The Subject of Hermeneutics

 When I was in my early 20's after I had been a Christian for a couple of years I had an experience with the Lord that led me to want to go to bible school. My circumstances prevented me from being able to attend a bible school, and so the other option was to take a correspondence course by mail. And so with all the hopes of being called into the ministry, I enrolled in the P.A.O.C. Pentecostal Assemblies Of Canada, ministerial course. 

I got a list of the courses I would be taking, and did not even recognize the subject names let alone knew what I was going to be learning. I did discuss it with a bible student from the college and he explained that the Pentateuch is the study of the first five books of the Bible, from the term Penta meaning five and Teuch meaning scrolls, or books.  Soteriology is the doctrine of salvation. That Eschatology is the study of end times theology. Of course Christology is the study of  who is Jesus Christ. And then there is Hermeneutics. which deals with how to interpret the biblical texts.

As it turns out, I only got through 10 of the 20 courses and did not complete all of the subjects, but what I did learn was a good launching pad for further study on my own. Many years later, I took another correspondence course with the Florida Theological Seminary, because the president of the school had spent some time learning from Willie Hinn, who was preaching the doctrine of  Universal Reconciliation of all things. Willie Hinn is who I mentioned early in these posts as having a profound effect on my Christianity and beliefs, and who the Holy Spirit used as the catalyst to reveal a greater understanding of what Paul calls, "the height and width and depth of the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus". 

So then, Harold Shindoll, the president of Florida Theological Seminary, began to introduce class subjects that now centered around the teachings of Soteriology (salvation) as including ALL of God's creation. And Christology, with teaching "that Christ is the savior of ALL men, especially of those who believe." (1 Tim 4:10) And an Eschatology that believes it is more about bringing heaven to earth, than it is about getting Christians to leave earth in the hands of the devil while we sit on a cloud playing our harps and watching God's good creation go to hell! And since I was learning to believe these very same teachings of the school, and I wanted to have a disciplined study of these doctrines, and so I enrolled in the correspondence course offered by the FTS and this time completed their Assoc. degree of Theological studies.   

Of course, all of the conflicting doctrines that many different church's teach comes from their method of Hermeneutics. How they interpret what the Scripture teaches.  It is not always easy to know what is true and what is not, which explains why there are so many churches.  Now of course there is more that unites us than divides us, and church history has had a long long "checkered past" to say the least. (All one has to do is a cursory study of church history after the book of Acts, to know some of the regrettable and disturbing actions of people who called themselves Christians, who were some of the worst offenders of atrocities against mankind, even so called brothers in the faith!)

But I also believe that what we believe about God has everything to do with what God has revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, (which belief of course comes as a part of Hermeneutics). along with what we have been taught by the churches we attend, which can help to explain why some people either reject the church they were raised with that doesn't answer their questions, or just quit church altogether thinking they are all the same, or as in my case, where I was overwhelmed with the presence of God unexpectedly while watching a sermon on video in my living room. 

The very first sermon I heard Willie Hinn preach in that video was part of a series called "Mistaken Identity". And indeed if we can't even get the character of God correct, or the plan and purpose for His creation correct from the very beginning, then how can we expect to live our lives in accord with that plan or purpose?

Getting that right all comes down to how you interpret what the Scriptures teach, and how it is applied to your life, and so I feel the urge to write the next several posts about some common verses in Scripture that we often quote out of context to what is actually being said which then change our beliefs into something different than what the bible actually teaches.  All of that comes down to "rightly dividing the Word of Truth" though correctly using  The Subject of Hermeneutics 

 

The Earth And Also The Heavens

I know it has been a while since I have posted, after a series of posts in a short time, but it seems like that is just how it is. I do not want to post just to have something, but would rather have the time pass until there is something meaningful to share. Since I was blown away reading this from Preston Eby's Bible Study on Revelation this qualifies. I am confident you will enjoy this excerpt:

"I have shared the following before but feel to share it again because of its great relevance to this subject of the garden within the city. Some years ago Gene Edwards ministered a word of revelation with which I heartily concur. In the following paragraphs I will seek to share as faithfully as I can from memory the concepts he set forth. I will also expand and enlarge upon his original thought as the Spirit has opened it to me. In that wonderful day when the Lord God planted a garden in Eden for the man in His image, God stood at the boundary between heaven and earth, that is, between the spiritual world and the physical creation, and did a most incredible thing. He stretched forth His hands of omnipotence and took this terrestrial ball in one hand as with the other He grasped the heavenly realm. He moved the two toward one another. He brought the spiritual realm, the timeless realm, the dimensionless realm toward planet earth while He moved earth toward the heavenly realm. The two moved closer and closer until they kissed each other. The two realms met and touched — thus entering into union with one another.

The area where heaven and earth met together and overlapped He called Eden. The place where these two realms met, overlapped, and interfaced became unlike earth and unlike heaven, that which had never existed before — not heavenly and not earthly — the kingdom of heaven on earth! The only thing it can be likened to is the resurrection body of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was visible, even tangible, but utterly spiritual. He brought His physical body out of the tomb and appeared in a body possessing an earthly form and appearance, but it was a glorious metamorphosed body limited by neither time nor space. It was neither a body nor was it a spirit — it was a spiritual body. Here in this realm of which I speak, where heaven and earth meet and mingle, all that is visible becomes spiritual, and all that is spiritual becomes visible. Great is the mystery! Everything upon this earth which is seized upon by the spiritual is transformed by the spiritual, and there is created here the kingdom of heaven on earth. When you take the heavenly and the pristine earthly and join them together, what is formed by that blessed union is far more beautiful and glorious than either!

Consider with me, my beloved, What is the natural habitat of man? He is spirit — therefore his natural habitat is the heavens! He is dust — therefore his natural habitat is the earth! Both? No! Neither? Yes! Neither. And yet, in some strange, mystical way — both. This glorious creature God created in His own image and likeness — where is his "home"? Ah — God prepared the place for man as soon as He created man. He created a realm that corresponds to man’s true state for man to inhabit. The earth, dear one, contrary to all that you may have been taught, is not the natural habitat of man. And neither are the heavens the natural habitat of man! The garden — and only the garden — and no place but the garden is your natural habitat. That’s where you belong — that is your true world, your homeland, your motherland — that unique realm where heaven and earth meet and mingle — the kingdom of heaven on earth! The garden was not heaven, neither was it earth. It was a realm where God could walk, and where man could walk and talk with God in the spirit of the day. It was the dimension of the spiritual body — spirit and body, heaven and earth, visible and invisible, tangible and ethereal, celestial and terrestrial, blended into one. The greatest of the glories of heaven was in that garden — the tree of life was there. And that was man’s habitat. It was not merely where man was — it was what he was!

This great truth of man’s STATE OF BEING constituting the garden of God is one of the tremendous themes which courses its way like a mighty river through the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. In the book of Revelation the garden of Eden finally becomes the wonderful city of God — which city we are (Rev. 21:9-11; Isa. 60:2,14). "And I saw the new Jerusalem…having the glory of God: and her light was like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal…and He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. And in the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 21:10-11; 22:1-5).

How do you suppose the tree of life was transferred from the garden of God to the city of God? The simple truth is — it wasn’t! The garden still exists. The garden is in the city. The garden is the city. Have you not been to a village, a small town, and returning forty or fifty years later you find it to be a giant metropolis? The original village is still there — in the metropolis! The garden has grown, increased, expanded, changed, and now it is New Jerusalem! That’s why men have never found even a trace of the original garden over in Mesopotamia though many have searched for it. It’s not on earth as earth — for in this city two realms interface once more — the new heavens and the new earth — not two separate entities, but that place where heaven and earth are joined, the Land of the Interface! The garden was there, therefore the city is there. This is where righteousness dwells — the new mind and the new body. That is your world, my beloved. You and I belong to an interface. We are an interface. We are part heavenly and part earthly; part spiritual and part physical; part visible and part invisible. And no man on earth really knows or understands where we dwell!

What is the new Jerusalem? It is the bride with the Bridegroom, the place of union with God in the interface where heaven and earth overlap. We are a colony from the heavens inhabiting the earthlies. We belong to neither and we belong to both. We are of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. He, more than any other man, is an interface of these two realms. Very God and very man — only the interface can explain that! He is the second man, the last Adam. He reveals within Himself the true purpose of God in man. Only in Christ can one understand the true nature of all things. He is of both these realms and He is in both of these realms. He is in both and He is in neither. It is a great mystery. Oh, the wonder of it! He is a MAN seated in the higher than all heavens! He is a SPIRIT poured out into all creation to fill all things! We who have been born of water and the spirit are of His species. We are bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, mind of His mind, spirit of His spirit, life of His life. We belong to His realm. We walk with Him today in the garden of God, in the city of God, in the LAND OF THE INTERFACE, for it is the only place where we can comfortably move in both realms. And yet it is not both realms — nor is it either realm — it is a combination, a union of the two — a NEW CREATION IN CHRIST JESUS! That’s what you are! You are spirit and you are body. That is our destiny — to be both in union in one in the power of HIS RESURRECTION! That is our habitat. And redemption progressively brings us into our inheritance in this blessed Land of the Interface. The salvation of the soul, the redemption of the body, will complete the work. Let us press on, saints of God! The full splendor and bountifulness of this precious Land lies just before us! As the crab lives in two elements — water and land — so the new creation man lives in Two Elements: The Earth And Also The Heavens!

Brian And Peri Zhand Israel Tour 2022

Cindi and I took two weeks off of work at the end of March to go on a guided trip to Israel. We flew on EL AL from Newark N.J. for over 10 hours to Tel Aviv Israel. We stayed the night in a hotel in Tel Aviv, and then started our tour taking us up to Tiberius, off of the Sea of Galilee for 3 nights. We then went to Bethlehem for 2 nights and the final 3 nights in Jerusalem. All of the while travelling by bus to many different biblical sites!

 We had never talked about it before this past year, and I never seriously considered making such a trip before. It just so happened that as I expressed in earlier posts to this blog, having spent so much time listening to all of the available podcasts from Brian Zhand, pastor of Word of Life Church , and also the teachings from the BEMA discipleship podcasts, it has sparked an interest in going on a tour to see the land of the Bible.

It mostly originated with hearing Brian talk about his previous tours, (some 26 or more times) and some of the sites that they visit. One site in particular is called "Tel Megiddo". It is called that because there are 26 generations of cities built on top of each other dating back thousands of years, and each layer is called a "Tell, or Tel" or generational levels from which archaeologists are able to discover the artifacts from these previous cities. 

It has become famous among most modern bible teachers as the future site of a so called "Battle of Armageddon" in which according to those who do not properly interpret Scripture will tell of a battle in which Jesus will wipe out an army of 200 million people with a sword coming out of His mouth while riding a white horse! Much of this nonsense has been promoted by the "Left Behind" series because of a literal interpretation of the book of Revelation. Such an interpretation ignores the whole nature and character and purpose of the life and ministry of Jesus!! And it presents God as wrathful and vengeful on a creation of His own making, and to which John tells us instead that God SO LOVED the world! God is LOVE and is demonstrated in the life of Jesus! And while I was originally taught that same vengeful story-line decades ago, I have long since rejected such nonsense, and found that Brian Zhand speaks of a Jesus who would rather die for His enemies than to kill them...such preaching resonated with my own beliefs, that I told Cindi... this is the person I want to visit Israel with! And with that, plans were made to go on this trip.

We were certainly NOT disappointed. When Brian and Peri announced the tour, it was full within 24 hours. So they graciously agreed to open up a 2nd back to back tour, which we booked. Sure there were many more sites to see, and you can't see them all in one trip, but I was so impressed by the schedule of what we did see and do, that it more than exceeded our wildest expectations! I don't feel like we missed out on anything! I even got to float on the Dead Sea!! But I was not one of the more hearty souls who braved the cold and were baptized in the Jordan River. Brrr.

One of the highlights of the trip, after we had visited Mt. Carmel, and Mt. Arbel, after we went for a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, and went to the Mt of the Beatitudes, and after we visited the ruins of Ceaserea, and Magdala, (the home of Mary of Magdalene), after we visited many churches, and visited Qumran, and was on the Mt. of Olives, and walked down the path of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and visited the Garden of Gethsemane, and walked the Via Dolorosa, and visited the Garden Tomb, along with many more sites in-between, the last item on the tour was, we went to Hell and back!

Did you want to re read that last sentence? Does it sound like I am being facetious? Well, provocative maybe, but I am serious. One of the other reasons for our going on this trip was Brian's descriptions of going to this literal place of Hell, which was antithetical to at least what most of the churches teach as hell.

 "Gehenna" or the valley of Hinnom, used to be a place of child sacrifice to the god of Molech, This valley afterwards became the common receptacle for all the refuse of the city. Here the dead bodies of animals and of criminals, and all kinds of filth, were cast and consumed by fire kept always burning. Jesus was warning Jerusalem, that unless they repented, their city would be destroyed and become a pile of refuse like this Gehenna dump "where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die!" It was not meant by any means to indicate a literal fiery place of eternal torment for all those who did not trust in Jesus for their salvation which has been the threat of the vast majority of church teaching for centuries. Such teaching has defamed the very nature and character of God and has kept more people from believing in the immutable love of God than has ever drawn them to Him. 

This is a picture of (left to right) Cindi, Peri Zhand, myself, and Brian Zhand in Hell. Or at least what used to be Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom, or the city dump for Jerusalem. 

Notice the sign in the right side background... No fires allowed! So much for the fiery torment that is threatened, and the place of the so called "last day bar-b-que!

As Brian has mentioned, even hell has been redeemed, and is now a park and a place to visit and have a picnic!

This is one of some 1600 pictures and videos, and I am in the process of sorting out some of the best to put together a type of video-photo journal of the experience. And when I finish doing that, I will be sure to post links to it in a future post where I will write again of  the Brian And Peri Zhand Israel Tour 2022.

Who Do You Say That I Am?

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16: 13-20 we have the familiar and often quoted verses of a discussion between Jesus and His disciples, with that all important question that is still asked today of many believers, and non-believers alike.... "Who do you say that I am?

"13: When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14: They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15: “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17: Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.
18: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
19: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20: Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.

Earlier this week, while listening to a podcast, I heard a sort of side comment that I would like to explore in this post, based on this Scripture passage. What if it was us asking Jesus, "Who do YOU say that I am?" rather than Jesus asking us, who do we say that He is?

What struck me about this is that it is majorly important how we actually see ourselves is based entirely on what we think God or even Jesus thinks of us. How often have you thought, or even heard someone say something like; "God could never love (or forgive) me for what I have done."

If we have any insight into the number of times we have tried to live up to the expectancy of what we have been told or think for ourselves; the standard of perfection for being a Christian is; and how often we have failed to meet that standard; then how easy to think that Jesus is as disappointed in us as we are ourselves.

We may just as readily declare with Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” However, we might not believe that Jesus has as high of a view of us in return. So, then let's discover what His answer might be if you ask Jesus that same question, "Who do you say that I am?"

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Cor: 5:21 Therefore Jesus sees you as the righteousness of God!

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matt.5:14

Lest you think that of course Jesus loves you, because He died for you, and yet are not so convinced that God the Father shares that same love; let me remind you of John 3:16 "GOD so loved the world that He gave...." And in 2 Cor. 5:19 "It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).

It is not uncommon for people to think that Jesus came to save us from the wrath of God, especially after a cursory reading of the Old Testament. And because of that belief, many false doctrines have arisen, and deceived the hearts of many toward the Love of God! It is as if God and Jesus were not one in the same. Jesus came to reveal the heart of the Father!

Colossians 2:8-9 Beware 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. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

As I have mentioned in previous posts, that I have listened to countless sermons from Brian Zhand, pastor of the Word of Life church in St. Joseph Missouri, and he repeats a statement that I have quoted from which clarifies this relationship of God and Jesus, which goes like this:

"God is like Jesus,

God has always been like Jesus,

There was never a time when God was not like Jesus,

We have not always known this, but now we do!

If ever you feel the need to run to Jesus to protect you from the Father God, know this, that all of the goodness and mercy and love and compassion, and caring and fullness of Jesus, is that which is revealed in Him from the Father! God is NOT mad at you! And Jesus reveals to us how true that is. So now you know what the answer is the next time your broken heart needs to inquire of God: "Who Do You Say That I Am?"

Take No Thought

Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"

How many sermons have you heard preached on some aspect of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount? Quite a few, I imagine, just as I have. And for years when I heard the previous quote, I have come to realize that I heard it with a "western" mindset. That's not unusual, because that's where we live, and what we are used to being taught, but as I have written lately, that the past year has been teaching me to read the Scriptures differently, with more of a hearing it as a first century Jew would hear them, just as Jesus would have taught them! Perhaps then, we can get more meaning out of the verses. I will explain what I mean, but first....

I learned long ago that anytime you see the word: "Therefore" it is good practice to find out what is is "There for?" So the previous verse says this in 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."  Then the next verse starts off as if by saying, "based on that truth... then the result is"... Or; in the text : "Therefore"

Now, every time I would hear Matt. 6:25, and it is also repeated in 6:31 "Therefore take no thought, saying , What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"  I heard it in the past as if He was saying the word from a western way of thinking. That is; not to worry about having enough to eat, or to worry about not having any clothes to wear. I even thought about not worrying about what to eat in regards to all these fancy diets, and did not realize I was close to the answer, but not quite. 

If you were a first century Jew living at the time of hearing Jesus say these words, you would be completely shocked by what He said! Why? Because for thousands of years, their whole life was wrapped up in the Levitical Law!  That law told them what they were allowed to eat and NOT eat, and what they could wear and NOT wear! Clean and unclean! NOW here comes this rabbi, telling them Not to worry about any of that now!! No wonder they wanted to stone Him!

"No man can serve two masters... for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other."  So what are the two masters Jesus is talking about?  Sure Jesus says the two are God and mammon, but what does He mean by those two choices? The truth is, at this point I haven't got it all figured out in context! But I can write what I have thought about, to stimulate more deeper considerations, than just a surface reading.

I think Jesus is talking more than just about money, or riches, which is what the meaning of mammon is. The Strongs concordance #3126 is: "mammonas, of Chald, or. (confidence, ie. fig. wealth, personified) mammonas, i.e. avarice (deified):-mamon. 

The American Dictionary says this: "Synonyms Avarice, Covetousness, Cupidity, penuriousness, closeness, miserliness, all denote bad qualities, corruptions of the natural instinct of possession. Avarice, literally greediness, a strong desire to get objects of value, has become limited, except in figurative uses, so as to express only a sordid and mastering desire to get wealth. Covetousness and cupidity are not limited to wealth, but may have for their object anything that can be desired, cupidity being directed especially toward material things. Covetousness longs to possess that which belongs to another; hence the prohibition in the tenth commandment (Ex. xx. 17). Cupidity is more active than the others, less groveling, and more ready to snatch from others that which covetousness may wish for without trying to get. See penurious."

So, with those two things as a comparison, you can see more of what Jesus was warning against. You cannot be focused on, or serve, your desire to get wealth and God at the same time. Why? The simple short answer is the word FAITH. 

If your focus is on trying to attain material goods, and the needs of the body, then you have taken your focus off of trusting God for all your needs and wants and desires, as if He cannot or will not or is not interested in your having any of it. And also that it is as if material things can replace the hole in your heart which can only be filled by Him.

Matthew 6:33 Jesus says "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  So, get your priorities right. Seek the kingdom of God, or the ruler ship, or dominion of God first. And also seek His righteousness! Not your own righteousness. Don't be trying to obtain your own worthiness and wait to get your act together, because it is still just an act. Seek HIS righteousness, and  whoever seeks will find, and apply His righteousness to your life, and ALL these other things will be ADDED to you.

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)  Luke 12:32 says: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 

We are spiritual beings. As a result of the fall, we have been been born into that fallen Adamic humanity, but since Jesus died on the cross, He put to death the Adamic race, (He was the LAST Adam)  and now we are NEW Creations in Him, (He became the SECOND Man) therefore, learn to live in this reality, and as far as any cares of this world system, and ways of doing things the old Adamic way... Take No Thought.

The Substance and Evidence of Faith

A couple weeks ago, Cindi and I returned from a week long, first time trip to Cancun Mexico on an all inclusive AAA organized vacation. There would be so much to write here concerning the details of that trip, but I wanted to mention just one highlight at this time. While enjoying one of the pools in the resort, they had a free scuba dive try out. Since this is something I wanted to do for years, I introduced myself to Nicholas, who proceeded to put scuba gear on me, a mask and flippers, and instruct me how to breath underwater!! What a unique experience! Then we proceeded to swim underwater in the pool for about 10 min. or more.  After that, I signed up for a beginner lesson for the next day.

 

When the next day came I went to the place on the beach where the Dressel Dive shop was, and after classroom instruction, and safety practice in the pool, we were taken by boat to a spot on the ocean, and the open water dive began. There was a photographer who came on the dive and took pictures and made a video, which I purchased, and can be seen Here .I am including this in part to share this experience, and also as an illustration to discuss the subject of faith.

 In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 and verse 1 it has this enigmatic phrase: " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I say it is enigmatic, or mysterious because no matter how many times I have heard it preached, I was still confused as to how faith can be considered a substance. The two did not seem to be compatible. Faith is what you believe in your mind and heart, and a substance to my way of thinking is the make up of something physical; something tangible, like soil is the substance of the earth. But I think I got some more insight recently that helps me to understand it better. 

Let's not take that verse alone, but also look at where Paul tells us in Eph 2:8-9 " For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." In other words, faith is the means by which grace is applied to save us, and the part that most people miss is that it is imparted faith!! "And THAT not of ourselves.." and what is not of ourselves? That FAITH is not of ourselves, THAT (faith) is a Gift of God, otherwise, faith becomes a work in which you can boast!

But you might wonder how can you boast about your faith, until you realize Christians do it all the time! "Just have faith." Just believe". "I put MY faith in Jesus, and He saved me." Get the point? The fact that you have faith to believe in Jesus as your savior in the first place is because IT IS A GIFT OF GOD. The very faith that allows you to believe has been given to you in order for you to believe, and so it makes it impossible for you to boast in something that was never your doing in the first place!

I will quickly say here, that like the scuba lesson, I could say all I want about having faith and believing that I could breathe underwater and scuba dive, but until I applied that belief to actually doing it, then it is dead faith. I could stand by the pool all day long and talk about scuba diving, but until I entered into the experience of that realm of existence, Then there is no evidence that I actually believe what I am saying. Faith that is not acted on is feckless, impotent, and questionable faith. Thus James says in 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

 

So, now onto Hebrews 11. "Faith is the substance..." Here is how I presently understand it. The fact that since faith is not something you conjure up for yourself, but that it is a gift of God, then it stands to reason that if you have faith, that faith is the very evidence you need...the very proof, the invisible make up, substance, that you can know you have received the gift of Grace from God. Even though you cannot see it. Does that make sense to you? How do you know you are saved? Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior? Well then that belief, that faith is your very evidence... the invisible substance by which your belief is founded, of the things you cannot see.

 

Now let me add one more verse to this mix. Romans 8:24-25 “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”  Try exchanging the word faith for the word hope in this verse, and see if it doesn't pair with Hebrews 11.

"For we are saved by faith: but faith that is seen is not faith: for what a man sees, why does he yet have faith for? But if we have faith for what we don't see, then do we with patience wait for it."

A word study for both faith and hope could open up even more revelation, but perhaps, even this limited blog post can provide some measure of understanding The Substance and Evidence of Faith.

Why Aren't Dinosaurs In The Bible?

I got an email with an interesting title that caught my attention. That title was "Why Aren't Dinosaurs In The Bible?" The answer was contained in an animated video produced by a ministry called Aleph Beta written by a Rabbi named David Fohrman. I have watched several of his videos, and have read a couple of his books after I first heard him recommended by Marty Solomon on the BETA podcast, I have talked about in earlier posts. 

I wondered if the question caught your attention as much as it did mine? Have you not wondered that same thing? I have even heard teachings that suggest the book of Job talks about dinosaurs as Leviathan. However, the Rabbi gives a very important understanding to his answer, which also answers very many similar questions that many Christians get asked.

He explains that he read a book called "How To Read A Book" which provided the answer, and it is really simply this: You have to understand the "Genre" of the book first. What was the purpose the book was written? What kind of book is it?

The way he explained it, is that if you read a Chemistry book, you should not expect it to contain Poetry. And if you read a poetry book, it is written in poetic form, and should not be taken literally! It is important to understand the purpose and reason, and genre of the book that you are reading first!

So while the Bible has history within it's pages, it's genre is NOT a history book. The writer of a letter to the editor in the weekend paper says with certitude: "The whole universe was created in 4150 B.C. So, do the math!" He goes on to say Noah's flood was in 2495 B.C. and the earth experienced an ice age that lasted a 1000 years from 2494 - 1494 B.C.

That kind of thinking comes about when genre, and the purpose of the Bible are ignored! The bible was not written to prove the age of the earth, or even the exact age of mankind, or if dinosaurs did or did not roam the earth. (However, I did see a LIVE dinosaur at a Reptile land exhibit a few years back! Turns out we call it a chicken!")

I am on a rather uncomfortable journey for me right now to learn more about the purpose of Genesis, and am trying to sort through a book about the creation of Adam, and evolution. I have not got enough understanding yet to write about that in detail, however I have been long aware that the "days" of creation written in Genesis is more complicated than just taking them literally. As a matter of fact, you can't take them literally, because they were never written in that form, manner, genre, context! We do damage to the biblical text to try to shape it's meanings into literal form. No different than trying to literally say: "The cow jumped over the moon.." just because it says so, and ignoring genre!

So why aren't there dinosaurs mentioned in the bible? Simply because it serves no purpose to the genre the bible was written for. That purpose has to do with Man's relationship to God and to others! The purpose of the bible is to provide an understanding of our relationship to our Creator, and how that relationship extends itself to those whom He created. That is why Jesus says "the greatest Commandment is to Love God with your whole heart... and to love your neighbor as yourself."  Relationship to God, and relationship to others! Many of the stories show ways to walk those relationships out in practical ways, and of course the consequences when those proper ways are ignored. 

When you are searching for the meaning of biblical text, it is important to understand context and genre, That is what is called Hermaneutics. the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts. Don't force the bible to say something that it is not saying! Otherwise, you might come up with some strange answer as others have, trying to explain the answer to the question "Why Aren't Dinosaurs In The Bible?"