Month: October 2026

Asked For

On By TimIn 1 Samuel 08, Death, JesusLeave a comment

And all the elders of Israel gathered together and they came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now, install for us a king to govern us like all the nations.” 1 Samuel 8:4–5

Saul was anointed king over Israel. He was the asked for king. Imagine being led to find the meaning of the name Saul. But it came one night… Unexpectedly. It was from this portion, from which I previously posted.

Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul came to David and fell upon his face and bowed down. Then David said, “Mephibosheth,” and he responded, “I am your servant.”
David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show you kindness on account of Jonathan, your father. I will return to you every field of Saul, your father, and you will eat at my table perpetually.” 2 Samuel 9:6–7

I still contemplate what is veiled in this portion of the Bible. It is almost embedded in menory.

When Saul died and David became king, it would be customary to dispatch all of the male descendants of the previous king preventing any inclination to the throne. So when David summoned Mephibosheth, reluctance to comply would be very real. But he goes anyway.

David says do not be afraid, he is addressing this tension. He then gives Mephibosheth a perpetual place at the king’s table. He would be treated as a son of the king, as the text says perpetually.

Ziba said to the king, “Everything that my lord the king has commanded his servant, your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at the table of David like one of the sons of the king. 2 Samuel 9:11

When I made that earlier post, the revelation of the meaning of Saul’s name drew my instant attention. The impression that came with it connected to the fall in the Garden of Eden. I could not quite understand how Adam asked for a new king. I equated Saul as a typification of Satan.

Adam and Eve both chose disobedience and to give themselves over to certain death. From that the death reigned, until the new King was anointed.

David was anointed long before his ascension to the throne. Jesus has yet to take His.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:1

God anointed a King for Himself. The typification was to be a macro-level view played out by two kings. It would be from the fall to the Triumphal Entry when the King is anointed. Then the cross and resurrection showing death has already been defeated. The culmination is when the King takes His throne in the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.

It was not until a few nights ago, that it was understood better. Saul is not a typification of Satan. He embodies death. Death that pursued the new King.

Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” 1 Samuel 16:2a

Saul embodies disobedience and death. The tension of the two kings shows that death never had a claim on David from the time he was anointed until he took his throne.

Saul’s life served a purpose to the people. He was to point to God’s chosen king who gives people rest. Just as death was appointed, it serves a purpose.

Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death has spread to all men, because all have sinned. Romans 5:12

God gave the people what they asked for. Then he exploited death, inserting a window of time to show the people mercy.

For God has imprisoned them all in disobedience, so that He might be merciful to all. Romans 11:32

That death is on all, likewise mercy is on all, as they live to breathe after they sin. Just as David escaped. Without the mercy of God, there would be no time for anyone to exercise faith.

But the Scripture has confined all things under sin, that the promise through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Galatians 3:22

The last enemy to be defeated is death. David honored God and waited patiently for His timing. Just as Jesus awaits His Father’s timing.

For since death came by man, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward, those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end when He will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For He “has put all things under His feet.” But when He says, “all things are put under Him,” it is revealed that He, who has put all things under Him, is the exception. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:21–28

The Deluge, Noah’s Ark Preserved as a Testimony of Coming Judgment

On By TimIn Genesis 06, JudgmentLeave a comment

The earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence. God looked on the earth and saw it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. So God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I will destroy them with the earth. Make an ark of cypress wood for yourself. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.

Genesis 6:11–14

Why do you think Noah’s Ark is in even the secular news today?

Newsweek is covering it. It is covered multiple times by Yahoo. And some of you might take offense, but mainstream Fox News is covering it.

This odd formation near Ararat in Turkiye is also known as the Durupınar site. It is a 515-foot-long oddity that is similar in shape to a long boat. Its length clearly fits the 300 cubits that God laid out in the plans given to Noah. The team working the site has confirmed the formation is man-made.

These modern claims also come with a hefty dose of skepticism. Many think that Noah faced the same kind of skepticism during construction, but that comes from inference. The Bible does not record Noah being ridiculed or challenged. What it does say is that Noah was perfect in his generations, which could be understood as having uncorrupted genes. It also says that Noah was a preacher… And probably had an ironclad testimony amongst his contemporaries.

and if He did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 Peter 2:5

But why pitch the ark inside and out?

Boats are ususally watersealed on the outer surfaces. God instructed Noah to seal inside and out. The inference is that this would be for preservation. It brings back to my mind something I heard way back in 2004 or so.

“It has yet to be actually found. I personally suspect that God still has a purpose for the ark. Perhaps that’s why Noah was instructed to “pitch it within and without.” You don’t need to cover the craft with pitch on both sides of the hull except to preserve it. I suspect that it will be found in God’s timing to provide a testimony, once again, to an unbelieving world of a coming judgment.”

Chuck Missler — The Deluge

Here we are. Noah’s Ark is in the news. Many things point to this being the time toward the end. Its appearance is yet again testimony to coming judgment. The people in Noah’s day were indifferent to what was going to happen. Jesus said the same indifference would be a hallmark of the time of the last days and His coming.

As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:37–39

There are things to glean from what Jesus said and the way He said it. He is speaking about the days before the flood, before Noah and his family were called up into the Ark by God. Those to be saved were called up seven whole days before the door was closed by God.

Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth. And Noah went with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives into the ark because of the floodwaters. Everything that creeps on the land from clean and unclean animals and birds came in two by two, male and female, to Noah into the ark, as God had commanded Noah. After seven days, the waters of the flood were on the earth.

Genesis 7:6–10

I am one who holds that every detail in the Bible is there by design. The fact that seven days is highlighted commands attention. Noah was called into the ark, and the rest of the world was oblivious to judgment.

See, during those seven days, the door to salvation was still open and available. Nobody else took advantage of it. Those that remained outside of the ark were doomed by their own delusion, and when the door closed… Salvation was no longer available to any.

Most see the typology of Noah’s riding out the flood above the waters as a picture of the rapture of the church. Yeah, i get the skepticism, but there is going to be one of those. I see clearly that Noah and his family being called up into the ark as that testament to the rapture. I see the seven days as correlating to the seven years of Jacob’s Trouble, or what many call the Tribulation. That door remaining open judged those remaining on the earth. They remained outside in their own condemnation.

When that door was shut, and the rain began… Is the time when Jesus returns to Earth to vanquish His enemies… All of them. The Earth will yet again be cleansed of evildoers.

This is the time of the 70th Jubilee. Seventy is a Hebraism for a complete set. 70 would then be a complete set of Jubilees. Jubilee is a time of redemption. If one looks at an age as around 2,000 years… The church age is almost complete. I have indulged in the topic of this timing in the past. Read it here.

The math works. If Jesus died in AD 33, add 2,000 years and arrive at AD 2033. Subtract seven years for Jacob’s Trouble… AD 2026.

And coincidentally, Noah’s Ark is in the news. Right?

The Blessed Hope

On By TimIn Freedom, Grace, Titus 02Leave a comment

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, righteously, and in godliness in this present world,

Titus 2:11–12

Did you ever consider… Why does the culture hate Jesus?

Look at the text. The grace of God has appeared to all humans, not just to Christians or the elect. This grace comes to all.

With the grace comes the instruction to deny ungodliness and worldly desires. Those two run together. All one has to do is find a recording of those who choose to stand up for godliness in the public square. There are plenty of Insta reels and TikToks that show this. The easy thing to discern is that people hate the reminder.

Oh, they like the idea of a loving God, sort of like a rich grandpa that does things for them and others. They say they are like Him, loving, generous, and caring for others. But listen very closely to what they say. It is difficult to not engage for more than a few minutes and see the myopic selfishness.

The biblical principle is that one becomes like the god they worship.

Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
eyes, but they cannot see;
they have ears, but they cannot hear;
noses, but they cannot smell;
they have hands, but they cannot feel;
feet, but they cannot walk;
neither can they speak with their throat.
Those who make them are like them;
so is everyone who trusts in them.

Psalm 115:4–8

People imagine for themselves what they think their god is like. They hate that He has told the world Who He is and what He is like. I mean, He is like no other; there is nothing comparable. Remember the one who would usurp the Most High and said, “I will be like God.” He even used the idea that God was holding something out from Eve. Her desire for the forbidden fruit was to satisfy her own selfishness.

With rampant selfishness, I would say that is the epitome of worldliness. In fact, in the King James Bible, desires is rendered as lusts. Lusts, meaning living to primarily seek to satisfy one’s own innate selfish desires without regard to anyone or anything else. At the start, it appears almost innocent, but when mature… It is a deep, deep craving.

But God made me this way!

No, He did not. He did not make you to be a slave unto death.

Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither does He tempt anyone. But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.

James 1:13–15

What Paul says to Titus is that the grace of God that comes to all rubs hard against those unwilling to heed. I mean, it is painful. Think of what it would be like to rub 60-grit sandpaper on your skin.

But… Who wants to give up the fun of hook-ups?

Well, ignorance is the doorway when temptations like these come. Giving oneself to this kind of hedonism then becomes the gateway to addiction.

Who wants to turn away from the euphoria of being out of control on substances?

Again, ignorance serves as a doorway to experimentation. This is another way to give in to decadence. Where does experimentation cross over to addiction?

We can do whatever it is we want with free will… Right?

Yes, Jesus gives freedom at the cross. Licentiousness is not freedom. Hedonism does come with risk of real personal harm. Abusing substances and sexual licentiousness is not just behavioral. These involve biology, physiology, and emotions. They are deeply spiritual, too. All of this means these can bind the body, leading to addiction. There are also soul ties to consider.

Addiction brings trauma. Trauma is a gateway for demonization. The other less consider problem with addiction is that it gives way to arrogance, eventually searing the conscience.

This drives the overwhelming wave to transmute humanity. All of the special rights demands tend to transmutation, too. It is to mar the image of God that all humans bear.

But who cares?

This is where caution is needed. To think that is symptomatic of the arrogance that comes in this delusion. Thank God we Christians are not like that… Right?

Stop and think. This how this comes at people in so many ways.

What about being first in line, fastest, or the best in contests?

Ouch! Liberty is not found in licentiousness, or even becoming someone great. It is not found in satisfying the soul with the decadence and delicacies of this world. They simply cannot. Liberty is a free gift from Jesus that points us to Him.

as we await the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify for Himself a special people, zealous of good works.

Titus 2:13–14

When one chooses to live for Jesus, there are no risks. There is no losing, or really even being last. There is no condemnation in death. There is no fear or downside to righteousness. The promise is the Blessed Hope. That is, to be present with Jesus, whether by death or His glorious appearing to whisk His Own beloved home.

I will tell you, part of living soberly is to know who and Whose you are. That is, to think rightly about yourself. Yes, you are beloved. Jesus redeemed Himself a bride, purchased with His blood.

There is that great divide. His blood has stayed death, for all humans are granted liberty. That is the grace of God… That you live after you sin. Without that, nobody would have any opportunity to want to try to live rightly.

But think of those who neglect or even despise that grace. What kind of justification could one use to keep satisfying their own desires while neglecting and despising the work of Jesus?

It is not so much a future great escape by being snatched away from this world. Yes, there is one of those coming. The great escape is available right now. To any who would believe.

And Jesus says, “Sober up!”

Jesus died for you, so that you could live for Him!

Time is Indeed Relative

On By TimIn 1 Samuel 16, Israel, Jesus, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.”

1 Samuel 16:1

There are precise little things one finds when one reads the Bible. In this case, God has already rejected Saul from being king. Yet, years will pass until it actually happens physically.

This exposes the character of God. Though a move is made in eternity, but is not immediately a physical reality.

This is just another example to help us understand that eternity is not encumbered by space-time. This is why the Bible says Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The death of Jesus is applied even to Adam’s sin. Adam did not suffer the wages of sin. God sought him and covered him.

There is a spiritual reality that is neither synchronous with nor dependent on how time passes for us. Think about that. It is like when we pray, we may not see the answers right away. It’s not because God is slow… Or does not hear. There is a much larger panorama at work than our microscopic part.

It takes faith to pray. First, that He hears. He does. Second, He answers. We may have to exercise patience, endurance, and faith in the meantime. Prayer is heard and answered in a timely and proper way.

Just like with Saul, we get a great lesson on character differences that make one a “man after God’s own heart.” We learn what it is that displeases and pleases God.

Like Samuel, we get stuck mourning what could have been. Then God steps in and shows that our work is not yet complete. When God calls us to go, there may be great trepidation, too.

Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me him whom I tell to you.”

1 Samuel 16:2–3

If God calls you, He is going before you. It takes patient faith… One must really trust God first. He had a plan for Samuel.

Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”

1 Samuel 16:4

There was a bit of doom; the elders were concerned that a prophet of God came into town. Especially when the prophet is also a judge and brings a heifer. City leaders were charged with having a ready sacrifice to atone for sins.

And he said, “I have come in peace to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.

1 Samuel 16:5

Samuel alleviates the concern and invites all to witness what is going to happen.

When they came, he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the anointed of the Lord is before Him.”

1 Samuel 16:6

Samuel is enamored with the looks of Jesse’s firstborn. Perhaps his stature and looks were like Saul. Yet God had another lessen for Samuel.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your young men?”
And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is shepherding the flock.”
Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

1 Samuel 16:7–11

Jesse parades his sons before Samuel one at a time. Jehovah chooses none of these. Perplexed, Samuel asks Jesse if he had any more sons. Yes, there is an eighth. He is a shepherd in the field tending flocks.

Shepherding was the lowest of the low for an occupation. Samuel remained impatient until Jesse’s youngest son arrived. And when he did, he was also striking in appearance.

So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance.

1 Samuel 16:12a

This eighth son had a reddish skin color, reminiscent of clay. His eyes drew attention. As did his entire appearance.

And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

1 Samuel 16:12b

This one is the redemption of Israel God had chosen. The eighth son whose name is David, which means beloved.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 16:13

Samuel anointed David as king in the presence of his brothers. Just as the oil represents the Holy Spirit, being anointed with it signifies the Spirit coming upon someone. The Spirit remained on David from that day forward.

Most know that David did not take the throne while Saul was alive. He also never deposed Saul. From that day forward, David is also king… Yet he does not take his throne until significant time has passed.

This is a foreshadowing of Jesus, Who enters Jerusalem as King and is cut off from the people less than a week later. Jesus has yet to take His throne and remains at the right hand of the Father, awaiting the proper time.

These things are as good as done, but there is a proper time for things.