http://ichthys.com/ 
Believers in the World XXVIII

Question #1:  
People use the fact there are different Hebrew words in Genesis 2-3 for nakedness to claim this is referring more to the "nakedness" of realizing their sin, and loss of the pre-fall innocence than literal nakedness, though I suppose the fact they continued to wear clothes at all points afterwards goes against this idea?
Response #1:   
There are not "two different words" for "naked" in chapters two and three; it's always the same word, 'arum (although it is in the plural several places in these chapters so that someone not knowing Hebrew might make that mistake). If one disagreed with the vowel pointing and derivation of the word used at Genesis 3:7 where our first parents "knew they were naked" (NKJV) it could be argued that this might mean "knew they were enlightened" based upon 'arum vs. 'erom, the latter being the serpents special quality (Gen.3:1); but that is highly speculative. As you conclude, it's "nakedness" that is the whole point in the narrative here.

I agree with your conclusion. 

Happy new year!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #2: 
[omitted]
Response #2:  
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
Genesis 3:7-10 NKJV
The "natural" bent of the conscience activated by the fall was to realize legitimate shame at being naked (cf. 1Cor.11:14-15), and that is reflected throughout the Bible (not to mention in every human society, at least before they become depraved). All who don't feel that shame have suppressed their consciences. All who teach that there is nothing to be ashamed of are working for the devil.
See the links:
The Conscience (in BB 3B)
The Conscience as a restrainer of evil (in SR 4)
Conscience (in HE 9)
Conscience and sin (in HE 3)
Conscience and apostasy (in CT 3A)
In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #3:  
Hi Mr. Luginbill,

Thank you. On another note, would you mind if I link to Ichthys on my site? I have put this note on my about page at the end:

Other Resources:

The ministry of Dr. Robert Luginbill (ichthys.com) has contributed so much to my spiritual growth. Dr. Luginbill is an excellent Bible teacher, and I recommend his materials as an outstanding source of Biblical instruction. Click here to visit his ministry site.

(There are links that would take it directly to your home page). I can edit it however you would like or if you don't want me to link, just let me know.

Also, do you think I should try to get my site "out there" or just trust that God will let it be discovered by whoever/whenever the time is right? I should probably develop a good rhythm like you said too, prior to getting it out there.

Just thoughts I am having.

Hope your first day of classes this week went well!

Respectfully,
Response #3:
I'd be honored! Text looks good.

In terms of "getting it out there", I've tried many things in the past, some have worked, some not. It is true that the Lord can bridge that gap. It's also true that we can't, for example, open our home to a Bible study and not tell anyone about it and expect dozens to show up. So there are reasonable things to do and also things that are clearly "over the top". Somewhere in the middle is usually the right place. Anything that makes us uncomfortable is probably a mistake.

In person classes were cancelled on Wed., the first day, because of the snow, so I had to spend all day Tues. preparing "alternative assignments" and making videos. It would have been at least twice as easy (and twice as good) to have met my classes in person. So tomorrow is the first in-person day – although conditions are not much better since it's been near zero at night and the only thing that is happening to the accumulation is that it is turning into ice. Also, we're expecting up to six inches tomorrow and it may blow in early. The other universities and K-12 are closed tomorrow. So we'll see how it goes and who shows up!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #4:  
Hi Bob,

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Romans 13:7 KJV

Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Romans 13:7 NIV

I'm trying to understand what Paul is saying. I pay taxes, sadly, that's clear. I try and show respect to everyone including those I don't respect, My stumbling block is "respect where respect is due." Is he saying I should actually respect government or just show it. The later I would do as a matter of course, but in truth, I have no respect for government or it's "workers." Many of whom are pleasant, but very few, in my experience, are competent.

I believe God installs the government he chooses, but today, it seems more for punishment than good.

Thanks.

In our Lord, 
Response #4:  
I don't think you have to worry about this one. It's analogous to "love everyone" not meaning that we have to have a positive emotional attitude towards all but that we are to treat everyone as we would want to be treated ourselves and refrain from negatives towards all (except where life and limb and etc. are concerned of course). Similarly, "fear" means respect. You may not like the judge; you may not think he/she is good or fair; but a good Christian will not try to read the newspaper on the sly in his courtroom, even if it's possible to get away with it, because that is not showing proper respect to the office. 

As in the military, we salute the rank, not the person wearing the insignia. Same is true of honor, that addition meaning the things due to the person, like calling the president "Mr. President" instead of by his first name if you happen to meet him (e.g.), or "Senator" or "Mayor", etc. These verses don't mandate that we feel a certain way or refrain from realistic evaluation of the actual quality of the individual and his/her service, merely that we behave in a godly way even in the presence of the ungodly.

Have you been frozen and snowed under? We certainly have! And it's still coming down!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #5:  
Hi Bob,

Hope you've had a good weekend. Still lots of snow in Louisville?

Thanks as always for the emails, Bob! I sounded as exhausted in my emails that you posted as I do now! Never mind. It's a constant stream of tests and flak and life stuff but by God's grace I'm still here and fighting the good fight!

[omitted]

I hope next week goes smoothly for you, Bob. I'm keeping you in my prayers.

In Jesus
Response #5:   
It was a good weekend. Hope you had one too. We had a thaw today, but the snow hasn't but barely started to move and the temps are going way down tonight and for another three days or so ahead. I expect all that melt will be nothing but ice in the morning. It's washed away the salt to a good degree. Slow commute tomorrow, and probably a lot of missing students again. Still better than teaching remote (which is not remotely teaching)!

Re: "I sounded as exhausted in my emails that you posted as I do now!" LOL! I could say the same about my responses. We're all continuing to fight the same fights, day by day and no doubt all the way to the end. But we're still fighting! And that is what counts.
Fight the good fight of faith!
1st Timothy 6:12a NKJV

(7) I have fought the good fight. I have completed my course. I have kept the faith. (8) In the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that [great] day [of judgment] – and not only to me, but to all who have loved His appearance (i.e., who have exercised consistent love for Jesus Christ in anticipation of His return).
2nd Timothy 4:7-8
Prayers for you for a smooth week too.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #6:  
Hello Dr.,

This finishes up BB-2B Eschatology. With the changes to the TTS website and a more thorough explanation/understanding of the billing procedure (which basically charges for every little change made to the document being edited), it turns out the platform upgrade that resulted in the loss of the last reader was a blessing. The LLM reader I was using cost 20X more per character than the TTS reader I am now using, at that price I think it would of took me 3 or 4 years to complete the files (which I don’t believe we have time for), however, with this new reader at the greatly reduced rate I’m sure I can match your goal for the completion of Hebrews (or come close), good Lord willing. During the upgrade process there were a few glitches, but most of them have been worked out now.

Not much news here. Dealing with broken down vehicles, dysfunctional work, family, knee injury (slipped on the ice shoveling snow and bent it backwards), etc., no problem though, I’m still moving forward until He takes me out of here. How’s things your way? Your health, job, family, cat, etc.? Hope things are going well, or at least tolerable. I find I’m becoming more tolerant as I grow older, I don’t like most of what I experience in this world, however, the Lord gets me through every step of the way. Got you in prayer.

All the best,

Rev.22:20
Response #6:  
Thanks for these! All uploaded and are working. What a lot of work!

Your situation seems in many ways a mirror image of things here. Still dealing with car trouble and some manageable health concerns. The job is always "interesting". But we muddle through.

Your description of the changing "battlefield" of MP3 production reminds me of all things internet. Even smallish companies have entire departments devoted to these issues. We have to do our best to keep up and avoid the ever newly opening pitfalls as best we can with bailing wire and chewing gum fixes. And yet the Lord's message comes through – because of Him.
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV
Keeping you both in prayer daily for all things. Thanks so much for yours too, my friend!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #7:  
In case you haven't been told, I run a YouTube channel, one where I have an apologetics front against Darwinism and Islam, compiling the best videos I've found against them. My own videos are a passion of mine, that being the art of the challenge run. Self imposed challenges in a video game that forces one to reinvent how to play it, often making even sections of no note in causal play into a great hurdle. I have a content policy of sorts with what I post, nothing above a T or "PG-13" rating on the game itself, and nothing of less appropriate/crude content in what's shown either.

I make them both to show others my completed challenges, and to draw them to the front on the channel. I of course am thankful to the Lord for both, He is the author of my creativity and talent after all and He's due all the thanks for how many people see and enjoy this content. Much more important is that hundreds of people so far have seen the Islam and Evolution playlists, and from there that "seed" let's the Spirit work against lies in them. I do of course still give encouragement, admonishment and prayers for fellow believers I see who need it or prayers to those I feel moved to do for in general.

If even one person ends up receiving Christ, and ultimately coming home to the New Jerusalem because of my efforts, all of this will be worth it. It's a way of "redeeming my hobbies", if that makes sense. You don't see any problem with this do you? I mean I reach far more people this way than I could just going online or outside and preaching into the void, so to speak. Prayers for whoever sees these are done of course. My channel is finally picking up in attention somewhat so maybe this could turn out more lucrative (in witness) than I thought it could.

Regardless can you pray over this? I plan on "ramping up production" since I have a couple significantly bigger projects planned than I'd done before starting production. I plan on updating the playlists too for when they're done, so pray they become more successful. God bless Doc.

I should also ask: What verses would you give as a "Gospel message from Scripture"? People use various ones (including ones that say "be baptized" with people who believe in water baptism for salvation, because of course they would), but is there any one verse, or even a few that could sum it up? Asking for future reference.
Response #7:   
That's very interesting about the YouTube channel. I'll say a prayer for its development. When it gets to the point that you are happy with it and it is a going concern, I'd be happy to post a link to it at Ichthys as well.

As far as the other question goes, I usually start with Acts 16:31. 
He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Acts 16:30-31 NIV
Here is a link to the very short page at Ichthys which is meant to accomplish the purpose you're asking about including a few verses: "Salvation: God's Free Gift".

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #8:  
Thanks Bob for your encouragement! 

I can take this perspective even further. It seems to me that a lot of people, most people in fact, believe that Eden/Paradise/Heaven can be achieved on this earth but we know that time is swiftly running out and everything here is destined to be destroyed and replaced.

I am realising how essential suffering is to the plan of God. I was a VERY hard nut to crack and it took a great deal of suffering (an embarrassingly shameful amount) that finally got me down on my knees before the Lord.

So suffering is vital to bring people to salvation. I don't think anyone was saved through having a peaceful and blissful life here. I have also noticed that when unbelievers go through significant suffering then they are brought low in their own estimations so as to realise they need one who is greater than they. Being humbled is the correct response to suffering. Realising our complete need and dependence on God is the right response to suffering. Suffering should always bring a person closer to God, be it to their salvation or to refine their walk with Him.

Sometimes an unbeliever is brought to the breaking point whereby God is their obvious and only option but if they then get a little respite from their pain, they very easily slip back into their old sinful perspective. I have witnessed this myself now many, many times and sadly I was this person myself once. As soon as the intense heat of suffering cooled off a little, I was back at my old ways again. We can't afford to underestimate how stiff necked our sin nature makes us!

I have also realised something else. Ever since I became really serious about following the Lord and trying to get through big tests and then put down the study and work for ministry; the blowback was immediate, intense and ongoing. The fact of the matter is, anyone who wants to get close to the Lord and wants to glorify Him in this world by pursuing heavenly rewards, will get enormous opposition from the enemy.

I remember my 'honeymoon period' when I first came to faith and started studying both the Bible and your ministry in earnest. It was a blissfully peaceful and quiet time for me and now looking back I realise that God was holding back any challenges to my progress as He knew I wasn't ready for testing back then. I was a babe in Christ so I was protected from harm as I know now what He knew then: if I was tested back then, I would've crumpled.

We've talked about this before, the church visible is full of Christians who are still babies in faith who haven't experienced testing of any serious nature. They have balked at suffering and been offended by it. I have met people like this and it seems that they immediately flirt with doubt and apostasy as soon as things no longer go their way. I'll admit myself that I have not had the right attitude towards testing. I have dreaded it and longed for deliverance and to go back to that blissful honeymoon state I was once in as a babe. I realise now how cowardly I have been and this does not glorify our Lord. I have been a moaner and a complainer about suffering rather than embracing it and seeing it for what it truly is, the only way to refine my faith and strengthen it, the only way to become conformed to His image for our Lord was well acquainted with grief but never complained.

I am finally starting to see that I won't really have ultimate deliverance until the Day of the Lord is here. Jesus said that in this world we will have suffering but in Him we will have peace. So it really is about getting on with what the Lord has called us to do (striving for spiritual maturity, passing tests and production) and we carry on with all three DESPITE suffering. In fact, if we are really mature about it, we can appreciate that suffering has a way of focusing our eyes on Him and refining us as believers simultaneously, developing our strength and courage through faith whilst being humble about our own flesh.

I feel I am now at the point of understanding suffering and the important role it plays in God's plan. Many a time Bob, I have sat down (figuratively) in a pile of ashes either complaining about my suffering or despairing about going on. Of course this is what the enemy wants though isn't it, for me to just give up the fight and go no further. That's the only way to go on though isn't it, we have to keep going no matter how hopeless it looks to the world's eyes and also how pitiful we may seem due to the state we find ourselves in. But go on we must. This is a war we are fighting here and it will get ugly and as long as we are marching forward and taking ground from the enemy, he will attack again and again (with God's permission and superintendence) to stop us from being successful.

So true spiritual success that glorifies our Captain is to keep pushing on no matter what, without complaint and as cheerful as we can muster in faith that this fight won't be forever and indeed will be drawing to a full close very soon. This is the only way to get full rewards that glorify our Lord and what else were we planning on doing with the remainder of our lives here anyway? When we were born again in Him, we also died to this world and everything in it. We are waiting for another city, another country to call our own, a better one : an eternal one.

So suffering is an inevitable and essential part of a Christian's life here. It is not some 'strange thing' to be upset and rattled by and something we seek to avoid but something we are called to lean into, to embrace, to endure and overcome with joy.

Like you said before Bob, this really is not the stuff of the immature. I am starting to realise this now though and it is changing me and how I see suffering.

Hebrew 11:35b
Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

Reading this verse with faith, I see it now. It is shocking to read as it goes against how most humans see suffering but also how most believers react to pain. Our first response is to ask to be immediately delivered from it but I have realised that while this is wholly understandable it isn't dissimilar to an unbelievers' reaction to suffering though. They want it to 'immediately go away' too.

So I am not in good company if I react to suffering as an unbeliever does. This is quite a shocking verse to read, to not resist suffering but as you have written before, it is not right to say 'thanks but no thanks to the Lord!'

All this suffering we are all going through now is to temper and test our endurance and measure and assay our faith. The people we pray for every week, some may be going through divine punishment but the vast majority will be suffering because they are trying to grow and serve our Lord to an ever greater degree. So this would be classed as 'undeserved suffering'. So the better our attitude towards this undeserved suffering, the more prepared we will be towards the ultimate test and its ultimate reward : to suffer for our faith. Depending on how we do now in our walk will determine the kind of suffering we will be called to endure during the Tribulation.

The Tribulation will be the ultimate test of tests to show and prove our faith before others (men and angels both). We know from the Word that we may be called to endure confiscation of our goods, imprisonment and may even be called to the ultimate witness, martyrdom.

In Hebrews 10:32-39 I read..

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure In the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Amen!!

So if we consider it all joy, even this light affliction we are going through now whilst continuing to mature, pass tests and enter into production together... What better way to prepare for what is coming to us all (and to fill our lamps fully with oil) than to take all of it in our stride now and continue on with ever-growing faith regardless what befalls us?

I am getting there Bob. I am changing my attitude towards suffering from an earthly one to a heavenly one. I am getting there, closer and closer. Please pray for me that I gain the maturity to embrace suffering so as to glorify our Lord?

In Jesus,
p.s. reading today's posting and I realised that I sent question 7 and your reply contained an amazing Psalm! Psalm 47:1-11 Does this Psalm refer to prophetic foreshortening of the Day of the Lord paradigm? It is truly a great Psalm and such a comfort to read!
Response #8:  
Good to hear from you. To take the last first, Psalm 47 anticipates Christ's messianic rule, and so we can take comfort in the ultimate working out of all things for good by God when we read it, knowing that "all this" is going to be straightened out anon, as soon as our Lord returns.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10 KJV
Very nice comments on suffering! Reminds me of this passage:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2nd Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
There is a middle ground here, it's important to say. When I was just getting started with this ministry one of the things that motivated and concerned me was the suffering of others to which I wanted to offer comfort, but I didn't really grasp the important part of it, both in terms of discipline and also in growth generally. I should have done. I'd seen both in my own life by that point aplenty. 
You have not suffered any testing beyond normal human [experience]. And God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested beyond your capacity, but, along with the test, He will grant you the way out, so that you can bear up under it.
1st Corinthians 10:13
We're all in the same boat down here. And it behooves all believers to have the right perspective on this important issue. We do NOT have to enjoy it when things go wrong, go bad, turn out otherwise than how we would like (and often think we need). There are all types of suffering. But we DO need to trust the Lord that everything that happens has a purpose and is for our ultimate good even if we are being corrected. 
(28) And we know that, for those who love God, He works everything together for good – [that is to say,] for those who have been called according to His plan. (29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined (i.e., foreordained) to share the likeness of His Son, so that He might be the Firstborn over many brothers [and sisters]. (30) And those whom He predestined (i.e., foreordained), these He also called [to salvation], and those whom He called, He also justified (i.e., made righteous through faith in Christ), and those whom He justified, these He also glorified (i.e., our future resurrection and eternal life).
Romans 8:28-30
How much more so if we are not in the wrong but suffering for our own good in helping us to learn to trust Him more!
(2) Brothers, when you are being beset with all manner of trials, take pains to be joyful. (3) For you should keep in mind that this testing of your faith develops perseverance. (4) So let your perseverance develop fully, that you may become fully mature and entitled to a full reward, having been found lacking in no respect.
James 1:2-4
We have a right also to look to the end of the test. Job was delivered and things were better on the other side. If we trust the Lord, we will be delivered too. We just don't necessarily know the when or the how . . . or the "exactly where" that other side is, in this life or the next. But we can take comfort now in anticipation of the absolute comfort that will be ours then in ultimate victory.
In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Isaiah 25:9 NIV
Keeping you in my prayers, my friend.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #9:  
Hey Bob,

You're right of course. We will never enjoy suffering and are not expected to but we can endure and overcome it to strengthen our faith and glorify our Lord. The Bible refers to it as a 'light affliction' after all and that would include all suffering even really big suffering tests. I would imagine it is called 'light affliction' because it is temporary and compared to the eternal glories to come, it really is bearable. We have the Holy Spirit to empower us getting through these afflictions and the Lord will deliver us at exactly the right time. We need to be patient and trust Him and He won't test us beyond what we are able to cope with. If we balk at testing, we are wrong and He is right, we are up to it so we have to trust Him to get us through.

I do realise that sometimes people do have to be in that spot where they feel very alone before they will turn to the Lord. I know I did. Over the last year I have realised the perils of helping unbelievers. The only real help we can give them is to lead them to the Lord and I know some are more gifted in that area than others though we should all have the ability to give someone the Gospel and even if we weren't as perfect in the delivery as we hoped, the Holy Spirit does the heavy lifting anyway.

Last year I spent so much time with unbelievers and it did take me away from my true ministry. You have said before that helping unbelievers in a practical and physical sense won't always yield the responses we had hoped for. It takes a mature believer to be grateful and gracious in accepting help. Learning that people can even be aggressive and abusive when you offer help was a real eye opener in 2024. I have learnt a lot now and know where I am supposed to be and will act accordingly.

As a side note, __ was helping a friend who was dying of MS by literally putting her to bed at night because the husband and children couldn't face it. Now the lady with MS has died they have turned on __ and tried to freeze her out of the mourning. Sadly I suspect they thought she only helped to get something from the will. People are very suspicious of others trying to help themselves days and think they have an evil motive at heart. People are calling good evil at this point.

Sadly at this point I can see desperately needy and vulnerable people everywhere but there is a danger that if we help them physically that they won't realise it is their spiritual starvation that is truly the heart of their woes. I have realised that I have to be careful that people don't see me as their saviour as I can't even save myself! Sadly people are much happier approaching and trusting a human saviour than the True One. This is how cults are easily formed.

[omitted]

I am happy for you to publish this but please redact the passages about __.

Hope this finds you well my friend in Christ!

In Jesus,
Response #9:   
Classes finally got started Friday but they cancelled the last hour on account of another storm, so yesterday was the first full day back with some pretty treacherous conditions that slowed everything down. Long story short, I did get behind (apologies).

I have put up the added request.

On Psalm 46, yes, it is also looking forward to Messiah's rule after Armageddon (as so many OT passages are). On Psalm 47, this is one of those hymns of victory of which Psalms is also replete, and it likewise is looking forward to and celebrating the Messiah taking up His millennial reign.

Re: "The only real help we can give them is to lead them to the Lord and I know some are more gifted in that area than others", but as you note, we all have the basics – and we all have the Holy Spirit. He is the actual Evangelist and uses whomever He pleases. If we are prepared, that is even more important than being gifted, but He can use even a dull axe to cut that wood (Eccl.10:10).

If reaching the unsaved is not your ministry, then helping them in a secular way, even though fueled by genuine Christian love, may not be your best approach. If you are being called to that, far be it from me to dissuade you. But a great deal – probably the vast majority – of so called Christian charity likewise is mostly given to unbelievers to no effect in the end. Not saying that it is all wrong either, but we know that unbelievers need the truth, first and foremost, and we cannot make them want it, not even if we bless them abundantly in the material realm.

I'm praying for __, so please keep me in the loop.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #10:  
Hi Bob,

Just had some very sad news this morning. __ died on 18th December. It appears to have been suicide. 

I tried Bob, I really tried to reach __. One of the last messages was imploring __ to pray to the Lord and that the Lord loves __ very much. I told __ that __ could talk to Him. I tried to give __ hope that __ could get through this crisis as I had been through something similar.

[omitted]

I don't know what else to say Bob. It feels such a waste. I feel guilty that I should've done more but I don't know what else I could've done. Sometimes I sent messages to check up and __ didn't read them.

[omitted]

I don't know whether this should be shared with your ministry or not. If you think it can help others then I am happy for you to share with redactions. I will leave it with you to say if it is right to share this with fellow believers or not.

In Jesus,
Response #10:   
I think you sent this to my uni address by mistake. It ended up in spam but I did happen to see it.

Of course there was nothing else you could have done. You went above and beyond. I would say it is tragic but people have to make their own decisions in this life. We would wish for all to trust in Jesus when hardships befall them, but that is a rare thing, after all. You certainly showed __ what genuine Christian love looks like. It is a shame that __ didn't respond in the hoped-for way, but that is NOT your fault. Remember what the rich man in Hades said to Abraham:
Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
Luke 16:27-31 NKJV
Everyone has the benefit of natural revelation, and in the west at least, it's hard to believe that there is a single educated person who hasn't heard of Jesus Christ. You gave __ many opportunities to learn about and to engage with you in the truth. That __ decided to go __ own way is indeed sad, but it is also much more the norm in this world that the exception.

So please don't be hard on yourself. I know from bitter experience how overreacting to a situation like this is fraught with spiritual peril. Remember, all this was written into the plan of God for a reason. __ received more consideration than most people in the history of the world when it comes to opportunities to respond to the truth. In terms of yourself, this test needs to be passed with trust, even through tears, that is for the good in the end. Certainly not for your lost acquaintance, but for you. Investing emotionally in unbelievers who refuse to respond to the truth has a considerable potential downside. If it is not your specific ministry to do so, then you probably haven't been equipped to handle these situations (I know I certainly have not been).

Keeping you in prayer, my friend.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #11:  
[omitted]
Response #11:   
I'm very sorry to hear about __. I am keeping __ in prayer.

You have been through the wringer lately. No doubt you are getting close to producing consistently for the Lord. No doubt the enemy would like to keep you occupied with things that aren't going to be productive, unbelievers who will make you feel guilty and/or suck up all your time and energy with never any intention of changing. 

A little respite seems prudent. Time to get your bearings, remember what's really important, and start prioritizing. Difficult to do when loved ones are in crisis. But we do the best we can, and, God helping us, in the Spirit it will always be sufficient.

Keeping you in my daily prayers too, my friend.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #12: 
Upon what translation are these suppositions of yours based?
Response #12:  
I am not sure to what precisely you are referring. Many of the translations within the Bible studies posted to ICHTHYS are my own, based upon the Hebrew and Greek originals (please see current CV for my qualifications). 

I do occasionally often use other versions (e.g., KJV, NIV, NASB), especially in those instances
where one of the aforementioned translations has "hit the nail right on the head" and it would be pointless to try and improve on it. When I do so, the version is indicated next to the citation (i.e., Genesis 1:1 KJV).

You can find a complete description of the methodology of citation at: 
How to use Bible translations at Ichthys 
For specific information about strengths and weaknesses of some of the versions, see: 
Read your Bible: Protection against Cults 
Hope this helps with your question. 

In our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Bob Luginbill 
Question #13:  
What does Paul mean in 1 Timothy 2:15 about women being saved by bearing children?
Response #13:
Another hard passage. You can find what I have written about it previously at the following link: "Deliverance through Childbearing in 1st Timothy 2:15?". 
The operative phrase, sothesetai dia tes teknogonias, means, somewhat literally, "she [sing.] will be saved/delivered through childbirth". The "through" is part of the difficulty here. In my opinion, it does not express the channel through which deliverance/salvation is given, but the "thing passing through which" she will be delivered from. That is to say, this verse is meant to reassure women in Corinth (who were just upbraided for their behavior by Paul through his reference in verse 14 to the Genesis curse on childbirth) that God does concern Himself with their deliverance in their childbirth in spite of the curse and pains it brought. 
This may seem a difficult concept to understand, but the other two interpretations which have been advanced, namely 1) that childbirth is necessary for a woman to be saved, or 2) that the reference is to the birth of Christ, are both problematic: the first is impossible because, of course, women are saved exactly as men are by grace through faith in Christ; the second is almost as bad (though perhaps not obviously so) because when Paul then says "if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" (NIV), it likewise makes female salvation seem conditional upon good behavior: making salvation depend upon faith is biblical, but the other items in the list are a stretch. One would have to understand "love and holiness with propriety" in the sense of persevering in faith with resulting comprehensive good behavior, and that would be unprecedented.
Question #14:  
I discovered your website about a year ago. I’ve read The Satanic Rebellion series, two thirds of the series on Peter’s Epistles, and am currently in Part 6 of the Coming Tribulation series. I’ve also followed along for the past year with the weekly email postings. I feel like I’ve been sitting in the back of your congregation for a year and I wanted to finally talk to you and say Thank You! I have many questions to ask you, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble. I’m sure you’re busy with your university work and with all of your other correspondence and work for this ministry. The first thing I would like to know more about is Communion, but begging your indulgence I’d like to tell you a bit about my background.

It's only been a little over two years since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. My family is 100% Jewish on both sides. I was raised in the “Reform” denomination and had a bar mitzvah, but after I was 13 . . . [omitted]

The full story of how I got from __ to born again Christian is too lengthy to tell now and so fantastic that it brings up far too many topics on which I would eventually like your opinion, but I’ll give an abstract. In the fall of 2011 I was in an extreme depression. I was failing at everything, and everything and everyone around me were failing me. I got to such a state that I seriously considered suicide; believing that, because of the Buddhist view of reincarnation, killing myself would be like hitting the reset button on the video game of life and maybe the next one would be better than this one. I woke up one morning with an empty feeling, simply wanting to not exist. I said to myself, “Where do people turn when they have nowhere else to go?” That afternoon, my best friend (whose God-given role in the full tale warrants further discussion) came to me with the bible and said, “I think I have a solution to your problems.” We had a lengthy discussion in which I agreed to give God a shot. A couple of months later (after reading the book of Matthew) I got down on my knees and prayed for God to forgive me for hating him for so many years and for Jesus to save me.

The change I’ve experienced in the last two years can be described as nothing short of being born again. Literally a second life while yet living. My opinions, perspectives, beliefs and views on everything changed drastically. I’ve read the entire bible cover to cover now and have been blown away by its power and absolute veritas, especially after believing it to be fiction for most of my life. It feels so good to be on God’s side. I’m happy to be alive and I’m overjoyed to be able to count on the wonderful promises at the end of the trials and tribulations of this life in the Devil’s world. I also feel that I have a perspective on Christianity (coming from Judaism and studying witchcraft and the occult) that leaves a sour taste in my mouth for all of “mainstream Christianity” from Catholics to Baptists (and all others). There is no brick-and-mortar church I’ve been able to find that cares enough about studying the bible and doing what it says. For that matter, I’ve yet to meet a fellow “Christian” in the flesh, including the one who saved me, who hasn’t fallen into the many traps Satan has set up within the churches (e.g. Rapture, OSAS, Easter and Christmas celebrations, etc.), which even a child reading the bible should be able to discern as false teachings and the traditions of man instead of the commands of God. That is why Ichthys has been an invaluable resource for me in the development of my faith. Your teachings have accelerated my spiritual growth and understanding of the bible exponentially. You’ve clarified for me many of the issues I had with Christianity before I began studying the bible and even in the first year of self-driven study without a reliable source to turn to. Baptism is one of the issues I had with every church and every Christian I’ve come across. They all seem to believe you have to have a water baptism, when I clearly read in scripture (long before I came across your site) that water baptism isn’t necessary for the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

Anyway, now I come to communion. The only communion I’ve ever known about was the Roman Catholic tradition. I’ve had issues with the idea of transubstantiation, the mass ritual nature of the practice, and I have discovered in studying the occult that the round wafer is a symbol of Sun worship (in fact, all of Roman Catholicism is pagan sun worship wrapped in Christian terminology—where the sun represents the human intellect, a gift from Lucifer via Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge, sun worship becoming akin to Lucifer worship, which was all muddied after the flood and confusing of the languages yet surviving in the ancient Egyptian and Sumerian traditions). So, I was quite surprised when a) I came across your writings on Communion, and b) I realized I had read the scriptures you used to support your position on the sacrament and completely missed their significance! I’ve come to completely agree with everything I could find on Ichthys when searching “communion.” However, I would like some further clarification. I understand your explanation of the symbolism of the bread and wine and how that’s really the purpose of the ritual. We are breaking literal flour, yeast, etc. baked bread, right? Does it have to be wine? I don’t drink alcohol much anymore and have never been much of a wine drinker. Would grape juice suffice? If it has to be wine, does the brand matter (i.e. Manischewitz?)? Do both wine and bread have to be consumed together, or should each be considered separately with the same symbolism and sacrament every time they are consumed separately? Also, I now have a job and live by myself in an apartment in New Jersey. I do most of my eating alone or with co-workers during lunch. Can communion be done alone or do at least two people have to be together for it to count?

I sincerely apologize for the length of this email, but I’ve been waiting too long to try to contact you. I thank you again for all of your hard work in running this online ministry and if you’ve read this far I thank you for reading my story and hope you’ll be able to answer my queries. 

Peace and blessings to you in the name of Yeshua Ha’Meshiach,
Response #14:  
It's very good to make your acquaintance, my friend. This is quite a testimony you have here. It speaks not only to the true heart you have for the Lord, but also to His absolute faithfulness in shepherding all who really want to be with Him forever down "paths of righteousness" at just the right time and in just the right way. God is good! Let me also say right off the bat that you have nothing to apologize for and that I would be delighted to hear from you any time.

It's a good question, and you seem to have weighed it very well already on your own. Also, from what you have written it seems you have already read what I have to say about the matter and have posted at Ichthys (the files most apropos of your particular concern being "Church: The Biblical Ideal versus the Contemporary Reality" and "Communion and the Spiritual Death of Christ") The underlying principle, the reality behind the ritual, however understood and applied, is "in remembrance of Me". Regardless of how or where we take communion, the really important thing is to remember the cross of Jesus Christ, His spiritual death on behalf of our every sin, the blood which cleanses us and has liberated us from the grave and from damnation, and has instead opened up for us eternal life, the resurrection, and an imperishable inheritance in the New Jerusalem. We love Him more than life, and communion is (or should be) a demonstration of that fact. The more it becomes overly concerned with the attendant ritual, the less, it seems to me, this overriding principle will be addressed. 

In the past, I have deliberately avoided weighing in on whether 1st Corinthians 11:24-25 can comprise individual practice as well as group ceremony. Our Lord's language, reproduced by Paul in the Spirit, seems to allow that; on the other hand, Paul is clearly envisioning a ceremony in the local church at Corinth (one, we have to remember, that was plagued by abuses). What I can do is explain my own application here (stressing that it is just that, namely, a personal reading which I do not mean to be binding on anyone else). I try to remember the Lord and what He has done for me whenever I take a meal (not that I'm perfect in doing so, and also not that I'm legalistic about it to the point of doing so with every sip of water or small snack). The distinction between formal "communion" on the one hand and saying "grace" and such personal applications at a solitary meal time on the other are or should be all about Jesus Christ. Communion per se is a witness to the world; it shows or should show what we Christians think is most important in this world, our relationship with Jesus Christ. Remembering Him and what He has done for us collectively and in a formal way is what is important, rather than the specifics of the ritual (confession of sin beforehand in all cases is of course essential too: 1Cor.11:27-32). Grace said in a group setting will not be communion since it will usually involve constraints of time and situation, not to mention the fact that some with whom we are eating may not be believers (or may understand these matters quite differently than we do); still, it can be a wonderful opportunity to remember the Lord and what He has done for us all as we ask for His blessing on the meal (cf. Acts 27:35). If we are eating alone, there is likely little or no restraint upon what we choose to remember and how we choose to do so; in such a case what we think and pray to the Lord will be, in my opinion, the important things (rather than whether we try to duplicate a sort of mini-communion service – again, confession being a necessary element in any case). As I say, the formal aspects of group communion are for a witness; on our own, what is going on in our hearts is what is all-important. After all, when our Lord says at John 6:36 NKJV: "But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe", these words were directed to those who had eaten the miraculously provided "bread and fishes" (symbolic of the soon-to-be miraculously "body and blood" of Christ) – and yet did not believe; it's not the eating, it's not the ritual, it's the remembering of our Lord and His death for us that is the key to the entire question.

I am very encouraged by your good words. They demonstrate the incredible power of the Word of God vivified by the Spirit. I am sure that the Lord has an exciting ministry in store for you, and I look forward to seeing you develop it in His power and for His glory . . . and also to standing with you on that great day to see you receive your crowns.

In Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the Great Shepherd of the sheep,

Bob Luginbill
Question #15:  
Dear Bob,

Thank you for your generous reply. Legalism is a concept I had never even heard about until I came across your website. The information I’ve found at Ichthys about various manifestations of legalism, their inherent misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or misapplication of scripture, and the potential dangers of such legalistic philosophies have been most illuminating. I suppose the full extent of the freedom we have in Christ is something I haven’t gotten used to yet. Perhaps it’s my Jewish roots, or maybe it comes from being a structural engineer, I seem to have an innate desire for rules, laws, and codes to guide my conduct. Hence my specific questions and hang-ups on the ritual aspect of communion; losing the forest for the trees, as it were, and neglecting that of course it is the direction of our thoughts, prayers, and spiritual attention—rather than our physical actions—that is the true purpose of communion, or any other worship I would suppose. 

I am very happy to have found your ministry. I think what sets it apart from the others I’ve looked into is your linguistic expertise, which allows a much fuller understanding of both Old and New Testaments. As I tell my dad in arguments over the legitimacy of the bible, English translations may be flawed, but a) the original Hebrew and Greek are the divinely inspired Word of God; and b) I have faith that God would not allow a very widely used translation of the bible (i.e. NIV, KJV, etc. versus “cultic” versions of the bible that Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Freemasons might use—and, as an aside, if you study the history and leadership of those three organizations, the first two listed are like bastard children of the third) to be so horribly perverted in its translation that its true meaning cannot be understood; although our free will to misinterpret, misunderstand, and misapply scripture is allowed to run rampant. Regardless, any language other than Hebrew and Greek would not be able, even in the best translations, to convey the full depth and possibility of meaning implied (if not explicitly stated) by the original language via idioms and etymologies not obvious to those other than scholars. That is where your extensive linguistic qualifications have given you the authority to be able to provide what is by far the most thorough and eloquently written bible studies I’ve found on the internet. I also genuinely appreciate that you freely share your knowledge personally via email.

There are many topics about which I’d like to ask ranging from general doctrine/theology to eschatology to minutiae of word choice and translations. However, since I brought up my dad, I think I should first tell you a little about him and ask for your prayer on his behalf. I’m still new to the concept of praying (having gone from no prayers at all to praying multiple times every day is something I can only attribute to the Holy Spirit and the work God has done and is doing in my life), and I’m not really sure how much prayer can help my dad but I’m definitely sure it can’t hurt. [omitted] 

Anyway, that’s the state of affairs for my dad. As I’ve been attempting to witness to my parents, I’ve been surprised that he has been the more receptive to the conversation (perhaps if only because he likes arguing and being a contrarian). When I first “came out” as a Christian to my parents I was met with hysterical laughter. Then, when they realized I wasn’t joking, I got a response that was something to the effect of “…but you’re so smart! How can you believe that nonsense?!” Over time they’ve at least come to accept that I’m a born again Christian, however, when I bring up the bible or Jesus my mom leaves the room and my dad starts arguing that the bible was made up by men with good imaginations. I suppose witnessing deserves its own conversation that need not take place now, so I’ll return to the point of asking for your prayer on his behalf. I have been praying that, even if his body is irreparable, his heart be softened and his soul be saved.

I realize I’ve now saddled you with a lot of personal information about me but I feel it’s necessary in order for you to help me understand some of the more difficult topics which I’d like to eventually discuss. For now though, I wanted to brush on the versions of the bible I’ve been studying. My best friend who helped convince me to turn back to God bought me a “Life Application Study Bible” with the NIV and commentary, maps, personality profiles for major figures in the bible, a concordance in the back, etc. I’ve found the maps and commentary very useful for understanding historical context (although I don’t necessarily rely on the commentary to be completely accurate about doctrine). I also use a software called e-sword (www.esword.com), which features the KJV linked with Strong’s Concordance so you can click on the Strong’s number next to each word and get its entry with the original Hebrew or Greek and that word’s possible definitions. I realize this has the potential to be misused because of a lack of knowledge of the original language, its parts of speech, verb tenses, and various other factors that go into a word meaning one thing as opposed to another. However, do you think this is a good tool for study? Or does its potential for misapplication outweigh the potential for deeper understanding? 

Also, for the Old Testament, I will occasionally use the Tanakh I was presented at my bar mitzvah. It’s the “New JPS Translation” copyrighted 1985, and I take it as basically the Jewish equivalent of the NIV translation. However, I’ve compared certain Old Testament passages from the Tanakh, NIV, and KJV, and the KJV consistently comes out as the one that sounds the best and rings the truest, with the Jewish translation being the poorest (or maybe it’s more colloquial English and thus loses its essence in trying to be “cool”). One example of this point without getting into further discussion about the meaning of the word or verse (that’s yet another discussion), is Genesis 3:13 where the KJV says “the serpent beguiled me,” the NIV says “the serpent deceived me,” and the JPS says “the serpent duped me.” The JPS just sounds inappropriately informal.

I’d like to say again that I’m very thankful to be able to communicate with you. And I look forward to your input on e-sword. 

With praise and thanks to the Lord,
Response #15:   
You are more than welcome, my friend. You certainly do have an encouraging testimony – encouraging because of its demonstration of the power of the truth to overcome all obstacles, and also because it makes clear that the true inner person of the heart will "out" regardless of circumstances. That is why we are in this world. I will certainly be keeping you in prayer, and I want to encourage you not to lose hope for your parents. I think your approach of starting with scripture is the right one. There is plenty of "ammunition" in the Old Testament, after all (as our Lord said: "These are the very Scriptures that testify about me" Jn.5:39 NIV). But if a person does not accept the authority of scripture, it is fair to ask that person, whence, if they do believe in God, God is communicating to His people? Whenever anyone out a genuine belief in God starts searching for Him, that search always leads to the Bible; and whenever the Bible's authority is truly accepted, that search always leads to Jesus Christ.

No need to apologize on the "legalism" front either. There are plenty of "laws" and of course the Law in scripture. The twofold problem is that 1) positive action, action out love, action out of the guidance of the Holy Spirit will always be a superior way to carry out what the Lord wants from any one of us (analogous to walking with two eyes open as opposed to feeling our way blindly with a cane: Rom.13:10; Gal.5:16-18); and 2) human beings of all cultures have a tendency to take lists of rules and abuse them. In terms of scripture, whether it was the Pharisees of the past or many evangelical groups and others today, having a list inevitably results in a) the list being different from God's true list in some respects, either by omission or addition (and usually a little of both); b) the list usually becomes prioritized, and usually along the lines of putting what I personally find repugnant (and am easily able to avoid) towards the top, while placing what I personally don't mind too much (and have a harder time trying to avoid) towards the bottom; c) the elements of the list are also usually interpreted to the point often of bearing little practical relationship to what God really means, at least in spirit, when He says something about one of the items, directly or indirectly in scripture. The net result is a "standard" of behavior which is highly defective; but worse than the defective nature of the standard is the tendency of people who embrace it to feel self-righteously good about "keeping" it – and superior to others who don't – often to the point of neglecting the real purpose of our lives here on this earth as believers: spiritual growth, spiritual progress, and spiritual production: 
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."
Matthew 23:23 NKJV
As to your question about translations, I'm not an e-sword user, but I think it's great if you have some software that allows you to make use of various translations and provides insight into the meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words behind them. In your case I have no worries about running off too far through a false application of a definition provided by a concordance. As you no doubt know, my counsel to all Christians is to read the scriptures avidly, and to make use of multiple versions, especially in places where they have questions/issues with what a passage says (link: "Read Your Bible").  From your description, your software seems to be very similar to "The Blue Letter Bible", a free online resource of which I make prodigious use.

I'm not a New JPS user, but the few times in the past when I have taken a look at this translation I have gotten the same impression, and I certainly agree with your characterization of the sample passage. Just as Bible teaching ought not to be "flip" at any time but always maintain "dignity" (Tit.2:7), so also the phrasing you report does not bespeak seriousness or respect for the Word. That is not surprising. Although on the one hand a person might have the expectation that a Jewish translation of the Hebrew would be insightful and superior, it has to be factored in that 1) anyone who is treating the Word of God without the aid of the Holy Spirit is at a disadvantage, and 2) those who are generally brought into translation projects in such circumstances are likely to be academics as well as unbelievers; it would not surprise me if presenting the Bible as "interesting literature" and stripping it of as much of its natural dignity as the latitude of translation will allow in the process was a motive here, stated or otherwise. On versions generally, I do like the KJV, but it is not without its problems; the NKJV corrects some of these, but sometimes makes matters of diction and incorrect interpretation worse; the 1984NIV I find very good (the more recent "secret" replacement less so), but by no means perfect. As I say in "Read Your Bible", that you read the Bible is more important than which version you read.

I hope some day you'd be willing to allow posting of this correspondence (with heavy editing of course – and it's be a year or two out at the soonest also). Your experiences are likely to be repeated by many of the young men from Jewish backgrounds who will form the 144,000, and I would imagine that hearing these words and seeing your determination to follow the truth in spite of family pressures would be helpful to anyone coming from like circumstances.

Keep fighting the good fight of faith, brother! 

I'm keeping you in my prayers.

In Jesus Christ our dear Lord and Savior,

Bob L.
Question #16:  
Dear Bob,

I would definitely allow our conversations to be published eventually (and heavily edited as you say). I’m always happy to share my testimony. I hope to soon discuss with you the most important parts of the story but it will bring up a lot of complicated issues and I want to make sure I can walk before I start running, so to speak. I’d like to make sure I have the fundamentals down before getting into the hazy, subjective, potentially controversial stuff.

My dad has always said that he follows the Ten Commandments and he believes that was from God, but that the rest of scripture came from man. So I asked him to name all ten. I find it very revealing that he could only recite commandments 5-9, forgetting coveting the neighbors’ possessions and the most important first 4 commandments. So I began reading Exodus 20 to him. When I got to verses 5 and 6, my dad interjected, “Jealous God? Moses must have added that in himself!” I began to explain that the first three commandments are all reinforcing the point that God is the only God, and we should put Him first in our lives ahead of everything else from material possessions to idols—fashioned by human hands, or human celebrities our society has been conditioned to idolize—to even our own lives. After all of the wonderful things God has done, is doing, and will do for his people, I think he has a right to be strict about people putting transient, worldly things ahead of His infinite glory and grace. My dad then switched the subject and asked if the bible says you should be a vegetarian or if you can eat meat. I can only attribute my response to the guidance and assistance of the Holy Spirit as I had no conscious recollection of the exact chapter and verse where the information was, besides that it was in the beginning of Genesis, yet I flipped open my bible to the exact page with Genesis 1:29. After telling him Adam and Eve were given the plants for food, I then flipped to the exact page with Genesis 9:2-3 to tell him how Noah and family were then given the animals for food as well. My dad was satisfied, and I was delighted that he was beginning to inquire and dig further (even if, as I’ve said before, he was only doing it to try to find something about which to argue).

Getting back to the Ten Commandments, my bible has a chart for Exodus 20 comparing each of the commandments to what Jesus said to reinforce them (e.g. Exodus 20:3 with Matthew 4:10, Exodus 20:4 with Luke 16:13, Exodus 20:7 with Matthew 5:34,….). I’ve read some of the things you’ve written in the email postings on Ichthys about how all Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament, except the fourth. Your explanation (assuming I’m summarizing it correctly) is that every moment of life with faith in Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a Sabbath rest, and thus keeping one day a week as the Sabbath has become essentially a legalistic ritual devoid of its original spiritual intent. I find it interesting that the aforementioned chart gives the New Testament equivalent of Exodus 20:8 as Mark 2:27-28. I think this sums up Jesus’ teaching on the Sabbath nicely; mainly that man was not made to keep the ritual of the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made to be man’s rest in God which is now freely available through Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. I was reading Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 the other day. This is all about this same concept of every moment, “as long as it’s called ‘Today,’” (3:13 and 4:7) being our Sabbath rest, correct? So in essence, the fourth commandment is repeated in the New Testament, it’s just redefined as being everyday instead of just one day a week, right? Just like in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 where Paul recommends keeping the Passover festival, yet redefining it to include Christ as the Paschal lamb and the unleavened bread as our spiritual change, and subsequent positive growth, upon accepting His sacrifice on our behalf.

The celebration of holidays, and which ones to celebrate, was something I grappled with for a while after becoming a Christian and reading the bible for myself. I figured out pretty quickly that Easter and Christmas are completely pagan holidays. Easter is the spring fertility celebration of the Mother Goddess; Asherah or Astoreth to the Canaanites, Ishtar to the Babylonians (from whom the name Easter itself is derived), Isis to the Egyptians, etc. That’s why the holiday has the fertility symbols of the eggs and the rabbits. Christmas comes in large part from the Roman Saturnalia. It’s become a combination of all of the pagan winter solstice, death and resurrection of the sun god festivals. I’m pretty sure Jeremiah 10:2-5 calls Christmas trees (or perhaps “Asherah poles” in ancient Israel?) a form of idolatry. It seems clear to me that Christianity has been taken over by the same pagan witchcraft religion which infected ancient Israel and Judah (the worship of Baal and Asherah described throughout the historical books of the Old Testament). I could talk much more about that, but back to my point: Before I found your site, I was trying to tell a Christian friend of mine the truth about Easter and Christmas. I said that worshipping pagan gods and calling them Jesus is at best trying to “serve two masters.” Needless to say they got pretty offended. After unsuccessfully trying to support the legitimacy of celebrating the holidays in Leviticus 23, I ended up blurting out that if you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you then everyday should be a like a holiday and you shouldn’t celebrate any holidays. We were both surprised when I said that ended up “agreeing to disagree.” Once I found your website I was greatly comforted by your confirmation that, indeed, Romans 14:5-9 does sanction living everyday with God and not celebrating any holidays. However, these same verses seem to condone allowing people to celebrate a holiday like Easter or Christmas. Is Paul just referring to the Leviticus 23 holidays when he says “Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.”? Easter and Christmas are such obvious pagan holidays that in my mind they should be considered blasphemous. It’s similar to, or maybe even worse than, the prostitution in the temple in ancient Israel. Is the celebration of such holidays condoned by Paul in Romans 14, or at the very least the admonishment of those celebrating the holidays discouraged? 

About Leviticus 23, even before I found your website I had understood that these 7 annual festivals (I didn’t consider the Sabbath at that time) were very special because the spring festivals were fulfilled with Jesus’ first coming and the fall festivals will be fulfilled with Jesus’ second coming. I now realize (as the above discourse on the Sabbath shows), that Jesus also fulfilled the Sabbath with his first coming. Here were my conclusions: the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread as well as the Offering of Firstfruits were fulfilled by Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection (the significance of each should be self-explanatory); the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) was fulfilled with the gift of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem (Acts 2); the Festival of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) will be fulfilled with Jesus’ return (the significance of trumpets marking the return of the Lord is explained better in your writings in the Coming Tribulation series than anywhere else I’ve found); the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) will be fulfilled when Jesus judges the church after Armageddon (as I’ve just read about recently in part 6 of Coming Tribulation); and the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is the wedding ceremony of the Lamb and His Bride. Now, like I said, I made all those connections before I found any of your writings. Before reading the Satanic Rebellion series, I had never heard of the seven millennial days theory of history. After reading your thorough elucidation I was convinced. I certainly agreed with your connection of the Leviticus 23 holidays with the overall seven millennial day plan of God for humanity. Is it possible that the holidays could have the dual significance of not only representing the whole of human history, but also representing the first and second advents (as I described above)? I’d very much like your take on that as it’s been on my mind for some time.

Thank you again for all the time you put into this ministry. 

In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Response #16:  
It's a pleasure to hear from you again, my friend. Please rest assured that I am not racing to post anything anytime soon. I would check with you first.

I find your discourse with your dad very encouraging. Just as "a prophet has no honor is his own country", so family members are usually the last ones to take anything we might say on weighty subjects such as this seriously (cf. Jesus' brothers' attitude toward Him: Jn.7:3-5; and if that was true for our Lord . . .). The fact that you are making any inroads at all is a testimony to your wisdom, your patience, and your tact (the sine qua non of dealing with family effectively) – and of course the power of the truth as witnessed by the Spirit. I will not be surprised when you dad comes around (however long that process may take) -- the Lord honors your love and persistence without a doubt.

I also appreciate your observations on the ten commandments. I find nothing with which to disagree and nothing I feel any need to correct. In fact, your understanding of the fulfillment and thus redefinition of the Sabbath is wonderful. Good job! The parallel with communion taking over the symbolism of the Passover is very good as well.

To take your last question next, regarding "the holidays [having] the dual significance of not only representing the whole of human history, but also representing the first and second advents", that is indeed my understanding of things. I had thought that was clear in the materials as they stand, but I know from years of experience as a teacher that sometimes things are not said clearly enough – or as clearly as one supposes (or even sometimes left out as assumed). If you see a good place where this point could be emphasized, I'd be indebted.

Finally, on the issue of holidays, my own "take" on these things is that it doesn't make much of a difference (I'll give you the links below). One of the reasons for this is that just as we can't assume that because a person is, say, a Presbyterian, that said person "believes in Calvinistic predestination" (e.g., I was brought up in that confession and never bought that nonsense), so analogously it is difficult to know what any given individual makes of Easter, say, unless we have a conversation with them about it. If I am eating a steak and to me it is just a steak, but if it is then pointed out that the animal was the subject of a pagan sacrifice, it still might make no difference to me or it might then make a lot of difference – and it might make a lot of difference to the person who pointed it out. As Paul explains in Romans 14, in such a case we ought not to eat – but only so as not to trip up the person who is hung up on the issue. I don't much care if it is Easter or Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza – a day is a day to me (Col.2:16) – but I do get that these "special days" have meaning to others. Since I don't know what that meaning is, I live and let live; if someone asks me, I tell them the truth (namely, that there are no special days at present in the Lord's eyes). As far as pagan origins, this is something I also would not let bother me. For example, I have no qualms about using the word "disaster". Now, etymologically speaking, it comes from two Greek roots ("bad" and "star") so that the word originally is all about pagan luck. But that is not my mindset, nor is it likely to be anything more than a very dead metaphor in the minds of 99% of the population if I choose to use the word. "Consider" is another such word (Latin: "consult the stars"). The point is that while what you say is true in terms of origin, I don't think one person in a hundred thousand is purposefully worshiping Baal if they put up a Christmas tree. It's not worshiping Jesus Christ either, mind you, but that's the point: it's what's going on in a person's heart that counts. So in my book, there are much better "hills to fight and die for", especially since the people you confront are likely to miss the point entirely and thus not be helped. Even if we could get every single person in the country to stop celebrating Easter and Christmas, I doubt we'd be any better off spiritually. In fact, it's almost certain we'd be worse off. That is because at least Christ is present in some services and in some of the rituals of some of the organizations and individuals to some degree some of the time. It's not my cup of tea or anything I'd want to throw my oar in with, especially given all the compromising involved, but that does not mean that God is not using even these highly flawed cultural events to remind some about His Son our dear Lord:
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
Philippians 1:15-18 NIV
Here are those links:
Christmas and Easter
Putting Christ in Christmas.
Is it Valid to Celebrate Christmas?
Is celebrating Christmas permissible?
Merry Christmas?
Nimrod and Christmas trees, Tongues, and Healing.
Is it wrong to celebrate Easter?
Easter and paganism
I usually refrain from "identifying" other Christians' spiritual gifts, but in your case I'm making an exception. I know that we've just "met", so to speak, but it seems glaringly obvious to me that you are gifted in the area of learning and teaching the Word of God. Only the person in question can figure such things out with time and prayer and the help of the Spirit, of course, so I could be wrong (though I seriously doubt it). In considering the question, it'd be good to stay away from seeing it through the lens of traditional churches and traditionally defined (and limited) ministries. No one can say precisely how Jesus intends to use us for the benefit of His beloved Church, but He has something very particular in mind for us all, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what He has in store for you. Great things, would be my guess, if, as with us all, you "hold fast the beginning of [your] assurance firm until the end" (Heb.3:14).

Your friend in the gospel and the endurance and the hope of the kingdom in Jesus Christ our dear Lord and Savior,

Bob L.
Question #17:  
Hi Dr L,

I don't really have any news, but it has been almost two weeks, and I just wanted to say hi. I am doing ok, still chugging away at all of the stuff. I think I like January least of all months, because it is so cold with no upside, but at least it is almost over. 

Oh I will tell you something. So you know I do cognitive exercises? One small secondary thing they helped me notice is that when I am on X (and I don't post, just read) I can feel it messing with me (in a small way, but it is there and I can feel it). It messed with our, not sure the right wording, but something close to our impulse-based system. Like messing with our wants. Like I know I don't want to spend a lot of time on X-I do want to spend a little because it is a view to the larger world-but not a lot. But I have caught myself in it too much and could feel it affecting my surface feelings and wants (like taking hold of them)-I mean I am doing it too, obviously, Hopefully you get the idea. So please be careful online with the more media heavy stuff (like with videos and that have lots of changes and new stuff on them).

The neat thing is being able to notice and control my emotions more.

How are you doing?
Response #17:   
Well as they say, "no news" is often "good news". It's been COLD here too, and worse is on the way. Haven't been able to get my usual exercise because everything is still iced up. Only a little walking where there aren't yards and yards of ice and packed snow. 

Social media is all like that, I think. It caters to our worst impulses – that is what gets "clicks", after all. Believers who are mature have the internal, spiritual resources to cope better, but it's still prudent to stay away from things we know aren't good for us, especially if we have a tendency to react to such things.

Hope you have a nice day off tomorrow.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #18:  
Another question, but more general on the game/show thing. Where do we draw the line, anyway, with "media being evil"? Opinions range from only purely Christian movies or music aren't sin, to anything's ok unless it's like, straight up pornographic or wilfully blasphemous. I know conscience is a large part of it here, but is there an "absolute boundary" to be made here, below the latter example I gave?

Sorry if I asked something similar before but I didn't know how to ask the question before, if that makes sense.
Response #18:  
The world is an evil place. Not surprisingly, because it is run by the devil (1Jn.5:19). Therefore on one level just as there is nothing good in man (Jn.2:24-25; Rom.3:10-18), so there can be nothing good in the culture he creates. Good only comes from God, through His Spirit and through His truth. That said, we are in this world for a reason; we can't go out of it and so we have to learn to navigate it (cf. 1Cor.5:9-11).

In the world, God and His truth are the only absolutes. We have been given some very definite instructions about how to behave down here. We have also been given a great measure of latitude in how we organize our lives and use out time. There is no "absolute rule" about movies or music or games or artwork or sports or any other cultural activity. Some things (like outright pornography) are definitely things believers need to stay away from. Other things have more subtle perils. Playing sports may be beneficial to one's health. Watching sports possibly merely a waste of time (and we ALL waste time). Betting on sports can quickly ruin a person's life. 

How each of us deals with such things is a matter of personal application. But in considering the question, it is good to consider, as mentioned above, why we are down here. If we are really trying to please Jesus Christ, then clearly spending less time and energy on pointless things and more on things related to spiritual growth and production would be preferable. How much more? Few of us are as "all in" as, say, the apostle Paul was. But it really ought to be our desire to be moving in the direction of being more like him . . . and less like unbelievers who are merely trying to enjoy themselves by being friends with the world (Jas.4:1-10; 1Jn.2:15-17).

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #19:  
Hello Doctor.

Don't put this on your site if you don't wish. [omitted about a video game]. 

I've been feeling like God is leading me to stay away, and as I said, you can probably see why. Regardless of if this, somehow, is just a case of "personal conscience", with how optional the more questionable choice of summon in the game is, it's still something I feel convicted by. With that said, I can't believe I'm asking this, but I'm probably not going to stop having doubt about this decision until I hear: IS this just a case of "personal conscience" or should every believer throw this game in the vault and throw away the key, so to speak? The game straight up says at the start it's a work of fiction and nothing in it reflects the beliefs of the company or necessarily any of the workers (as in, "we don't believe these things and don't mean to get anyone to believe these things, don't get the wrong idea") but the things I said are still there, even if it's thankfully just a writing choice.

God bless. If you're confused about any of this, feel free to ask.
Response #19:   
One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
Romans 14:2 NIV
We could all make better use of our time, no doubt. It's not a perfect analogy, but the above verse demonstrates that where we are spiritually has a lot to do with the decisions we make or should make about how we are living in this world. In the time of the New Testament, it was impossible to live in the world and not be exposed to paganism around every corner. Believers, spiritually mature ones, saw these things for what they were and paid them no mind. And if they bought/ate meat that had been sacrificed to idols, the real problem, if there was one, was the bad witness it might have sent in some circumstances to those with "weak consciences". 

Doing anything that violates our consciences in the Spirit is not a good idea. We can't be perfect in our applications because the world is imperfect, but surely it is better to stay away from some things. Where one draws that line is indeed an individual decision. It something is adversely affecting our spirituality and walk with the Lord, well, that would seem to be an answer in and of itself.
Stay away from anything that [even] looks [like] evil.
1st Thessalonians 5:22
In Jesus,

Bob L.
http://ichthys.com/