Tag: God

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?

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.

From Shame to the King’s Table

On By TimIn 2 Samuel 9, Jesus, RedemptionLeave a comment

Now there was a servant from the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So they summoned him to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He replied, “I am your servant.”
The king said, “Is there no one else from the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?”

2 Samuel 9:2–3a

I set out last night to dutifully read the next daily portion of the chronological reading plan. I am about a year behind. I was basically just reading to mark the checkbox. I read through all of 2 Samuel 8 and how David is blessed by God, and everything he sets out to do happens favorably for him.

Reading of David’s derring-do is epic. But chapter 8 was just a synopsis of things with little detail. Then I start chapter 9.

David remembers his friend Jonathan and desires to do right to his remaining family, if any exist. One is found… Mephibosheth.

This intruding thought enters my mind: “What do you think those names mean?”

It was followed by another; you could just ask AI to rewrite it with the meanings of the proper nouns replacing the names.

I did that. I used Perplexity. Usually there is a few-second delay as Perplexity collects consensus. When I put in the six to seven verses, the response was immediate.

“Statue responded to the king, ‘There is still a son of Yahweh Has Given who is crippled in both feet.’
The king said to him, ‘Where is he?’
Statue told the king, ‘He is at the house of Sold son of My Kinsman Is God, at No Pasture.’
So King Beloved sent for him and brought him from the house of Sold son of My Kinsman Is God, from No Pasture.
From the Mouth of Shame—the son of Yahweh Has Given, the son of Asked For—came to Beloved, fell facedown, and bowed. Then Beloved said, ‘From the Mouth of Shame,’ and he replied, ‘Here is your servant.’”

The first thing to catch my attention was the meaning of Saul’s name… Asked for. Saul was the king that Israel asked for. David’s name is beloved. It goes far deeper than Israel, and I have to sort out what is here.

Saul is a typification of the adversary, or Satan as we think. God had given dominion of creation to Adam and Eve. By disobedience and taking what was not theirs, they asked for a new king. Because of the disobedience of this king, God anointed another Beloved One.

Just as David’s life goes, shortly after being anointed, he is sent to his brothers in the presence of Saul. He encounters the blasphemy of Goliath. We know the tale: he subdues the enemy of the people and the king and takes his head.

But it would be a long time before Saul is actually deposed and David takes his rightful throne. And that comes with civil war in Israel.

Think about how God had selected another King for the people of the world. He was sent at just the right time to defeat the enemy of the people and God. That enemy was death. Jesus did that at Calvary.

Calvary, from Latin, meaning skull. Jesus was crucified at the place of the skull… Golgotha. Say it out loud. Could it be Goliath of Gath, the place of the skull?

When David slew Goliath, he brought the giant’s head back to Jerusalem. Dead bodies made one unclean; therefore, the skull would remain outside the camp… Even though Jerusalem was a Jebusite city at the time. There are some who think that David set up Goliath’s skull as a trophy and warning to the Jebusites occupying Jerusalem. The place of that skull is thought to be the very same place where Jesus was crucified.

There is another typification of Jesus in what David did. Remember Genesis 3:15: the seed of the woman bruises the head of the serpent. David beheaded the giant, thought to be the seed of fallen angels. I will let that sit with you to ponder.

That is like a high-level concise view of Earth, and a partial view into the Gospel.

Ziba responded to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.”

2 Samuel 9:3b

There is one son of Jonathan found. His name is Mephibosheth. He was crippled. He would have difficulty standing.

Think about that. Is not that our position before a Holy God… Being unable to stand?

The king said to him, “Where is he?”
Ziba told the king, “He is at the house of Makir the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar.”

2 Samuel 9:4

Mephibosheth is in the house of Makir at Lo Debar. Mephibosheth means from the mouth of shame. Makir means sold. And Lo Debar means no place. What does David do?

So King David sent for and brought him from the house of Makir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

2 Samuel 9:5

Beloved sent for him from the mouth of shame. He was crippled and had difficulty standing. He was summoned to the house of Sold, which had no place.

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

This destitute person is restored and has a perpetual seat at the table of the king.

He bowed low and said, “What is your servant that you should be concerned for a dead dog like me?”

2 Samuel 9:8

What is it that the God of the universe should be concerned with a dead dog like me?

The king summoned Ziba the servant of Saul, and he said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house, I have given to the son of your master. You will work the ground for him—you, your sons, and your servants. You will bring in the produce so that the son of your master will have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, the son of your master, will always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
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 9:9–11

The one from shame, sold, and no place was summoned by the king. He had one obligation… To respond to the summons or not.

Listen, in those times, it would be acceptable for the new king to kill all of the household of the deposed king. I can imagine hesitation to respond. But either way, in that mindset, Mephibosheth was as good as dead. He came to David and humbled himself.

David raised him up; he was treated as a son of the king.

If you see Jesus here… That is exactly the point. He summons all of the ashamed to His presence… Not for condemnation that we may be afraid to approach Him. He calls us to lift our heads and gives us a place at the table to be treated like children of God.

That is the Gospel.

The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:9–13

Like Mephibosheth, you and I have to respond to the summoning of the King to have a perpetual place at His table.

Revisiting the Sign of Jonah

On By TimIn Israel, Matthew 122 Comments

But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now One greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now One greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:39–42

It is a common understanding that the sign of Jonah is resurrection after death. But… What if there is another aspect of that sign. Resurrection itself is a powerful thing to leave as a sign to Israel. Yet Jesus expands on the idea that the Ninevites readily responded to the preaching of Jonah.

Could the entire narrative of Jonah be an outline of the failure of Israel to share God with the entire world?

There were some in the nation who believed Jesus when He came to Earth. Before leaving, He left instructions to go to all nations and preach. He even had to give Peter a dream to prod him.

The voice spoke to him a second time: “What God has cleansed, do not call common.”

Acts 10:15

While Peter was wondering what that could mean, three men called for him. They said they served Cornelius, a Gentile centurion. He sent them to summon Peter to Him at the prodding of an angel.

Peter was astonished at what happened. While he was preaching to the house of Cornelius in Caesarea, all who heard were given the Holy Spirit. That is, Gentiles received the same salvation and gifting from God as Israelis.

The aftermath of the event reached far and wide. And Peter was challenged by religious authorities for what had happened.

The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised disputed with him, saying, “You went in and ate with uncircumcised men!”

Acts 11:1–3

Peter explained how God had worked in his meeting with Cornelius. He recounted how it was he who entered the house of a goyim. He also recounted what had happened when he spoke.

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as He fell on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”

Acts 11:15–17

It is not hard to discern the resistance of Jewish folk sharing with Gentiles. Especially when it comes to sharing their God to Whom they assumed exclusive rights. Keep in mind the reluctance of both Peter and the council in Jerusalem, and how it changed.

When they heard these things, they were silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then God has granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life.”

Acts 11:18

I have questions. Did not these apostles know the account of Jonah?

Did they not know that the Ninevites responded to Jonah’s preaching?

Jonah had the same cultural reluctance. Even though God orchestrated both things, it is Jonah’s response afterward that needs to be understood.

Now this greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is this not what I said while I was still in my own land? This is the reason that I fled before to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in faithfulness, and ready to relent from punishment. Therefore, Lord, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:1–3

I mean, can you imagine that bitterness?

God sought to teach Jonah a lesson. He caused refreshing shade to fall on Jonah, for which he was happy. Then God took the plant that brought the refreshment away. Jonah played martyr and declared it was better for him to die rather than live.

The Lord said, “You are troubled about the plant for which you did not labor and did not grow. It came up in a night and perished in a night. Should I not, therefore, be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people, who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Jonah 4:10–11

What if that anger and reluctance to share God with Gentiles is part of the sign of Jonah?

Could that provoke jealousy to the Jewish folks?

It has been almost 2,000 years since the Temple was destroyed and Jerusalem trampled over.

Today… The word of the Lord is heard worldwide. Jonah pouted that Gentiles got saved. He tells God that is why He sought repentance from His call to go to Nineveh. He did not want them to know God is merciful. His anger was so bad, he even waited around to see what would happen… Would God judge them finally?

The issue with Jonah was unresolved. Could that be part of the sign?

What did God do with Jonah… And what is God going to do with Israel?

It is like Jonah was jealous over how God treated Nineveh. It seems like jealousy of God, who is seeking the salvation of the world through Christians, would be part of the seemingly unresolved close to the account of Jonah.

For I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I may make my kinsmen jealous and may save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

Romans 11:13–15

Does the Church Fulfill the Promises to Israel?

On By TimIn Church, Israel, Psalm 105Leave a comment

O offspring of Abraham, His servant,
O children of Jacob, His chosen ones.

Psalm 105:6

Supersessionism cannot be true. I know that is going to irk some. Yes… The New Testament does call believers as the seed of Abraham… And the seed of Isaac. But it never calls all believers the seed of Jacob it Israel.

It is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but “In Isaac shall your descendants be called.” So those who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. For this is the word of promise, “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.”  Romans 9:6–9

Psalm 105:6

Descendants of Jacob also descend from Isaac and Abraham. But not all who call Abraham and Isaac as fathers can call Jacob the same. Just as Jewish folk descend from Judah who came from Jacob.

Gentiles are not the children of Jacob, physically nor spiritually. This is important to grasp. Jacob is called Israel by God… Abraham is not Israel, nor is Isaac.

I am going to split hairs even further… The term Jewish derives from Judah and is not synonymous with Israel. Judah is a son of Israel, and Jewish people are a subset of Israelis. Not all Israelis are Jewish.

The Psalmist helps us to grasp this very important point.

He remembers His covenant forever,
the word that He commanded, to a thousand generations,
that covenant He made with Abraham,
and His oath to Isaac,
and confirmed to Jacob as a decree,
and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.” Psalm 105:8–11

Psalm 105:6

The promise was made to Abraham. But not all of his descendants inherited Canaan. The promise was extended to Isaac. But not all of the descendants of Isaac inherit the Land. The promise was confirmed to Jacob. Only those from Jacob inherit the Land.

Again, this means that not all of the descendants of Abraham are Israeli. Nor are all of the progeny of Isaac. Only Israelis are descended from Jacob.

What does that mean?

Well… There is yet a future for Israel. Because the promises to Jacob have not yet been fulfilled. And the universal church does not qualify to fulfill them. As the Psalm rightly declares, the inheritance of Israel is the land.

Understand, Christians are heirs of God, too. We are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. God’s inheritance is His people Israel. (See Deuteronomy 32:8–9.) A Christian’s inheritance is not earthly., either.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3–5

Psalm 105:6

There is a distinct purpose for the church, to prevail against the gates of Hell. Tuis is an offensive posture, meaning the enemy is defeated and we work to reclaim creation for God. If you are a Christian, rejoice that God wants you to work with Him in reaching the world.

The universal church does not supersede Israel. It does not replace Israel. The church is not “spiritual Israel.” It is not the fulfillment of Israel or their purpose. Even though no distinction exists between Jews and Greeks. Any can be saved and be a part of the Church, but that does not make one Jewish or Israeli.

The distinct purpose for the church is to go into the world and make disciples. There will be a time when that mission is complete. There will no longer be a need for the Gentile church. What happens then?

The time of grace through mercy is gone… And grace through judgment comes upon the whole world. Do not wait to get right with God, mercy is available now. Judgment comes swiftly… And there may be no respite from it as there is now.

Be Perfect

On By TimIn 2 Samuel 1, ExhortationLeave a comment

Second Samuel begins with a war worn refugee coming to David with news of what happened when Saul fought the Philistines. David asked for a report. The man said Israel had been defeated. David’s best friend Jonathan was dead, as was his father Saul.

The man spoke of all that occurred. Saul had been mortally wounded and asked to be dispatched by the man as the enemy was approaching. The man killed him. He removed Saul’s crown and armlet and brought them to David

All present rent their clothes to mourn. David inquired of the man’s origin. He was an Amalekite refugee. The account then takes a turn…

David said to him, “How is it that you did not fear raising your hand to destroy the anointed of the Lord?”

2 Samuel 1:14

Before the man could answer David called for the man’s execution. Though the act was merciful, it also demanded a blood price. The Tanakh is replete with the idea that the blood and ground cry out for justice when blood is spilled.

Yeah, that was way back in the days when fealty to the crown was part of righteousness. What can we learn?

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Romans 13:1–2

Wait… What? Resisting the government authorities comes with judgment?

Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil works. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from him, for he is the servant of God for your good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him who practices evil.

Romans 13:3–4

Remember, Paul wrote this under Roman rule. Romans were ruthless when it came to sedition. Contemporarily, for US citizens, we have the right to redress our grievances against governing authorities.

Listen, I hate politics. It is often a slanderous game of personal hatred. It is so common, many do not even balk at the grossness anymore. Instead of a marketplace on the merits of ideas, we have been taught to despise others in a created dilemma of this or that. It is designed to trap the mind. And for Christians, unwary participation can become a bit unseemly.

Many unwittingly join in the chorus of cursing politicians. That is, they vote for who they like or dislike… Not the ideas offered. Worse, many wear the dislike of these as some sort of merit badge. Listen, I do not care if you like someone or not… But you give yourself over to the dialectic. That dislike of any person clouds proper discernment.

Now I know that reading this, there may be names of politicians coming to mind. Some may even experience some profound emotions with that. And there is where the problem lies. Emotions tend to marginalize and even exclude clear thinking and proper discernment.

Selfishly, when one does not like someone, it becomes easy to dehumanize and marginalize them. Yes… It is selfish as a personal subjective experience. What happens is that the persons disliked become enemies. Ones that arise as figments of the mind.

Listen… As Christians, we do have real enemies. They are not humans and they are not imaginary. People are not ever to be enemies. At least we should not make them that. It is the antithesis of what is written that love is in 1 Corinthians 13.

This is a clear principle… Dislike leads to exclusion. Exclusion is persecution. What then, is the better stance?

Jesus tells us:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

Matthew 5:43–47

If one proudly telegraphs their dislike of people, are they not flagrantly rebelling against Jesus’ instructions?

Furthermore, what of the next requirement?

Therefore be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:48

Jesus is saying be perfect. No, this is not moral perfection. The instruction is to be mature. He is saying… GROW UP!

The wanton immaturity gap in Christian circles is startling.

What Are They Among so Many?

On By TimIn John 06, Thankfulness1 Comment

Listen… Well, you cannot because you are reading. So read!

I recently heard the testimony of a young man named Gabe Poirot. What he said in one portion of it is so profound. It is an often-overlooked Biblical principle that is taught from the beginning. So here it goes.

After these things, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a great crowd followed Him, because they saw His signs which He did for the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountain, and He sat there with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

John 6:1-4

Now, I know most of us have heard this taught and read it for ourselves. The account John gives has a great multitude of people who follow Jesus into the wilderness. Yes, Passover is near, but it is not the timing.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming to Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

John 6:5-6

There is nothing wasted in the Scriptures. Every detail and nuance is there by design. Jesus challenges Philip with a question. Jesus knew what He was going to do, but He was going to teach a profound lesson in what He does. Philip has an answer.

 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for each of them to receive but a little.”

John 6:7

Two hundred denarii is the typical wage a worker earns in 200 days. That is a lot of money. Of which the end result would not accomplish much. In the way John writes, there is an immediate counterpoint. A way out of the seeming predicament. One that a TV hero, MacGyver, knew to focus on when up against the proverbial wall.

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are they among so many?”

John 6:8-9

They had a boy’s lunch. But that was so insufficient to feed so many. So what does Jesus do?

Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, numbering about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; and likewise, they distributed the fish, as much as they wanted.

John 6:10-11

What is the difference?

Well, when Jesus asked Philip, his immediate response was to focus on what they did not have. Andrew drew attention to what they did have, which seemed so insignificant given the circumstances. Yet Jesus focused on what they did have. And He thanked the Father for what they did have, feeding thousands of people with so little.

The principle that is being exposed is that the enemy always tends to draw our focus onto what we do not have. Consider the Ten Commandments; the last commandment is “Do not covet.” In a way, that commandment is the foundation on which the others rest. When we focus on what we do not have, it leads to dissipation and failure. One can keep all of the commandments by not coveting and just being thankful for what we have.

I will tell you that all of our problems started with this one trick…

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the garden; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You will not eat of it, nor will you touch it, or else you will die.’ ”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:1-7

The serpent drew Eve’s attention away from all of the provisions that she did have from God, which were overwhelmingly abundant… To the one thing not given by God for food. She was not even in a predicament. Her focus was moved.

Likewise, for us, we tend to focus on the wrong things… If only I had more of this or that, I could do great things. Jesus is showing how wrong that kind of thinking really is. MacGyver always looked for what he did have to save the day, just as Jesus silently taught. I know that I am going to try and focus on the things I have right now, and thank the Father profusely for them. Every circumstance is an opportunity to do great things.

The other lesson…

When they were filled, He told His disciples, “Collect the fragments that remain, that nothing may be lost.” So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

John 6:12-13

There were leftovers! What God gives is always way more than enough than what you do not have.

Oft Misused Scripture: Abide in Me

On By TimIn Fruitfulness, John 15Leave a comment

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that bears no fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean through the word which I have spoken to you. (

John 15:1–3

It hardly ever surprises me that this portion of the Scriptures is often used in a misleading way. I know. This was taught to me as a way to elicit fear and guilt. It was not until I started praying to God and reading the Bible on my own that clarity came. As to reading, it was really waiting for God’s instruction.

Let me tell you, this text has nothing to do with salvation. Well, except for verse 3 above, where Jesus declares His followers as already clean. Meaning they are already believers, and do not have to fear that their salvation can be lost, manipulated, forsaken, or even abandoned. That’s not in this text anywhere at all.

This text has everything to do with being useful for the Kingdom and producing fruit. Some folks produce much fruit, others struggle to do so. Yet, the only way to bear fruit is to be connected to the Vine. Which means that one must be serious about maintaining a personal relationship with Jesus.

One cannot bear fruit without knowing Him and He knowing them. It is two-way. Yeah, we are called to salvation and to bear fruit. To do both requires faith. It means letting the Vinedresser have His way.

Bearing fruit is not good works, either. Well, not in the sense that most grasp. It is duplicating oneself. That is duplicating oneself, discipling others in such a way as to ensure the fruit ripens. It begins with soul-winning, as the fundamentalists say. It is discipling others so that they may be saved and connected to the Vine. This is the place where they will bear the fruit the Vinedresser wants.

Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in Me.

John 15:4

The exhortation is to remain in Jesus. It is not a quid pro quo agreement. He remains in us forever, that is the promise He gave with the Holy Spirit. The exhortation is for each of us to reciprocate what He does. It is not a warning to keep believing so you can keep your salvation. He is in you, and He is not ever leaving. So, He wants people to be fruitful!

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who remains in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

That is self-explanatory. It is a repetition of the truth Jesus wishes to convey to all. Remain in Him to bear much fruit.

If a man does not remain in Me, he is thrown out as a branch and withers. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

John 15:6–8

The Vinedresser is responsible for dressing the branches to bear maximum fruit. Sometimes, there’s trimming. Other times, the branch doesn’t bear fruit, and tragically, it is removed.

Fruitless branches are removed and dry up, having no nourishment from the Vine. They are then gathered and burned. That’s not a metaphor for losing salvation. Being burned up is not an analog to Hell or perdition. It is removing them from the place of fruit-bearing, never to be able to go back. This physical life is the only place where each person can bear fruit. When a branch is removed, that’s symbolic of physical death. The burning of the branches finalizes the idea that they won’t come back.

The encouragement to remain comes with another promise. As one matures with Jesus, they will ask for things that are commensurate with His will, and those desires will be granted.

“As the Father loved Me, I also loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have spoken these things to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:9–11

This is not burdensome. Jesus wants you to have a full life. A full life is not pursuing personal programs, but His, as they become personal in us. This is the pursuit for all of us to learn what our Father wants, and then pursue that. It is the place of rest and joy.

This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you.

John 15:12

This is a simple command. One that John will reiterate through his writings. Jesus set the example to follow.

Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I have heard from My Father have I made known to you.

John 15:13–15

Do you want to know something?

Jesus laid down His life for His friends. In other places in the Bible, it says that Jesus died for all of humanity. That is not just a one-off declaration. Jesus is the atonement (meaning satisfaction of debt) for the sins of the whole world. So, if you are human, He died for you and considers you a friend. I think that is awesome.

A friendship is reciprocal. Which means you have responsibilities. Jesus said to do His commands. He said you must first believe to become a new creation and be born again. A new creation moves us from being just servants to Jesus, but friends with Him.

You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that the Father may give you whatever you ask Him in My name. This I command you: that you love one another.

John 15:16–17

This part of the text can be confusing without thinking through the context. Jesus is speaking with His chosen twelve disciples. This is primarily to, for, and about them. In the greater scheme, some of these things apply to all believers. When Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.” That is specifically addressed to His immediate audience. They were the chosen twelve. He chose them for purpose, not salvation. The purpose is to go and bear fruit.

The Father gives what they would ask of Him. That does extend to us, as we tend to deny the spiritual reality of our warfare. We all need help every day, just as His twelve did.

And the hard thing… To love one another. This is the primary identification for saints. Jesus is repeating to them as if to underscore the importance. I think that is the most often overlooked detail for people to know that we follow Jesus. It is not something done too well. This is especially true in social media. It needs emphasis.

 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34–35

In conclusion, it is the Vinedresser Who has that responsibility for dressing the vine. It amazes me how many self-appointed lords think they are the vinedressers and fruit inspectors. I will tell you that you have only One Vindresser.

The lesson is that the only way a believer may bear fruit is by remaining in Jesus. That’s not keeping oneself saved, nor doing good works to maintain salvation. One either has the gift of eternal life or they do not. There is no middle ground. There is no wavering back and forth. It is a One-Way door into the sheepfold.

Faith is a necessary part of life for the saint. It is not just for salvation, but for every single day. We have faith, believing in Jesus. It is Who He is and what He has accomplished that keeps us saved. One cannot bear good fruit without the constant nourishment from the Vine.

But many think of this backwards, that the branches on the vine are to generate their own nourishment by doing good things.

The important thing that John is teaching is not about behavior at all. It is remaining in a relationship with Jesus Christ… Not to stay saved, but to be pleasingly fruitful to the Father.

Oft Misused Scripture: Abraham’s Seed

On By TimIn Galatians 03, Israel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

You are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, and there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  Galatians 3:26–29

The Gospel of John opens with, among other things, the declaration of the right God has extended to those who believe.

Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:12–13

Sons of God are direct creations of God. Adam is correctly called the son of God. Angels are the sons of God. Since the resurrection of Jesus, believers are sons of God. They are new creations, born of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Paul addresses believers correctly in Galatians as sons of God, as New Testament believers are indeed sons of the Most High.

The fact of divine parentage has been around since the beginning. Jesus cited it to those who did not believe in His claims, “My Father and I are One.” They wanted to stone Him because He claimed to be God. Yes, Jesus claimed to be God. Much more than just being One of divine parentage. Hete is how He put it.

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of Him, whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? John 10:34–36

Divine parentage is limited to Adam and angels in the Tanakh. But Jesus opened that right to anyone who would apprehend eternal life and believe.

Being baptized into Christ is not water baptism. It is the baptism of the Spirit where believers put on Christ.

But you did not learn about Christ in this manner, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:  that you put off the former way of life in the old nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new nature, which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness.  Ephesians 4:20–24

The new nature is a new creation of God, through His Spirit. This is the one baptism that saves.

Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Being new creations, there is no more division between Jew or goyim, slave or free, even male or female. It is unity in Jesus Christ, just as there is a Unity in the Godhead.

But here comes the twist… We are Abraham’s seed. This is the portion that is often misused. It has been part of many church bodies for centuries. Israel ceased to be a nation; one could see how that error could be easily embraced. May 14, 1948, changed that.

Being Abraham’s seed is not being the New or True Israel. That is error. The $10 word for it is supersessionism; it is commonly called replacement or fulfillment theology. And it hangs on the misinterpretation of this verse.

Here is why it is wrong theology.

Abraham had his own children. One of whom is Isaac. God reaffirmed the covenant He made with Abraham to Isaac in Genesis 26. Isaac had two sons, Esau, the firstborn, and Jacob, his twin brother. God chose Jacob to have the blessing and reaffirmed the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac to Jacob. In Genesis 28 Jacob learns of this by dream. God then changes Jacob’s name to Israel in Genesis 32. Finally, He reaffirms the covenant to Jacob (Israel) in Genesis 35. This is the promise to Israel.

The Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, to you will I give it and to your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”  Genesis 28:13–15

This should be full stop.

If believers are Abraham’s seed, they are not Jacob’s seed. The covenant promise went from Abraham to Isaac. It did not go to Ishmael. The covenant promise was extended by God from Abraham to Isaac and then to Jacob, not Esau.

It does not go to the New Testament church, either. Not many of the saints are Jacob’s seed; they are Gentiles. Ishmael and Esau are Abraham’s seed; they are not part of the covenant promise, either. The covenant promise still remains with Israel. God has not extended it to anyone else. It is not superseded nor broken.

God’s promise to Abraham’s seed…

Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”  Genesis 22:18

Gentile believers are blessed because Jesus Christ came through the seed of Abraham, then Isaac, and then Israel. Faith in Jesus gives us eternal life and the power to become sons of God by new birth!

Believers are blessed and are heirs of Abraham through that Seed who is Jesus Christ. Believers are not Israel; they do not inherit God’s promises to Israel or even Abraham. Israel retains the everlasting land and dynasty of both the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. Neither of these has been fulfilled. And they will not until Jesus returns at the end of the age.

This is why Israel is such a most-contested issue for the world. It must not be so for Christianity. Yet, there is a real satanic spirit working in the world. Ignorance and deception that have overcome unbelievers have seduced some Christians. It is not prudent that other Christians have been steeped in fulfillment theologies and embrace the deception that modern Israel is not the nation of God’s blessing. Even though He promised Israel to gather them back!

Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.” Genesis 28:15

Why would there be such demonic vitriol for modern Israel if it was not part of God’s plan?

There have been many historical mistreatments of Jewish people. Many of those had ultimate plans of annihilating the Jewish people completely. Most of my generation still remembers the horrors of the Holocaust. We know the evil of genocide through first-hand accounts. Though it is sadly becoming fashionable to deny or downplay what the National Socialists of Germany did. Yes, Naziism is socialism.

These antisemitic things are purely satanic. There is no other word for it. The endgame is to try to thwart these covenant promises by eliminating God’s people. If they were to succeed, it would ultimately result in stopping the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus does not come back until Israel… Yes, Israel and not a remnant of New Testament saints… Calls “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.” (That is in Luke 13:22–35.)

If Jesus does not come back, He does not fulfill either the Abrahamic or Davidic covenants. As if such a thing is even possible. Nevertheless, the enemy thinks he can and gathers as many as are willing to his side.

Being Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise means that believers share in Abraham’s faith and blessing. And the ultimate object of that is Jesus Christ. It does not mean that believers share in Israel’s national promises by inheritance. (Those God affirmed with and extended to Isaac and Jacob.)

New Testament saints receive the spiritual seed blessings according to the promise. These saints are not heirs to the promises themselves, but as the text precisely delineates… According to the promise.

Israel receives the earthly kingdom promises when Jesus returns. The nation itself is Jesus’ inheritance (see Deuteronomy 32:8-9.) New Testament saints inherit what Jesus inherits. Which means that there will then be One Shepherd and one sheepfold.

Let Us Go on to Maturity

On By TimIn Hebrews 05, SalvationLeave a comment

Concerning this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become hard of hearing.

Hebrews 5:11

Concerning what?

Well, the context is toward Israelis. By reading, it is easy to discern that these Hebrews are a mixed group of believers and those who probably may not be. The concern is that if these were believers, they became hard of hearing. They regressed to the needy state of babes in Christ, which would entail being tossed around by all sorts of error. Just think of how a baby is so easily distracted. The apostle Paul explains the problem here.

He gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, and for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into a complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so we may no longer be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, by craftiness with deceitful scheming.

Ephesians 4:11–14

This is the danger of backsliding… Becoming like babies in Jesus again, where it is easy to be led astray.

The concern was that they forgot about Jesus. They forgot that he is better than the rest provided by God in the Promised Land. Even better than the rest that Joshua gave… But alluded to a greater Rest. That in Jesus.

Because they had slipped so far backward, it was difficult to discern between the backslidden Christian and unbelievers. Hence, the encouragement to enter His rest.

There are some unspoken ideas intertwined in the cited text of Hebrews and the citation from Ephesians above. The idea taught is an encouragement to strive for maturity, where one can serve God. Even that requires faith.

The other idea comes from silence. Some have entered His rest, and there are those who have not. Nothing is spoken of about anyone who could leave His rest, let alone come back to what they have left. That is because it cannot happen.

This is the place where we find these Hebrews… Tossed about as babes by the latest distraction not knowing any better.

For though by now you should be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God and have come to need milk rather than solid food.

Hebrews 5:12

In other words, y’all already believed and should have moved on to maturity. But instead, y’all need parents to rescue you and reteach you the elementary principles, namely, what salvation is, so you can grow up.

Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby.

Hebrews 5:13

These folks have not grown up to a place where they can be useful to God. This also comes from the current text in Hebrews and the citation from Ephesians above. How could they be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, used by God for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, and for the building up of the body of Christ?

They cannot.

But solid food belongs to those who are mature, for those who through practice have powers of discernment that are trained to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 5:14

This admonition for them also applies today. It is my pastor’s word this year… Practice. We practice things until they become practice. That is, we do it from muscle memory, without needing to stop and first think about doing it. The question then is… Do what?

We need to be so familiar with Jesus Christ that we can easily discern what is not of Him. Therefore, being able to understand what is good and what is not. And to not be distracted from purpose.

Therefore, leaving the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. This we will do if God permits.

Hebrews 6:1–3

I am going to be frank. Grow up! Stop waffling between the practices of the law and what Jesus does. Clearly, He is better than any of it.

I know what pretexts some add here. This is a precursor to a warning about losing out or forfeiting salvation. Newsflash… It is not!

If one has walked away and lost what they had, there is no way to grow up. Stop trying to go back to the rudiments of repenting from your sins as if needing salvation again.

Should a Christian confess sins?

Yes! And to make restitution if possible. This idea is a tool to combat the fiery darts of the enemy. It is not to confess sins as if needing salvation again. Because you cannot do that. Knowing our sins are gone helps propel us to become useful to God.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to be renewed once more to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and subject Him to public shame.

Hebrews 6:4–6

One just cannot lose salvation… For it is impossible. To reinforce that idea, the author continues.

For land that drinks in the rain that often falls upon it and bears a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But land that bears thorns and thistles is rejected and near to being cursed. Its destiny is to be burned.

Hebrews 6:7–8

If one truly gets saved and moves forward in the blessings of God and maturity, fruit is produced. That is, one is useful too God just like good fertile soil is useful to a farmer, and others. Does that bring to mind the parable of the sower?

It should, because it is the same principle. As is this…

The ones who take in all of the blessings of God but never produce a crop are useless to God. So useless, they should be destroyed in unfruitfulness. No, the being burned here is not a metaphor for Hell or perdition. It is to bring a contrast to demonstrate the vast goodness of His mercy, for He abundantly pardons

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8–9

This is about the character of God and His relationship to humanity. As said before, He abundantly pardons… Even the very backslidden. He wants usefulness!

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10–11

Since His ways are unfathomable, here is the character of God. His Word goes forth and waters the Earth. That’s Jesus. His death ensured that humans could flourish on earth without the penalty of sins. And they did, proving His Word. Jesus is that Word, and in His death, satisfying the wages for sin, all humans prospered, giving time for repentance. By His resurrection, it shall prosper, bringing eternal life. That is why He sent His Word… To save souls. When anyone believes, apprehending His promises, His sure Word does prosper… In them!

There’s a purpose to that.

For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 55:12–13

People are not destined to bring forth thorns. It does not mean they cannot, but people are not destined to do that, so why would believers?

Furthermore, they shall not be cut off. In the Tanakh, the idea of being cut off was to suffer the penalty of sins. Do you think that people could lose salvation, or are they even destined for something like that?

Neither does the author. He knew God and His promises. He is so sure that these had not lost their salvation, nor were they shunned or ready to be destroyed by God. Look…

But though we speak in this manner, we are persuaded of better things for you, things that accompany salvation, for God is not unjust so as to forget your work and labor of love that you have shown for His name, in that you have ministered to the saints and continue ministering.

Hebrews 6:9–10

This is a stern warning, yes. But not against losing salvation, but of being fruitless. And none of these were. There were things they did before they backslid that will not be forgotten by God.

Listen! If you’ve backslidden so far that you are not sure if you’re saved or not… If you’ve labored for God after a confession of faith in the past, God is not unjust… Meaning you would lose out on that.

We desire that every one of you show the same diligence for the full assurance of hope to the end, so that you may not be lazy, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:11–12

Get up! Get back in the race! Stop being lazy and then backsliding into infancy. Don’t settle for struggling with whether you are really a believer. Settle it. Move on. You have examples, imitate them.

For men indeed swear by a greater authority than themselves, and for them an oath of confirmation ends all dispute. So God, wanting to show more abundantly the immutability of His counsel to the heirs of promise, confirmed it by an oath. So that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

Hebrews 6:16–18

Hold fast. Don’t slip back, God won’t let you. Even the babes in Jesus Christ have the same promise made by God, and worked by Jesus. He has entered rest for us. This is not ever dependent on anyone’s personal performance. Those things change by whim and by circumstance. God does not.

We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, which enters the Inner Place behind the veil. This is where Jesus has entered for us as a forerunner, since He has become the everlasting High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:19–20