Obamas bakgrund är höljd i dunkel, och han gör allt för att slippa visa dokument

Originalartikeln kan läsas här i Western Journalism.

Obama gick till val på löftet att arbeta för mer öppenhet, men han betalar i stället enorma belopp till sina advokater för att slippa visa dokumentation vad gäller social security nummer (han har MASSOR med olika social security nummer och han har bott på nästan hundra olika adresser om registren är sanna), selective service kort, passhistoria, skolansökningar, skolbetyg, etc. Hans dokumentation är antingen saknade, hemligstämplade, eller justerade. Antingen vill Obama gärna att folk ska misstro honom och spekulera om honom (i kombination med att han har en förkärlek till att betala höga belopp till sina advokater), eller också har han något att dölja. Det är inte helt otroligt att hans fader skulle kunna vara Frank Marshall Davis (känd kommunistledare och porrkung), och att Obama Sr övertalades att hoppa in som den officiella fadern pga sin passande hudfärg. Obamas mamma Ann Dunham och Obama Sr levde aldrig tillsammans (de gick i samma skola i Hawaii), men det kan hända att barnet föddes som den officiella sonen till Obama Sr i hans hemland Kenya. Obama Sr sägs ha avlidit i en trafikolycka, och även en av Obamas indonesiska systrar (som han aldrig nämnde i sin biografi) avled mystiskt innan medelåldern. Obama växte förmodligen upp i Indonesien med sin mamma och nya make, och för att gå i skola där så var inte dubbla medlemsskap tillåtet.

Most Americans don’t realize we have elected a president whom we know very little about

Researchers have discovered that Obama’s autobiographical books are little more than PR stunts, as they have little to do with the actual events of his life. The fact is we know less about President Obama than perhaps any other president in American history and much of this is due to actual efforts to hide his record. This should concern all Americans.

A nation-wide network of researchers has sprung up to attempt to fill in the blanks, but at every opportunity Obama’s high-priced lawyers have built walls around various records or simply made them disappear. It is estimated that Obama’s legal team has now spent well over $1.4 million dollars blocking access to documents every American should have access to. The question is why would he spend so much money to do this?

The president who campaigned for a more “open government” and “full disclosure” will not unseal his medical records, his school records, his birth records or his passport records. He will not release his Harvard records, his Columbia College records, or his Occidental College records—he will not even release his Columbia College thesis. All his legislative records from the Illinois State Senate are missing and he claims his scheduling records during those State Senate years are lost as well. In addition, no one can find his school records for the elite K-12 college prep school, Punahou School, he attended in Hawaii.

What is he hiding? Well, for starters, some of these records will shed light on his citizenship and birth.

For example, Obama’s application to Punahou School – now mysteriously missing – would likely contain a birth certificate. And, according to attorney Gary Kreep, “his Occidental College records are important as they may show he attended there as a foreign exchange student.” Indeed, Obama used his Indonesian name “Barry Soetoro” while attending Occidental. Kreep has filed lawsuits challenging Obama’s eligibility to be president and as part of his lawsuit he requested Obama’s records from Occidental. However, Obama’s lawyers quickly moved to stop Occidental from honoring this request.

Furthermore, now that at least three document authentication experts have declared the scanned “Certificate of Live Birth” Obama’s campaign team gave to a pro-Obama website to be an obvious phony; we know that he is hiding something here as well.

Over 49 separate law suits have been filed on the eligibility/birth certificate issue alone, with several of the suits making it all the way the United States Supreme Court, only to be denied a full hearing.

Pictured: Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talah

What’s more, there are questions about how he paid for his Harvard Law School education since, despite a claim by Michele Obama, no one has produced any evidence that he received student loans. The Obamas will not release any student loan details despite repeated requests from the Chicago Tribune. However, it appears that his Harvard education may have been paid for by a foreign source. Khalid Al-Mansour, an advisor to Saudi prince Al-Walid bin Talah, told Manhattan Borough president, Percy Sutton, that he was raising money for Obama’s Harvard tuition. Incidentally, Prince Tala is the largest donor to CAIR, a Muslim group declared by the U.S. Government in 2007 as an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorist financing trial. At least three of CAIR’s leaders have been indicted for terrorist activities. Al-Mansour’s admission opens up speculation as to whether Muslim interests have assisted Obama’s career in the hope he would eventually be in a position someday to promote their interests.

More recently, it was discovered that Obama’s Selective Service card may have been doctored. Federal law requires all American males to register for the Selective Service (the draft) in case a major war broke out. Blogger Debbie Schlussel has discovered solid evidence that Obama’s Selective Service registration form was submitted not when he was younger as required, but rather in 2008 and then altered to look older. Indeed, the forgers forgot to alter the “Document Location Number” which shows that it is clearly a 2008 form. This is fraud and it’s a felony and Schlussel’s allegations are backed up by Stephen Coffman, a former high-ranking Federal agent. Moreover, the document shows a September 4th, 1980 date and the location of the transaction as Hawaii, but at that time Obama was thousands of miles away attending Occidental College in Los Angeles.

The real reason why Obama probably did not submit this form as a teenager is that he assumed his Kenyan or Indonesian citizenship exempted him from this requirement. But clearly, as he grew older and entered politics, he saw that any documents revealing a foreign birth – Selective Service registration, birth certificate, school applications, etc – would be problematic if he ran for the presidency. Thus, it is not a coincidence that every document which contains information about his birth or citizenship is either missing, sealed, or has been altered.

Indeed, everywhere one looks into Obama’s background, we find sealed records, scrubbed websites, altered documents, deception and unanswered questions. Can anyone imagine for a second if John McCain or George Bush had blocked access to his school, medical, and birth records? It would have been headlines in their case, but as with everything else concerning Obama, the media has given him a pass on this.

Of all these marvels, the latest mystery and probably most perplexing is that of Obama’s social security number. It appears that Obama has multiple identities in term of possessing numerous social security numbers. Orly Taitz, an attorney who has filed numerous suits against Obama regarding his eligibility to serve as president, appears to have been the first to discover this. In her suit, representing a number of military officers who are refusing to serve under an ineligible commander in chief, she hired private investigator Neil Sankey to conduct research on Obama’s prior addresses and Social Society numbers. Using Intelius, Lexis Nexis, Choice Point and other public records, Sankey found around 25 Social Security numbers connected with Obama’s name.

However, it may not be as many as 25, since Sankey also searched using closely related names such as: “Barak Obama,” “Batock Obama,” “Barok Obama,” and “Barrack Obama.” There may very well be some Kenyans living in America with the same last name and a similar first name. In any case, I will exclude these records for the purpose of this research and focus only on names spelled exactly like his name. Moreover, we can verify many of the Social Security numbers as valid since they’re connected to addresses at which we know Obama resided. Needless to say, there are also a slew of address and social security numbers connected to addresses in states that Obama has no known connection to.

In Obama’s home state, Illinois, Sankey tracked down 16 different addresses for a Barack Obama or a Barack H. Obama, of which all are addresses he was known to have lived at. Two Social Security numbers appear for these addresses, one beginning with 042 and one starting 364.

In California, where Obama attended Occidental College, there are six addresses listed for him, all within easy driving distance of the college. However, there are three Social Security numbers connected to these addresses, 537 and two others, each beginning with 999.

There are no addresses listed in New York where he attended Columbia University, but there is one listed for him in nearby Jackson, NJ, with a Social Security number beginning with 485.

713 Hart Senate Office Building

In Massachusetts – where Obama attended Harvard Law School – we find three addresses, all using the 042 Social Security number. After Obama was elected to the United States Senate in 2005, he moved into an apartment at 300 Massachusetts Ave NW; the Social Security number attached to that address is the 042 one. Yet, three years later, Obama used a different Social Security number for an address listed as: 713 Hart Senate Office Building. This was the address of his United States Senate office. This Social Security number began with 282 and was verified by the government in 2008.

This mystery grows even stranger as other addresses and Social Security numbers for Barack Obama appear in a dozen other states not known to be connected to him. Again, I am excluding those records names not spelled exactly like his name.

Tennessee, one address with a Social Security number beginning with 427

Colorado, one address, with a Social Security number beginning with 456.

Utah, two addresses, with two Social Security numbers beginning with 901 and 799.

Missouri has one address and one Social Security number beginning with 999.

Florida has two addresses listed for his him, three if you count one listed as “Barry Obama.” One is connected to a Social Security number beginning with 762.

In Georgia there are three addresses listed for him, all with different Social Security numbers: 579, 420, and 423.

In Texas there are four different addresses listed for him, one is connected to Social Security number 675.

There are two addresses listed for Barack Obama in Oregon and one address listed for him in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

All told, there are 49 addresses and 16 different Social Security numbers listed for a person whose name is spelled “Barack Obama.” In some cases, the middle initial “H” is listed. If you were to expand the search to include closely related names such as: “Barac,” “Barak,” and “Barrack” Obama, you would find more than a dozen additional addresses and Social Security numbers.

Finally, the one Social Security number Obama most frequently used, the one beginning with 042, is a number issued in Connecticut sometime during 1976-1977, yet there is no record of Obama ever living or working in Connecticut. Indeed, during this time period Obama would have been 15-16 years old and living in Hawaii at the time.

Nevertheless, all this mystery surrounding Obama appears to be a generational thing. Researchers have discovered nearly a dozen aliases, at least two different Social Security numbers, and upwards of over 99 separate addresses for Ann Dunham, his mother. We do know she worked for the ultra liberal Ford Foundation but we also know she may have earned some income from pornographic poses, as evidenced by photos recently discovered by some researchers—how embarrassing. The only thing researchers are able to find out about Obama’s mother is the fact she made porn. I’m sure that’s a first for presidential mothers.

But we also know that Obama’s mother and grandparents associated with Communist Party leaders such as Frank Marshall Davis, a man who, according to Obama’s book, Dreams from my Father, was his main mentor during much of his Hawaiian boyhood (although Obama tried to disguise his identity in his book). During the Cold War, Davis was named by congressional investigators as a key member of a secretive pro-Soviet networked that existed in Hawaii at that time.

Communist Party leader, Frank Marshall Davis

The lack of documents regarding Obama also extends to his mother and to his grandparents. Indeed, researchers have been unable to find marriage licenses for his mother’s two marriages, assuming she was ever legally married. Ditto goes for the marriage license for Ann’s parents. They cannot find birth certificates for her, her parents, or for even for her grandparents. Even more so, despite Obama’s boast of his grandfather’s military service, there’s no record of that either. For reasons no one knows, much of Obama’s life, his mother’s life and his grandparent’s life has been erased from the records as if they never existed.

But why would someone obtain so many Social Security numbers? According to investigators, those who create additional Social Society numbers are typically engaged in criminal activities such as Social Security fraud, tax fraud, real estate fraud, campaign

contributions fraud, voter fraud and so on. While the private investigator who compiled this list says multiple social security numbers does not automatically prove there’s criminal activity involved, he states that “having said that, I have personally experienced many, many cases where such information has led to subsequent exposure of fraud, deception, money laundering and other crimes.“What is interesting to note is that Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, was a volunteer at the Oahu Circuit Court probate department and had access to the Social Security numbers of deceased people.

It is clear that more research needs to be done on this issue. The Western Center for Journalism

( http://www.westernjournalism.com) is inviting readers to join the search for the truth. If you have any information about any of the addresses listed, they would love to hear from you. To find a complete list of all the addresses and Social Security numbers listed in the public record for Obama and family, please go to the Western Center for Journalism.

Abraham showed his faith by obedience and was therefore righteous

Jun23

(An excerpt from Jesse Morell’s upcoming book, “The Vicarious Atonement of Christ.”

There was a problem in Israel of thinking that righteousness consisted in external works of the law, which notion Paul needed to confront. There were Israelites who thought that they were righteous before God as long as they obeyed the Torah, even while sinning in their hearts. Jesus said our righteousness needed to exceed that of the Pharisees who obeyed the outward requirements of the Torah but were sinful inwardly. In context Jesus expounded upon the sins of the heart and not mere outward action, in regards to our righteousness exceeding that of the Pharisees.

Paul argued for a circumcision of the heart by faith in order to be righteous. Paul argued that Abraham was righteous and justified before the Torah was given through Moses, so that the external works of the law that the Torah demanded cannot possibly be what true righteousness consisted of. It could not be the means through which we are made righteous or justified in character. Paul argued that by faith in God Abraham was righteous and consequently justified, and so that is how Gentile believers are made righteous and are justified too.

In his heart Abraham trusted God so that in his life Abraham obeyed God. Faith of the heart was the seed to real obedience of life, so God imputed (reckoned or considered) Abraham’s faith as righteousness, as that was what it really was. A heart of faith is a righteous heart. Faith, which results in obedience, is what real righteousness is. Righteousness is not merely being circumcised or keeping the dietary requirements of the Torah. It is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a man, not what goes into it. It is not by obeying the external requirements of the Torah and having outward works, even with selfish motives to be praised by men, which makes a man righteous before God.Real righteousness is not a work of the law at all, but is faith in God.

However, there is a problem in the church today just like there was in Israel. That is a problem of thinking that righteousness consists in works of the law or obedience to the Torah. Like the Pharisees who thought that they were righteous on a technicality, by observing the outward requirements of the Torah while still sinning in their hearts, the Theologians of today are teaching that you can be righteous before God on the same technicality as well. They teach that Christ obeyed the Torah or the law for us on our behalf as our substitute, so that His works of the law are imputed to us. In light of Christ’s works of the Torah being imputed to our account, they say, we are made righteous in the eyes of God and are consequently justified even though we are still sinful in heart and character. This is identical to the problem Paul had to confront when he argued that we are not righteous or justified by the works of the law but by a faith in Christ that purifies the heart. Paul was confronting this Pharisaical notion of being technically righteous before God by outward obedience to the Torah while still sinning inwardly in your heart.

The Pharisees and reformed theologians are both wrong in assuming that righteousness does not consist in works of the law, either performed by the individual or performed by a substitute on their behalf and imputed to them. There is no righteousness by works while still sinning in heart. It is a faith in Christ, a trusting of the heart that results in obedience of life, that is real righteousness in the eyes of God. When a man is sinning in his heart, he is not trusting God in his heart. But when a man is trusting God in his heart, he will not be sinning in his heart or life, and so God will impute or consider his faith as righteousness. It is by faith that our heart is purified so it is by faith that we are made righteousness.

Being required to fill in an internet application in a way that the system prevents

Jun18

I experienced something the other day which reminded me of Calvinism . My daughter and I had to fill in an application on British Airways‘ website for her trip to the USA, and it was very important to fill in her name EXACTLY as written in her passport. I already knew the importance of this from before, and a few months ago I read in our local paper about a man who neglected to write an “H” in his application which should have been there in his last name. He solved the matter by officially changing his name, which he luckily had time to do before his departure to the US…!

The only problem for us when we filled in our application was that the system prevented us from using any other letters than the ones between a-z – and that wasn’t the first time we’ve run into that internet problem. Our name is BJÖRK, and ö is a completely different letter than o, and neither are the letters å and ä forms of a. So should we LIE as we usually do when we fill in such applications and write BJORK, or should we use BJOERK (which resembles the pronunciation of ö better) and which is commonly done when it comes to airlines tickets and elsewhere? If that man with the lacking H got in trouble, maybe we will get in trouble for adding an extra E which shouldn’t be there? We weren’t quite sure how to fill in that important document, but we knew that it was EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and a REQUIREMENT that both the first and the last names were written EXACTLY as written in the passport, or else she might not be able to enter the country.

We tried with an O and hoped for the best, and we also had to lie in the same way when we filled in our little city (which has an Ä in it), and to top it off I had to lie a final time when I paid the 14 dollars that we owed and which had to be made by a credit card where my unfortunate last name appears once again. I chose O instead of Ö there too, right under the information that the name must be typed in EXACTLY as it appears on the credit card (which is Björk with an Ö). So once again the system asked me to do something that the same system prevented me from doing.

(Our most common lie when it comes to such applications happens when we must fill in a zip code, which we don’t have. We could try with our own address digits but that almost never works, but typing “00000” or similar works at times.)

Anyway, this reminded me of Calvinism, because according to this doctrine God actually commands us to do something that he has prevented us from doing. We are told to REPENT, which we can’t unless he enables us and predestines us to do so, and apparently he has not enabled everyone to repent since most people will (according to the Bible) end up in hell for not having repented or believed in God.

Acts. 17:³⁰And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth ALL MEN EVERY WHERE to repent

There are also many other things we are told to do which we can’t – for instance stop sinning – and that is something God has prevented most people from doing (if Calvinism is right). Nevertheless, he will still punish them for not repenting and for their sins which he caused them to commit. Only the elect will be able to seek God and repent, and the non-elect are prevented from doing this. By God.

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is turned wherever God wants?

Jun14

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will

It’s never a good idea to use a psalm or a proverb as a filter to read the rest of the Bible through, because poetic text might obviously not always be the literal truth. It’s shaky to start a new doctrine based on poetry and analogies, and you can reach almost any conclusion you want if you single out a verse out of context in Psalms or Proverbs (or anywhere) and use it as a foundation for a certain theology view.

The above verse is sometimes used by our reformed friends (calvinists) as an attempt to support the idea that God has an exhaustive control over all decisions of men – i.e. God predestines every step that a man makes and nothing happens against the will of God. There may be calvinists who disagree with this view, but then they are not consistent with their own doctrines – as in TULIP.

It’s true that God may occasionally and in rare situations choose to override the will of man, but calvinists believe God acts in such way at all times and that he constantly steers our steps and wills so that we will always act and think according to his exact will with no exception. They believe that God is no longer sovereign if man has any independent control separate from his own will. Sovereign and sovereignty are not Biblical words (KJV), but also freewillers believe God is “sovereign”, but obviously not the way calvinists understand this term. A sovereign and an all powerful God is mighty enough to create man with a free will and to be responsible for his (not God’s) own actions. If God is the one who causes us to think and act the way he wants, then of course he is the one to be responsible for our thoughts and actions, but that is not the God of the Bible because it would make him the author of sin.

Prior to the flood the people were purely evil (with an exception of Noah and his family):

Gen. 5:⁵And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.⁶And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.⁷And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

It wouldn’t make any sense at all if God first caused people to have wicked thoughts and constantly perform evil, and then bring a global flood on everyone due to their wickedness that he himself predestined. The wickedness culminated after the nephilim were being born by the sons of God (fallen angels, as per other Bible verses) and female human beings, and wickedness is always against God’s will.

Proverbs 21:1 doesn’t speak about all the people in the whole world but about “the king”, and this verse might have been written by King Solomon concerning himself. The passage also doesn’t tell us that God controls the king’s heart irresistibly. It’s possible that Solomon is proclaiming that he is fulfilling his appointed role by allowing God to control his decision-making so that his decisions would essentially be the decisions of God, and it is not a statement that God is irresistibly controlling his heart but that the king has fully surrendered his heart and will to the will of God.

A good king was to represent God to his people in his judgments and decisions, and we can see this in Psalm 82 quoted by Jesus to the Pharisees in John 10:34-38. In the psalm, the rulers of the people were called “gods” because they were to represent God to His people in their leadership and judgments. In Psalm 82 God is seen to stand in judgment of the judges and rebuke them for their failure to represent God as they were called by God to do. If the Scripture could call wicked judges “gods”, how much more does Jesus deserve to be equated with God since He is sent into the world by God himself?

The wicked make plans and those plans seldom include their own destruction or judgment nor the many calamities that might result from their rebellion, but such is their future according to the Lord. Nothing can ultimately thwart God’s overall sovereign plan, and his ultimate control over the universe is in no way threatened by the free will decisions of his creatures. That is the gist of Proverbs 21.

What else does Proverbs 21 say?

21:²Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

It wouldn’t make sense if God irresistibly controls the heart at the same time as he ponders/weighs/judges the heart that he alone controls with no interference or involvement by man. Solomon is concerned about pleasing the Lord in righteousness and justice, and a sacrifice is usually made when a person has transgressed the law of God and needs to be forgiven through the blood of an animal sacrifice. Of course it’s better to be obedient to start with because then a sacrifice isn’t even needed, and we can read that this option is more acceptable to God. Solomon contrasts the desires and actions of men surrendered to God with those who are in rebellion to God and refusing to submit to Him. Solomon himself fell away from the Lord in his later years but when he wrote this Proverb Solomon was committed to the Lord.

21:⁴An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

Is it really possible that God would want people to have a high look, a proud heart and being wicked sinners? It’s absurd to suggest that God could cause people to be evil because in God there is no darkness at all and he doesn’t even tempt anyone – much less cause anyone to sin.

21:⁵The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.⁷The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.

A lying tongue would also be something that God doesn’t want anyone to have, and we can read that the robbery of the wicked shall destroy them because they REFUSE to do judgment. It’s not God who leads them in that direction, but they do it to themselves.

21:⁸The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.⁹It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.¹⁰The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.

Solomon compares “man” with “the pure”. The work of the pure is RIGHT unlike the way of man, and this must mean that some people do NOT do what is right before God since all men are not pure. The soul of the wicked desire EVIL, and does it sound plausible that God causes certain men to be wicked and evil?

21:¹¹ When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.12 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

A scorner is not showing a good conduct and that’s why he is punished. The righteous man is contrasted with the wicked man, and we can read that God overthrows the wicked for the reason that he is performing wickedness. Why would God overthrow and punish people for the reason that they are being wicked, if he himself caused them to be wicked in the first place? Instead of being punished they should get praise and applauds for doing the will of God – by being evildoers – if this is what God truly wanted them to be.

21:¹³Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.¹⁴A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.¹⁵It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

Does God want people to “stop their ears” at the cry of the poor? Surely not, since God repeatedly tells us to be merciful and help those in need. Whosoever is a worker of iniquity must surely be acting against God’s will? The Bible says that God hates the workers of iniquity (psalm 5:5) so it wouldn’t make sense if he would be causing people to be just that, and then turn around and pretend to be angry at the same workers of iniquity.

21:¹⁶The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.¹⁷He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.¹⁸The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.

Here we can read about man wandering out-of-the-way of understanding. It doesn’t say God pushed him out-of-the-way of understanding or prevented him in any way to reach a better understanding, but that the man himself is guilty of this – and the dire consequence for this unfortunate choice is death. Does God want people to love pleasure and wine, and does he want them to be wicked transgressors? Again, I hope all will say NO WAY. Sinning is always against God’s will.

21:¹⁹It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.²⁰There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.²¹He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.²²A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.²³Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

God surely wouldn’t cause people to be foolish and waste expensive oil. The wise man is again contrasted with the foolish man, and it’s up to us to follow after righteousness in order to find life and honor, and it’s up to us to keep our tongue to save our SOUL from trouble.

²⁴Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.²⁵The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.²⁶He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?²⁸A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly.²⁹A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.³⁰There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.³¹The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.

Read this passage again about proud, haughty scorners who refuse to labor and who are greedy and covet things that don’t belong to them. The sacrifice of the wicked is an ABOMINATION before God, and the only reason they would even think about doing something like that would be due to a wicked mind. Would God cause people to be wicked and act in such a way? God directs the way of the upright, but the wicked hardens himself. Bad choice on their part.

Proverbs 15:²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.—²⁸The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.²⁹The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

The thoughts of the wicked are an ABOMINATION to the Lord, and he is far from the wicked. Would God cause people to be so wicked that they were an abomination before him? That would not be the God of the Bible, but this type of God can unfortunately be seen in books authored by calvinists. Flee to another direction.

Declaring the end from the beginning – Isaiah 46:9-10 – does not mean God predestines sin

Jun12

Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (KJV)

Isaiah 46:¹⁰DECLARING FROM THE BEGINNING THE LATTER END, And from of old that which hath not been done, Saying, `My counsel doth stand, And all My delight I do.’ (Young’s Literal)

So, from the very beginning of time God has declared something that will take place in the latter end, and we can continue on to v. 11 and v. 12-13 to see exactly what this is. It’s about the coming of a “ravenous bird“, but most importantly about the fact that salvation will come from Zion. God is able to tell us through his prophets what will happen in the future whether God himself wants these things to happen or not. In this case it looks like what he is telling us through Isaiah is something that God himself has decreed will happen. See further down below. Also, if God delights in a world where man has free will and able to obey/disobey and where he is responsible for his own actions, can God make such a world? Yes! God can do anything he wants.

Some of our reformed friends translate “declaring the end from the beginning” to “I decide and predestine every step that a man makes and he has no choice but to act exactly as I have caused him to act “, and they translate “my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure“ to “my counsel is to unconditionally cause a certain elect group of people to believe in me, and my pleasure is to orchestrate everything that happens, including causing people to sin – and I will also punish them for this sin by sending them to hell for it “.

But if that interpretation is true, then of course God has always wanted people to be born depraved and with a sinful nature that causes them all to sin, and that would absolutely make God the author of sin and the one we must blame for all wickedness in the world. We would have no other choice but to trace each case of murder, violence, abortion and rape back to GOD and we must even conclude that he caused Satan to rebel against him. Some reformed believers object to the notion that God is the author of sin, which their doctrine necessitates, but there are numerous calvinists who admit that they believe in a God who makes people sin for his glory.

What does the rest of the chapter Isaiah 46 say?

1 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.

It’s really interesting that God would want his people to make use of IDOLS, despite that the first commandment that God gave Moses is:

“You shall have no other gods before me”

Could God really be angry at his people for making idols, if he is the one who predestines them to make them? Will people risk their souls for making these idols and for worshiping them, despite that it’s according to God’s will? Will people end up in hell despite obeying God to 100%?

3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:

It’s strange that God would say “hearken unto me...” just like people could choose to NOT hearken unto him. It’s also interesting that God suggests that the house of Jacob and the remnant of the house of Israel were “borne by me from the belly” because this sounds like they were not born depraved, and yet not all individuals from this group will always be good and obedient people.

6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.

Again, it’s very interesting that God would cause his people to make an idol to bow down for and to worship, despite that God also tells them multiple times that they should have no other God before him. What would be his reason for predestining them to do something horrible like that? Does he want us to obey his commandments or not? We can also read that they were transgressors, and that would be people who transgress the divine commandments in violation to the one who gave those commandments. But how could this be, if God is the one who directs every single one of their steps and that nothing that comes to pass happens against his will? If God is the one who causes people to make idols, can we really say that they “transgress” his command to not make idols? If God is the one who wants them to make idols and cause them to make idols, then it’s hard to see how this could be a “transgression” of any kind. So it seems like God causes his people to act in a way that goes against his own principles, as though God is battling with some schizophrenic problems. The best way to solve it is of course to flee from calvinism, because that would at once take care of all Bible contradiction that this gnostic theology has caused AND God’s holy nature and reputation would be intact.

⁹Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Here comes our famous quote. Couldn’t “declaring the end from the beginning” mean that God has foreknowledge of certain events and has taken measures to both punish people who transgress his laws, as well as helping those people out who seek him and turn to him for his aid? The context is about the deliverance of his people from Babylon by the hand of Cyrus, which he purposed and prophesied about. The terms “my counsel” and “my pleasure” don’t necessarily mean that God alone micro manages every single step that people make – against their will and without conditions. Each person is responsible for his own actions, and we can often see God acting based on the premise “if you do this, I will do that“. If God is the one who directs our steps unconditionally, then the blame for all evil darkness must be placed on God alone – and God should ask us for forgiveness for causing so much wickedness and evil.

¹¹Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Aha, this is the verse right after v. 10, and here we can see exactly what his “pleasure” might be and what it is that he has declared according to his counsel. He has apparently called “a ravenous bird from the east – a man of his counsel”. It’s not certain who this is, but it might be a reference to Cyrus who God indirectly might have involved in his plans for Israel. All God has to do is to remove his protective hands from a certain leader among his people, resulting in that the enemy would get sufficient help needed to be victorious. God doesn’t always interfere in such manner, but it looks like this is a rare case where he did. It’s inconceivable to believe that a holy God places evil desires in someone’s heart, because there is no darkness in God and he doesn’t tempt anyone – much less cause people to sin. Even if Israel will initially be shaken, there is also a plan for SALVATION – which is purposed by God. So the ultimate purpose by God, and what he will execute according to the counsel of his will, is to bring salvation from Zion. Read on.

¹²Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:

Isn’t it interesting that God would consider making people stouthearted and unrighteous? Yet, this is what he must have done if we must interpret v. 9-10 as though God predestines everything. And why continuously asking people to hearken unto him, if he knows that they can do nothing BUT hearken to him? People are not able to listen to God if God has prevented them from doing so. Things always pan out the way God wants in the calvinistic world.

¹³I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

“Salvation in Zion” sounds like a promise about the upcoming Messiah who will come forth in the future in Zion, and he will be of the blood of Jacob and King David. This is something that happens according to the council of his will, and nowhere in the chapter does it say that God causes people to think and to act in a certain way. “I bring near my righteousness”, God says, and that doesn’t sound like there is much room for wickedness and unrighteousness – which is something abominable in God’s eyes.

“I will have mercy on who I will have mercy”, but not unconditionally – Rom. 9:15

Jun10

Rom. 9:15 FOR HE SAITH TO MOSES, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion

This is a very famous and popular verse, and there are some (reformed) christians who translate this verse into “God says to us all; I will elect certain individuals for salvation, and I will place no conditions whatsoever on those that I choose…”. Just because God shows mercy to individuals, groups of people and entire nations, it doesn’t mean that they will be saved, and neither does it say anywhere in Romans. 9:15 that God shows mercy unconditionally. Paul is here making a reference to Exodus 33:19 where God is speaking to Moses, so in order to get Paul’s point we should both read both the context in Romans 9 (which is about God’s right to make the offer of salvation also to the gentiles and under the conditions that he himself chooses) as well as checking the passage that Paul is referring to in order to understand his full point.

Ex 33:²(God) And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:³Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.⁴And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.⁵For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.—(Mose starts out)¹⁶For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.¹⁷And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.¹⁸And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.¹⁹And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

As we can see, Moses is having a huge problem with the people that he was a leader for, and that’s because they were stiff-necked and rebellious against the God who Moses was a true servant of. Man’s free will is fully displayed in this passage (and throughout the entire Bible) because naturally God doesn’t want people to be disobedient to him and to walk on their own evil ways. The only reason God is threatening to consume them, is due to their sinfulness and stubborn hearts. Moses is pleading with God to show mercy on his people and he is successful because God has indeed seen Moses’ heart and therefore decided to show him grace and listen to his requests.

As we can see, the phrase that he “will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy” is not in reference to God unconditionally electing people to salvation, and neither can this phrase be understood that way in Romans 9. Moreover, just because God decides to show mercy on a person, it doesn’t mean this person will necessarily be saved because mercy (or kindness or grace) might not even be in relation to the person’s soul. And even if it is in relation to the person’s soul, it doesn’t say “Once God has shown mercy on a person, this person forever remains in his mercy and is forever saved”. Just like we people can choose to be kind or not to others depending on their actions, so can God.

That people are being stiff-necked in the Bible can be seen here with many examples.

Compare with the words of David, who claims that God will be merciful to those who are merciful – which is how God has chosen to treat people:

2 Sam. 22:25 Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

We are told to be merciful as our Father is merciful

If the idea is that God has a certain lucky and elect elite that he has decided to show mercy on while he turns his back on all others, can we act in the same way by showing mercy (being kind) to only SOME? Not according to the Bible that says we are to be good to all. If we show mercy to others, we can be expected to get mercy ourselves, and God expects us to show mercy to others.

Luke:³⁵But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.³⁶Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

1 Timothy 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Ja. 2:¹²So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.¹³For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.¹⁴What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Broader context from Romans 9. Read more about Romans 9 in this article.

Rom. 9:¹⁴What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.¹⁵For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.¹⁶So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.¹⁷For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.¹⁸Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory

Mercy is often in relation to individuals who are being righteous

It makes sense that kind-hearted and obedient people are prone to receive mercy themselves.

Genesis. 19:¹⁸And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:¹⁹Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

Genesis 24:27 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.

Genesis 39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

1 Kings 3:6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

Isaiah 14:1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

Conditions that are required for getting mercy, and when God does NOT show mercy

It looks like God is keen to show mercy on people who LOVE HIM AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. We can see this requirement throughout the below verses.

Ex. 20:⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;⁶And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Deut. 5:⁹Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,¹⁰And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Deut. 7:⁹Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;¹⁰And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.¹¹Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.¹²Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers

1 Kings 8:23 And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart

2 Chronicles 6:14 And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts

Nehemiah 1:5 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

Isaiah 9:¹⁶For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.¹⁷Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 27:11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

Isaiah 47:6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Daniel 9:4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Hosea 2:4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

Jonah 2:8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

Luke 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

Luke 10:²⁹But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?³⁰And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.³¹And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.³²And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.³³But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,³⁴And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.³⁵And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.³⁶Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?³⁷And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Gal. 6 ¹⁵For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.¹⁶And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 10:28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Psalms and Proverbs about mercy

In Psalms and Proverbs we can see the conditions for getting mercy, and they are the same as above.

Psalm 32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

Psalm 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

Psalm 62:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work

Psalm 86:5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Psalm 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

Psalm 118:4 Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 130:7 Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

Psalm 147:11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

Psalm 145:⁸The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.⁹The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

Proverbs 14:22 Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.

Proverbs 14:31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

Proverbs 21:21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

We are not saved because we have always done the right thing, but because we are able to be cleansed in the blood of Jesus upon our repentance and faith in his holy name.

Titus. 3:³For we ourselves also WERE sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.⁴But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,⁵Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost

Are you stiff-necked and resist the Holy Ghost against the will of God? – Acts 7:51

Jun9

Acts 7:51 Ye STIFFNECKED and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always RESIST THE HOLY GHOST: as your fathers did, so do ye.

sklérotrachélos (Greek): stiff-necked, stubborn, obstinate (Strong’s 4644)

oreph (Hebrew): back of the neck, neck (Strong’s 6203)

It’s apparent that we can resist the Holy Ghost by being stiff-necked and walking our own way, and if we take this route it’s obviously against God’s will. Still, there are some of our reformed friends who feel the need to stick to the notion that “nothing that comes to pass happens against the will of God” so they are reluctant to accept the clear meaning of Acts 7:51 and prefer to believe that God has either predestined people to be stiff-necked and/or suggest they are born stiff-necked and will continue to be so until God perhaps decides to open their eyes to bring them out of this spell. If the idea is that nothing happens against God’s will, then people who are born stiff-necked are born that way according to God’s will, but then we are no longer talking about the God of the Bible.

Stephen (who is talking in Acts 7) is making a reference to the fathers of the pharisees and claimed they too were stiff-necked and resisted the Holy Ghost, and we can see in the verses below how painfully true this statement has proven to be. The Bible is a book that describes how people throughout all of our history have turned their backs on God. Not every single individual of course, because there are also examples of some very righteous and just people who have lived in obedience to God, like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Lot and Job.

Most cases in the Bible where “stiff-necked” people are mentioned can be seen below.

Examples of stiff-necked people during the Exodus

People even made a golden calf to worship and this provoked God to anger, naturally because it was against his will. Israel didn’t get the promised land because they were particularly good people, but rather because the inhabitants were very evil, and because of the promise that God had given to Abraham before them.

Ex. 32:⁸They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.⁹And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:¹⁰Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation

Ex. 33:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:—³Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.—⁵For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

Ex. 34:⁸And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.⁹And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

Deuteronomy 9:⁵Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.⁶Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.⁷Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord.⁸Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you.

2 Kings 17:¹²For they served idols, whereof the Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.¹³Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.¹⁴Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.¹⁵And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them.¹⁶And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.¹⁷And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

Neh. ¹⁵And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.¹⁶But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,¹⁷And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.¹⁸Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations

Jer. 7:²²For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:²³But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.²⁴But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.²⁵Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:²⁶Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.²⁷Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.²⁸But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

Being stiff-necked is something negative, and God tells his people to cease being stiff-necked

Clearly God wouldn’t want his people (or anyone) to rebel against him, refuse to hearken to him, turn their backs on him, transgress his laws, do evil, become corrupted, provoke him to anger, worship idols, harden their hearts, neglect to receive corrections, etc, but this is exactly what his people often did due to their stubborn and evil hearts. God’s will does not always happen and that is because he has given us free will – resulting in that we are responsible for our own actions and will be judged accordingly.

Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

Deut. 31:²⁷For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?²⁸Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.²⁹For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

Isaiah. 48:³I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.⁴Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;⁵I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

2 Chronicles 29:⁵And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.⁶For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.—.⁸Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

2 Chronicles 30:8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.

2 Chronicles 36:¹¹Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.¹²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord.¹³And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel.¹⁴Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

Neh. 9:²⁸But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;²⁹And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.³⁰Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.³¹Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Jer. 2:²⁶As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets.²⁷Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.²⁸But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.²⁹Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.³⁰In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

Jer. 17:²²Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.²³But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.²⁴And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein

Jer. 19:¹⁵Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

Jer. 32:³¹For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,³²Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.³³And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.³⁴But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.³⁵And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Proverbs. 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.²When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Read, Isaiah 5:1-7, Isaiah 63:10, Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34, Romans 13:2 and Ephesians 4:30, for further examples of people who are stiff-necked and act against the will of God.

The TRINITY – Jesus in the Godhead, who shared the glory with the Father

Jun5

The Bible teaches that Jesus is God

These are just some of the evidence for that Jesus is God who once came in the form of flesh to live as man here on earth. Between Genesis and Revelations there are numerous verses which tell us about the deity of Jesus – for instance prophesies in the old testament which prophesy about the upcoming Messiah and savior Jesus Christ (and NOTHING existed before him) who shares the glory with God the Father, despite that the Bible also says that God alone created the earth and doesn’t share his glory with anyone. If we refuse to accept that our King Jesus is the one he says he is – equal with God the Father, one with God the Father and has always coexisted with God the Father – then we are left with a long list of Bible inconsistencies that are impossible to get around. God the Father is usually called just GOD (in English), and he calls his son GOD in Hebr. 1.

John 17:²¹That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.²²And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one

The context for John 10:30 “I and the Father are one” is totally different from the context of John 17:21-22. In the latter verses it’s about having the same goal/approach/attitude, whereas John 10 is about being one with God as in the same authority and spirit. This is especially obvious when we consider that the jews picked up stones to stone Jesus to death for blasphemy when he claimed to be one with God. Why would they do this unless they felt Jesus was truly guilty of this crime? There is no Jewish death penalty for stating that we are to share the same goal as God, but there is a death penalty for claiming to be of the same authority as God and to be equal with him.

God the Father ONLY does wondrous things, but Jesus does too…

Ps. 72:¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who ONLY doeth wondrous things.

John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

The First and The Last – both God the Father AND God Jesus Christ

The first words of the Book of Revelation begin “The revelation of Jesus Christ” and the last things that Jesus says are “I, JESUS have sent mine angel to testify unto you all these things”. We can clearly see that both God the Father and Jesus Christ used the names/terms “I am the first and the last” and “alpha and omega”. Either Jesus is not God and only wants to confuse us by constantly taking God’s name on himself, letting himself be worshiped, making himself equal with God, not correcting people who call him God, etc, OR he really IS God. Only the latter option eliminates Bible contradictions.

Isa 44:⁶Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isa. 48:¹⁰Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.¹¹For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.¹²Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.¹³Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

Rev. 1:⁵And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,⁶And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.⁷Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.⁸I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.⁹I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,¹¹Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.¹²And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;¹³And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.¹⁴His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;¹⁵And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.¹⁶And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.¹⁷And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:¹⁸I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Rev 21:⁵And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.⁶And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:¹²And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.¹³I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.—¹⁶I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Rev. 22:⁸And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.⁹Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Rev. 19:⁹And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.¹⁰And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Acts. 10:²⁵And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.²⁶But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

Both God the Father AND God the son are the Lord of Lords

Isaiah 42:⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Deut. 10:¹⁷For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward

Ps. 136:³O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Phil. 2:¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1 Tim. 6:¹⁴That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:¹⁵Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords

Rev. 17:¹⁴These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev. 19:¹³And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.—¹⁵And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.¹⁶And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

Who raised Jesus from the dead?

GOD raised him from the dead

Acts 10:³⁹And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:⁴⁰Him GOD raised up the third day, and shewed him openly

Acts 2:²³Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:²⁴Whom GOD hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.—32 This Jesus hath GOD raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

Acts. 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Acts. 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom GOD raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Acts.5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Acts. 13:23 Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus—33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead

1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

2 Corinthians 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also BY JESUS, and shall present us with you.

The HOLY SPIRIT (who dwells in us) raised him from the dead

Romans 8:11 But if THE SPIRIT of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

JESUS raised himself up from the dead

John 10:¹⁷Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.¹⁸No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

The Holy Spirit is given by God: Isaiah 48:16, 63:11, Acts 5:32, 15:8, 1 Cor. 2:12, 2 Cor. 1:22, 3:3, 5:5 Gal. 3:5, 4:6, 1 Thess. 4:8, 1 John 3:24

The Holy Spirit is given by Jesus: Zechariah 12:10, Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, John 3:34, John 15:26, John 16:7, John 20:22

If the Holy Spirit is said to be given by GOD, and also by JESUS, could this mean that Jesus is GOD? Yes!

We are cursed if we trust in man instead of the Lord, yet we are told to put our trust in the son

Jer. 17:⁵Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.—⁷Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Psa 2:¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

If this verse is not about Jesus Christ – WHO is it about?

Isaiah 9: ⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

God the Father created everything all by himself – and the son Jesus Christ too…

Prov 30:⁴Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

Psalm 8:³When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;⁴What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?⁵For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.⁶Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet

Isaiah 45:¹⁸For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²The same was in the beginning with God.³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men.⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.⁷The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.⁹That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.—¹⁴And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.¹⁵John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.¹⁶And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.¹⁷For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.¹⁸No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 17:⁵And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

John 8:40, 58 I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!

Hebr. 1:²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;—¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Hebr. 2:⁶But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?⁷Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:⁸Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.¹⁰For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Col. 1:¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:¹⁴In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

There is only ONE that you shall worship, and JESUS allowed himself to be worshiped

It would have been so easy to quench the idea that Jesus is God by showing Jesus correcting those who worshiped him, but not once did he do that. John was corrected by the angel who he bowed down to in Revelations, and Cornelius was immediately corrected by Peter when he was worshiped in Acts. To Jesus will every knee bow and every tongue confess:

Isaiah 45:²¹Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.²²Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.²³I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Zech. 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

Phi 2:⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Acts. 4:¹⁰Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.¹¹This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.¹²Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Daniel 7:¹³I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.¹⁴And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

John 9:35-39 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe’; and he WORSHIPED HIM.

Hebr. 1:⁶And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.—⁸But unto the Son he saith, THY THRONE; O GOD, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

God doesn’t share his glory with anyone, but shares it with Jesus

Isaiah 42:⁵Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein—⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isaiah 48:¹¹For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

Matthew 16:²⁷For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.²⁸Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

John 5:²¹For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.²²For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:²³That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

John 17:⁵And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Phil. 2:⁵Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Col. 2:⁸Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.⁹For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power

Hebr. 2:⁷Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands

30 pieces of silver

Zech 11:10And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.¹¹And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord.¹²And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.¹³And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord—¹⁷Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Matt 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Jesus is God!

John 20:²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.²⁵The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.²⁶And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.²⁷Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.²⁸And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.²⁹Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Mark 2:⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.⁶But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,⁷Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

Do read this article about; if we can also be called gods

Criticising a stone-thrower often means throwing stones ourselves

May27

Thanks to Britt Williams for the below

Quoting Jesus’ words in John 8:7, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone…”, in a futile attempt to correct others for exposing sin, error, and reproving men for disobeying the Bible, is a gross misapplication of Scripture for two glaring reasons:

1. It is brazen hypocrisy. If we define correcting men with the Word of God as “casting stones” then we dare not invoke John 8:7 to correct the “stone-thrower” else we be guilty of “throwing stones” ourselves. It is akin to erroneously interpreting and applying Matt 7:1’s, “judge not” without making a judgment, which of course, is impossible. If a man believes others cannot judge or correct with God’s Word, he must refrain himself, which is demonstrably impossible. We all judge and we all correct according to what we deem the Word of God teaches, the question is, “are our judgments in accordance with God’s Word or not?”

2. Correcting someone with the Word of God, even telling someone they are lost and in danger of hell-fire, is not remotely comparable to literally executing someone by stoning. Jesus’ was not teaching that confronting and reproving others for sin was wrong, in fact, HE CORRECTED THE WOMAN AND TOLD HER TO STOP SINNING. The religious hypocrites Jesus confronted in John 8 wanted to kill the adulteress, not save her. Confronting sin and correcting others with God’s Word, according to the Scriptures, is essential to love (Lev 19:17; Rev 3:19) and is an effort to save, not destroy. Hence, exposing sin and error is not hateful, but loving. Those who suggest otherwise are, at best, spiritually blind, carnal, and Biblically illiterate. Generally, such people have an agenda, namely, they sympathize with and defend sin and error because they are in sin and error

Demons BELIEVE and tremble – faith without deeds is dead

May26

Faith alone is not enough for salvation

When Paul told the Philippian jailor in Acts. 16 that he must BELIEVE to be saved, he didn’t have an empty faith in mind but a faith that is the same as “loving God with all your heart and all your soul”. If we truly believe in Jesus and love him with all of our heart, then we would like to obey him and this is what saving faith means. We can read that Paul and Silas afterwards spoke with this jailor and those with him in his house, and at that point they likely explained the meaning of a prosperous life together with our savior Jesus Christ – who is son of God and God in flesh.

Acts. 16:²⁷And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.—²⁹Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,³⁰And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?³¹And they said, BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.³²And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.³³And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.-—21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

What demons (devils/evil spirits) believe

James makes it clear that also demons (devils/evil spirits) believe (see verse further down below) so a faith without deeds is dead, which means that we can’t be saved without works. It’s true that angels and demons can’t be saved in the same way as human beings because they are messengers of God, but once upon a time Satan and 1/3 of his angels were expelled from heaven due to their behavior – and not due to lack of faith in the only true God. The point James is making is that demons don’t have good fruit to go with their faith, and he also gives examples of various DEEDS one is expected to do as a truly saved person. James is not impressed with a person who says he believes in God, unless the same person shows good fruit to go with his faith.

If you think you’re saved if you only

believe in Jesus Christ
believe he is the son of God
believe he is the Holy One of God
believe he is the Messiah (the Christ)
believe he is from Nazareth
believe he has power over heaven and earth, and tremble by this awareness
believe he is able to punish you for your actions
believe there is ONE God only
believe the first christians (like Paul, Silas, Luke, etc) were true servants of God and individuals who showed mankind the way of salvation (which they constantly claimed to be through Jesus Christ only)
fall down before Jesus
confess out loud that Jesus is the son of God and the promised Messiah
have good Bible knowledge

then you must keep in mind that also demons/devils also accomplish all those things on that list, as the below verses will show:

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Mat. 8:²⁸And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.²⁹And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Mark 1:²³And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,²⁴ Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Yeshua of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

Mark 3:¹¹ And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

Mark 5:7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Yeshua, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.⁸For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

Luke 4:³³And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,³⁴Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.³⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

Luke 4:⁴¹ And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Messiah the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.

Luke 8:²⁷And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.²⁹(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)³⁰And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

Acts. 16:¹⁶And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:¹⁷The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.¹⁸And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Matt. 4:⁶And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Read more about James 2, and faith/works, in this blog article

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Abraham showed his faith by obedience and was therefore righteous

Being required to fill in an internet application in a way that the system prevents

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is turned wherever God wants?

Declaring the end from the beginning – Isaiah 46:9-10 – does not mean God predestines sin

“I will have mercy on who I will have mercy”, but not unconditionally – Rom. 9:15

Are you stiff-necked and resist the Holy Ghost against the will of God? – Acts 7:51

The TRINITY – Jesus in the Godhead, who shared the glory with the Father

Criticising a stone-thrower often means throwing stones ourselves

Demons BELIEVE and tremble – faith without deeds is dead

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