Tag: God

Apologetics · Theology

What is the difference between the Mormon gospel and the gospel of the true Jesus?

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

glennbeck

According to the documentation on the Mormons own website; “https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/gospels”

“…The word gospel means “good news.” The good news is that Jesus Christ has made a perfect atonement for mankind that will redeem all mankind from the grave and reward each individual according to his or her works. This atonement was begun by His appointment in the premortal world but was worked out by Jesus during His mortal sojourn. Therefore, the records of His mortal life and the events pertaining to His ministry are called the Gospels; the four that are contained in our Bible are presented under the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John…”

They only had one thing right, and that was the meaning of the word, “gospel.”  Too bad they got everything else wrong.  The Greek word, “εὐαγγέλιον” transliterated is evangelion.  It is where we get our English word, “evangelist” in English we use the word, “gospel” which was an English rendering of a Latin expression meaning, “God’s spell” or “God’s story.”  εὐαγγέλιον means, “good news.”  So what is the good news of Jesus Christ?  Well according to the Mormons it is that everyone lives on after death while some go to one of the three forms of Mormon afterlife determined by their own works.  So basically you go where your works have earned you.  So if you were an uber goody-two-shoes Mormon and followed all the rules you might become an exalted man and one day even a god.  You would get to go to the celestial kingdom until you became a god and had your own solar-system to rule.  If you only were a marginal Mormon you get to go to the terrestrial kingdom with all the slackers who were basically good.  Of course if you weren’t a Mormon at all you would have to go to the telestial kingdom and work your way up.

I’m sorry but none of that sounds like very good news to me.  I don’t think that anyone who has ever read the Bible and knows what sin is and what righteousness is would think that is good news.  It looks like insanely BAD news to me.  They are saying that you have to earn your way by works.  Not a lifetime of good works could void even one of my sins.  If you are a thief and you go before the judge and tell him, “Your honor, listen I know I shouldn’t have stolen that ladies purse.  I know it is against the law, but since then I have worked hard and given to charity, and I even washed your car on the way in.”  The judge if he is a just and good judge will say, “None of those things change the fact that you are guilty of the crime of theft.  The fact that you would come in here a guilty thief and try to bribe me with your charity work and washing my car is offensive to me.  You are guilty and here is your sentence.”

If a human judge would be offended how much more would a perfectly and infinitely holy and righteous God be offended?  There is no way to work your way in to Heaven according to the Bible.  Anyone that has honestly read it would tell you that, but the Bible isn’t good enough for the Mormons… oh no!  They have to add the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants.  You see if you are going to try to deceive the world you really have to convolute the truth and by muddying the waters they can do that.

So what is the difference between real Christianity and Mormonism’s gospel?  What is the difference between their Jesus and ours?  Well it is quite simple you see Jesus is God.  Not a god, but the God.  Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all who He would save.  They couldn’t pay their penalty.  Just one deceitful or lustful thought is enough to warrant an eternity in Hell experiencing the wrath of God being poured out on you for ever.  God would be just and right to do so as He is the perfection of goodness, justice, and righteousness.  A person who doesn’t see how insidious and sinful their sin is in contrast to the holiness of God will never understand their inability.  Of course they think they can earn it because they have brought God down to being at one time a man who lived on a planet orbiting a star named Kolob and who was a sinner and they have elevated man to a being that could earn of his own works godhood!  What complete and utter nonsense and heresy!  Jesus saves us by His grace (unmerited favor) He paid our penalty and imputed His righteousness to those He would save.  They are seen as perfectly righteous and holy upon judgment because they are in Christ Jesus through God granted faith.

So our deceived Mormon friends and family are destined for Hell.  What can we do about it?  How can we help them?  Over many years I have tried several different methods of reaching them.  It seems impossible at times, but we know in regards to salvation anything is possible with God.  I would recommend praying for them.  I would also recommend being their friends while gently sharing the differences you have.  I would also recommend that you get offended when they say they are Christians.  Let them see the joy you have in Christ.  Let them see your liberty to love and your light heart.  Let them see that you are at peace with God and assured of your salvation.  They are burdened with upholding so many rules and rituals that they are always about to crack.  They never can know if they have done enough.  Always tell them the truth about Jesus.  Don’t get into a shouting match with them.  Don’t go into a discussion without first arming yourself with knowledge of the word.  If they throw the, “You’re anti-Mormon” card just tell them you are not and ask them about the, “First Vision.”  It is the one where Joseph Smith supposedly sees God the Father and Jesus both in bodily form and they tell him that all of the churches are false and their teachings are abominations and to join none of them.

jm_400_CH1.pd-P4.tiff

Then explain how offensive that is to you.  Explain that they are just as much anti-Christian as they claim we are anti-mormon.

Theology

Freewill?

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

wpid-48480516.jpg

Why don’t we have a problem when God chooses people in some scriptures, but when it comes to salvation we say, “God is a gentleman and would never force us to choose Him against our freewill!”

For instance in Acts 40 we don’t have a problem with God choosing who would see Him after the resurrection.  “39“We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40“God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.”  (Acts 10:39-41)

But, in Ephesians 1:3-5 when Paul tells us how God chose who would be saved by Jesus before He made the world everybody gets all offended about having their precious sinful, I mean ahem, “freewill” getting violated.  Excuse me, but I’d much rather have a divine intervention and go to Heaven than have a, “freewill” any day.  That is because I understand that before regeneration and justification my will is a sinful will, a curse from the fall, a will that is enslaved to do nothing but evil continuously.  After all aren’t we supposed to pray that the will of the Father be done?  Aren’t we supposed to become more like Jesus and less like ourselves?  Aren’t we supposed to die to ourselves daily and take up the cross of Christ?  It sure seems like our wills should be replaced with God’s will.

I think the problem lies in the sin of pride.  People think to highly of themselves and their abilities to please God, they don’t see how sinful their sin is, and they definitely don’t contrast it with the holiness and righteousness of God.  They need to see God as completely transcendent, totally other, instead they have to elevate man and lower God to protect their notion of freedom.  We should magnify God and humble ourselves.

I’m not saying that we are not responsible for our sin either.  People try to say that it is a mutually exclusive statement.  They say if you don’t have our brand of freewill then God can’t hold you responsible for your sin.  It seems to make sense.  Of course you would have to lower God and elevate man.  We are still morally culpable for sin because we are born sinners and choose it continuously because of our state of being dead in our sins and being slaves to our sin natures.  When God saves someone of His grace and mercy it is exactly that way.  He saves them by His grace (unmerited favor).  They did nothing to deserve salvation.  Matter of fact, everything they have done has come from a corrupted heart.  If God planned it this way then we as creatures have no right to judge Him or His plan.  He owns us and has all rights to us.  He would be just in destroying all of us whenever He wants to.  The fact that He saves any of us is wonderful news.

We make choices that are consistent with our natures.  God is consistent with His attributes.  God cannot be unjust, or evil, or untrue.  In the same way a sinner cannot be desirous of God while yet a slave to their sinful nature.  (Romans 5:8) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  In their sinful nature they make all kinds of choices that are consistent with that nature.  These choices are allowed by God in His sovereign will to be used by Him for good in accordance with His will.   I would remind you that the problem is pride and how we see God, ourselves, and sin.  He ultimately has ownership rights over all of us as Creator and can do with us as He sees fit.

19You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. (Romans 9:19-24)

Theology

Through a mind made dim by sin and what is to come.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

brain

Sometimes when I am groggy from sleep, drifting in or out I find myself behaving like an unthinking animal.  I don’t know if this is unique to me or if any of you have experienced this kind of lack of consciousness or not.  I don’t have any forethought in this state.  It is just beyond sleep and just ahead of being awake.  Those moments are fleeting.  They leave me with a sense of being less than a human.  I wonder if this is how some of the higher functioning mammals think and feel?  Like the gorilla that could do sign language.  She communicated from a mind with a different type of thinking, understanding, and desires.  I don’t like being subject to a lesser state. It is disconcerting.

Before we are saved, we think only as a person can under the noetic effects of original sin and bondage to that sinful state.  We operate in a state that is less than.  Our unregenerate minds can only conceive of evil and it continually.  We see our fellow men lost in the dark and shine a light for them to see.  We hope they will orientate themselves to and by that light.

Even those of us who have been saved still perceive and process from a state of being less than what we are to be.  The noetic effects of sin corrupt us as well.  We wait for glorification one day.  We wait for a time when our abilities to perceive and process without the effects of sin will be fulfilled.  How would we look back on our previous mortal existence?  How would we as creatures know and perceive our Creator in truth?  What would it be like?  I know that I can’t know everything even after glorification.  I also know that I won’t know things the same fallen way that I know them now.  To know Jesus now is a miracle wrought by God.  I can’t imagine what it will be like to know Him without this sinful flesh and corruption of mind.

What does the Bible mean when it calls Jesus the Son of God?
Theology

What does the Bible mean when it calls Jesus the Son of God?

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

trinity-1

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, what does it all mean?  I had trouble with this when I was younger, but over the years good teachers and wiser men informed by God’s word have been able to help me.  I would like to help those of you who might be having some difficulties with the titles.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are titles of roles that each one of the personages of the trinity are.  Jesus isn’t literally the offspring produced by sexual copulation like the Mormons believe.  He isn’t a created being made from the essence of God or brought forth from it like the Arians believe. (Assemblies of Yahweh, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormons)  Jesus is co-eternal along with the other two personages of the trinity.  The title of, “Son” explains the eternal purpose of His role.  Jesus before His incarnation as the hypostatic union existed.  We know that everything was made by Him.  Before God made anything, He had a plan to save us from sin.  He had a plan to demonstrate His longsuffering and loving kindness.  We are part of that plan.  He, as the Son would provide our propitiation.  He as the Father would require it.  The Spirit would enable us to see and hear.  The Father is the ultimate authority.  His will is the will of the trinity.  The Son obeys the Fathers will and seeks to bring glory to the Father.  The Spirit is subordinate to the Son and the Father.  He glorifies the Son and enables us. This is not to say that He is literally a child of the Father.  He was not brought forth out of the essence of God as a lower god.  Jesus fulfills the role of the Son.  He is eternally the Son. 

Church · Theology · Uncategorized

Joel Osteen, “WHERE’S THE GOSPEL?”

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

jo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of us are old enough to remember the funny Wendy’s commercial with the, “where’s the beef?” lady.

 

Just like how most fast food chains can leave you unsatisfied and wondering just, “Where is, the beef?”  The prosperity gospel and life enhancement version of Christianity leaves people unsatisfied and lacking the appropriate knowledge.  They are spiritually malnutritioned and existing as the walking dead.  They drone on through life never getting it.  One can only wonder how long people will continue to pay this man to hear his silky smooth distracting messages delivered through his 10,000 watt smile.

Many folks get angry when you mention any wrong doing of Joel and his ilk.  I have been surprised at how many Christian brothers and sisters have gotten down right perturbed at me for besmirching their golden cow.  Joel is not any better than any of us.  He certainly is not educated and rooted in the word, like many genuine theologians and Pastors.  Joel is firmly in the, “Word of Faith” movement.  He teaches that your words have power and if you have faith when you speak you can declare prosperity for yourself and God will provide it.  How messed up is that?  “Say, I think I’ll twist the arm of the sovereign Creator of everything into giving me a better house and car with my, “less than a mustard seed of faith.”  It is men like him who give good unsung Pastors a bad name.

Think about all of the times you have listened to him on television or the books of his you have read.  Can you recall anything that he has done that looks anything like, “You were once a vile sinner.  You were under the condemnation of sin.  You were going to be cast into Hell for eternity, but you repented of your sins and believed in the atoning work of Christ Jesus on the cross.  He paid the price of your sin debt.  He satisfied the justice of God through His propitiation.  Now go and be holy for God is holy.”

Joel isn’t a Pastor, he is a self-help guru with a Christianesque guile.  He is the burger with fillers and washed in ammonia.  He is not the real deal.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying he is not saved.  I don’t know that.  I am saying he isn’t qualified to be a Preacher of God’s word.  He is not a Preacher of the gospel.  He has this humungous platform to do something really great for the kingdom of God, but instead he backs away from boldly proclaiming the gospel and preaching the word.  Why is that?  What sort of Preacher does that?  I haven’t even really addressed his teachings here.  That wasn’t my goal for today.  I simply wanted to draw attention to the lack of good, God centered, gospel proclaiming, life giving, preaching of God’s word.  Now I declare, go read your Bible Joel and repent.  Use that television platform, and mega-church for the right use.

If you love Joel ask him to preach the gospel every Sunday.  Ask him for clear and correct teaching instead of the prosperity life enhancement fluff.  Who knows, maybe he’ll listen.

 

Apologetics · Church · marriage · Theology

United Methodist Church Violates Clear Biblical Truth!

Bob Snyder1 Comment

Frank Schaefer, right, speaks with Rev. Nancy Taylor, left, before a ceremony where Schaefer received an Open Door Award for his public advocacy, June 14, 2014.

Today the United Methodist Church “refrocked” the previously defrocked Pastor Frank Schaefer of Lebanon, Pa.  In 2007 he performed a marriage ceremony between his own son and his son’s homosexual partner in sin.  This action caused the United Methodist Church to revoke his ordination.  They didn’t do this for the right reasons though.  They did it because he violated a rule of the United Methodist Church instead of the fact that he violated and did violence to the word of God.

It was the work of a nine person appeals panel that reversed the decision.  Part of his ordination was vowing to uphold the United Methodists Book of Discipline.  When he performed the ceremony, he violated that vow, and that is why he was defrocked.  I would think the Bible trumps any denominational dogma, but who am I?  This kind of blatant disregard for Biblical truth and authority is shocking to those of us in the faith, but to the goats in the churches and the secular world they are pleased to hear Pastors say what Schaefer said, “Today’s decision by the committee is a hopeful sign for our LGBTQ community. They recognized that I was wrongfully punished for standing with those who are discriminated against.”  You see, to them this validates their position.  The more support they can garner from professing Christians just serves to prop up their platform built on sin and secularism.

We have the simple and easily comprehendible words of God in the Bible.  Therein He tells us that homosexuality is a sin, it is an abomination.  Don’t get me wrong, lying lips are also an abomination and warrant a person being sent to Hell for eternal torment.  We are no better than a homosexual person.  The problem is that people are lying to themselves and others when they say that homosexuality isn’t a sin.  How can a person truly repent of something when they believe it is good?  We know that to be saved and born again a person must repent and put their faith in Jesus.  Why would a person do this if they believe there is nothing wrong with them?  In this world of, “Barney Theology” where I love you and you love me everyone expects us to be a happy family, but this can never be done at the expense of Biblical truth.

Photo by Josh Reynolds/AP

Apologetics · Theology

Joseph Smith fixes the Bible and Mormons believe this guy?

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

100301sick_hat_joseph_smith

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey kids! Me again, did you know that Joseph Smith, the false prophet who founded Mormonism, fixed the Bible for us to?  Don’t be surprised if you hadn’t heard.  It is a little publicized thing.  They like to say that they use the King James Version, but they don’t really believe it is accurate.  “8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.”

For not having the internet to look up Hebrew sources, for having to rely on hand copied manuscripts in the original languages and for not having discovered as many ancient manuscripts the old KJV translators did a pretty good job.  I wonder what happened to Joe Smith’s translation?  Well, I think we know.  By this time he had already gone on paper and proclaimed many false prophecies and new doctrines and once you’ve done that without studying the Bible you have to go back and change one or the other.  Can you guess which one he chose to change?  I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with heretic, oh you caught me it doesn’t rhyme with heretic.  That’s right he changed the Bible!  What audacity!  Hadn’t he heard of the Septuagint?  Hadn’t he heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls?  Nope, the Dead Sea Scrolls weren’t dug up until the middle part of the last century, and apparently he didn’t even bother looking at the Septuagint, which was the Bible for the true Church as early as the 3rd century B.C.  The books we have in the Old Covenant were compiled and translated from Hebrew into Koine Greek, then later as the progressive revelation continued, the other books were added.  So this is the Bible the Church used and the Apostles quoted, but it wasn’t good enough for Joseph Smith!  Nope, he had to support all of his heresy.

So today I thought we would take a look at just a few differences in the Book of Genesis.  We will also look at the consequences.

Genesis 1:1 JST “And it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven and this earth; write the words which I speak.”

Genesis 1:1 NASB “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Hebrew Genesis 1:1 “בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃” or bə-rê-šîṯ (In the beginning) bā-rā (created) ’ĕ-lō-hîm; (God) ’êṯ  haš-šā-ma-yim (the heavens) wə-’êṯ (and) hā-’ā-reṣ. (the earth)

And finally the KJV that J.S. didn’t think supported his false prophecies and doctrines enough so he just changed it to make it fit better.

Genesis 1:1 KJV “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Can you see a difference yet?  Pretty obvious he didn’t use any manuscripts to translate from.  Matter of fact he didn’t even claim that he did.  Nope, he just studied the Bible and changed it the way he claimed it was revealed to him to change.  You read correctly, he used personal revelation as his means for rewriting the GOD’S WORD.  Remember, the Mormons claim the Bible is not translated correctly and that is why they can just disregard it when it doesn’t support their doctrine.   I would compare the first verse to the other translations, but there is no need to.  It doesn’t match at all.  Let’s see if it gets any better in the next few verses.

JST Genesis 1:2-8

“2 I am the Beginning and the End; the Almighty God. By mine Only Begotten I created these things.

 

3 Yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.

 

4 And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep.

 

5 And my Spirit moved upon the face of the waters, for I am God.

 

6 And I, God, said, Let there be light, and there was light.

 

7 And I, God, saw the light, and that light was good. And I, God, divided the light from the darkness.

 

8 And I, God, called the light day, and the darkness I called night. And this I did by the word of my power; and it was done as I spake. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

And now the NASB

2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

And the Hebrew,

וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְהֹ֑ום וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

Str Translit Hebrew English Morph
776 [e] wə-hā-’ā-reṣ, וְהָאָ֗רֶץ And the earth Noun
1961 [e] hā-yə-ṯāh הָיְתָ֥ה was Verb
8414 [e] ṯō-hū תֹ֙הוּ֙ without form Noun
922 [e] wā-ḇō-hū, וָבֹ֔הוּ and void Noun
2822 [e] wə-ḥō-šeḵ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ and darkness Noun
5921 [e] ‘al- עַל־ [was] on Prep
6440 [e] pə-nê פְּנֵ֣י the face Noun
8415 [e] ṯə-hō-wm; תְה֑וֹם of the deep Noun
7307 [e] wə-rū-aḥ וְר֣וּחַ And the Spirit Noun
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm, אֱלֹהִ֔ים of God Noun
7363 [e] mə-ra-ḥe-p̄eṯ מְרַחֶ֖פֶת moved Verb
5921 [e] ‘al- עַל־ on Prep
6440 [e] pə-nê פְּנֵ֥י the face Noun
4325 [e] ham-mā-yim. הַמָּֽיִם׃ of the waters Noun

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י אֹ֑ור וַֽיְהִי־אֹֽור׃

559 [e] way-yō-mer וַיֹּ֥אמֶר And said Verb
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm אֱלֹהִ֖ים God Noun
1961 [e] yə-hî יְהִ֣י Let there be Verb
216 [e] ’ō-wr; א֑וֹר light Noun
1961 [e] way-hî- וַֽיְהִי־ and there was Verb
216 [e] ’ō-wr. אֽוֹר׃ light Noun

וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאֹ֖ור כִּי־טֹ֑וב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֔ים בֵּ֥ין הָאֹ֖ור וּבֵ֥ין הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃

7200 [e] way-yar וַיַּ֧רְא and saw Verb
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm אֱלֹהִ֛ים God Noun
853 [e] ’eṯ- אֶת־ – Acc
216 [e] hā-’ō-wr הָא֖וֹר the light Noun
3588 [e] kî- כִּי־ that Conj
2896 [e] ṭō-wḇ; ט֑וֹב [it was] good Adj
914 [e] way-yaḇ-dêl וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל and divided Verb
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm, אֱלֹהִ֔ים God Noun
996 [e] bên בֵּ֥ין a space between Prep
216 [e] hā-’ō-wr הָא֖וֹר the light Noun
996 [e] ū-ḇên וּבֵ֥ין and between Prep
2822 [e] ha-ḥō-šeḵ. הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ the darkness Noun

וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לָאֹור֙ יֹ֔ום וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא לָ֑יְלָה וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר יֹ֥ום אֶחָֽד׃ פ

7121 [e] way-yiq-rā וַיִּקְרָ֨א And called Verb
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ God Noun
216 [e] lā-’ō-wr לָאוֹר֙ the light Noun
3117 [e] yō-wm, י֔וֹם Day Noun
2822 [e] wə-la-ḥō-šeḵ וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ and the darkness Noun
7121 [e] qā-rā קָ֣רָא he called Verb
3915 [e] lā-yə-lāh; לָ֑יְלָה Night Noun
1961 [e] way-hî- וַֽיְהִי־ And were Verb
6153 [e] ‘e-reḇ עֶ֥רֶב the evening Noun
1961 [e] way-hî- וַֽיְהִי־ and Verb
1242 [e] ḇō-qer בֹ֖קֶר the morning Noun
3117 [e] yō-wm י֥וֹם day Noun
259 [e] ’e-ḥāḏ. אֶחָֽד׃ the first Adj
p̄ פ –

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּתֹ֣וךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃

559 [e] way-yō-mer וַיֹּ֣אמֶר And said Verb
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm, אֱלֹהִ֔ים God Noun
1961 [e] yə-hî יְהִ֥י Let there be Verb
7549 [e] rā-qî-a‘ רָקִ֖יעַ a firmament Noun
8432 [e] bə-ṯō-wḵ בְּת֣וֹךְ in the midst Noun
4325 [e] ham-mā-yim; הַמָּ֑יִם of the waters Noun
1961 [e] wî-hî וִיהִ֣י let Verb
914 [e] maḇ-dîl, מַבְדִּ֔יל it divide Verb
996 [e] bên בֵּ֥ין a space between Prep
4325 [e] ma-yim מַ֖יִם the waters Noun
4325 [e] lā-mā-yim. לָמָֽיִם׃ from the waters Noun

וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־הָרָקִיעַ֒ וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל בֵּ֤ין הַמַּ֙יִם֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ מִתַּ֣חַת לָרָקִ֔יעַ וּבֵ֣ין הַמַּ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֖ר מֵעַ֣ל לָרָקִ֑יעַ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃

6213 [e] way-ya-‘aś וַיַּ֣עַשׂ And made Verb
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm אֱלֹהִים֮ God Noun
853 [e] ’eṯ- אֶת־ – Acc
7549 [e] hā-rā-qî-a‘ הָרָקִיעַ֒ the firmament Noun
914 [e] way-yaḇ-dêl, וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל and divided Verb
996 [e] bên בֵּ֤ין a space between Prep
4325 [e] ham-ma-yim הַמַּ֙יִם֙ the waters Noun
834 [e] ’ă-šer אֲשֶׁר֙ which Prt
8478 [e] mit-ta-ḥaṯ מִתַּ֣חַת [were] under Noun
7549 [e] lā-rā-qî-a‘, לָרָקִ֔יעַ the firmament Noun
996 [e] ū-ḇên וּבֵ֣ין and from Prep
4325 [e] ham-ma-yim, הַמַּ֔יִם the waters Noun
834 [e] ’ă-šer אֲשֶׁ֖ר which Prt
5921 [e] mê-‘al מֵעַ֣ל [were] above Prep
7549 [e] lā-rā-qî-a‘; לָרָקִ֑יעַ the firmament Noun
1961 [e] way-hî- וַֽיְהִי־ and it was Verb
3651 [e] ḵên. כֵֽן׃ so Adj

וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים לָֽרָקִ֖יעַ שָׁמָ֑יִם וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר יֹ֥ום שֵׁנִֽי׃ פ

7121 [e] way-yiq-rā וַיִּקְרָ֧א And called Verb
430 [e] ’ĕ-lō-hîm אֱלֹהִ֛ים God Noun
7549 [e] lā-rā-qî-a‘ לָֽרָקִ֖יעַ the firmament Noun
8064 [e] šā-mā-yim; שָׁמָ֑יִם Heaven Noun
1961 [e] way-hî- וַֽיְהִי־ And were Verb
6153 [e] ‘e-reḇ עֶ֥רֶב the evening Noun
1961 [e] way-hî- וַֽיְהִי־ and Verb
1242 [e] ḇō-qer בֹ֖קֶר the morning Noun
3117 [e] yō-wm י֥וֹם day Noun
8145 [e] šê-nî. שֵׁנִֽי׃ the second Noun
p̄ פ –

 

And now the KJV

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The First Day: Light

3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The Second Day: Firmament

6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

So as you can see, he didn’t even care about staying true to what was originally delivered to us as the very Word of God.  He did violence to the word just like the enemy of God that he was.  If he was a true prophet of God his work would have been the same as the other works, but it isn’t.  These works, except the KJV predate the time when Joseph Smith says the apostasy happened.  Remember, the Mormons claim that after the death of the last Apostle the Church fell into complete apostasy, never mind all of the Christians who maintained their faith all over the world in the face of persecution and martyrdom.  He either didn’t know that these texts were out there or predated his claims that the Church was apostate or he didn’t care.  I think, he didn’t know.

So in verse 2 he lies and says that God said, “I am the Beginning and the End; the Almighty God. By mine Only Begotten I created these things.”  You might ask yourself, “What is so wrong with that?” Well you’d have to understand Mormonism a little bit to get why he did this.  You see Mormons believe that God the Father actually has a flesh and blood body and he is married to a Mother Goddess, who through copulation with him produced many offspring.  Two of them would be the Mormon Jesus and his brother Satan.  When he says, “by my only begotten I created these things.”  He means that Jesus reformed matter that was already in existence.  He shaped into what he wanted to make.  If you notice J.S. rewrote Genesis to make it look like God was saying all these things directly to Moses.  This is to support their book of Moses which is completely fiction.

It really starts to get weird in chapter three.  There we see Satan and Jesus arguing over who gets to redeem mankind and protect his free agency?  I’m not making this garbage up.  You can read it for yourselves;

Genesis CHAPTER 3 JST

Rebellion of Satan — Man’s agency, temptation and fall.

1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying, That Satan whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning;

2 And he came before me, saying, Behold I, send me, I will be thy Son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor.

3 But behold, my beloved Son, which was my beloved and chosen from the beginning, said unto me: Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

4 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him; and also that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten I caused that he should be cast down; and he became Satan.

5 Yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive, and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.

6 And now, the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, which I, the Lord God, had made.

7 And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, for he had drawn away many after him; and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God; wherefore, he sought to destroy the world.

I know, right!?  What the what!?  Here is the real word of God;

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'” 4The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

There are so many changes it is hard to know where to start.  If I had more ambition I’d attack his abuse of the book of Isaiah.  Comparing it to the entire book of Isaiah recovered from the Dead Sea Scrolls would be fun, but lots of work.  For now, I will leave you with this to ponder, why would a true prophet of God make so many false prophecies and contradict the Bible so often he would have to write his own to support it?  Why would you want to believe that God was once a man who through Mormonism became an exalted man then eventually a god who only re-ordered matter to make things?  Why would you not worship the one true God who has never been made because he always existed?  He was never a sinful man like the Mormon god once was.  The true God made everything from nothing.  He transcends all other things.  The Mormon god is subject to the gods that sired him and they are subject to the ones who sired them and so on and on back eternally.  Does that sound like the one true God, worthy of worship to you?

Theology

Faith doesn’t compel God to act on our behalf the way prosperity/health/wealth false teachers say it does.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Faith doesn’t compel God to act on our behalf the way prosperity/health/wealth false teachers say it does. Our words are NOT containers of power. Our prayers do not make God do things for us, no not even when we add, “In Jesus name.” to the end. Faith is the belief that God will do what He has said. Faith is the belief that He is who He says He is. Here is a section of scripture that is always violently twisted by the false teachers. I want you to notice something. The centurion didn’t make Jesus heal his servant. He came asking humbly for his servant to be healed. Jesus, being God decreed that it is so, and it was. The servant was healed because Jesus did it in accordance to His own will. He wanted to heal the servant. He demonstrated the love, mercy, and sovereignty of God in this healing. The lesson is to come to Jesus humbly and ask, believing that He is God and if it is “HIS” will it will be done. Then when He says it is so, we demonstrate great faith by believing Him. Do you want to hear Him tell you things? Read the Bible. Don’t wait for a, “word” or, “a still small voice.” Open your Bible and study it. Read His words and believe them. Live your life as if you do believe them. That is great faith.
Matthew 8:5-13 NASB And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, (6) and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” (7) Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” (8) But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. (9) “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” (10) Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. (11) “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; (12) but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (13) And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

Apologetics · Church · Theology

Two Types of Faith.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Alexandre_Bida_Jesus_and_Peter_on_the_water_700There are two types of faith. One type of faith is willingness to believe in something, which isn’t proved, or a hope in something that may be. Then there is a saving faith, which is granted by God to those who He has elected, and predestined.
The first type you might have had in a person. For instance, perhaps they told you that they would do something for you, and you believe that they will. Then you act on that faith in hopes that they will fulfill their promise to you. Some people have that type of faith in God, in a general sense. They believe there is a God, and they hope He is merciful. They might even believe He is merciful. They might even believe they are saved. Have you talked with someone who has many heretical beliefs, bad fruit, and still insists that they are a Christian? I’m sure you probably have. This person doesn’t have the second type of faith.
The second type of faith is the saving kind. It isn’t something we can come to without God. It must be granted to the person by God. You can want to believe, but without God granting it, you could never have it. Have you ever been talking with someone, sharing the gospel with them, and had them say, “Wow! That really sounds like a great gift, I just can’t believe in a God that would_______.” They can understand the gospel intellectually, they might even like it as a philosophy, but they just can’t believe it.
The second type of faith, when God grants it to a person, allows them to believe in Him rightly. It allows them to believe in the work of Jesus on the cross. Without it the cross is just another mythology. The true believer has the faith to do things that doesn’t make sense to the world. We have the faith to put into practice the doctrines of the Bible. God fulfills His promises and makes effectual that which He has willed. The believer will produce fruit in keeping with the spirit of salvation. The believer will persevere until the end. The believer will operate with the presupposition that the Bible is true. The believer will love Jesus. The believer will love others. You get the idea. They don’t do the things they do because they want to believe, they do them because they actually believe. This is a gift from God. It is coupled with true repentance when a person is justified by Christ.

Apologetics · Theology

Climate Change, the new approach.

Bob Snyder2 Comments
It is God's planet and He will destroy it when He wants.
It is God’s planet and He will destroy it when He wants.

Climate change was called, “global warming” back before everything started to freeze up again. When I was a kid in the 80’s we were taught that we were headed into another ice age, because of the hole in the ozone layer. Fear mongering is a tool of the enemy. The only good fear is the healthy fear of the Lord, because the Bible calls it the beginning of wisdom.

For many of us with a Christian worldview we don’t fear climate change. We know that God will destroy the planet according to His word like it says in Revelation. For those of you who don’t read your Bibles enough I didn’t make a typo when I wrote, “Revelation.” There is no, “s” on the end of that book title. If you don’t believe me, get your Bibles out and check, I’ll wait right here. OK now that is settled let’s move on. If the Bible is true then we don’t have to be fearful. God has sovereignly ordained the end of our home planet. He will destroy it. Here read this, Revelation 21:1-2 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Now our secular friends on the other hand have much to be afraid of including their own shadows and wet noodles. We need to understand that what is going on is the result of original sin. The curse of the fall puts us in a world destined to die away. We are not causing the temperature to change. God is causing it. Even if we were the mechanism of climate change, ultimately it would be the Sovereign of all things ordaining it to happen. After God had destroyed the Earth the first time with water He told this to Noah, ““While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22”

Many people have made the environment into an idol. It’s pretty darn arrogant and egotistical to think that we are going to destroy what God made. We might have the means, but what right do we have to try it? These people are being used by other more powerful people who seek to capitalize on climate change. Carbon offset credits will be a new global currency that will be used to cause worldwide oppression under the guise of creating a homeostasis in the qualities of living across the globe. People who aren’t developed or educated will receive credits to remain that way. While wealthy, industrialized nations will pay the guilt away.

They will use the useful idiots as Lenin called them, to sway the secular minded masses into voting for oppression. They will vote our rights away. The enemy will win without firing a shot. This is all because of Biblical ignorance. If people ultimately knew what the Bible said, they wouldn’t fall prey to these schemes, but hey! That is exactly why the left has orchestrated Biblical ignorance and this false separation of Church and state. When the populace is a slave to sin they will be mastered by masters of sinning. We need to be mastered by the Master of righteousness.

Climate change is just another tactic being used by the enemy to gain control over us. Oppression often comes gift-wrapped and it is just as often warmly received. We just need to look further back in the past than our own childhoods. Trust God for your salvation, life, and future, whatever He has in store for you, even if it is martyrdom. Unlike Joel Osteen we know our best life isn’t now. So until next time, speak in truth, be the salt and light, in a bland dreary world.