Uncategorized

Social Media’s Effect On My Attitudes.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this about themselves. I’m certain they have. I can’t be the only one who thinks, and feels this way. The people, and situations that pop up in my feeds, almost always infuriate me. It seems as if the algorithms are designed in such a way as to induce this loathing. One of the curious aspects of this is that it appears to be on both sides of the aisles of artifice. At one time in our not so distant history, we were unified as, “Americans.” Now it seems, some evil actors have distilled the strongly held convictions of Americans, and aggregated them into two categories for the specific purpose of causing division, and animus.

The longer I read stories on social media, the more angry I get. I get so angry my thoughts run towards civil war, and how necessary it may become. I see a similar fomentation on the left. They are actually more prone to committing acts of violence, and murder, because they are not restrained by an external, or internal moral law. They, by nature, are slaves to the immoral, and sinful flesh. Knowing this, causes me to feel pity for them, and brings me back from the brink of human warfare. They are the pawns of satan, and his demons. Behind the scenes they manipulate the thinking, feeling, and acting, that all of the lost people engage in. I’m not negating their culpability. They are fully responsible for their own sin. It is the notion that their guilt is compounding, and God’s judgment is sure, and just. This certainty of future justice puts my warmongering, murderous flesh at ease. Not only that, but it is responsible for my seeing truly how terrible, and horrendous, it is to be under God’s judgment, and to have His holy wrath poured out on a person.

This should help us to behave as Christians, and not as slaves to satan, and sin. Let’s be slaves of Christ, and His righteousness. When we see them, even though they slay us, may we see them as Christ saw His crucifiers, “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” AND THEY CAST LOTS, DIVIDING UP HIS GARMENTS AMONG THEMSELVES.” Luke 23:34. Let us see them the way Stephen saw his murderers, “Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:60

We know that we deserve death and hell as sinners, but we also know the good news of Jesus. We know His gospel. We know, and are known by Him. We are His adopted sons, and daughters. We are heirs with Him by grace, through faith in Him, and His work. The lost only know their sin, and they love it. They have no desire to mortify it. They don’t esteem Christ. In fact, they hate Him. Their indifference is hatred. We know better.

We must be the adults. Our minds have been put in order by God. Our emotions must be brought under control, and subjected to the true judgments of God revealed in His word. This being the case, remain calm. Don’t let any self-righteous indignation boil over into actual violence. We can be angry, and not sin, as long as we are angry at what angers God, and we don’t take vengeance. Vengeance is God’s domain. Much of what we see on social media angers God. He will, without doubt, be far more severe than we could ever possibly be in His just judgment. We can merely kill the body, but God can subject their souls to eternal torment. We can dole out human justice, but God is the lawgiver, King, Judge, and Lord of all.

There is a blatant wickedness the likes of which I have not seen in my lifetime. It is distressing. People I know, and love dearly, are deceived, and one day may be my betrayers. I know this from God’s revealed word. Matthew 10:34-36, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.” I would calm myself with the knowledge of God, His attributes, His word, and the promises I see in Him. I hope that any readers out there will also be calmed. God is in control of history. He is sovereign over all things. No matter what happens to us, how we live, or how we die, let it be to demonstrate the glory of our God.

Book Reviews

A Review of, “Holy Bible, Uninvented” by Mike D’Virgilio.

Bob Snyder1 Comment

As many of you know, I determine a book’s value in the individual’s home library primarily on a few factors. First of course, it must be doctrinally sound. Second, its message must be one that is valuable for rereading. Third, it must be an asset to lend out to others to read. I recently read a book titled, “Holy Bible, Uninvented” by Mike D’Virgilio. I have several people send me titles they’d like reviewed, but most of them are self-published, poorly edited, and ill thought out. Their theology is usually a hot-soup-sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was none of those things. As a bonus, I can actually recommend it according to the criteria I previously discussed.

The book is an apologetic work in which D’Virgilio argues for the authority, and trustworthiness of the Bible as the actual word of God. He argues that its verisimilitude is potent evidence. Some might call that a circular argument, or an appeal to authority, but those arguments are null if the Bible is actually true. I’ve read other works with some of the same arguments for the trustworthiness of the Bible, but few with as many of them compiled together, and organized in such a way as to lend them to the work of strengthening the believer. If you are a Christian who has run into some arguments that have shaken your faith in the trustworthiness of God’s word, this book is for you. I highly recommend it. It is a brief work, but in its brevity lacks nothing significant for the intended work at hand.

Here is a link to a Youtube vlogcast that Mike was on a while ago discussing his book, and some of the ideas in it.

You can purchase your copy on Amazon here.

cultural · racism

Race-baiting, and Hatred.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

I have a confession to make, and I think many of you could also confess likewise. The desired effect of all this race-baiting is to stir up hatred, and animosity. I feel it working. I see the black on white violence, and the anti-white-ism. It is engendering more knee-jerk hateful emotional responses from me. I want to call the people engrossed in the opposing sub-culture, all of the racist slurs. I want to round them up, and execute them for their lawlessness. If the mainstream media, can emotionally manipulate a Christian to sin this way, imagine what it is doing to the lost. I take responsibility for my sins. It isn’t entirely the M.S.M.s fault when I choose to hate someone. They are complicit, but my hatred is only misplaced for a second in time. God convicts me by His Spirit, and His Word. I repent, and move on. What does the rest of the world do when they fall to hatred? I think they continue in it, and build upon it. Murder in the heart can too quickly become actual murder. Let this serve as a warning, do not be fooled by the world.

Isaiah 55:6-7
6 Seek Yahweh while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to Yahweh,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

Uncategorized

Transgender? Homosexual Marriage? Social Justice?

Bob Snyder1 Comment

Christian, do not employ the nomenclature of the lost! It is rife with flawed presuppositions. You cede your argument before you ever begin. Let’s examine the term, “transgender.” If you begin a discussion with someone on the topic of delusional perversion by employing the term, “transgender” you have already lost. You’ve admitted that people can be, “transgender” by accepting into common use the term of the lost. How many people do you know, who after being born, mutated in such a way as to change from being chromosomally XY to being XX, or vice versa? You see, that would truly be transgenderism. Since this is an impossibility, the term itself should not be employed.

Homosexual marriage is an impossibility as well, as God has clearly defined what true marriage is in His word. To call any other union a marriage in the same line is to call God a liar, and open treason against Him. Instead, call it what it is, a perverse government sanctioned joining of two lost perverts. Even in non-Christian, heterosexual marriages we could use the same description. Two lost people go to the court with a license and get legally joined by the government. Since when did the government define marriage? It should only agree with God on what marriage is.

Social justice? I’m sorry my friends, justice is either justice, or it is not. There is no need, nor benefit of adding an adjective to it. When God finally balances the scales, He will punish the victimizers, and restore the victims. Guess what, that doesn’t mean you are a victim. The only victims in the end will be those who love Christ Jesus, and had to endure during their temporal lives the besmirching of Christ by the lost. We will be vindicated, because our great and mighty King will put down all treason against Him once and for all. You can bend your knee now, or you can do it later, but rest assured, you will bend your knee and recognize Him as King, and God.

As Christians, we care about what is objectively true. Let’s not lie, by complacence, or trying to please the world. The truth of the matter is, a person who feels, thinks, they are a gender other than what they are, is suffering from their enslavement to their sinful nature. They are also suffering the noetic effect of sin. They are also believing lies. They are delusional, and perverted. Before you get on your high-horse, remember so were some of you. After conversion, we are all at war with sin in our lives. We need to have mercy, and charity, when proclaiming the truth to someone who is so lost, and confused, but let’s not engage in lies to do so. Accurately surmise the situation, and share the truth in love with them.

As in the days of Noah?
cultural · Theology

As in the days of Noah?

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

When I was a Pentecostal, I heard and believed, a lot of heterodox teachings. Whenever some immoral scandal was talked about on television, I remember my in-laws would always say, “As in the days of Noah!” I’d ask them what they meant, and they explained how wicked it was then, and how things are going to be wicked like that, and that is a sign of the times. Now, if I had just heard it from them, I might have doubted it more, but I even heard it at Church. When we were going to a Nazarene Church I heard it from many people. I was younger, and figured they knew what they were talking about. I even heard T.V. preachers say it.

Of course now, I know better. I can’t believe it took so long for God to bring me out of those, “wacky” ways. I say, “wacky” because looking back, I think I must have been extremely biblically ignorant to go along with the insanity. Pentecostals told me I should be speaking in tongues. They taught to be slain in the Spirit. They taught us to engage in what they called, “spiritual warfare.” They taught us to speak directly to satan, and to bind him up, gouge out his eyes, stuff up his ears, and that we could send him away. Looking back, why would anyone pray to satan? That’s what speaking to him is you know. Why would a person do any of that? If you thought that was what Christianity was, and you wanted to be Christian so you wouldn’t go to hell, you might do those things like I did.

I’m not going to tackle all the heterodox teachings tonight. I’m just going to address the one that stems from Matthew 24:37. I’ll cite it here once, out of context so you can see the verse I’m talking about. Then, I’ll cite it with its surrounding context so you can follow along and see the true meaning for yourself. This way, if you are in the same error I was, you can repent, and come into fuller knowledge of the truth.

Matthew 24:37 LSB “For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.”

Now, out of context, this could mean a lot of things. That’s how false teachers do what they do you know. They take some verses they like from all over the Bible, and rip them from their context, string them together, and pervert the word of God.

Here it is in context.

Matthew 24:29-51 LSB
The Coming of the Son of Man
“29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the POWERS OF THE HEAVENS will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His  elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain at the  mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42 “Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 “Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

After reading all of that, hopefully you can see this is in regards to when Jesus will return. The comparison to the flood is to let us know that nobody knows when He is returning except God Himself. Just like the people who lived in the days of Noah, they didn’t know when the flood would occur. They kept on living their lives as if it was never going to happen. They even mocked Noah. Just like those days, people will keep living their lives. They won’t repent. They won’t trust Christ. They’ll go on as if there is no judgment to come. Like then, they will be swept away, and burnt up like the chaff, or the tares.

What should you take from all of this? Instead of worrying so much about end times lunacy (There are a lot of lunatics out there preaching crazy things.) Make sure you understand the gospel of Christ Jesus. Make sure you are preaching it to everyone you can. Make sure you are studying the Bible rightly, and that you are yielded to the Spirit, in obedience, and joy.

Acts 17:30-31 LSB “30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge  the world in righteousness through a Man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.””

This isn’t a suggestion. Repent of your sins, and trust in Jesus alone for your justification, and everything that coincides with it. Do so now, before it is too late, and the judgment of God is poured out on the Earth. This time it will be a universal conflagration, and nobody will escape unless they have been purchased by the blood of Jesus, our Lord, and God. Just like the ark was the vessel God’s elect were brought through flood that was the God’s judgment against the unrepentant sinners of the world, Jesus is our ark to rescue us from the fiery flood of judgment to come.

Bible Reviews

A Review of the Berean Standard Bible.

Bob Snyder1 Comment
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I purchased this Bible in genuine cowhide leather. The edition I chose was Atlantic blue. It was listed as, “Genuine Leather – Tosca Cowhide Atlantic.” You can look at the product page via this link. I wasn’t aware that another edition had been published. When I saw that it had, I purchased one. The last Bible I received from the folks who run Biblehub.com was the Berean Study Bible. Keep in mind, this Bible does not come with a storage box.

The most impressive things about this edition in my opinion are as follows;

1. It was printed, and bound in the United States, not China.

2. It was priced very competitively. (Proving you don’t need to go overseas.)

3. The form factor is about perfect, in my subjective opinion.

4. The paper is excellent.

5. The quality, in toto, is excellent.

6. This translation is easy to read, without being dumbed down, or neutered to fit an extra-biblical agenda.

All of that considered, here is a citation from the product page linked above detailing the vital stats.

“The text is 9.5 pt. Cambria font, printed on high quality 39 gsm Thincoat Plus Bible paper that is also ideal for highlighting and note taking.

SKU: 9781944757090
ISBN: 9781944757090
Color: Dark Blue-green
Dimensions: 6.15 x 8.5 x 1.25
Page Count:1504”

There are three ribbon markers. This edition includes decorative head, and tail bands, that are gold in color matching the ribbons. The ribbons seem to be high quality, and the ends are seared. The cowhide leather cover is moderately textured, perimeter stitched, with a paper interior liner. The perimeter stitching is an additional step that aids in the durability of the cover. Since the interior liner is paper, and it connects the text-block to the cover, it cannot be said to be edge-lined. This edition is case-bound, though you couldn’t tell by how flexible this edition is. It is just as flexible as some of the edge-lined Bibles out there. The cover gives the impression of being tougher than some of the garment grade goatskin covers I’ve seen recently. If you have purchased a sub $200, edge-lined, goatskin Bible, it is more than likely cheaper grade goatskin. The Highland goatskin covers on Jongbloed produced Bibles is significantly higher quality. The spine of this edition is smyth-sewn. The Spine is hot-stamped with gold colored foil. It says, “Holy Bible” at the head, and, “Berean Standard Bible” towards the center. There are four mildly pronounced decorative spine hubs. I think it is tastefully done.

The text-block has rounded corners, and spine. These features help to reduce the premature wear, and tear of the pages. The paper is 39 g.s.m. This is some thick paper, but since this edition lacks any maps, concordance, or other helps, the thinness is maintained. The page edges are gilt. As I mentioned before, this is pretty much the perfect sized Bible, for almost all occasions. The price is under $90. It is a true bargain, and good value.

If you aren’t familiar with this translation, the best way I could describe it to you, is that it is a pleasure to read, much like the N.I.V. was from 1984-2010 before it adopted a gender neutrality disorder. It is important to mention, this is not a dynamic equivalent translation like the N.I.V. This does seem to be more of a formal equivalence translation.

Now for all the pictures. Remember to check out my album of pictures on the Flickr page by clicking this link. If you click on the pictures in this review, they will take you to the high resolution, full sized picture on my Flickr page. It helps to get a closer look.

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Uncategorized

Jehovah isn’t in the Bible!

Bob Snyder1 Comment

Yep, you read that right. The word, “Jehovah” never appears in any of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek texts that we translate for our English Bibles. It is what is known as a translation convention. When a word doesn’t translate neatly from one language to another, when there is no counterpart, or when the translators have other concerns that supersede what should be their main intent in translation work they may utilize a convention. Here is a for instance for you. Modern translations render the word, “δοῦλος, doulos” as, “bondservant.” This sounds much more acceptable to the modern reader. The more accurate translation of this word would be, “slave.” Nevermind that there are different types of slavery throughout history. Ancient people would consider modern people who sell their labor to a business owner to be slaves in some regards. Another common translation convention employed today is LORD in small uppercase letters. It is not literally there in the Hebrew text. When you see this word, it is representing the tetragrammaton, which are these four Hebrew consonants, yod he vav he יהוה. (Remember, Hebrew is read right to left.) This is the name of God that He told to Moses. It is a statement of God’s aseity. The ancient Jews refused to pronounce this name out of reverence. So they would substitute the word, “adonai” which is a form of this Hebrew word, “adon אָדוֹן” About a thousand years after the ascension of Christ the Masoretes came along, and added vowel markings to the Hebrew text. They did this in an attempt to help readers know how to pronounce a word, and tell the difference between one Hebrew word, and another. All Hebrew words only have three letters. Then grammatically, prefixes, infixes, and suffixes, could be added. The translation convention of Jehovah didn’t come into use until after that time. Jehovah is a completely made up word. It is not in the original texts. The consonants from the tetragrammaton were blended with the vowel sounds from the word adonai. There is no, “J” in Hebrew. There is no, “J” in Greek, or Latin. Please stop making such a big deal out of using this translation convention now that you know better. Insisting on the use of Jehovah is an act of ignorance.

A Review of the Legacy Standard Bible, Inside Column Reference Edition in Blue Cowhide Leather.
Bible Reviews · Bibles

A Review of the Legacy Standard Bible, Inside Column Reference Edition in Blue Cowhide Leather.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

I preordered this edition when the option became available, and have been patiently waiting for it to arrive. I am also waiting for other editions to be published. I know that many people don’t use the cross references often, but I do like to have them in my daily reader. I am hoping for the MacArthur Study Bible in LSB to be announced one of these days. I know it is a matter of time. This Bible isn’t as large as the Large Print, Wide Margin edition, but it feels like it weighs about the same. It is not a light Bible. I have to say, I’m really enjoying the blue cowhide leather cover. The grain of the leather is more pronounced. It hasn’t got the ironed leather look. The perimeter of this edition’s cover is sewn. That should keep it from coming unglued at the corners, since we are talking about a case bound edition here. The corners, as well as the spine are rounded. The spine is smyth-sewn for durability, and flexibility. There are 5 raised spine hubs. “Holy Bible” is hot stamped in gold colored foil on the spine along with the logo for the LSB, and the publisher’s name at the bottom. I did notice some odd markings on the page edges. It looked like someone at the factory tried to repair some spots where the page edge gilt may have been damaged, or misapplied. There were also some minor dings in the page edges. In the Facebook group, another person mentioned the same problem with his Bible. (I hope, once they get the production procedures practiced, the quality control will get better. I sort of expect quality control problems with a new translation being published in South Korea. The Berean Standard Bible is printed, and bound in the USA, and doesn’t seem to have these problems It also costs much less. I wonder why 316 went with a Korean printer instead? Perhaps the American one couldn’t do the volume they needed?) There are 2 ribbon markers, that are nice quality, and the ends have been seared. The head and tail bands are blue to match the cover, and one of the ribbons. 40 g.s.m. paper is terrific! I love the paper. There are 14,000 translation footnotes. This is helpful for the language geeks like me. We want to know. The concordance is a nice addition. It has over 16,000 entries. The font is nice and legible at 11 pts. for the scriptures, and smaller for the references. This is a black text edition, with red titles, headers, chapter, and page numbers. The text is line matched with the text on the reverse side of the page for eye comfort. This is a single column, verse format Bible with the cross references in the inside column between the gutter, and the text column. There are some maps at the very back. I am very pleased that they included a storage box for this edition. It is the best way to keep a Bible protected when not in use. All in all, this is a really nice edition. This translation is, in my opinion, the best modern English translation to date. I am hopefully looking forward to more editions. 316 also included a lapel pin, and a daily planner with this Bible purchase. I have pictures of the planner on my Flickr page along with more pictures of this edition. Click the link to check them out.

You can purchase your edition of this Bible at 316publishing

Here are some pictures that highlight the features I mentioned. If you click the album link above, you can see the high resolution pictures instead of these lower resolution ones.

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ISBN: 9781636641850

Legacy Standard Bible, 2 Column Verse by Verse, Faux Leather.
Bible Reviews · Bibles · Uncategorized

Legacy Standard Bible, 2 Column Verse by Verse, Faux Leather.

Bob Snyder1 Comment

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Instead of writing about a feature, and then having a photograph inline, I’m changing it up a bit. I’ll have the write-up of my impression of this edition, and all of the photographs will be after. So if you simply want to look at the pictures you can skip all the text… You weren’t really going to do that were you? I mean… Seriously? You want to just look at pictures… Okay, I tend to do that too, but if you do want to know what I think about this edition, continue reading.

The LSB is, in my opinion, the best modern English translation of the Bible to date. I’m purchasing all new resources to go along with this translation. The two column, verse format LSB, is the first edition of the LSB that is actually quite portable. The double column, verse format, is one of my favorite Bible layouts of all-time. This one lacks some of the fancier features, but for dragging around with me wherever I go, it is perfect. I’m also pretty jazzed that it isn’t made in China.

It is printed, and bound in South Korea. Not only do you get the great double column verse format layout, you also get 32 g.s.m. paper, 10 pt font, line-matching, double sided ribbon marker, perimeter stitching, head and tail bands, section headings, rounded page corners, and a rounded smyth-sewn spine. I know, you all wanted to see an edge-lined, goat skin leather edition, but we don’t always get what we want, nor should we. We get what we need… Now, for your reward for reading my opinion, some pictures of this Bible I drew using a camera…

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As usual, for more pictures follow this link to my Flickr page to see more photographs of this Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-63664-168-3

Uncategorized

The Globalists at the W.E.F. are Enemies of Life.

Bob Snyder1 Comment

Have you ever noticed that these sick people always see life as the problem. Their solution is always to kill life. This is anti-Christ. John 1:4-5 LSB “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. (5) And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.”
The globalists want you to kill your pets to save the environment… These people are evil. We’ve known for a long time they love killing babies, old people, and sick people, but now we can see they even love killing pets. They are enemies of all life, and the author of life, who is God Himself. If they could, they would try to kill Him as well. Here is a link if the rumble video doesn’t work.