I have been getting a ration of crap lately from a few people asking me why I blog and why I select the topics that I do. As for blogging, blame Hugh Hewitt’s book, Blog.
My answer to why is simple; I blog for me. When I pick a topic, it’s usually for one of the following reasons.
1. I want to research something and keep the information somewhere that I can access it on the fly. I might blog on a computer issue, how I did a home repair, or some issue that caught my attention.
Example: when I went to my wife’s grave a few days ago, I entered one word in the blog search engine and got my last post about my wife. I sat next to her grave and read my post, pausing to wipe my nose several times as I cried.
2. I want to express my feelings about something that I am experiencing. This blog is a personal blog. I am not trying to earn fame or money from the things that I post. I make it a habit not to name names or give out hordes of personally identifiable information. It seems that lots of folks assume that I take them to task by name, but this is not true. I will occasionally mention my relationship to someone but never their name. Often, it’s as vague as “I know a person who did …”
I occasionally blog about kids and relationships. I make it my practice to only use the names of public people or folks in the news. The only exception is an obituary on my wife that was copied from another source and reposted on the blog.
3. I want to opine about current events. I reserve the right to call people out when I think they are hypocrites or say dumb things. For example, if you claim to be a follower of Christ and defend abortion, transgender folks, or other things contrary to Scripture, I may occasionally say something about you. This includes the Roman Pontiff, a current U.S. Senate candidate in Texas, or someone married to a local church Elder. My solution is to practice what you claim to believe and get a pass from me. I will not fire the first shot but will be happy to return fire if the mood strikes me.
4. I do allow other folks to submit things that they write for publication on the blog. I will even allow stuff to be posted here that I don’t agree with. Occasionally, I have sought out folks that gripe about something that was posted here, but nobody to whom I have offered a chance for rebuttal has been willing to submit a contrary opinion. I try only to edit for grammar and spelling. I don’t always get it right but think my edits improve the understandability of submitted material.
The bottom line is that if you don’t like discussions about religion, politics, or my life then stay away from this blog. If you wish to avoid being mentioned on the blog, try treating me as a fellow image bearer of God, judge me with the same measure that you judge yourself, and if you have an offense against me work it out. As a rule, I don’t hold grudges against people that treat me poorly; however, if you treat others poorly, I reserve the right to call you out on it, perhaps mercilessly.
As I told someone recently, get the beam out your eye first and then we can take a look at mine. I am having way more fun right now blogging on religion than other issues. Lately, if I’m having to take time out to go after you, then you must really be trying to get on my bad side, because I’m not looking for an excuse to take a whack at anyone. I would much rather live in peace with most folks.
I went to the once golden state to attempt to accomplish a few things.
Sadly, a few didn’t materialize. I didn’t visit or have any contact with a person mentioned elsewhere on the blog and the blog staff meeting fell through due to some family issues on their part.
On the plus side, I did get to spend two wonderful days with my father-in-law. He’s a great guy. I also got to pay my respects to my departed wife. It’s a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of her death. While I was in Elk Grove, I visited my wife’s grave and left her a dozen red roses. I read an account of her life which was previously posted on the blog.
Upon reading the post, I did agree to a recommendation previously given to me, to remove a jab at someone that I poked in the narrative. Once I got back to the place where I am staying, the criticism of the individual was removed but their contribution, which was praised, remains in the narrative.
One observation was the high cost of everything under the domain of Newsom. Regular gasoline was $6.25 at a Shell station in Livermore, California. The cost of drive-through food was markedly higher than freedom loving Idaho. Menu choices were fewer as well.
The frogs in the pot of water might grumble a bit but they are generally happy as the water hits boiling. Generally, people think the “other guy” is getting hurt worse than they are. It seems weird traveling through a world built on the pillars of envy and disposability. Seeing masses of people thinking a dystopian world is normal is surreal.
I accomplished another goal; namely, I got my girl the long-promised diamond ring. I was hoping she would want a ruby engagement ring, but I did ask to verify what she expected. Good thing that I did. On the other hand, she already received a gold ruby ring from me last year. Now I just need to pay a few bills and then plan a return trip. Oh, said return trip, if I buy the ticket now, has a $550 fuel surcharge on top of the regular rate for airfare. I might save money if I wait to buy a ticket.
I had an ambitious schedule for this trip and accomplished many objectives. Tomorrow, I need to make a purchase at Ikea and then have another lunch opportunity with a groomsman from my wedding. Once these events are completed, I’m ready to return to north Idaho. I miss my puppy.
I’ve been going to a Bible study on Thursday nights that is sponsored by the church that I am currently attending. The study is completely unmoored from the normal restraints of context, historical relevance, and using the Bible to interpret the Bible. The result is often fantastical and disjointed.
Amos is the third minor prophet that we have been reading since I started attending. Last Thursday, for the first time, the leader actually had done a bit of research on the book and its historical fulfillment. Even after reading the notes related to our reading—chapter one—many in the group were unconvinced that any of it had been fulfilled between the time Amos made the pronouncements of impending judgment and the time of Christ. They kept demanding that Amos must really be about the “end times” and couldn’t possibly be history. Some also invoke the idea of double or triple fulfillment which to me renders the text no better than the ravings of Nostradamus.
Folks, if I could ban three words during the study, most participants would be mute. Those three words are “rapture”, “end”, “times”. Many people say that the Bible is all about Jesus, but this group believes that church is just a cute bus stop while we wait with oil in our lamps for the Rapture while doing nothing in the meantime, so we don’t miss His Return. In their minds, the church has nothing else to do. Somehow that whole “discipling the nations” thing is for another era—probably a future one.
This Israel is not that Israel
I hear a lot about Israel and how all those nations mad at Benjamin Netanyahu will get punished by God because to disparage the modern nation of Israel is to attack God’s People.
Benjamin Netanyahu
If you point out that the modern nation of Israel is not the one in the Bible and that the current nation calling itself “Israel” is not based on the teaching of Moses, you get crickets. It doesn’t matter because we just have to be living in the “end times.”
If you dare to point out that only the followers of Jesus are part of the true Israel, they look at you like you have a third eye or rebuke the comment in the name of Jesus. Just because that is what the New Testament teaches matters not because Scofield doesn’t agree.
All of these abuses by Israel have happened in the last week as most people are looking only at the war with Iran. I guess other guys don’t let a good crisis go to waste either.
Folks, my California editorial staff is correct that nothing will change for the better in this country as long as the Baby Boom generation is running the show. The so-called adults running this place are broken as are lots of their offspring.
Judgment begins on Us not the Pagans
The other theme that people in the group keep saying is that God will Rapture us out of this world and then punish the wicked. My gentle contribution for the last two weeks is this, the Bible says judgment begins with the house of the Lord. 1 Peter 4:17.
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Judgment does not begin after the Rapture, or on the heathen, but on the Church. This concept does not compute in this group. It has no pigeonhole in their theological system. It seems to be a good wedge to drive into Scofield’s theological system. Hopefully it will take root and expand the understanding of some in the group.
There is a still small voice in some corners of the Reformed camp saying the American and Western Church’s failures are due to unbelief. Dear Church, the Devil can only take what you have voluntarily given to him. Most of this is due to the poison of Scofield’s premillennial dispensationalism heresies. Yep, I said the “H” word. It is a lie to say Scofield’s views on eschatology are valid for Christians to hold. The more I see it up close and personal, the more I wretch when I hear it. Yes, I once believed that way but no more. God heard my prayer in the litany, “… from such as these, good Lord deliver us.”
Final Thoughts
There is sometimes a fine line between seasoning a conversation with salt and casting pearls. God is having me examine the idea that a few insurgents in this congregation can coax it towards orthodoxy. I am not alone in my views but clearly in the minority in this congregation. In the plus column, they do practice weekly Communion and at least one teaching Elder rejects the “sinner’s prayer.”
As Dr. Kenneth Gentry pointed out when commenting on this verse, the training in this verse is not that of following God but the opposite; it is the child deciding how he shall go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Thus, if a child is not taught to obey but is allowed to stay in his rebellion, when he is old then he will not depart from his wayward ways. Thus, such a child will not follow God’s Law but will be ruled by his belly. When he is old, he will decide based on his personal morality which is arbitrary and situational.
When a three-year-old behaves wrongly it might be cute or laughable but when that same three-year-old is thirty and acting the same way, it is a tragedy. It is worse when such a person has family members that make excuses for them as to why they don’t have to grow up during the intervening years.
As stated often and elsewhere on the blog, the Bible teaches that the compassion of the wicked is cruelty. Sometimes parents would rather enable the rebellious child than correct them. They make excuses and justify why Johnny doesn’t have to behave in age-appropriate ways. In our society, enabling bad behavior is often called a disability. With the right form or diagnosis, people get exempted. This pushes them off to the side and out of the way of society. They get to play the sympathy card whenever they are called out for improper behavior.
Once such rebellious children move out of the house, they still expect their family to make excuses for them. They weren’t expected to grow up when living at home so why is that different once they are living on their own.
♬ It’s All About Me ♬ It’s All About Me ♬
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind …
Leviticus 19:14.
In my own experience, it was the violation of this Biblical Law that was the straw that broke the proverbial back of the camel. My wife had fallen at work and hurt her back. She was only able to move around the house in a walker and with great difficulty. Her adult child claimed that it was too difficult to put her crap in her room and generally keep her stuff picked up. Instead, she threw stuff in the common areas of the house and didn’t care about where they went. She demanded the right to put obstacles in the pathway of her injured mother. When told of her lack of consideration, she threw a huge tantrum. She was OK with putting hazards in the way of her mother and causing her mother to trip. Which did in fact happen.
This child refused any correction and repeatedly rebuffed expectations to act in age-appropriate ways. She demanded to do only the things that she felt like doing, which was close to nothing, and be exempted from all else. Her excuse was that “it was too many rules to learn.” NO, it was common courtesy for others.
It was during this period that her mom decided that since her daughter would not abide by the rules of our household that she needed to move out. I allowed myself to be the villain in this drama. I did in fact oppose the daughter moving out but whenever it was me or the children, I always lost, even when I was right. Note to readers, it’s more important to save the marriage than be right.
Allowing the child to move out was pivotal in destroying the relationship that we once had with her. Sadly, too many years of enabling bad behavior by excusing it had created a firestorm that could no longer be contained.
Emboldened by the newfound independence that she experienced, it was not too long before the pastor of the church summoned me to Nouthetic counseling with said child. I attended several sessions with both the pastor and this child. Oh, with Nouthetic counseling please understand that it was decided ahead of time that I was in sin and had committed some grave error that only they could correct. The weird part was that never once during these sessions was I told why I was there. Neither my wife nor I ever knew. Believe me, I asked my wife more than once.
Anyway, towards the end of these sessions, I was expected to apologize for whatever I had done to said child to cause offense. Again, I was never told, it was just assumed. Folks, I gave her the most sincere and heartfelt apology that I have ever done in my life. I verbally did what the Japanese used to do in real life, I fell on the sword, disemboweled myself, and then removed my head.
In a normal reconciliation situation, once a party apologizes, the other person is expected to confess their sins as well and then having been forgiven, we turn over a new leaf and try restoring the relationship; however … not this child.
Crickets.
One thing this child will not and never has done is apologize for anything. Oh, and for the record, “I’m sorry” is not a proper or biblical apology.
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luke 15:21.
When her turn came to apologize, nothing. In her mind, she has no faults, shortcomings, or sins. She judges everything by the measure of herself, thus there is no fault. Error is only found in the rest of us for falling short of her glory.
It was the outcome of these counseling sessions that my wife and I forever lost our daughter.
Why Vent now
Oh, why am I venting on this now? Said child recently had a baby. I was hoping to offer an olive branch to her and her husband and go visit the child next week. Nieve me. I was hoping this would be a chance to begin again. However, I was informed via email last night that I am an evil influence and can’t be allowed around her child until such time as she is convinced that I have been rehabilitated and found worthy.
I fired off a response a few hours after I returned home last night. Essentially, I quoted Scripture and said take the beam out of your own eye and then we can attend to mine.
When people think their shit doesn’t stink, there’s not much you can do.
Only when you treat others as fellow image bearers of God can you hope for reconciliation. Scripture wants us to walk a few miles in the other person’s shoes and acknowledge our faults. Some people aren’t willing to do that.
Reconciliation is her choice and it always has been. She is unwilling to forgive. She would rather be angry and offended. I can only conclude that she doesn’t know what love is.
In her letter last night, she mentioned that I talk about her on the blog. I do but only because she doesn’t allow communication with her directly. Please note that I do not use the names of any of the children—all adults—on my blog.
I don’t need a relationship with her, if I had one it would enrich my life just a little but again, it’s not my choice.
Hatred of Mom
What does really grate on me is the lack of love that she showed to her mother. Her mother bent over backwards to do things for her, but all mom got in return was to be despised and discarded. Seeing my wife go through that was inexcusable. There is a verse in the Bible that talks about God saving all our tears in a bucket, if that’s really true then my wife has a whole room of tears in buckets. There were so many times that she wept bitterly over the despicable treatment that she was given by her daughter. So many sleepless nights. So many prayers to God to repair the torn relationship. Sadly, it never got better.
Mom went to her grave without properly reconciling with her daughter. It was mom’s hope and mine that maybe if her daughter became a mother that she might see how horribly she treated her mother. It’s been a year since mom died but her daughter hasn’t changed. The motherhood thing is new for her, but I doubt it will be a catalyst for the hoped change.
My wife died hoping that somehow her death would cause her children to seek God and healing for the things broken in their lives. One year later, I’m still hoping that wish would be reality.
Conclusion
Apparently, some people would rather cling to their trespasses and sin, even some that claim the name of Christ. Love is dying to yourself and putting others first. So is being a parent. Loving a child requires sacrificial love. When your child despises the sacrifices made on their behalf, it’s tragic.
I love my wife’s three children. They all need God’s healing touch but in very different ways. The truth is that we all do.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Tomorrow is when the Church commemorates Jesus’ triumphant procession into the city of Jerusalem. If you recall, a few short days later, the same crowds that welcomed him went from shouting “Hosannah” to “Crucify Him”. “We have no king but Ceasar.”
Crucify him. We have no King but Caesar.
In like manner, crowds of atheists are gathering today to proclaim that they have no king but Ceasar. The State is their god. OK, really their god is their belly, but the State is the almighty power that provided them with blessing and uses its power to curse their enemies by redistributing their wealth, cancelling them, removing their children, and debanking those that oppose the tyranny of the State.
Yes, these guys claim that they are protesting President Trump but that is not true. They hate America. They hate Christianity. They hate Western Culture. They hate themselves. And lastly and most of all, they hate God in the Heavens. They are advocates of full-throated rebellion against God. They hate anyone that worships God. They hate God’s economic system—capitalism. They hate those made in His image—think transgenderism, homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia, transhumanism, etc. They hate God’s Law—think equality under the law, capital punishment, equal weights and measures, family, loving your neighbor, secure elections, and secure borders, etc.
Oh, these anti-capitalist/anti-government rallies are funded by billionaires and foreign governments—think George Soros, China, etc. They masquerade as spontaneous gatherings, but it is a carefully crafted and coordinated campaign to subvert America. Oh, it also just happens to be their national campaign to attempt taking Congress away from the feckless Republican Party and plunging the country into witch-hunts and endless impeachment resolutions which are designed to allow the ascendancy of Communism.
So, if you happen to be driving down the street today and see the paid campaign to undermine America by folks proclaiming they have “No King” remember that is not true. They just don’t want to be ruled by God, same story since the Garden. The truth is they have No King But Caesar and anyone that dares to weaken the power of the State is their enemy.
This is blog post is the second concerning Moses, Elijah, and Scofield’s Premillennial Dispensationalism. Bases on previous notes written by Scofield, it appears that his eschatological scheme involves Moses and Elijah—yep, the same guys mentioned prominently in the Old Testament—will again walk planet earth so that they can be killed in Jerusalem; yes, the city in Palestine/Israel, the Holy Land.
Moses and Elijah
The assertion that somehow Moses and Elijah will walk the streets of Jerusalem in the midst of some future End Times Apocalypse is clearly another case of Dispensational Premillennial folks taking symbolic language literally in a wooden sort of way and making a horrible mess of their interpretation.
Here is the passage from Revelation 11 that is being discussed in this post:
2 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy ia thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Revelation 11:3–12.
As always, the Dispensational Premillennial folks start by ignoring the time markers in the New Testament texts and make everything future and thus about themselves. (Thus, such passages have been unapplicable and irrelevant for the last 2,00 years of church history. Talk about hubris.)
Below is one of the key verses in this discussion:
Verse 6 of Revelation 11 harkens back to Moses and Elijah but nowhere in the passage does it say their names directly or say they are literally returning.
6 These have the power to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Revelation 11:6
Elijah famously shut up the sky and Moses turned the Nile to blood. The symbolism harkens back to these men but in the final analysis, it remains symbolism.
Below are some comments on the subject from three different sources. I am quoting David Chilton extensively because his book is available for free as a PDF from Gary North’s old website or in printed form from American Vision which is run by Gary DeMar. Lastly, I will let Logos Software take a stab at interpreting the topic.
David Chilton
David Chilton, in his commentary on Revelation, Days of Vengeance, has some interesting things to say about the two witnesses in Revelation 11.
Chilton does not believe a literal Moses or Elijah will be showing up in chapter 11 of Revelation. The two unnamed witnesses are composite symbols that will be killed and consequently resurrected.
The fact that the Witnesses are identified as members of the Old Covenant should tell you that these guys died before the Resurrection of Christ since that is the event that inaugurated the New Testament. Almost all prophets died in Jerusalem.
People in the Premillennial Dispensational camp think all the events in Revelation are in chronological order. This is not so. This can easily be proved as Jesus’ birth is discussed in Revelation chapter 12 (see especially verses 1-6). Please note verse 5 where John goes from Jesus’ birth directly to his Ascension. Compare this verse to Psalm 2:6-9. Christ’ dead, burial, and resurrection are skipped in both passages.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Revelation 12:5.
6 Yet have I set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: The LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, And I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Psalm 2:6–9.
Psalm 2 ends with Jesus reigning on his throne in heaven while Revelation begins with Jesus on his throne in heaven.
In making his comments on the two witnesses, Chilton follows the passage quoted above with a discussion the death of John the Baptist and Jesus—both men dying during the Old Covenant period. And then the church symbolically died and raised to victory in tandem with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Thus, as the Old Covenant ends in 70 A.D., we find the Witnesses having risen to everlasting life in and through Christ.
I will quote a long passage from the book. Again, I don’t want to be accused of taking things out of context.
The two Witnesses are identified as the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. At this point the imagery becomes much more complex. St. John returns again to Zechariah’s prophecy of the lampstand (Zech. 4:1-5; cf. Rev. 1:4, 13, 20; 4:5). The seven lamps on the lampstand are connected to two olive trees (cf. Ps. 52:8; Jer. 11:16), from which flow an unceasing supply of oil, symbolizing the Holy Spirit’s filling and empowering work in the leaders of His covenant people. The meaning of the symbol is summarized in Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” The same passage in Zechariah also speaks of two Witnesses, two sons of oil (“anointed ones”), who lead God’s people: Joshua the priest and Zerubbabel the king (Zech. 3-4; cf. Ezra 3, 5-6; Hag. 1-2). In brief, then, Zechariah tells us of an olive tree/lampstand complex representing the officers of the covenant: two Witness-figures who belong to the royal house and the priesthood. The Book of Revelation freely connects all of these, speaking of two shining lampstands which are two oil-filled olive trees, which are also two Witnesses, a king and a priest-all representing the Spirit-inspired prophetic testimony of the Kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6). … That these Witnesses are members of the Old Covenant rather than the New is shown, among other indications, by their wearing of sackcloth – the dress characteristic of Old Covenant privation rather than New Covenant fullness.
5-6 St. John now speaks of the two Witnesses in terms of the two great witnesses of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah – the Law and the Prophets. If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. In Numbers 16:35, fire came down from heaven at Moses’ word and consumed the false worshipers who had rebelled against him; and, similarly, fire fell from heaven and consumed Elijah’s enemies when he spoke the word (2 Ki. 1:9-12). This becomes a standard symbol for the power of the prophetic Word, as if fire actually proceeds from the mouths of God’s Witnesses. As the Lord said to Jeremiah, “Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall consume them” (Jer. 5:14).
Extending the imagery, St. John says that the Witnesses have the power to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying, i.e., for the twelve hundred and sixty days (three and a half years)- the same duration of the drought caused by Elijah in 1 Kings 17 (see Luke 4:25; James 5:17). Like Moses (Ex. 7-13), the Witnesses have power over the waters to tum them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Both of these prophetic figures pointed beyond themselves to the Greater Prophet, Jesus Christ. The very last message of the Old Testament mentions them together in a prophecy of Christ’s Advent: “Remember the law of Moses My servant. … Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet. …” (Mal. 4:4-5). Malachi goes on to declare that Elijah’s ministry would be recapitulated in the life of John the Baptizer (Mal. 4:5-6; cf. Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13; Luke 1:15-17). But John, like Elijah, was only a Forerunner, preparing the way for One coming after him, the Firstborn, who would have a double – nay, measureless portion of the Spirit (cf. Deut. 21:17; 2 Kings 2:9; John 3:27-34). And, like Moses, John was succeeded by a Joshua, Jesus the Conqueror, who would bring the covenant people into their promised inheritance. The two Witnesses, therefore, summarize all the witnesses of the Old Covenant, culminating in the witness of John.
Days of Vengeance, p 276-278
8-10 The dead bodies of the Old Covenant Witnesses, “from righteous Abel to Zechariah” (Matt. 23:35) lie metaphorically in the street of the Great City which Spiritually [I.e., by the revelation of the Holy Spirit] is called Sodom and Egypt. This City is, of course, Jerusalem; St. John explains that it is where also their Lord was crucified (on Israel as Sodom, see Deut. 29:22-28; 32:32; Isa. 1:10, 21; 3:9; Jer. 23:14; Ezek. 16:46). …
On the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:31), He spoke with Moses and Elijah (another link with this passage), calling His coming death and resurrection in Jerusalem an “Exodus” (the Greek word is exodon). Following from all this is the language of Revelation itself, which speaks of the Egyptian plagues being poured out upon Israel (8:6-12; 16:2-12). The war of the Witnesses with apostate Israel and the pagan states is described in the same terms as the original Exodus from Egypt (cf. also the Cloud and the pillar of fire in 10:1). Jerusalem, the once-holy, now apostate city, has become pagan and perverse, an oppressor of the true Covenant people, joining with the Beast in attacking and killing them. It is Jerusalem that is guilty of the blood of the Old Covenant Witnesses; she is, par excellence, the killer of prophets (Matt. 21:33-43; 23:34-38). In fact, said Jesus, “it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33). Days of Vengeance, p 281
11-12 After the three and a half days, the Witnesses are resurrected: The breath of life from God entered into them in the New Creation (cf. Gen. 2:7; Ezek. 37:1-14; John 20:22) and they stood on their feet (cf. Acts 7:55), causing terror and consternation to their enemies. Great fear came upon those who were beholding them (cf. Acts 2:43; 5:5; 19:17; contrast John 7:13; 12:42; 19:38; 20:19), and with good reason: Through the resurrection of Christ, the Church and her Testimony became unstoppable. In union with Christ in His Ascension to glory (Eph. 2:6), they went up to heaven in the Cloud, and their enemies beheld them. ls The Witnesses did not survive the persecutions; they died. But in Christ’s resurrection they rose to power and dominion that existed not by might, nor by power, but by God’s Spirit, the very breath of life from God.
Days of Vengeance, p 283-284
The story of the Two Witnesses is therefore the story of the witnessing Church, which has received the divine command to Come up here and has ascended with Christ into the Cloud of heaven, to the Throne (Eph. 1:20-22; 2:6; Heb. 12:22-24): She now possesses an imperial grant to exercise rule over the ends of the earth, discipling the nations to the obedience of faith (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 1:5).
Days of Vengeance, p 284
Gary DeMar
Something literal can’t be an olive tree and a lampstand at the same time. Thus, the two witnesses in Revelation chapter 11 are symbolic. They are both confirming the other’s message. Were the Law and the Prophets testifying against apostate Jerusalem?
3 And I will grant authority to My two Witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
Revelation 11:3&4
“So, whoever these two witnesses are, they’re symbolic of witnesses bringing a message to people who still hate the things of Jesus Christ. Are martyrdom. Their martyrdom does not stop the progress of the Gospel.”
Gary “I don’t know exactly who the two witnesses are.”
Eric “And maybe that’s kinda the point”
Gary “That may be. If you identify them, specifically with two individuals, I think it would narrow maybe the application of it all. What you’re seeing here, as two witnesses, as witnesses to the things of Christ and same response that you find in the book of Acts you’re finding here. Which seems to me that the attack on these two witnesses are the same ones attacking Peter and Paul within the book of Acts. Cause you’ll find in the book of Acts that the apostate Jews were using the political establishment of the day, in order to get a hearing and to get the Roman government to stop these Christians from proclaiming the Gospel.”
Logos Software
> Two Witnesses Revelation 11
The two witnesses in Revelation 11 are empowered by God to prophesy for 1,260 days while clothed in sackcloth, and they are symbolically identified as “the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” They possess extraordinary authority—fire proceeds from their mouths to consume enemies, they can prevent rain, transform water into blood, and strike the earth with plagues. (Rev 11:1–14)
The identity of these figures remains one of Revelation’s most contested questions. The Old Testament foundation appears in Zechariah 4, where two olive trees (representing the king and priest) are empowered by the Spirit to lead God’s people.[1] A prominent interpretation identifies them as figures operating “in the Spirit and power of” Moses and Elijah, since their miracles—turning water to blood and preventing rain—mirror those of these Old Testament prophets.[1] Supporting this view is Moses and Elijah’s appearance at Jesus’s transfiguration, along with Jewish expectations that both would return, particularly Elijah as predicted in Malachi 4:5.[2]
However, an alternative proposal suggests Enoch and Elijah, since they alone were taken to heaven without experiencing death and thus could authentically experience the death and resurrection the witnesses undergo.[2] A third view contends that Scripture intentionally withholds famous identities, allowing God to empower two ordinary believers to perform the same miraculous deeds.[2] All three interpretations remain theologically valid, and Christians need not be dogmatic about resolving this ambiguity.[2]
The number two itself carries significance—it fulfills the legal requirement for valid testimony and echoes Zechariah’s dual figures while contrasting with Revelation’s two evil leaders.[1]
[1] J. Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall, and C. Marvin Pate, in Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy and End Times (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2007), 460–461.
Logos Software offers three potential understandings of Revelation 11, none of which involve the literal appearance of Moses and Elijah. A group operating in the Spirit and power of Moses and Elijah seems reasonable. The alternatives of Enoch and Elijah, or two ordinary believers seem like a longshots. Again, the text of Revelation is clear that the Witnesses are symbolic and likely discussed this way as both the Old and New Testament require that everything be established in terms of two or three witnesses.
Conclusion
Scofield’s Easter Egg comment in Matthew 17:2 that “… the prediction fulfilled in John the Baptist, and that yet to be fulfilled in Elijah, are kept distinct” is without biblical foundation and like much of his theology is injected into the text when it is clearly not there. Scofield’s interpretive grid is imposed onto the text of Scripture not derived from its content. Just because Oxford University publishes Scofield’s footnotes in their copy of the Bible does not elevate it to Scripture.
I’ll take Jesus saying that John the Baptist came in the Spirit of Elijah before I would take Scofield’s juvenile, hyper-literal interpretation, that somehow demands that both Moses and Elijah be made mortal and walk the planet so they can experience death in Revelation chapter 11.
I was minding my own business and beginning my day as I often do, reading the Days of Praise devotional from ICR (Institute for Creation Research). I like ICR because as a kid, I read “The Genesis Flood” by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris. Morris founded ICR. This book put me on the path to belief in a literal six-day creation instead of the evolution I was being taught in public school.
My only gripe with ICR is that they will sometimes twist Scripture in an effort to undergird their Premillennial Dispensational presuppositions. Today is such an example. How someone can take the plain meaning of Scripture and butcher it so badly is inexcusable to me. Especially, when they have built their whole organization on the idea of taking the Bible literally; at least until it gets in the way of their presuppositions. Ironically, attacking the presuppositions of others is part of what ICR does when they battle evolutionists. Sadly, they call the kettle black a little too much as you will see shortly.
And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.”
Luke 9:30–31
This verse is part of the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a high mountain where Moses and Elijah appear and speak with Jesus. The voice of the Father is heard here as well.
Screen capture of the entire devotional
Analysis of the Event
While not directly the subject of my blog today, here are a few comments on this passage.
First, geography in the Bible is important. As Michael Heiser and others of like mind point out, the ministry of Jesus is as much about combatting Principalities and Powers as it is rebuking the Jewish religious leaders and proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Just a few verses prior to the Transfiguration, Jesus said the gates of Hell won’t prevail against His Kingdom. Jesus said this while standing in front of the Gates of Hell, a pagan shrine dedicated to the god Pan. Then he and the three disciples climb Mt. Hermon, the holy mountain of Bashan, to have the Transfiguration episode.
Mount Hermon is also much higher than Tabor (8,500 feet vs. 1,843 feet), which would fit better with the description of a “high mountain” by Mark (and in Matt 17:1). Some scholars still hold to the Tabor identification, but many have come to agree that the close proximity of Caesarea Philippi to Mount Hermon and the symbolic-religious associations that relationship entails make Mount Hermon the logical choice for the transfiguration.
The imagery is striking. We’ve seen already that the Jewish tradition about the descent of the Watchers, the sons of God of Genesis 6:1–4, informed the writings of Peter and Jude. Now we see that the transfiguration of Jesus takes place on the same location identified by that tradition. Jesus picks Mount Hermon to reveal to Peter, James, and John exactly who he is—the embodied glory-essence of God, the divine Name made visible by incarnation. The meaning is just as transparent: I’m putting the hostile powers of the unseen world on notice. I’ve come to earth to take back what is mine. The kingdom of God is at hand.
Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Discovering the Supernatural World of the Bible, Expanded Edition (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2025), 348.
Details in the [Transfiguration] narrative seem to fit better with Mount Hermon, located on the northern edge of Bashan—a region associated in Jesus’ day with demonic activity. Based on this connection, Jesus’ revelation of His true identity in the Transfiguration can be understood as an advance against evil: The King has arrived to defeat the powers of darkness and claim what belongs to Him. The eschatological conquest of Bashan is described in Psa 68, a passage quoted by Paul in Eph 4:8 in connection with the Church.
John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016)
My second observation is the word “decease” in the KJV or “departure” in NIV is the Greek word “Exodus” (ἔξοδος). Jesus would be going on an Exodus! Wow, I don’t recall hearing that said in church before.
But it gets better because, my third observation is that this exodus is coupled with the Greek word “mello” (μέλλω). So, the exodus of Jesus was an event that he was about to accomplish. The KJV, “he should,” in the phrase he should accomplish, masks the immediacy of the event. Another KJV paraphrase?
ICR Puts Their Thumb on the Scale
This is a mysterious passage. Peter, James, and John watched in awe as Christ was transfigured before them as He had promised (Mark 9:2). But how could Moses and Elijah be there? Moses’ body had been buried by God in an unknown tomb in Moab some 1,500 years before, and no resurrection had yet taken place (Deuteronomy 34:5-6; 1 Corinthians 15:22-23). Elijah had been taken alive into heaven in a chariot of fire over 900 years previously (2 Kings 2:11).
How could Moses and Elijah be there?
This is the wrong question to ask but ICR’s answer is the following:
But when He [Jesus] does return in glory, there will be two groups of people sharing His glory with Him: Moses represented the resurrected saints and Elijah the “raptured” saints.
Wow. This is so wrong on so many levels.
First, Moses represents the Law. Elijah represents the Prophets. Jesus repeatedly says the Law and Prophets testify to him so why is that anything novel for me to claim?
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Matthew 5:17–18.
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Luke24:44.
23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
Acts 28:23.
Lest you think I am alone in my thinking, Logos Software yields the following:
> why are Moses and Elijah at Transfiguration
Moses and Elijah appear at the transfiguration to authenticate Jesus’s messianic identity and demonstrate his continuity with Israel’s redemptive history. They function as representatives of the Law and the Prophets, pointing to Jesus as the messianic Son.[1] This pairing carries profound symbolic weight: Moses had experienced a mountaintop encounter at Sinai where his face shone, and served as a prototype of the coming prophet[2], while Elijah held eschatological significance in Jewish thought as a figure associated with the end times and the Messiah’s precursor.[2]
Beyond their covenantal roles, Moses and Elijah embody a deeper spiritual reality. Both men had longed to see God during their earthly ministries, and their appearance at the transfiguration allows them to witness the eternally begotten Son.[1] Remarkably, Moses finally enters the promised land he was forbidden to inhabit in life, and sees not merely the land but Immanuel himself.[1] Mount Sinai provided the geographical intersection of their ministries—the only place both had gone—where each witnessed a theophany on the mountain.[3] The transfiguration thus echoes this pattern, positioning Jesus within the continuum of God’s self-revelation.
Moses and Elijah demonstrate how Jesus completes the story: under the old covenant they were servants, but under the new covenant Jesus is the master—the prophet, priest, and king Israel awaited.[1] Their presence draws attention to Jesus’s place in continuing God’s redemptive work from the Exodus through the eschatological future, and underscores his superiority over even these revered figures of Israel’s past.[2]
[1] Patrick Schreiner, The Transfiguration of Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Reading (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2024), 87–88.
[2] Walter L. Liefeld, “Luke,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 926–927.
[3] Benjamin A. Foreman, “The Geographical Significance of the Transfiguration,” in Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels, ed. Barry J. Beitzel and Kristopher A. Lyle, Lexham Geographic Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 306–307.
So back to ICR.
How could Moses and Elijah be there? ICR’s original question. Well, the Bible never gives us an answer. It states a fact and expects us to believe it.
Peter, James, and John were there because under Old Testament law, valid testimony required two or three witnesses that attested to the same set of facts. These disciples were sworn to secrecy until a later date which followed the exodus of Jesus.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
Matthew 17:9.
Folks, ICR has really gone out on a limb which can’t support the weight of their argument. There is zero reference anywhere in this passage about the ideas expressed in I Thessalonians 4:16-17 concerning those that “sleep” or are alive. Again, there is no such thing as “The Rapture” in Scripture; unless you presuppose its existence.
Thus, the claim that Moses represented the resurrected saints and Elijah the “raptured” saints is so novel that nobody has any basis to believe it. It is definitely not supported by the text or the historic understanding of the Transfiguration. Such an interpretation is manufactured in an attempt to lend credibility to the biblical presuppositions of Premillennial Dispensationalism.
I Just Had to Look in Scofield’s Notes: Big Mistake
Just for fun, I looked up the Transfiguration in my Scofield Reference Bible. This Premillennial nonsense is not in Luke’s account of the Transfiguration but in footnotes in Matthew’s version of the Transfiguration event (Matthew 17:2 & 10).
None of Scofield’s notes for the Transfiguration event in Matthew, Mark, or Luke, mention anything about the Law and the Prophets as it relates to the presence of Moses and Elijah.
However, Scofield mentions another bit of theological crap. In his comments on Matthew 17:10 he states:
(1) Christ confirms the specific and still unfulfilled prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6: “Elijah comes and will restore all things.” Here, as in Malachi, the prediction fulfilled in John the Baptist, and that yet to be fulfilled in Elijah are kept distinct.
The New Testament, and Jesus in particular, say that John the Baptist was Elijah that was to come.
10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
Matthew 17:10–13.
Scofield winks at that and then, essentially claims that Jesus was wrong and despite the assurances of Jesus, Elijah will literally return in physical form to do some future tasks that John was not able to do. Without explicitly saying it, I guess he expects Elijah and Moses to be the two witnesses in Revelation 11:3-12.
Folks, people don’t typically come back from the afterlife. Jesus clearly states that John the Baptist fulfills the prophecy because he came in the spirit of Elijah, the Bible knows nothing of reincarnation.
Also, does anybody but me have a problem with Moses, having died 4,000 years ago and counting, be required to take on human flesh again so that he can die once again during the Great Tribulation. Moses has already been in Sheol from his death until Christ’s Resurrection, and then he gets a spiritual body and then his eternal life is undone so he can come to earth and die again. Wow. What a horrible punishment; especially for a very righteous man. Scofield is a sadistic S.O.B. for expecting such a fate for Moses. Then again, he is Ok with killing 2/3 of the Jews on the planet so what’s one more dead Jewish guy?
Scofield’s whole claim is based on one distortion. John the Baptist was asked if he was Elijah. John said, “No.” John was John, not the reincarnation of Elijah. Thus, Scofield once again taking symbolic language literally, makes the assertion that Elijah never came as prophesied.
Again, Jesus said that John was the Elijah that was prophesied.
11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? 12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. 13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him. Mark 9:11–13.
Lest you think I’m playing fast and loose with the text, let’s go to yet another passage.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:13–17.
This passage closes the case. Scofield’s insistence that Elijah literally return to Earth so he too can be killed during the Great Tribulation is unsubstantiated crap.
Again, Moses and Elijah are never named in Revelation chapter 11, but a search for the name “Elijah” in my handy Logos Software brings up the passage anyway. Proof that some folks think this is a thing. Ridiculous! (I’ll have more on this in a future post.)
Not Scofield Bible Notes
My other Bible has the following note on Matthew 17:3
Moses and Elijah
Since the Law and the Prophets testify to Jesus, Moses the lawgiver, and Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of Israel, are here privileged to appear with Jesus. According to Luke 9:31 they discussed Jesus’ coming death.
New Geneva Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995.
Conclusion
The Transfiguration is about authenticating Jesus’ message and verifying that he is the promised Messiah. Both the Law and Prophets—again two witnesses—validate the authenticity of his claim. God the Father appears to further validate the claim. It is a preview of Christ’s enthronement in the kingdom of God.
The idea that Moses and Elijah appearing at the Transfiguration is about “The Rapture” is pure fiction and very laughable. The further claim, that either Elijah, Moses, or both will literally return to planet Earth during the Great Tribulation, for the express purpose of dying in Jerusalem, is also nonsense and lacking in biblical warrant. I intend to take up the hoopla about Moses, Elijah, and the Two Witnesses in a future blog post.
Taking symbols literally just makes an ass out of people that we hope are otherwise intelligent. Taking a passage literally should mean in accordance with its type of literature, not literally in a wooden, ChatGPT, AI sort of way. Following Scofield’s notes inevitably leads people into the ditch.
Jesus said that the Gospel must be preached to all the world and then he shall return.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Matthew 24:14.
Has this statement been fulfilled?
Most folks will say, “Nope.” That’s why we have Wycliff Bible Translators and similar groups. Only when the Bible has been translated into the native tongue of every people group on the planet will Jesus return.
Is this what Jesus meant? Let’s take a look.
First, what is the word translated “world’ in this text. Based on the English, you would expect it to be cosmos (κόσμος) meaning the whole of planet earth. However, it is our old friend oikumene (ŏikŏumĕnē) which means inhabited earth, usually Roman Empire in the New Testament. Remember the Christmas story about Ceasar Augustus wanting to tax the whole world? Same Greek word. While I’m sure Ceasar would like to have generated tax revenue from the whole planet, he could only tax the political divisions of Rome.
When you couple Matthew 24:14 with verse 34 then the time window begins to take shape.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Matthew24:34.
Remember that the chapter and verse divisions were added a thousand years after Matthew was written. Look back at the previous chapter.
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Mattthew 23:35–36.
The judgment would come upon this generation. Those that heard the voice of Jesus. The statement about the Gospel being preached is bracketed before and after by Jesus’ claim that the generation living in his day would see this fulfilled. So, did Jesus lie or was the Gospel preached to all the oikumene in the First Century?
Some of you may laugh at this but this is a serious and important question. Remember your C.S. Lewis. Jesus was either a liar, lunatic, or Lord of all. If Jesus was “mistaken” then he was wrong and therefore is not really God and thus we are all dead in our trespasses and sin.
Many that grew up in the Church have gone to college and been confronted with this very claim of Jesus and left the faith as a result of believing that Jesus was deluded. Most Christians don’t believe that this claim is true. They kick it way into the future, but clearly Jesus did not. So, is the modern church wrong or was Jesus?
Is the prophetic clock paused until the Gospel is preached to every nation or was this event fulfilled as Jesus prophesied.
As always, the best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible so let’s look and what the Apostles had to say.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Romans 1:8.
World here is cosmos.
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
Romans 10:18.
Earth is Greek word gē.
World here is oikumene.
For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
Colossians 1:5–6.
World here is cosmos.
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Colossians 1:23.
But it gets better. Paul says he preached the Gospel to every creature which is under heaven.
25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
Romans 16:25–26.
The Gospel is made know to all nations.
Folks, it’s clear that the New Testament claims the Gospel was “preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations” Just as Jesus said.
This agrees with Acts 2:5
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
Then look at the last part of Matthew 24:14 where it says “then shall the end come.”
The Gospel was preached to all nations and then—in First Century Palestine—the end came.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Matthew 24:3.
My Greek Interlinear version has completion or consummation of the age (suntĕlĕia hŏ aiōn).
So, in Greek Matthew 24:3 is not end of the world. This is a mistranslation and a sloppy one; think Elizabethan paraphrase.
Bottom line:
The Gospel was preached to all nations and then, just as Jesus promised, the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed in 70 A.D. This was the conclusion of the Old Testament age. From that point foreward, biblically speaking, God is done with the nation of Israel. Salvation was secured, God’s Bride—the Church—was revealed, and the Kingdom of God was established and begun on earth. The mustard seed of the Gospel is growing to fill the earth. Heavenly Jerusalem is here now and slowly bringing healing to the nations as they are discipled.
Folks, I was at the men’s Bible study at church last night when one of the Elders starts capping on Dave Ramsey.
They were talking about pop psychology and pointing out that it is a substitute for Biblical council. After a few jabs at Joel Ostein, a fellow brought up Dave Ramsey. I was like, hold it. Dave is a man dedicated to helping folks get out of debt. I said that Dave Ramsey often quotes the proverb about the debtor being the slave of the lender. I said that Dave is carried on many secular radio stations and probably is one of the only Christian voices that some folks may ever listen to on a regular basis.
Furthermore, I mentioned that his teaching helped my wife and I pay off $125K in debt (not counting the mortgage) and I tried to bring up the fact that many young people, following the advice of their parents, are getting out of college with huge amounts of debt and that it affects their ability to get married and start a family.
This guy was not moved at all. His only comment was that he was happy to be living off of his Social Security and that was good enough for him.
Folks, if you need another example of the worthlessness of the Baby Boom generation, here you go. Please understand that this guy may be an Elder in the church that I am currently attending but for many decades he was a pastor leading a flock.
As you know, money is one of the leading causes of divorce in our country and he has no empathy for folks that followed the advice of his generation, who went to college because they were expected to, and are now hopelessly upside down financially for the rest of their lives. WTF? When he was in the pulpit, did he never help people in such circumstances? Probably not, but he should have. Isn’t that part of the job description, to apply God’s Word to every area of life; unless he thought God is silent on the subject.
Dave Ramsey tries to offer people in such circumstances a lifeline, and somehow Ramsey is the villain. Whiskey Tango!!
I guess this pastor guy is so cocksure the Jesus is coming any second that his parishioners don’t need to pay their bills, save for the future, or help their fellow man. Sorry dude, but that attitude is both arrogant and unbiblical.
The Bible has much to say about marriage. Arguably, the second most discussed topic is money and commerce. Here are a few verses to wet your whistle on the topic.
Debit is bad.
The rich ruleth over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22:7.
Debt is a sign of God’s judgment.
6 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
Deuteronomy 15:6.
43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. 44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
Deuteronomy 28:43.
If you are in debt, get out ASAP.
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, If thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, When thou art come into the hand of thy friend; Go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Proverb 6:1–5.
Dave Ramsey is right that no one should be in debt.
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:8.
Furthermore, you should save up to give an inheritance to your children and grandchildren.
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
Proverbs 13:22.
Bottom line is that Dave Ramsey is in fact teaching God’s Word to people that otherwise would never hear it even if they go to church every Sunday.
Every area of life should be placed under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If your church doesn’t teach it, they are not preaching the whole counsel of God.
Get out debt, yet another reason that eschatology matters.
Folks, we may have a new President but once again we are at war in the Middle East. Somehow Mossad manages to push all the right buttons to get us to fight on behalf of Israel. I frankly don’t trust them.
Remember Iraq and weapons of mass destruction? Colin Powell did a wonderful PowerPoint show at the United Nations, but it was a total fraud. G.W. Bush could never explain why we hit Iraq and Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks. Heck nobody can explain why two of the tallest structures on the planet collapsed neatly on top of each other after being struck by commercial airliners.
Truth is compartmentalized in our country and unfortunately, we are often left with only the official narrative as history. Sadly, this side of Covid, the conspiracy theories have a higher accuracy rate than our government.
That being said, if anybody deserved to be bombed into oblivion it is Iran. Jimmy Carter tried a “measured response” and all we got was a crashed helicopter and a bunch of special forces guys killed in the desert. Iran had enough good sense to fear Ronald Reagan and let the hostages go.
Iran has been a destabilizing force in the world for my whole adult life. The fact that Obama gave them billions on pallets and Biden did likewise stupid stuff is criminal, in a sane world anyway.
Power abhors a vacuum. The head of the snake has been cut-off in Iran, so what takes its place?
Are you ready for lots of U.S. troops invading Iran? It’s underway now.
At least with Trump, you are more likely to get an overwhelming show of force instead of lawyers overseeing drone pilots in Las Vegas approving every act of the military, and crippling rules of engagement for guys deployed in the theater of battle. The military’s purpose is to kill people and break things, but what happens next?
Oh, the best thing I saw about the war so far was this, the first week of our military operations in Iran cost less money that the amount of fraud overseen in Minnesota by Governor Tim Walz.
