Jesus’ Way. I am also bringing that into my friendships, acquaintanceships, work, and other realms. Now that I am saved I am sailing around everyone one-by-one extending a hand to those still drowning and offering them safety in my God-given lifeboat. Some have come aboard. Will you?

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ~John 3:3

I will not stop trying until God takes my breath away. I see now that once I was on the path to destruction, He always intended to bring me out of it, I just did not fathom it because I couldn’t. I was like an ant and He is God. Now I am His soldier fighting for Him.

~Selah