Everyone is entitled to MY own opinion
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
Josephus says, the word “jobel” or “jubilee” signifies “liberty”: unto all the inhabitants thereof;
Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.
There is, however, an immense preponderance of authority in favor of another reading, which gives the passive participle of the verb translated “trouble” in Mark 5:35, Luke 7:6, and meaning literally “flayed,” and thence figuratively “tormented, worried, vexed.” They were not merely as sheep that have grown weary and faint, hungry, looking up and yet not fed, but were as those that have been harassed by the wolf—the prey of thieves and robbers.
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
In our pluralistic society today we have created a God in our own image, after our own likeness and put forth the doctrine that God is love and only love and would thus never punish sin but the truth is that God will judge all who have never repented.
The wrath of God still abides on all who have not yet believed and to believe means to be obeying and doing what God commanded.
Regardless of what the Supreme Court has ruled God overrules.
Revelations 3:10
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The word “nation” in Greek is ethnos (eth’-nos). It means race, or tribe.
Because Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom involved in civil war becomes a wasteland, and a house torn apart by divisions will collapse.
Three times in scripture, Jesus speaks about wars and such and what things must happen before He calls God’s children home. This morning, though, a particular phrase stuck in my head and it appears three times: nation shall rise against nation. Mat. 24:7, Mark 13:8, and Luke 21:10 all say the same exact thing = For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Focus on the words “nation” and “kingdom.”
The word “nation” in Greek is ethnos (eth’-nos). It means race, or tribe. This scripture has been read for years and described by many pulpiteers as the conflicts between the USA and Russia, or USA and China, or USA and Iran/Iraq or any other combination of other land masses (nations) against other land masses (nations).
Jesus did speak of wars and rumor of wars which would be between land masses (nations). But this part, “…nation shall rise against nation…” specifically means that races (people of EVERY color, EVERY skin tone) will begin to start coming against one another and tearing each other down.
Jesus knows today, just as He did when He walked this earth, that nations (land masses) would have different “ethnos” (nations, races) on every one of them. If you read this any other way and claim I am racist, then you better look into my life. I have a “mixed” stepson with 3 different “ethnos” in his blood.
I am trying to bring clarification to something: “ethnos” is destroying our cities, our states, and our nation. If you are saved, your are not a “white” Christian, nor a “black” Christian, nor a “brown” Christian, and on and on. You are a CHRISTIAN. But, even when surveys are taken, no matter the subject, the surveyor breaks down the main topic into “FOR AND AGAINST” (example) but then goes on to break it down into “ethnos” voted this way, “age” voted this way, etc.
Christ then says, “…kingdom against kingdom…” In Greek the word is basileia (bas-il-i’-ah). This means royalty, rulers, and realms. Can we not see with our eyes that we have not only been divided by nation (ethnos – race) but also broken into financial classes. There is the upper – upper class. Upper class. Upper-middle. Middle. Upper-lower. Lower. And what is crazy each “kingdom” (class) only votes for those who will do their “kingdom” (class) any good.
Every political speech is filled with “kingdom issues” (ex = I will work for the middle class and blah blah blah. (insert whatever class)). Politicians also use words such as, “I will work for this “ethnos” and that “ethnos.” No wonder America is falling apart. BOTH PARTIES are chocked full of liars but yet we still allow them to speak to our “ethnos and basileia” (race and class) instead of speaking to us as humans, as equals, as children created by an amazing God.
Christ spoke to all and never gave a “speech” where race or class was involved. He spoke to all. He died for all. He intercedes for all. His blood covers all. His stripes heal all. He saves all. He delivers all. HE LOVES ALL.
In closing, HE said this also, in Luke 11:17 = EVERY kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house against a house falls. BUT, even, notice the next verse, 18, = If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand..?” It’s amazing that Satan is smart enough to realize the power of unity. He gets it but there are some of us in America who don’t.
Let’s quit being “ethnos” (colors), quit being “basileia” (classes), quit being denominations, quit being religious. The enemy loves when we are divided. Psalms 133:1-3 = How beautiful and how pleasant it is for brethren (all colors, all classes) to dwell together in unity. It is like precious ointment…for there (unity) the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
“Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness.”
Deviseth mischiefs – Lies and slanders proceeding from the tongue argue the desperate wickedness of the heart.
Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully – Which instead of taking off the beard, cuts and wounds the flesh; or as the operator who, when pretending to trim the beard, cuts the throat.
Seems to describe the media pretty well.
How amazing is this? Mere coincidence? Hardly! Everything in creation declares God’s wonders, awesomeness, beauty, wisdom, and plan.
“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’
Says the Lord,
‘Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.’”
(Isaiah 1:18)
What an amazing promise and offer from God! No matter how foul and filthy we are and how horribly we have sinned, God is willing to forgive, forget, and wipe our slate clean! What kind of love is this? What kind of mercy? He even bids us come and reason with Him. What a reflection of the patience and compassion of God.
I looked up the meanings of the words for crimson and scarlet. Believe it or not, the Hebrew definitions are pretty much the same, and they are not so much about the colors scarlet and crimson as they are about worms. Worms?
What do worms have to do with being cleansed by God? If we take a closer look at the meanings from which the names of these colors –– both deep red like blood –– are derived, we see that they come from the worm or grub from which scarlet and crimson dyes were obtained during biblical times. This particular type of worm, the coccus illicis, would climb onto a tree, or wooden post, attach itself to the wood in a way that it could never be removed, and there give birth to its young. Right after she gave birth, the mother would die and secrete the crimson or scarlet fluid from her body which would then stain the wood. As she gave birth, her body would also form a protective covering over her young, and they would feed on her body to sustain them with nourishment and give them life. Once they were able, the larvae came out from under her body, and from the tree which was now stained crimson from her dying blood, her body would turn into a powder which would then fall like snow from the tree.
“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?”
(Job 12:7-10)
How amazing is this? Mere coincidence? Hardly! Everything in creation declares God’s wonders, awesomeness, beauty, wisdom, and plan. One thousand years before Jesus laid down His life, was crucified on the cross to shed His blood to cleanse and forgive us, and to give us new life, this is what King David prophesied of the coming Messiah:
“But I am a worm and not a man,
A reproach of men and despised by the people.
All who see me sneer at me;
They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
‘Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.’
Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
Upon You I was cast from birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.”
(Psalm 22:6-18)
By the way, the word illicis in the Latin name for this worm means “finished.” When Jesus bore our sins on the tree, He said, “It is finished.”
Coincidence? Hardly! Jesus, the King of all creation, became that worm so that we could become His sons and daughters and live with Him forever. He didn’t just take on or cover our sin, but He actually became our sin so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him, the just for the unjust, the godly for the ungodly. And He gave us a picture of what He would do and did for us in this lowly coccus illicis worm.
If you had a Bible, and somehow all the pages or verses got ripped out except for one or two, these few verses could sum up the gospel in a nutshell, just like that grub sums up the gospel in a worm. If it’s all you had, this would pretty much explain the amazing love and mercy of our God and Jesus who came to give His life and shed His blood to make us clean and new:
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
(Titus 3:3-7)
Comforting lies are never as beneficial as loving truth.
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The most enticing aspect of sin is the promise of freedom. Even from the first temptation, in the garden of Eden, man has assumed that defying God is a way to control his own destiny. In fact, the opposite is true. Nothing enslaves like sin—it corrupts our thinking, controls our actions, and destroys our peace. Worst of all, it separates us from God (Ephesians 2:12) and condemns us to an eternity of loneliness and shame (Matthew 8:12). Jesus, on the other hand, represents the truth—that is, Himself. This is theme Christ will return to often in His teaching (John 14:6; John 8:12). No other claims are true, and nothing but truth can really free us.
Comforting lies are never as beneficial as loving truth. Even when the truth is not what we want to hear, we can’t expect to make good decisions or correct choices when we’re operating under the control of a lie.
Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
This verse continues the crowd’s angry reaction to Jesus’ claims. After seeking Him out in Capernaum, the crowd who witnessed Jesus’ miraculous feeding the day before has been spiritually challenged. Jesus pointed out that their real interest was in more free food, not truth.