Psychobabble Parenting
All you really need to know about parenting. Seriously.
http://makinghome.blogspot.com/2008/10/psychobabble-parenting.html
Giving Children Freedom and Self-Control
“I pray for the day we will stop jailing our children in government institutions…. Education has become religious dogma.”
What a child really needs to become a successful adult.
http://www.steve-olson.com/giving-children-freedom-and-self-control/
Parents: Never Underestimate Your Importance
What does prostitution have to do with parenting?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obM_EpcW5ZU&feature=channel
I don’t even know why American parents have children. Seriously. They complain about being pregnant the whole time and instill fear in soon-to-be-parents about labor (and obviously they think it WAS that bad because they only do it once or twice). The minute the kid is born they get rid of it at some kiddy-prison. They do everything they can to make sure they don’t actually have to spend any time with the little brat (oh, they call it extra curricular or enrichment activities, but the kids all know the truth. Mommy and daddy don’t want to be part of their lives.) They don’t even want to worship with their child but pick churches that squirrel them away where they don’t have to see them for the whole day.
What’s the deal? Are children really so awful?
Well, actually, if I had most kids I meet now a-days I would probably have far fewer too.
The fact is that children become what you make them to be. What they are taught does matter. They are learning every minute; when you walk out the daycare door, the bully takes their toy, no one answers when they cry from lonliness, or mom and dad are too tired to listen at the end of the day. Yes, they are learning.
Now, again, I am NOT talking to the involuntarily single mom. They don’t have a lot of choice. Churches should do more to help them stay home with their children.
I am talking to the married couple. The one with the nice house, nice car, nice clothes and enough food to be fat. Yes, I am repeating myself. You are putting your life style, your comfort, your “feel goods” ahead of what is good for your child.
And it shows.
Helping homeschooling and stay-at-home moms make well-functioning homes of peace, joy, beauty, and contentment.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
What is Home For?
A recent blog at http://parunak.com/pursuingtitus2/2008/10/30/why-modern-motherhood-is-so-much-harder-than-it-ought-to-be/ got me to thinking about the home. The fact is that the purpose of the home has changed for most families over the last 150 years.
Today the home is used for:
• Sleeping
• Eating (One meal per day per family member, not necessarily the same meal at the same time as anyone else in the family.)
• Watching TV
• Making love
That’s about it. Oh, occasionally, maybe, entertaining. But, really, our modern homes, as big and fancy as they are, are no more than refueling stations.
150 years ago homes were used for:
• Sleeping
• Dinning (Everyone in the family together at the table at the same time three times per day! The meal was an experience, not just a refueling. And the food was made by scratch meaning it contained no preservatives, and was simply much more nutritious- and cheaper- than today’s “zap and go” foods.)
• Relaxing and Recreation (This meant reading newspapers and books to each others, talking to family, doing fun handcrafts like knitting, embroidery, whittling, playing horseshoes, holding quilting bees, barn raisings, singing around the piano in the evening, little plays in the living room with mommy and daddy as the audience, in short, just enjoying life and family and friends. It did NOT mean getting your blood going with a good car chase or murder story. How could that be relaxing?!)
• Making love (Some things don’t change ;-)
• Birthing babies (Most babies 150 years ago were born in the same bed they were conceived in. More than half of the women who gave birth in hospitals at this time died of infection, so hospitals were avoided. Even today, infection is one of the biggest killers of women during childbirth. Infections happen far more often in hospitals than in homes where you are already immune to the germs. Many, many studies have proven it is at least as safe for most women and their babies to birth at home, still today, as in a hospital. Many of these studies actually said it was safer at home.)
• Artistic expression (No one thought of hiring someone to decorate their home. The whole house was considered a canvas for the homemaker to express herself on. Women took pride in every aspect of their home, their castle. They often did flower arrangements, paintings, stencils, weavings, quiltings, and many, many other art forms we buy today. Their very house was the expression of who they were.)
• Education (That’s right, the house was the place for education. At this time in American history, most children were simply taught by their parents. Literacy levels of the time were 99.8% compared with the most optimistic estimate of today; 85%. Parents knew it was their responsibility to make sure their children were prepared for the future. Observers of the time claimed every home, even the poorest, had a Bible, law books, and Euclid’s Geometry. Nearly everyone read the newspaper. Education was considered vitally important and one of the main jobs of a family.)
• Making money (The vast majority of families were farmers. They worked together all day to provide the necessities of life for the family, either directly or by growing enough to sell to buy what they couldn’t grow. Other families worked together as store owners. The parents needed the children’s help, the children felt important because they knew they were truly needed, the parents knew they needed to teach their children for the future and the children knew their parents knew a lot about life and what it would take to survive.)
• Nourishing the sick and dying (Today we send sick people to the hospital, sick kid daycare, and elder care. 150 years ago the ill were cared for by those who loved them most and knew best what would make them feel better. Generally, they used time tested herbal remedies grown in their own yard. Yes, serious illness is better treated with modern medicine. But minor ailments are still better cared for with these mild, nourishing herbs handed down for generations.)
• Christian outreach (In most Christian homes, the Bible was read, hymns sung and prayers made after every meal. Christian doctrines were lived in front of the children, as well as discussed all day as a part of life while working. They did not loose 85% of their children to the world as we do. Outreach begins at home. Also, the home was the place to invite friends and neighbors to for dinner and afterwards to join you in your devotions. It was also the place you brought those in need to help them.)
In short, the job of a family was to raise godly children and provide for all their needs (education, food, job training, etc.).
Today it is a refueling station and maybe a place of some of our entertainment. Each individual’s goal is to get as many toys as possible and have as much fun as possible. Family is not a part of those goals.
So, a homemaker 150 years ago was a cook and nutritionist, artist, teacher, doctor, entrepreneur, missionary, manager, musician, and often philosopher, midwife (women know better than a man what a woman needs during childbirth and most communities had several) and part time actress (well, someone needed to play old Sarah in the children’s “Abraham” play). She literally “Made the Home.” She was the center of the families world.
The homemaker of today is a babysitter and short order “zapper” at best. No wonder many feel bored. No wonder the family is torn into pieces. Most people spend more time with co-workers than spouses or children. Most children know their peers and teachers better than their siblings and parents. You can’t build a strong family this way. Oh, yours may be stronger than your neighbor’s, but it isn’t at all strong compared to our ancestor’s.
There is no reason to give into the new ideas of “home.” Our men may be stuck in the “work a day” world, but there is no reason a woman can’t reclaim all the roles listed above. And if she did, she would provide a more pleasant home, nutritious meals, better educated children (homeschoolers skunk even private schools on tests), and healthier family all around. Her family would be much better off and so would she, even if they had to lower their standard of living to allow her to do it. Not only that, but the community would be better off too. There would be someone around to care for the ill instead of relying on government aid, someone to teach the children right from wrong and good work ethics, someone to make the world more beautiful, one room at a time. Less reliance on government means less need for taxes. Less need for taxes means more resources available to grow each family individually. Some women attempting to accomplish this have even been able to get a home business going and bring daddy back home too. This should be our goal. The more the family is physically together the stronger it will be. The more things the family does together the tighter their bonds. I am not talking about “quality time” nonsense spent at the movies not speaking to each other. I am talking about working towards common goals and being truly important members of each other’s lives.
In order to accomplish this, we need women to make homes again.
Today the home is used for:
• Sleeping
• Eating (One meal per day per family member, not necessarily the same meal at the same time as anyone else in the family.)
• Watching TV
• Making love
That’s about it. Oh, occasionally, maybe, entertaining. But, really, our modern homes, as big and fancy as they are, are no more than refueling stations.
150 years ago homes were used for:
• Sleeping
• Dinning (Everyone in the family together at the table at the same time three times per day! The meal was an experience, not just a refueling. And the food was made by scratch meaning it contained no preservatives, and was simply much more nutritious- and cheaper- than today’s “zap and go” foods.)
• Relaxing and Recreation (This meant reading newspapers and books to each others, talking to family, doing fun handcrafts like knitting, embroidery, whittling, playing horseshoes, holding quilting bees, barn raisings, singing around the piano in the evening, little plays in the living room with mommy and daddy as the audience, in short, just enjoying life and family and friends. It did NOT mean getting your blood going with a good car chase or murder story. How could that be relaxing?!)
• Making love (Some things don’t change ;-)
• Birthing babies (Most babies 150 years ago were born in the same bed they were conceived in. More than half of the women who gave birth in hospitals at this time died of infection, so hospitals were avoided. Even today, infection is one of the biggest killers of women during childbirth. Infections happen far more often in hospitals than in homes where you are already immune to the germs. Many, many studies have proven it is at least as safe for most women and their babies to birth at home, still today, as in a hospital. Many of these studies actually said it was safer at home.)
• Artistic expression (No one thought of hiring someone to decorate their home. The whole house was considered a canvas for the homemaker to express herself on. Women took pride in every aspect of their home, their castle. They often did flower arrangements, paintings, stencils, weavings, quiltings, and many, many other art forms we buy today. Their very house was the expression of who they were.)
• Education (That’s right, the house was the place for education. At this time in American history, most children were simply taught by their parents. Literacy levels of the time were 99.8% compared with the most optimistic estimate of today; 85%. Parents knew it was their responsibility to make sure their children were prepared for the future. Observers of the time claimed every home, even the poorest, had a Bible, law books, and Euclid’s Geometry. Nearly everyone read the newspaper. Education was considered vitally important and one of the main jobs of a family.)
• Making money (The vast majority of families were farmers. They worked together all day to provide the necessities of life for the family, either directly or by growing enough to sell to buy what they couldn’t grow. Other families worked together as store owners. The parents needed the children’s help, the children felt important because they knew they were truly needed, the parents knew they needed to teach their children for the future and the children knew their parents knew a lot about life and what it would take to survive.)
• Nourishing the sick and dying (Today we send sick people to the hospital, sick kid daycare, and elder care. 150 years ago the ill were cared for by those who loved them most and knew best what would make them feel better. Generally, they used time tested herbal remedies grown in their own yard. Yes, serious illness is better treated with modern medicine. But minor ailments are still better cared for with these mild, nourishing herbs handed down for generations.)
• Christian outreach (In most Christian homes, the Bible was read, hymns sung and prayers made after every meal. Christian doctrines were lived in front of the children, as well as discussed all day as a part of life while working. They did not loose 85% of their children to the world as we do. Outreach begins at home. Also, the home was the place to invite friends and neighbors to for dinner and afterwards to join you in your devotions. It was also the place you brought those in need to help them.)
In short, the job of a family was to raise godly children and provide for all their needs (education, food, job training, etc.).
Today it is a refueling station and maybe a place of some of our entertainment. Each individual’s goal is to get as many toys as possible and have as much fun as possible. Family is not a part of those goals.
So, a homemaker 150 years ago was a cook and nutritionist, artist, teacher, doctor, entrepreneur, missionary, manager, musician, and often philosopher, midwife (women know better than a man what a woman needs during childbirth and most communities had several) and part time actress (well, someone needed to play old Sarah in the children’s “Abraham” play). She literally “Made the Home.” She was the center of the families world.
The homemaker of today is a babysitter and short order “zapper” at best. No wonder many feel bored. No wonder the family is torn into pieces. Most people spend more time with co-workers than spouses or children. Most children know their peers and teachers better than their siblings and parents. You can’t build a strong family this way. Oh, yours may be stronger than your neighbor’s, but it isn’t at all strong compared to our ancestor’s.
There is no reason to give into the new ideas of “home.” Our men may be stuck in the “work a day” world, but there is no reason a woman can’t reclaim all the roles listed above. And if she did, she would provide a more pleasant home, nutritious meals, better educated children (homeschoolers skunk even private schools on tests), and healthier family all around. Her family would be much better off and so would she, even if they had to lower their standard of living to allow her to do it. Not only that, but the community would be better off too. There would be someone around to care for the ill instead of relying on government aid, someone to teach the children right from wrong and good work ethics, someone to make the world more beautiful, one room at a time. Less reliance on government means less need for taxes. Less need for taxes means more resources available to grow each family individually. Some women attempting to accomplish this have even been able to get a home business going and bring daddy back home too. This should be our goal. The more the family is physically together the stronger it will be. The more things the family does together the tighter their bonds. I am not talking about “quality time” nonsense spent at the movies not speaking to each other. I am talking about working towards common goals and being truly important members of each other’s lives.
In order to accomplish this, we need women to make homes again.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
End Times-Daniel
There are three main theories regarding the end times. The most popular one is Dispensationalist (i.e. The Left Behind Series). This theory assumes most prophesies have not been fulfilled yet. Generally speaking they believe Israel will be restored to its previous place with God, there will be a tribulation and the rapture will take the righteous and leave everyone else.
The second most popular is the Pederast teaching which says that (in its most extreme form) all prophecy has been fulfilled by ad70 (including the second coming of Christ).
The third is the Historical view. It is the one held by most of the Historical churches (Lutherans, Methodists, etc). They (and for the most part, I) believe that most of the prophecies have been fulfilled over the course of the last 2500 years with only the ones directly relating to the return of Christ left.
In Galatians 3:16 Paul says,
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
The promise of Eternal Covenant is to Abraham and Christ, not some physical group of humans. The Israelites were chosen to be the linage to Christ and the bearers of the law. They were never saved just because of their Jewish-ness. The Bible has many examples of people that believed God and were evidently saved even though they were not Israelites, though most of those following God were Israelites.
Isaiah and Jeremiah (plus many others) prophecy that the Israelites would be taken captive, followed by Judah being taken and that Solomon's temple would be destroyed. Most of the scriptures that are obviously talking about Jerusalem, capital city of Judah, refer to its inhabitants as Israelites. God obviously sees both nations as one, really. In fact, in the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, God tells him that He will make Israel and Judah into one nation again. I believe this happened at the return from the Babylonian captivity.
Jeremiah 29:10) For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place...
Seventy years later, a man named Cyrus would give the command for all Israelites (decedents of Jacob) to return to Jerusalem (This was some one hundred fifty years before Cyrus came to the throne.)
Isaiah lived in the 700bc's, Jeremiah in 627-586. Cyrus was born 580.
Isaiah 44:28) That saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Isaiah 45:1) Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates and the gates shall not be shut;
(Babylon could not be sieged because the river flowed through the town under two gates that did not allow anyone through. The night the Medes and Persians (Cyrus) took over, someone left the gates open!);
Isa 45:2) I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron
Isa 41:25) I have raised up one from the north (Persia is north of Babylon), and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay
Shortly after these prophesies, (and many others from most of the prophets listed in the second half of the Old Testament,) Israel was captured by the Assyrians. Judah was captured a few years later by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. He destroyed Solomon's temple (581 bc). More than 100 years after Isaiah's prophecy, a man named Cyrus was born (580-529) in Persia. He grew up and became king of the Mede-Persian Empire and conquered Babylonia. He gave the command for anyone who wanted to, to go to Jerusalem (In 537 BC). They were allowed to rebuild if they wanted to but not commanded to nor funded.
Josephus, (Antiquities 11.1.2) the Jewish historian, says that they showed Cyrus the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures which contain his name and described his role in the scheme of God. This is what made the ruler to fulfill what was written.
A clay barrel known as the Cyrus Cylinder was found in 1879-82. It contained a marvelous historical confirmation of the biblical narrative. It records Cyrus saying, “All of their peoples I gathered together and restored to their dwelling-places.”
During the captivity, God gave king Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a statue with a head of gold, shoulders and chest of silver, hips and thighs of bronze, legs and feet of iron and toes of iron and clay. Daniel interpreted the head to be Babylon (gold was extremely common in Babylon), the silver to be Media-Persia (silver was the standard currency in Persia. Taxes paid in gold were even converted to silver), the bronze to be Greece (the Greek army used bronze shields, helmets and weapons), the legs to be the Syrian and Egyptian parts of the late Grecian empire, and the feet to be Rome (Rome was the first country to really use iron weapons and armor). The rock that crushed the whole thing by landing on the feet (the Roman Empire) was Jesus.
God gave Daniel a dream (chapter 8) of a ram with two horns standing on a mountain (Mede-Persia). A goat with one big horn killed him. The horn fell off and was replaced by four smaller horns. One of these horns grew and conquered a great territory.
“Therefore the he goat (Alexander the Great) waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken (Alexander died at the height of his power in his early thirties); and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven (Alexander’s kingdom was split into four parts). And out of one of them came forth a little horn (Antiochus IV of the Seluciud rulers of Syria), which waxed exceeding great, toward the south (Egypt), and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land (Israel).”
The account in Daniel goes onto describe in great detail what would happen…. in the next 500 years! The only way it could have been clearer would have been if he had actually named the names of the various kings.
Daniel had another dream in chapter 7. Four great beasts came up from the sea. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. The wings were plucked, then it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. (Babylon- Nebuchadnezzar appears to have accepted our God.)
A second beast was like a bear. It raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. (Mede-Persia) Cyrus conquers Lydia (546 BC), Babylon (539 BC), and Egypt (535 BC).
Another beast, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a fowl. The beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it. (Greece again. Alexander with his kingdom split between his four generals.)
A fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were.
This fourth beast is the kingdom of Syria, the family of the Seleucidae, which was very cruel and oppressive to the Jews, as we find in Josephus and the history of the Maccabees. This empire was different from those which went before because none of the preceding powers compelled the Jews to renounce their religion, but the kings of Syria did, and used them barbarously. Their armies and commanders were the great iron teeth with which they devoured and broke in pieces the people of God. The ten horns are then supposed to be ten kings that reigned successively in Syria; and then the little horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, the last of the ten, who by one means or other undermined three of the kings, and got the government. He was a man of great ingenuity, and therefore is said to have eyes like the eyes of a man; and he was very bold and daring, had a mouth speaking great things.
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (God on the throne. Daniel saw the rest of history.)
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. (Imagine standing before His throne with millions worshiping Him?!:-)
11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. (Rome destroyed the Syrian empire)
12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. (These nations still exist, more or less, in a VERY reduced state as Iraq, Iran, and Greece)
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. (Christ)
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (The kingdom of heaven which began at Calvary)
Daniel receives the interpretation I have explained above.
22 Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints (True lovers of God) possessed the kingdom (of God).
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel realizes it is time for the decree to go back to be given (he had to have been close to ninety years old!) He tells God we have been baaad, but You are good. Forgive us and do what You said You would. God sent Gabriel to talk to him.
24. Seventy weeks (a week means seven just as our word dozen means twelve. Nearly everyone agrees that this is talking about 490 years; 70x7 years) are determined upon thy people (Israel) and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity (Calvary), and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (Jesus).
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment (given by Artaxerus I.) to restore and to build Jerusalem (He paid for it. Cyrus said they could go home but didn’t pay to rebuild.) unto the Messiah the Prince (Jesus) shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks ([7x7]+[62x7]=483 Broken up this way to account for the time of the Maccabees): the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (No kidding. Read Ezra and Nehemiah)
26 And after (the) threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off (crucified), but not for himself (for us): and the people of the prince (gentiles- Romans) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Ad 70 Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the nation of Israel was no more)
27 And he (Christ) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week (seven) he (Christ) shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (we don't have to torch sheep anymore), and for the overspreading of abominations (abundance of sins) He (Christ) shall make it (the city) desolate, even until the consummation (The end or completion of the present system of things; Noah Webster 1828 dictionary), and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate (The Jews remaining in Jerusalem.)
Daniel spent time in fasting and prayer. God again sent an answer by an angel.
11:2 And now will I (the angel) shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia besides Darius, in whose reign this prophecy is dated,
These are Cyrus, Artaxasta or Artaxerxes, called by the Greeks Cambyses, and Ahasuerus that married Esther, called Darius son of Hystaspes.
and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
That is, Xerxes, of whose wealth the Greek authors take notice. By his strength (his vast army, consisting of 800,000 men at least) and his riches, with which he maintained and paid that vast army, he stirred up everyone against Greece. Xerxes's expedition against Greece and the shameful defeat that he met with is famous in history.
3 And a mighty king (Alexander the Great) shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
He foretells Alexander's conquests and the partition of his kingdom,
4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
Alexander's kingdom shall soon be broken, and divided into four parts, but not to his son, nor shall any of his successors rule as much land;
5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes ; and he shall be strong above him shall be stronger than the king, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
The rise and power of two great kingdoms out of the remains of Alexander's conquests. The kingdom of Egypt, and the kingdom of Syria. Again, Daniel gives great detail of what is GOING to happen- all but the names. This is the time of the Maccabeus.
Chapter 12 And at that time (After everything that happened since Daniel, through the Maccabees) shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:
Jesus Christ shall appear his church's patron and protector: At that time, when the persecution is at the hottest, Michael (Michael = who is like God. Strong's Concordance) shall stand up. Christ is that great prince, for he is the prince of the kings of the earth, (Rev. 1:5).
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time:
This is applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem, which Christ calls such a great tribulation as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, (Mt. 24:21).
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book
Thy People are those that love God as much as Daniel does. We are delivered through Calvary; all of us that are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
There shall be a distinguishing resurrection of those that sleep in the dust. When God works deliverance for his people from persecution it is a kind of resurrection; the Jews' release out of Babylon was represented as resurrection in vision (Ezekiel. 37) as was the deliverance of the Jews from Antiochus. Many of those who had long slept in the dust of obscurity and calamity shall then awake
Those resurrected to everlasting life are the many Jews that accepted Christ in the first decade or so of the Church Age; those wise enough to recognize Messiah and teach others about Him. Those resurrected to shame and contempt are those that rejected Christ.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end (of the Jewish nation; the subject of all these prophecies): many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
These prophecies need to sealed until the time of their fulfillment because no one will understand them until then. At that point they will be considered valuable and studied.
And [one] said to the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, How long [shall it be to] the end of these wonders?
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that [it shall be] for a time, times, and an half;
Here is a more general account given of the continuance of these troubles to the angel that made the enquiry that they shall continue for a time, times, and a half, that is, a year, two years, and half a year. Josephus says expressly, in his book of the Wars of the Jews, that Antiochus Epiphanes, surprised Jerusalem by force, and held it three years and six months, and was then cast out of the country by the Maccabees.
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what [shall be] the end of these [things]?
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end (of Israel). …
And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed [is] he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days
Here we have, [1.] The event fixed from which the time of the trouble is to be dated- from the taking away of the daily sacrifice by Antiochus- and the setting up of the image of Jupiter upon the altar, which was the abomination of desolation. They must reckon their troubles to begin indeed when they were deprived of the benefit of public ordinances; that was to them the beginning of sorrows; that was what they laid most to heart. [2.] The continuance of their trouble; it shall last 1290 days, three years and seven months, or (as some reckon) three years, six months, and fifteen days; and then, the daily sacrifice was restored, and the abomination of desolation taken away, in remembrance of which the feast of dedication was observed even to our Savior's time, (John. 10:22). The completing of their deliverance, or at least a further advance towards it, which is here set forty-five days after the former, and, some think, points at the death of Antiochus, 1335 days after his profaning the temple. Blessed is he that waits and comes to that time.
But go thou thy way till the end [be]: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Daniel will die before this all comes to pass.
I have spent a great deal of time on Daniel because many take verses out of Daniel to prove the future interpretation of prophecy when the whole book speaks of the end of the Israelite time frame. To take verses here to prove something in Revelation is not dividing the Word of God correctly.
Matthew 24
1. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
History tells us, that this was fulfilled in 70 AD. General (and future Caesar) Titus took the city and did all he could to preserve the temple, but he coundn’t stop the enraged soldiers from destroying it to the degree that Jesus said it would by. Turnus Rufus ploughed up the ground on which it had stood. : thus that scripture was fulfilled (Micah 3:12), Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed [as] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
In the time of Julian the Apostate, the Jews were encouraged to rebuild their temple, in opposition to the Christian religion. What remained of the ruins were pulled down, to level the ground for a new foundation. But the attempt was stopped by fire erupting out of the ground which destroyed the foundation they laid, and frightened away the builders.
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?
The disciples ask three separate questions, though they may not have thought they were separate. To them, the destruction of the temple would have been the end of the world and it certainly was the end of their world. They were still expecting Christ to set up a natural kingdom at this point, so the sign of thy coming, would have referred to the natural kingdom they were expecting. Surely, if He set up a kingdom that lasted forever, as scripture predicted, the temple could not be destroyed. In short, they were confused.
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5.For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Josephus speaks of several such impostors between this time and the destruction of Jerusalem.
6.And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Christ was born during the Pax Romana (Roman peace). This was a time of relative peace in this part of the world. Christ is predicting that the Great Peace is almost over. War is coming. But the world is not ending yet.
The time of the Jews must end as predicted in Daniel, the Jews must be punished and ruined
7.For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
We read of a famine in Judea, not long after Christ's time, which was very impoverishing (Acts 11:28); but the worest famine was during the siegeof AD 70.
In some places the horrors were worse because Jews fought against Jews. In Scythopolis alone above 13,000 were slain at one time. Josephus relates the case of one prominent man who, because of the terrible things happening all around, and in order to save his family from a worse fate, killed first his father and mother with the sword--they willingly submitting--and afterwards his wife and children, finally taking his own life. This incident will give us at least a faint idea of the awful conditions of those e.
There was a lot of infighting among the Jews as well as neighboring nations during the late 60's. General Titus came to calm things down. There was also a great deal of pestilence and Vesuvius blew in AD 79 accompanied by massive earthquakes all over the Mediterranean.
8. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9.Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
The persecution of the early church at first by the Jews (see the early chapters of Acts) led at first by Saul/Paul, and later by the Roman Empire, especially Nero is well documented.
11. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Another class of trouble makers were men who, Josephus says, “prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen and went before them into the wilderness, pretending that God would there show them the signals of liberty.”
12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13. But he that shall endure unto the end, (of life) the same shall be saved.
14. 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.
Paul said that this had been fulfilled in his time. Romans 16:26
15. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary:
abomination
1. Extreme hatred; detestation.
2. The object of detestation, a common signification in scripture.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Prov.15.
desolation
1. The act of desolating destruction or expulsion of inhabitants; destruction; ruin; waste.
The abomination of desolation was the hated destruction and empting of Jerusalem.
The Jews throughout the area revolted against the Romans. The Romans slaughtered the Jews in towns from Egypt to Syria.
16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
17.Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18.Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19.And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20.But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:
The Roman general, Cestius, led his army from Syria into Judea, destroying widely, and laid siege to Jerusalem. He went so fast that the city was on the point of being captured. The evil Jews fled in large numbers, and the peaceable Jews were about to surrender to the Romans, when a remarkable thing took place. It can only be attributed to the direct intervention of God for the fulfillment of the word of Christ. Josephus tells how Cestius suddenly recalled his soldiers and retired from the city without any reason in the world.
This was the abomination of desolation spoken of by Christ. In other words, When you see the army coming like they did during the time of the Maccabees when Daniel's Abomination was fulfilled, GET OUT.
The Abomination Of Desolation was the armies of Rome, and the unparalleled sufferings of the Jews during those five years of terror, were the “Great Tribulation” foretold by the Lord in Matthew 24:21.
21.For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
After the retreat of Cestius, there was a slaughter of about 10,000 Jews at Damascus; and then, it being obvious that war with the Romans was inevitable, the Jews began making preparations to defend Jerusalem. At that time Josephus, the writer of this history, was appointed general of the armies in Galilee. He seems to have had great ability and success as a soldier, though he was finally overpowered and captured by the Romans. Concerning one of his military operations his translator says “I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus to be one of the finest that ever was invented and executed by any warrior whatsoever.”
At this point the emperor Nero appointed Vespasian, an experienced general, to the task of subduing the Jews; and Vespasian designated his son Titus to assist him. They invaded Judea from the north, marching along the coast, and killing many--18,000 at Askelon alone. Thus Galilee was all over filled with fire and blood; nor was it exempt from any kind of misery or calamity. Josephus opposed the Roman invasion with such forces as he had, but one by one the cities were taken and their inhabitants slain. Finally, Josephus himself was driven to take refuge. The incidents of this siege were terrible; and among them were events which forcibly recall the Lord's words, “But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days.” The Romans were so enraged by the long and fierce resistance of the Jews that they spared none, nor pitied any. Many, moreover, in desperation, killed themselves. The life of Josephus was spared in a manner which seems miraculous, and he was taken captive to Vespasian, to whom he prophesied that both he and Titus his son would be Caesar and emperor. From that time till the end of the war Josephus was kept a prisoner; but he was with Titus during the subsequent siege of Jerusalem, in which the atrocities and miseries reached a limit impossible to be exceeded on earth. Only the state of the lost in hell could be worse.
For a right understanding of Matthew 24:15-21 it is important to know that the Roman armies were, for more than a year, occupied with the devastation of the provinces of Galilee and Judea, before Jerusalem was besieged. It should be noted also that Christ's first warnings to flee were to them which be in Judea (Mt24:16). This makes it perfectly certain that the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, which was the appointed signal for those in Judea to flee into the mountains, was not an idol set up in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. For the desolation of Judea was completed long before Jerusalem and the Temple were taken.
At the time Vespasian led his armies to Jerusalem, that doomed city was in a state of indescribable disorder and confusion insomuch that, during the entire siege, the Jews suffered far more from one another inside the walls than from the enemy outside. Josephus says there were disorders and civil war in every city, and all those that were at quiet from the Romans turned their hands one against another. There was also a bitter contest between those that were for war, and those that were for peace.
Josephus further tells of the utter disgrace and ruin of the high priesthood, the basest of men being exalted to that office; and also of the desecration of the sanctuary.
The most violent party in the city was the Zealots. These called to their aid a band of blood thirsty Idumeans, who set upon the people who were peaceably inclined, and slaughtered young and old until the outer temple was overflowed with blood, and left were 8500 dead bodies there.
Josephus also tells of the terrible torments inflicted upon nobles and citizens of the better sort who refused to comply with the demands of the Zealots. Those, after being horribly tortured, were slain, and through fear, none dared bury them. In this way 12,000 of the more inhabitants perished.
Along all the roads also vast numbers of dead bodies lay in heaps.
About this time above 15,000 fugitive Jews were killed by the Romans, and the number of those that were forced to leap into the Jordan was prodigious. The whole country through which they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could not be passed over, because of the dead bodies that were in it.
At this point Vespasian was called to Rome because of the death of the emperor Nero, and the operations against the Jews fell upon Titus. Vespasian himself was soon thereafter made emperor.
Among the calamities which befell the city was the destruction of the granaries and storehouses of food; so that famine was soon added to the other horrors. The warring factions were agreed in nothing but to kill those that were innocent.
1,100,000 died in the seige and besides 97,000 were taken captive.
“For I venture to say that the sedition destroyed the city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition. This was a much harder thing to do than to destroy the walls. So that we may justly ascribe our misfortunes to our own people (V. 6. 2).” Josephus
This is the most astonishing feature of this great tribulation; for surely there never was a besieged city whose inhabitants suffered more from one another than from the common enemy.
At this point the siege began in earnest. Titus, however, sent Josephus to speak to the Jews, offering them clemency. Josephus made a most earnest plea to them not to resist the might of Rome, pointing out that God was no longer with them. But they didn’t listen. So the siege proceeded outside, and the famine began to rage inside, insomuch that children pulled out of their parents' mouths the morsels they were eating, and even mothers deprived their infants of the last bits of food that might have sustained their lives.
Under pressure of the famine many Jews went out at night into the valleys in search of food. These were caught, tortured and crucified in sight of those on the walls of the city. About five hundred every day. The number became finally so great that there was not room enough for the crosses, nor crosses enough for the victims. So several were ofttimes nailed to one cross.
Then the famine widened its progress and killed the people by whole houses and families. The upper rooms were full of women and children dying of starvation and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged. The children also and the young men wandered about the marketplaces like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead wherever they were standing.
In this connection Josephus relates in detail the case of a woman, eminent for her family and her wealth, who, while suffering the ravages of famine, slew her infant son and roasted him, and having eaten half of him, concealed the other half. When presently the seditious Jews came in to search the premises, and smelt the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her life if she did not show them what food she had prepared. She replied that she had saved for them a choice part, and withal uncovered what was left of the little body, saying, “Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself. Do not you pretend to be more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother.” Even those desperate and hardened men were horrified at the sight, and stood aghast at the deed of this mother. They left trembling; and the whole city was full of what the woman had done. It must be remembered that all this time the lives of all in the city would have been spared and the city and temple saved, had they but yielded to the Romans. But how should the Scripture then be fulfilled? Soon after this the temple was set on fire and was burned down, though Titus tried to save it.
Many were put into bonds and sold to slavery in the Egyptian mines, thus fulfilling several prophecies that they should be sold into Egypt again, whence God had delivered them (Hosea 8:13; 9:3).
Thus ended, in the greatest of all calamities of the sort, the national existence of the Jewish people, and all that pertained to that old covenant which was instituted with glory (2Co 3:7,9,11), but which was to be done away with.
22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25. Behold, I have told you before.
26. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
I believe this is why Thomas was so skeptical of the other disciples having seen Christ after His resurrection. Jesus told him not to believe rumors of Christ being around.
27.For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
When Christ returns, EVERYONE will know it instantly.
28. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Christ shall be revealed with a sudden vengeance; for when God shall cast off the city and people like a carcass thrown out, the Roman soldiers, like eagles, shall straight fly to it with their eagles (ensigns) to tear and devour it.
29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
In the patriarch Joseph's dream, Jacob (Israel) was the sun and the moon was his wife. The stars were his sons. So Immediately after the tribulation of the siege of Jerusalem the nation of Israel will no longer be visible.
30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Then shall the Son of man give a proof of himself, who they would not before acknowledge: a proof, indeed, not in any visible figure, but in vengeance and judgment so visible, that all the tribes of the earth shall be forced to acknowledge Him the avenger.
The sign of the Son of Man is the great power with which God allowed the Jews to be destroyed.
31.And he shall send his angels (servants) with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
When you begin to see the Roman armies approach, you will know the time is here.
34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
This will all come to pass before all the ones He is speaking to die.
35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Everything I say will happen. It is the only permanent thing in the universe.
36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
The day of Christ's second coming is unknown to anyone but God Himself. If anyone tells you Christ is coming in (fill in the date) don't believe them.
37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
39. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
People won't be expecting Him.
40.Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
You know, this doesn't say the good will be taken and the bad left. In His parables, Jesus consistently says the bad will be taken out and punished THEN the saved will be gathered together.
42. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43. But know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Live as if Christ cold come in the next five minutes.
45.Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Work as if His coming will be in a hundred years.
47. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49. And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So in answer to the disciple's three questions, “Tell us, when shall these things (the destruction of the temple) be?” When you see the armies coming to destroy Jerusalem. And “what shall be the sign of thy coming?” No sign. Live as if Christ could come in the next five minutes. Work as if His coming will be in a hundred years. And “of the end of the world?” Same as above.
The second most popular is the Pederast teaching which says that (in its most extreme form) all prophecy has been fulfilled by ad70 (including the second coming of Christ).
The third is the Historical view. It is the one held by most of the Historical churches (Lutherans, Methodists, etc). They (and for the most part, I) believe that most of the prophecies have been fulfilled over the course of the last 2500 years with only the ones directly relating to the return of Christ left.
In Galatians 3:16 Paul says,
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
The promise of Eternal Covenant is to Abraham and Christ, not some physical group of humans. The Israelites were chosen to be the linage to Christ and the bearers of the law. They were never saved just because of their Jewish-ness. The Bible has many examples of people that believed God and were evidently saved even though they were not Israelites, though most of those following God were Israelites.
Isaiah and Jeremiah (plus many others) prophecy that the Israelites would be taken captive, followed by Judah being taken and that Solomon's temple would be destroyed. Most of the scriptures that are obviously talking about Jerusalem, capital city of Judah, refer to its inhabitants as Israelites. God obviously sees both nations as one, really. In fact, in the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, God tells him that He will make Israel and Judah into one nation again. I believe this happened at the return from the Babylonian captivity.
Jeremiah 29:10) For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place...
Seventy years later, a man named Cyrus would give the command for all Israelites (decedents of Jacob) to return to Jerusalem (This was some one hundred fifty years before Cyrus came to the throne.)
Isaiah lived in the 700bc's, Jeremiah in 627-586. Cyrus was born 580.
Isaiah 44:28) That saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Isaiah 45:1) Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates and the gates shall not be shut;
(Babylon could not be sieged because the river flowed through the town under two gates that did not allow anyone through. The night the Medes and Persians (Cyrus) took over, someone left the gates open!);
Isa 45:2) I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron
Isa 41:25) I have raised up one from the north (Persia is north of Babylon), and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay
Shortly after these prophesies, (and many others from most of the prophets listed in the second half of the Old Testament,) Israel was captured by the Assyrians. Judah was captured a few years later by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. He destroyed Solomon's temple (581 bc). More than 100 years after Isaiah's prophecy, a man named Cyrus was born (580-529) in Persia. He grew up and became king of the Mede-Persian Empire and conquered Babylonia. He gave the command for anyone who wanted to, to go to Jerusalem (In 537 BC). They were allowed to rebuild if they wanted to but not commanded to nor funded.
Josephus, (Antiquities 11.1.2) the Jewish historian, says that they showed Cyrus the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures which contain his name and described his role in the scheme of God. This is what made the ruler to fulfill what was written.
A clay barrel known as the Cyrus Cylinder was found in 1879-82. It contained a marvelous historical confirmation of the biblical narrative. It records Cyrus saying, “All of their peoples I gathered together and restored to their dwelling-places.”
During the captivity, God gave king Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a statue with a head of gold, shoulders and chest of silver, hips and thighs of bronze, legs and feet of iron and toes of iron and clay. Daniel interpreted the head to be Babylon (gold was extremely common in Babylon), the silver to be Media-Persia (silver was the standard currency in Persia. Taxes paid in gold were even converted to silver), the bronze to be Greece (the Greek army used bronze shields, helmets and weapons), the legs to be the Syrian and Egyptian parts of the late Grecian empire, and the feet to be Rome (Rome was the first country to really use iron weapons and armor). The rock that crushed the whole thing by landing on the feet (the Roman Empire) was Jesus.
God gave Daniel a dream (chapter 8) of a ram with two horns standing on a mountain (Mede-Persia). A goat with one big horn killed him. The horn fell off and was replaced by four smaller horns. One of these horns grew and conquered a great territory.
“Therefore the he goat (Alexander the Great) waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken (Alexander died at the height of his power in his early thirties); and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven (Alexander’s kingdom was split into four parts). And out of one of them came forth a little horn (Antiochus IV of the Seluciud rulers of Syria), which waxed exceeding great, toward the south (Egypt), and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land (Israel).”
The account in Daniel goes onto describe in great detail what would happen…. in the next 500 years! The only way it could have been clearer would have been if he had actually named the names of the various kings.
Daniel had another dream in chapter 7. Four great beasts came up from the sea. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. The wings were plucked, then it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. (Babylon- Nebuchadnezzar appears to have accepted our God.)
A second beast was like a bear. It raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. (Mede-Persia) Cyrus conquers Lydia (546 BC), Babylon (539 BC), and Egypt (535 BC).
Another beast, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a fowl. The beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it. (Greece again. Alexander with his kingdom split between his four generals.)
A fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were.
This fourth beast is the kingdom of Syria, the family of the Seleucidae, which was very cruel and oppressive to the Jews, as we find in Josephus and the history of the Maccabees. This empire was different from those which went before because none of the preceding powers compelled the Jews to renounce their religion, but the kings of Syria did, and used them barbarously. Their armies and commanders were the great iron teeth with which they devoured and broke in pieces the people of God. The ten horns are then supposed to be ten kings that reigned successively in Syria; and then the little horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, the last of the ten, who by one means or other undermined three of the kings, and got the government. He was a man of great ingenuity, and therefore is said to have eyes like the eyes of a man; and he was very bold and daring, had a mouth speaking great things.
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (God on the throne. Daniel saw the rest of history.)
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. (Imagine standing before His throne with millions worshiping Him?!:-)
11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. (Rome destroyed the Syrian empire)
12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. (These nations still exist, more or less, in a VERY reduced state as Iraq, Iran, and Greece)
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. (Christ)
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (The kingdom of heaven which began at Calvary)
Daniel receives the interpretation I have explained above.
22 Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints (True lovers of God) possessed the kingdom (of God).
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel realizes it is time for the decree to go back to be given (he had to have been close to ninety years old!) He tells God we have been baaad, but You are good. Forgive us and do what You said You would. God sent Gabriel to talk to him.
24. Seventy weeks (a week means seven just as our word dozen means twelve. Nearly everyone agrees that this is talking about 490 years; 70x7 years) are determined upon thy people (Israel) and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity (Calvary), and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (Jesus).
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment (given by Artaxerus I.) to restore and to build Jerusalem (He paid for it. Cyrus said they could go home but didn’t pay to rebuild.) unto the Messiah the Prince (Jesus) shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks ([7x7]+[62x7]=483 Broken up this way to account for the time of the Maccabees): the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (No kidding. Read Ezra and Nehemiah)
26 And after (the) threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off (crucified), but not for himself (for us): and the people of the prince (gentiles- Romans) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Ad 70 Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the nation of Israel was no more)
27 And he (Christ) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week (seven) he (Christ) shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (we don't have to torch sheep anymore), and for the overspreading of abominations (abundance of sins) He (Christ) shall make it (the city) desolate, even until the consummation (The end or completion of the present system of things; Noah Webster 1828 dictionary), and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate (The Jews remaining in Jerusalem.)
Daniel spent time in fasting and prayer. God again sent an answer by an angel.
11:2 And now will I (the angel) shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia besides Darius, in whose reign this prophecy is dated,
These are Cyrus, Artaxasta or Artaxerxes, called by the Greeks Cambyses, and Ahasuerus that married Esther, called Darius son of Hystaspes.
and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
That is, Xerxes, of whose wealth the Greek authors take notice. By his strength (his vast army, consisting of 800,000 men at least) and his riches, with which he maintained and paid that vast army, he stirred up everyone against Greece. Xerxes's expedition against Greece and the shameful defeat that he met with is famous in history.
3 And a mighty king (Alexander the Great) shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
He foretells Alexander's conquests and the partition of his kingdom,
4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
Alexander's kingdom shall soon be broken, and divided into four parts, but not to his son, nor shall any of his successors rule as much land;
5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes ; and he shall be strong above him shall be stronger than the king, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
The rise and power of two great kingdoms out of the remains of Alexander's conquests. The kingdom of Egypt, and the kingdom of Syria. Again, Daniel gives great detail of what is GOING to happen- all but the names. This is the time of the Maccabeus.
Chapter 12 And at that time (After everything that happened since Daniel, through the Maccabees) shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:
Jesus Christ shall appear his church's patron and protector: At that time, when the persecution is at the hottest, Michael (Michael = who is like God. Strong's Concordance) shall stand up. Christ is that great prince, for he is the prince of the kings of the earth, (Rev. 1:5).
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time:
This is applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem, which Christ calls such a great tribulation as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, (Mt. 24:21).
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book
Thy People are those that love God as much as Daniel does. We are delivered through Calvary; all of us that are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
There shall be a distinguishing resurrection of those that sleep in the dust. When God works deliverance for his people from persecution it is a kind of resurrection; the Jews' release out of Babylon was represented as resurrection in vision (Ezekiel. 37) as was the deliverance of the Jews from Antiochus. Many of those who had long slept in the dust of obscurity and calamity shall then awake
Those resurrected to everlasting life are the many Jews that accepted Christ in the first decade or so of the Church Age; those wise enough to recognize Messiah and teach others about Him. Those resurrected to shame and contempt are those that rejected Christ.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end (of the Jewish nation; the subject of all these prophecies): many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
These prophecies need to sealed until the time of their fulfillment because no one will understand them until then. At that point they will be considered valuable and studied.
And [one] said to the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, How long [shall it be to] the end of these wonders?
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which [was] upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that [it shall be] for a time, times, and an half;
Here is a more general account given of the continuance of these troubles to the angel that made the enquiry that they shall continue for a time, times, and a half, that is, a year, two years, and half a year. Josephus says expressly, in his book of the Wars of the Jews, that Antiochus Epiphanes, surprised Jerusalem by force, and held it three years and six months, and was then cast out of the country by the Maccabees.
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what [shall be] the end of these [things]?
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end (of Israel). …
And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed [is] he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days
Here we have, [1.] The event fixed from which the time of the trouble is to be dated- from the taking away of the daily sacrifice by Antiochus- and the setting up of the image of Jupiter upon the altar, which was the abomination of desolation. They must reckon their troubles to begin indeed when they were deprived of the benefit of public ordinances; that was to them the beginning of sorrows; that was what they laid most to heart. [2.] The continuance of their trouble; it shall last 1290 days, three years and seven months, or (as some reckon) three years, six months, and fifteen days; and then, the daily sacrifice was restored, and the abomination of desolation taken away, in remembrance of which the feast of dedication was observed even to our Savior's time, (John. 10:22). The completing of their deliverance, or at least a further advance towards it, which is here set forty-five days after the former, and, some think, points at the death of Antiochus, 1335 days after his profaning the temple. Blessed is he that waits and comes to that time.
But go thou thy way till the end [be]: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Daniel will die before this all comes to pass.
I have spent a great deal of time on Daniel because many take verses out of Daniel to prove the future interpretation of prophecy when the whole book speaks of the end of the Israelite time frame. To take verses here to prove something in Revelation is not dividing the Word of God correctly.
Matthew 24
1. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
History tells us, that this was fulfilled in 70 AD. General (and future Caesar) Titus took the city and did all he could to preserve the temple, but he coundn’t stop the enraged soldiers from destroying it to the degree that Jesus said it would by. Turnus Rufus ploughed up the ground on which it had stood. : thus that scripture was fulfilled (Micah 3:12), Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed [as] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
In the time of Julian the Apostate, the Jews were encouraged to rebuild their temple, in opposition to the Christian religion. What remained of the ruins were pulled down, to level the ground for a new foundation. But the attempt was stopped by fire erupting out of the ground which destroyed the foundation they laid, and frightened away the builders.
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?
The disciples ask three separate questions, though they may not have thought they were separate. To them, the destruction of the temple would have been the end of the world and it certainly was the end of their world. They were still expecting Christ to set up a natural kingdom at this point, so the sign of thy coming, would have referred to the natural kingdom they were expecting. Surely, if He set up a kingdom that lasted forever, as scripture predicted, the temple could not be destroyed. In short, they were confused.
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5.For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Josephus speaks of several such impostors between this time and the destruction of Jerusalem.
6.And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Christ was born during the Pax Romana (Roman peace). This was a time of relative peace in this part of the world. Christ is predicting that the Great Peace is almost over. War is coming. But the world is not ending yet.
The time of the Jews must end as predicted in Daniel, the Jews must be punished and ruined
7.For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
We read of a famine in Judea, not long after Christ's time, which was very impoverishing (Acts 11:28); but the worest famine was during the siegeof AD 70.
In some places the horrors were worse because Jews fought against Jews. In Scythopolis alone above 13,000 were slain at one time. Josephus relates the case of one prominent man who, because of the terrible things happening all around, and in order to save his family from a worse fate, killed first his father and mother with the sword--they willingly submitting--and afterwards his wife and children, finally taking his own life. This incident will give us at least a faint idea of the awful conditions of those e.
There was a lot of infighting among the Jews as well as neighboring nations during the late 60's. General Titus came to calm things down. There was also a great deal of pestilence and Vesuvius blew in AD 79 accompanied by massive earthquakes all over the Mediterranean.
8. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9.Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
The persecution of the early church at first by the Jews (see the early chapters of Acts) led at first by Saul/Paul, and later by the Roman Empire, especially Nero is well documented.
11. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Another class of trouble makers were men who, Josephus says, “prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen and went before them into the wilderness, pretending that God would there show them the signals of liberty.”
12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13. But he that shall endure unto the end, (of life) the same shall be saved.
14. 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.
Paul said that this had been fulfilled in his time. Romans 16:26
15. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary:
abomination
1. Extreme hatred; detestation.
2. The object of detestation, a common signification in scripture.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Prov.15.
desolation
1. The act of desolating destruction or expulsion of inhabitants; destruction; ruin; waste.
The abomination of desolation was the hated destruction and empting of Jerusalem.
The Jews throughout the area revolted against the Romans. The Romans slaughtered the Jews in towns from Egypt to Syria.
16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
17.Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18.Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19.And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20.But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:
The Roman general, Cestius, led his army from Syria into Judea, destroying widely, and laid siege to Jerusalem. He went so fast that the city was on the point of being captured. The evil Jews fled in large numbers, and the peaceable Jews were about to surrender to the Romans, when a remarkable thing took place. It can only be attributed to the direct intervention of God for the fulfillment of the word of Christ. Josephus tells how Cestius suddenly recalled his soldiers and retired from the city without any reason in the world.
This was the abomination of desolation spoken of by Christ. In other words, When you see the army coming like they did during the time of the Maccabees when Daniel's Abomination was fulfilled, GET OUT.
The Abomination Of Desolation was the armies of Rome, and the unparalleled sufferings of the Jews during those five years of terror, were the “Great Tribulation” foretold by the Lord in Matthew 24:21.
21.For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
After the retreat of Cestius, there was a slaughter of about 10,000 Jews at Damascus; and then, it being obvious that war with the Romans was inevitable, the Jews began making preparations to defend Jerusalem. At that time Josephus, the writer of this history, was appointed general of the armies in Galilee. He seems to have had great ability and success as a soldier, though he was finally overpowered and captured by the Romans. Concerning one of his military operations his translator says “I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus to be one of the finest that ever was invented and executed by any warrior whatsoever.”
At this point the emperor Nero appointed Vespasian, an experienced general, to the task of subduing the Jews; and Vespasian designated his son Titus to assist him. They invaded Judea from the north, marching along the coast, and killing many--18,000 at Askelon alone. Thus Galilee was all over filled with fire and blood; nor was it exempt from any kind of misery or calamity. Josephus opposed the Roman invasion with such forces as he had, but one by one the cities were taken and their inhabitants slain. Finally, Josephus himself was driven to take refuge. The incidents of this siege were terrible; and among them were events which forcibly recall the Lord's words, “But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days.” The Romans were so enraged by the long and fierce resistance of the Jews that they spared none, nor pitied any. Many, moreover, in desperation, killed themselves. The life of Josephus was spared in a manner which seems miraculous, and he was taken captive to Vespasian, to whom he prophesied that both he and Titus his son would be Caesar and emperor. From that time till the end of the war Josephus was kept a prisoner; but he was with Titus during the subsequent siege of Jerusalem, in which the atrocities and miseries reached a limit impossible to be exceeded on earth. Only the state of the lost in hell could be worse.
For a right understanding of Matthew 24:15-21 it is important to know that the Roman armies were, for more than a year, occupied with the devastation of the provinces of Galilee and Judea, before Jerusalem was besieged. It should be noted also that Christ's first warnings to flee were to them which be in Judea (Mt24:16). This makes it perfectly certain that the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, which was the appointed signal for those in Judea to flee into the mountains, was not an idol set up in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. For the desolation of Judea was completed long before Jerusalem and the Temple were taken.
At the time Vespasian led his armies to Jerusalem, that doomed city was in a state of indescribable disorder and confusion insomuch that, during the entire siege, the Jews suffered far more from one another inside the walls than from the enemy outside. Josephus says there were disorders and civil war in every city, and all those that were at quiet from the Romans turned their hands one against another. There was also a bitter contest between those that were for war, and those that were for peace.
Josephus further tells of the utter disgrace and ruin of the high priesthood, the basest of men being exalted to that office; and also of the desecration of the sanctuary.
The most violent party in the city was the Zealots. These called to their aid a band of blood thirsty Idumeans, who set upon the people who were peaceably inclined, and slaughtered young and old until the outer temple was overflowed with blood, and left were 8500 dead bodies there.
Josephus also tells of the terrible torments inflicted upon nobles and citizens of the better sort who refused to comply with the demands of the Zealots. Those, after being horribly tortured, were slain, and through fear, none dared bury them. In this way 12,000 of the more inhabitants perished.
Along all the roads also vast numbers of dead bodies lay in heaps.
About this time above 15,000 fugitive Jews were killed by the Romans, and the number of those that were forced to leap into the Jordan was prodigious. The whole country through which they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could not be passed over, because of the dead bodies that were in it.
At this point Vespasian was called to Rome because of the death of the emperor Nero, and the operations against the Jews fell upon Titus. Vespasian himself was soon thereafter made emperor.
Among the calamities which befell the city was the destruction of the granaries and storehouses of food; so that famine was soon added to the other horrors. The warring factions were agreed in nothing but to kill those that were innocent.
1,100,000 died in the seige and besides 97,000 were taken captive.
“For I venture to say that the sedition destroyed the city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition. This was a much harder thing to do than to destroy the walls. So that we may justly ascribe our misfortunes to our own people (V. 6. 2).” Josephus
This is the most astonishing feature of this great tribulation; for surely there never was a besieged city whose inhabitants suffered more from one another than from the common enemy.
At this point the siege began in earnest. Titus, however, sent Josephus to speak to the Jews, offering them clemency. Josephus made a most earnest plea to them not to resist the might of Rome, pointing out that God was no longer with them. But they didn’t listen. So the siege proceeded outside, and the famine began to rage inside, insomuch that children pulled out of their parents' mouths the morsels they were eating, and even mothers deprived their infants of the last bits of food that might have sustained their lives.
Under pressure of the famine many Jews went out at night into the valleys in search of food. These were caught, tortured and crucified in sight of those on the walls of the city. About five hundred every day. The number became finally so great that there was not room enough for the crosses, nor crosses enough for the victims. So several were ofttimes nailed to one cross.
Then the famine widened its progress and killed the people by whole houses and families. The upper rooms were full of women and children dying of starvation and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged. The children also and the young men wandered about the marketplaces like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead wherever they were standing.
In this connection Josephus relates in detail the case of a woman, eminent for her family and her wealth, who, while suffering the ravages of famine, slew her infant son and roasted him, and having eaten half of him, concealed the other half. When presently the seditious Jews came in to search the premises, and smelt the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her life if she did not show them what food she had prepared. She replied that she had saved for them a choice part, and withal uncovered what was left of the little body, saying, “Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself. Do not you pretend to be more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother.” Even those desperate and hardened men were horrified at the sight, and stood aghast at the deed of this mother. They left trembling; and the whole city was full of what the woman had done. It must be remembered that all this time the lives of all in the city would have been spared and the city and temple saved, had they but yielded to the Romans. But how should the Scripture then be fulfilled? Soon after this the temple was set on fire and was burned down, though Titus tried to save it.
Many were put into bonds and sold to slavery in the Egyptian mines, thus fulfilling several prophecies that they should be sold into Egypt again, whence God had delivered them (Hosea 8:13; 9:3).
Thus ended, in the greatest of all calamities of the sort, the national existence of the Jewish people, and all that pertained to that old covenant which was instituted with glory (2Co 3:7,9,11), but which was to be done away with.
22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25. Behold, I have told you before.
26. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
I believe this is why Thomas was so skeptical of the other disciples having seen Christ after His resurrection. Jesus told him not to believe rumors of Christ being around.
27.For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
When Christ returns, EVERYONE will know it instantly.
28. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Christ shall be revealed with a sudden vengeance; for when God shall cast off the city and people like a carcass thrown out, the Roman soldiers, like eagles, shall straight fly to it with their eagles (ensigns) to tear and devour it.
29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
In the patriarch Joseph's dream, Jacob (Israel) was the sun and the moon was his wife. The stars were his sons. So Immediately after the tribulation of the siege of Jerusalem the nation of Israel will no longer be visible.
30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Then shall the Son of man give a proof of himself, who they would not before acknowledge: a proof, indeed, not in any visible figure, but in vengeance and judgment so visible, that all the tribes of the earth shall be forced to acknowledge Him the avenger.
The sign of the Son of Man is the great power with which God allowed the Jews to be destroyed.
31.And he shall send his angels (servants) with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
When you begin to see the Roman armies approach, you will know the time is here.
34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
This will all come to pass before all the ones He is speaking to die.
35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Everything I say will happen. It is the only permanent thing in the universe.
36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
The day of Christ's second coming is unknown to anyone but God Himself. If anyone tells you Christ is coming in (fill in the date) don't believe them.
37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
39. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
People won't be expecting Him.
40.Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
You know, this doesn't say the good will be taken and the bad left. In His parables, Jesus consistently says the bad will be taken out and punished THEN the saved will be gathered together.
42. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43. But know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Live as if Christ cold come in the next five minutes.
45.Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Work as if His coming will be in a hundred years.
47. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49. And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So in answer to the disciple's three questions, “Tell us, when shall these things (the destruction of the temple) be?” When you see the armies coming to destroy Jerusalem. And “what shall be the sign of thy coming?” No sign. Live as if Christ could come in the next five minutes. Work as if His coming will be in a hundred years. And “of the end of the world?” Same as above.
Sex
Got you attention didn’t I?
I just skimmed through doctor Dean Adell’s book Eat Drink And Be Merry (Which I mostly agree with and recommend). He recommends sex for your health; good exercise and stress reliever. The best sex in the world according to studies? Between a married, monogamous man and woman. Think about it; the more professional ice skating partners practice together the better they get. Same for sex. The more you practice sex the better you get. When you change partners, you start all over.
Another thought says the best sex is to found …..
Among the Amish. Read…
“Not Safe, Nor Private, Nor Free: Wendell Berry on Sexual Love and Procreation” for more information.
http://www.profam.org/pub/fia/fia.2109.htm
Another essay on the subject from a newly wed.
http://ccostello.blogspot.com/2008/08/holiness-purity-and-satisfying-intimacy.html
It is NOT Our Culture that has Sexualized the Breasts
http://makinghome.blogspot.com/2008/08/it-is-not-our-culture-that-has.html
The devil has been very successful in promoting one of his biggest lies: sex was his idea and is only enjoyed in sinful ways.
The truth is that sex was God’s idea, His invention. God’s first gift to Adam after life was a naked woman. His first command to humanity was “Go make babies.” (You recognize it as “Be fruitful and multiply” Same thing.)
He could have made us reproduce without sex. He made other animals do it. Snails, for example, are both male and female. Many animals reproduce without actually having intercourse.
But God gave us sex as the best wedding gift we could possibly receive.
The restrictions He puts on sex in the bible are for our protection. Extra-marital sex, for example, spreads disease, creates fatherless children, destroys our hearts each time there is a break up and creates a confusion of loyalties. The rules against extra-marital sex are for our protection and the protections of our loved ones.
So, let’s all go out and be Amish!
I just skimmed through doctor Dean Adell’s book Eat Drink And Be Merry (Which I mostly agree with and recommend). He recommends sex for your health; good exercise and stress reliever. The best sex in the world according to studies? Between a married, monogamous man and woman. Think about it; the more professional ice skating partners practice together the better they get. Same for sex. The more you practice sex the better you get. When you change partners, you start all over.
Another thought says the best sex is to found …..
Among the Amish. Read…
“Not Safe, Nor Private, Nor Free: Wendell Berry on Sexual Love and Procreation” for more information.
http://www.profam.org/pub/fia/fia.2109.htm
Another essay on the subject from a newly wed.
http://ccostello.blogspot.com/2008/08/holiness-purity-and-satisfying-intimacy.html
It is NOT Our Culture that has Sexualized the Breasts
http://makinghome.blogspot.com/2008/08/it-is-not-our-culture-that-has.html
The devil has been very successful in promoting one of his biggest lies: sex was his idea and is only enjoyed in sinful ways.
The truth is that sex was God’s idea, His invention. God’s first gift to Adam after life was a naked woman. His first command to humanity was “Go make babies.” (You recognize it as “Be fruitful and multiply” Same thing.)
He could have made us reproduce without sex. He made other animals do it. Snails, for example, are both male and female. Many animals reproduce without actually having intercourse.
But God gave us sex as the best wedding gift we could possibly receive.
The restrictions He puts on sex in the bible are for our protection. Extra-marital sex, for example, spreads disease, creates fatherless children, destroys our hearts each time there is a break up and creates a confusion of loyalties. The rules against extra-marital sex are for our protection and the protections of our loved ones.
So, let’s all go out and be Amish!
Monday, November 17, 2008
In honor of the Labor Day weekend
Ok, so I'm a little late:-)
To play along, just copy the questions to your own post and go leave your link. Please take a moment to leave your link here in the comments too - I would love to read your post!
How long were your labors?
1. Five hours.
2. Seven hours (counting a two hour break in the middle caused by pain meds).
3. Six hours.
4. Either two weeks, nine hours or three hours, depending on how you measure it. Braxton Hicks for two weeks; early early labor starting around 6ish; pitocin induction starting the real thing at 12 ending at 3.
5. Two days (off and on) or six or seven hours (when she got serious).
6. Ten hours.
7. Four and a half hours and almost painless.
8. Five and a half hours.
How did you know you were in labor?
1. Contractions became regular and hard, 5ish min apart.
2. Water broke followed immediately by good contractions.
3. Ditto.
4. Pitocin drip.
5. Contractions going good.
6. Contractions started (water broke in the morning but not a contraction until 6pm. Then good stuff right from the start).
7. Water broke (had been having contraction for an hour but thought they were bh).
8. Ditto.
Where did you deliver?
1. Same hosp. I was born in.
2. Ditto.
3. Other hosp in town (insurance change)
4. Ditto.
5. Home
6. Home
7. Home
8. Home
Drugs?
1. Analgesic
2. Ditto
3. Ditto
4. Ditto (though I’m getting the idea it doesn’t work all that well)
5. Nope
6. Ditto
7. Ditto
8. Ditto
C-section?
Nope
Who delivered?
Me.
Now, the doctor caught the first four and a midwife caught the next four, but I did the work to get them here! The mommy delivers the baby.
To play along, just copy the questions to your own post and go leave your link. Please take a moment to leave your link here in the comments too - I would love to read your post!
How long were your labors?
1. Five hours.
2. Seven hours (counting a two hour break in the middle caused by pain meds).
3. Six hours.
4. Either two weeks, nine hours or three hours, depending on how you measure it. Braxton Hicks for two weeks; early early labor starting around 6ish; pitocin induction starting the real thing at 12 ending at 3.
5. Two days (off and on) or six or seven hours (when she got serious).
6. Ten hours.
7. Four and a half hours and almost painless.
8. Five and a half hours.
How did you know you were in labor?
1. Contractions became regular and hard, 5ish min apart.
2. Water broke followed immediately by good contractions.
3. Ditto.
4. Pitocin drip.
5. Contractions going good.
6. Contractions started (water broke in the morning but not a contraction until 6pm. Then good stuff right from the start).
7. Water broke (had been having contraction for an hour but thought they were bh).
8. Ditto.
Where did you deliver?
1. Same hosp. I was born in.
2. Ditto.
3. Other hosp in town (insurance change)
4. Ditto.
5. Home
6. Home
7. Home
8. Home
Drugs?
1. Analgesic
2. Ditto
3. Ditto
4. Ditto (though I’m getting the idea it doesn’t work all that well)
5. Nope
6. Ditto
7. Ditto
8. Ditto
C-section?
Nope
Who delivered?
Me.
Now, the doctor caught the first four and a midwife caught the next four, but I did the work to get them here! The mommy delivers the baby.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Public school and freedom
What would it take for your church to call all Christians to get out of public school? How bad does it have to get? Zelda’s Revenge - coming to a school near you!
http://theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/21PbAr/Ed/ClpsPbEd5CALaws.htm
“What's Really Wrong With Public Schools?” I will give you a hint: it has nothing to do with violence, sex, test scores, merit pay, special ed, or anything else you have heard in the news.
http://reformed-theology.org/html/issue08/whats_wrong_with_schools.htm
The Problem with Public schools from someone else.
http://www.jeffryfisher.net/Statesman/Education/Propaganda.htm
British comedy puts the issue of school choice in perspective.
http://tertiumquids.blogspot.com/2008/08/required-viewing-on-school-choice.html
Getting Out is Not Enough- We have to do more. We have to rethink what education means. http://educationconversation.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/getting-out-is-not-enough/
How Homeschoolers are a threat to you!
http://www.djournal.com/pages/archive.asp?ID=274594
And this link is a repost. This is a $30+ book that has been put online entirely for free by the author. He is an ex public schoolteacher (30 years), teacher of the year twice, and now anti-public school advocate. He has done the research. This book tells us the history of our public schools. He doesn’t discuss test scores or violence or any other problems, but this is an incredibly scary book. The fact is that our schools are NOT broken. They function just like they were designed to, right down to the bullying between students. Every parent, every voter, every tax payer, MUST READ THIS BOOK!
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm
Ok, no one is surprised I support homeschooling. I even give a hesitant nod to Private schools. But to get totally real here, I think public schools should be outlawed. Radical? You bet! But so were those who wrote a little document we call the Constitution. In fact, this is a constitutional issue. Our Founding Fathers discussed what kind of education system we would have. Their conclusion was that education = religion and they didn’t trust any government body to have control of the indoctrination of this country’s children. This is one of the issues they put under the Tenth Amendment (which was part of the original document, not a later add on like #11+ are.) To paraphrase; “Anything we didn’t mention here is forbidden of the federal government. It is to be left with the states and the people.”
The founders of our public schools, the ones truly behind the movement, were socialistic atheists. Our country was 80% Christian church attendees at the time. What has been the result of this system of government taking care of education for us? Just what our Founding Fathers predicted. Today 80% or more of the population never attends church and act like atheists (even if they say they believe in God.) The religion that controls the schools, controls the country and atheism is a religion just like any other.
A child’s education should be controlled entirely by his parents. Now this doesn’t rule out privates schools. I have other, less important, reasons for disproving of them (though they are necessary at times). But a parent should have his child in the school that teaches the religion the parent believes. Period.
What about salt and light? I quote from the excellent homeschool book “Homeschool: Why What How?” ;-)
“Chapter 12.
Shouldn’t I Send My Child To School To
Be “Light And Salt?”
First of all, I have met few five-year-olds (the most common school-starting age) that have truly accepted Christ as their savior. Sending any child to school that isn’t even saved yet to evangelize is like sending a drunken thief to Africa as a missionary. Someone must have the “Light and Salt’ in order to be “light and salt.”
Besides, if this method of evangelism, (sending children to school to witness to each other), worked, our churches would be packed to overflowing. At the institution of public school, the majority of Americans were regular church goers. If each of their children had just brought one unsaved peer to the Lord then our society would be 100% Christian today. Instead, it is getting less and less Christian and more and more Secular Humanist. (One recent study says 88% of fundamentalist Christian children whole heartedly embrace Secular Humanism and quit church permanently at age eighteen). It appears that sending Christian children to public school is having the opposite
effect from evangelism. If my church had an outreach program where we LOST more than 80% of our WORKERS, I would strongly recommend to our leadership that we needed to change programs.
A study commissioned by Homeschool Legal Defense said 96% of homeschool graduates say they are the same or almost the same religion as their parents. Since 80% of homeschoolers are fundamentalist Christians, this is a mighty army of mature spiritual warriors being unleashed on the world. I see this as having a far more positive impact on evangelism than the “send your kids to school to be light and salt” crowd ever dreamed of.
Besides, you wouldn’t send your child to an Islamic or Buddhist temple for their equivalent of Sunday School every week and expect them to stay a Christian. Yet many well meaning Christian parents take their Little Gifts from God to a Secular Humanist (or Humanist trained) teacher, tell them to obey and respect them, for six or more hours, every day, 170-180 days per year, for at least thirteen straight years and are honestly surprised when their children turn out to be
half- hearted Christians at best. Jesus said “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”(16) Atheist teacher, atheist kid. Christian teacher, Christian kid.
Sending your child to school to save a class full of unbelieving peers is an awful lot to ask of a child. Few adults could handle that kind of pressure. The Bible says “If the salt have lost his savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”(17) Childhood is the time a child should be building his foundation for lifelong service to Christ, not evangelizing the world. That is what adulthood is for. Wouldn’t sending him to school to evangelize before he is mature Christians be “lay(ing) hands suddenly”(18) on your child, something Paul said not to do to any man? You wouldn’t throw tomato seeds out in the snow and expect plants much less fruit. For the best crops of tomatoes, you
start them inside in a controlled environment and only gradually take them into the real world when they are almost grown and ready to handle it. Same for Christians. As I recently heard one woman say, “If one apple in a barrel has a bad spot it will turn all the apples bad. I have never yet seen a bunch of good apples turn a bad apple good again.”
Solomon said “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”(19) Jesus said “the student will become like his teacher.” Who do you want your children to be like?”
16 Luke 6:40
17 Matthew 5:13
18 1 Timothy 5:22
19 Proverbs 13:20
http://theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/21PbAr/Ed/ClpsPbEd5CALaws.htm
“What's Really Wrong With Public Schools?” I will give you a hint: it has nothing to do with violence, sex, test scores, merit pay, special ed, or anything else you have heard in the news.
http://reformed-theology.org/html/issue08/whats_wrong_with_schools.htm
The Problem with Public schools from someone else.
http://www.jeffryfisher.net/Statesman/Education/Propaganda.htm
British comedy puts the issue of school choice in perspective.
http://tertiumquids.blogspot.com/2008/08/required-viewing-on-school-choice.html
Getting Out is Not Enough- We have to do more. We have to rethink what education means. http://educationconversation.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/getting-out-is-not-enough/
How Homeschoolers are a threat to you!
http://www.djournal.com/pages/archive.asp?ID=274594
And this link is a repost. This is a $30+ book that has been put online entirely for free by the author. He is an ex public schoolteacher (30 years), teacher of the year twice, and now anti-public school advocate. He has done the research. This book tells us the history of our public schools. He doesn’t discuss test scores or violence or any other problems, but this is an incredibly scary book. The fact is that our schools are NOT broken. They function just like they were designed to, right down to the bullying between students. Every parent, every voter, every tax payer, MUST READ THIS BOOK!
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm
Ok, no one is surprised I support homeschooling. I even give a hesitant nod to Private schools. But to get totally real here, I think public schools should be outlawed. Radical? You bet! But so were those who wrote a little document we call the Constitution. In fact, this is a constitutional issue. Our Founding Fathers discussed what kind of education system we would have. Their conclusion was that education = religion and they didn’t trust any government body to have control of the indoctrination of this country’s children. This is one of the issues they put under the Tenth Amendment (which was part of the original document, not a later add on like #11+ are.) To paraphrase; “Anything we didn’t mention here is forbidden of the federal government. It is to be left with the states and the people.”
The founders of our public schools, the ones truly behind the movement, were socialistic atheists. Our country was 80% Christian church attendees at the time. What has been the result of this system of government taking care of education for us? Just what our Founding Fathers predicted. Today 80% or more of the population never attends church and act like atheists (even if they say they believe in God.) The religion that controls the schools, controls the country and atheism is a religion just like any other.
A child’s education should be controlled entirely by his parents. Now this doesn’t rule out privates schools. I have other, less important, reasons for disproving of them (though they are necessary at times). But a parent should have his child in the school that teaches the religion the parent believes. Period.
What about salt and light? I quote from the excellent homeschool book “Homeschool: Why What How?” ;-)
“Chapter 12.
Shouldn’t I Send My Child To School To
Be “Light And Salt?”
First of all, I have met few five-year-olds (the most common school-starting age) that have truly accepted Christ as their savior. Sending any child to school that isn’t even saved yet to evangelize is like sending a drunken thief to Africa as a missionary. Someone must have the “Light and Salt’ in order to be “light and salt.”
Besides, if this method of evangelism, (sending children to school to witness to each other), worked, our churches would be packed to overflowing. At the institution of public school, the majority of Americans were regular church goers. If each of their children had just brought one unsaved peer to the Lord then our society would be 100% Christian today. Instead, it is getting less and less Christian and more and more Secular Humanist. (One recent study says 88% of fundamentalist Christian children whole heartedly embrace Secular Humanism and quit church permanently at age eighteen). It appears that sending Christian children to public school is having the opposite
effect from evangelism. If my church had an outreach program where we LOST more than 80% of our WORKERS, I would strongly recommend to our leadership that we needed to change programs.
A study commissioned by Homeschool Legal Defense said 96% of homeschool graduates say they are the same or almost the same religion as their parents. Since 80% of homeschoolers are fundamentalist Christians, this is a mighty army of mature spiritual warriors being unleashed on the world. I see this as having a far more positive impact on evangelism than the “send your kids to school to be light and salt” crowd ever dreamed of.
Besides, you wouldn’t send your child to an Islamic or Buddhist temple for their equivalent of Sunday School every week and expect them to stay a Christian. Yet many well meaning Christian parents take their Little Gifts from God to a Secular Humanist (or Humanist trained) teacher, tell them to obey and respect them, for six or more hours, every day, 170-180 days per year, for at least thirteen straight years and are honestly surprised when their children turn out to be
half- hearted Christians at best. Jesus said “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”(16) Atheist teacher, atheist kid. Christian teacher, Christian kid.
Sending your child to school to save a class full of unbelieving peers is an awful lot to ask of a child. Few adults could handle that kind of pressure. The Bible says “If the salt have lost his savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”(17) Childhood is the time a child should be building his foundation for lifelong service to Christ, not evangelizing the world. That is what adulthood is for. Wouldn’t sending him to school to evangelize before he is mature Christians be “lay(ing) hands suddenly”(18) on your child, something Paul said not to do to any man? You wouldn’t throw tomato seeds out in the snow and expect plants much less fruit. For the best crops of tomatoes, you
start them inside in a controlled environment and only gradually take them into the real world when they are almost grown and ready to handle it. Same for Christians. As I recently heard one woman say, “If one apple in a barrel has a bad spot it will turn all the apples bad. I have never yet seen a bunch of good apples turn a bad apple good again.”
Solomon said “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”(19) Jesus said “the student will become like his teacher.” Who do you want your children to be like?”
16 Luke 6:40
17 Matthew 5:13
18 1 Timothy 5:22
19 Proverbs 13:20
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Reason for Marriage
We are told that the reason for marriage is love, companionship, sex, reproduction, social contract and I don’t know what all. Our society has built its laws on these presumptions.
To bad they aren’t true.
First of all, marriage is not something that “evolved” to meet the needs of humans. It was not created by men to keep their women to themselves nor by women to make sure they had the financial support necessary to raise children.
Marriage is the invention of God Himself on the sixth day of creation.
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
This whole thing was God’s idea. He invented it. He decided the rules for it. And He created its purpose.
What is the purpose of marriage?
The Bible repeatedly compares God’s relationship with His people to the relationship between husband and wife.
“For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” Isa 62:5
“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:31-32
“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.” Rev 21:9
The above is just a sample of the scriptures referring to the bride of Christ and the marriage supper of The Lamb. The fact is that God’s people have always been God’s bride. He divorced Israel for unfaithfulness and has married the Christian church.
How do we know what it means, as a church body, to be the bride of Christ? We look at the example God gave us- human marriage. How do we know what human marriage is supposed to be? God gave us explicit rules in His word.
The biblical rules for marriage have the man as the head of the household, loving his wife enough to die for her. Christ loved us enough to choose to go to the cross to die for us, something he didn’t want to do (read the prayer in the garden before the crucifixion) but chose to anyway.
It has the woman as the helper to her husband, submitting and obeying him. The church is God’s helper in this world, submitting to His will and obeying His plans. When a husband and wife love on each other, the family increases in size. When the church loves on God (who, much like most men, is always ready to love on His wife right back;-) the church grows. This is a beautiful parallel; a wonderful object lesson.
Now, let’s examine a few modern “improvements” on marriage:
It is now popular to have an egalitarian marriage; a marriage where no one is supposed to be boss, but man and woman are equal partners making equal decisions. The man and wife both have jobs outside the home, generally, and both jobs and career goals are supposed to be given equal weight in the family. Now how does this play out in the Great Heavenly Marriage? God and the church both have their separate but equal jobs to do. Neither is more important than the other. Neither God nor the church has the right to boss the other around. They make all decisions equally.
Can you picture this? Unfortunately, I can. I see many churches that think their ideas on how to minister to the lost and the community are just as good as the ones God gave us. Sadly, though, it doesn’t work. We will only be successful churches when we submit to God and obey Him as the wife is SUPPOSED to obey her husband. And wives, your family won’t work right if you don’t submit to hubby with the same attitude the church should submit to God!
Dictatorship. I have to add this one because many women think any marriage that isn’t egalitarian is a dictatorship. This is simply not true. A dictatorship is where the head of the house puts his ideas and interests supreme, above everyone else’s. So what if his ideas inconvenience everyone else? It’s HIS house isn’t it? If he has to force (physically or emotionally, like with pouting) his wife to obey, than, well, he will! Question is, though, is this how Christ acts? Does Christ make decisions that are bad for the church? No! Actually, all of Christ’s decisions are made with what is best for the church in the forefront. Everything He does is for the benefit of the church. This is how hubby is supposed to act; everything he does is supposed to be for the benefit of wifey and the family.
Polygamy. Well this idea is out! The Bible is plain that God only has one church, one bride. Polygamy gives a man two brides. Two brides compete for hubby’s attention; they are rivals. If this was a valid marriage format, than different churches would have to compete for God’s attention. Jesus said He wanted us to be one, a doctrine also taught throughout the New Testament. All that are saved are part of the One Church; the One Bride of Christ. Polygamy gives a false picture, and though not outlawed in the bible, it is discouraged and there is not one example that I know of, of a polygamous marriage that is not a dysfunctional home.
Gay marriage. So, God doesn’t really need the church? He just needs to find another God to pal around with? Or the church doesn’t need God? She just needs to find another church to fellowship and not deal with Jesus at all? Can God bring sinners to Him without human voices (the church) to do the preaching? Can the church save souls without Christ? Does this even make sense to anyone?
The childless or child restricted marriage. Let’s imagine this in the form of the church; “Let’s not let anyone new come to our congregation. They just cost money and take work. We can buy a bigger building and fancier choir robes if we don’t have the expense of evangelism. We can have lots of fun with Jesus without winning souls. Besides, we have goals and jobs to do and just don’t have time to teach new converts or to deal with them.”
Or let’s picture Jesus saying “I don’t want anymore converts. I had planned on quitting my work early and just enjoying myself. New converts would mean I would have to keep saving people for many more years to come and I just don’t want to do that.” This is as ridiculous as gay marriage.
Divorce. “Sorry Jesus. I found a new God who turns me on more. I just don’t love You anymore.” Sadly, this is as common as physical divorce.
We need to examine our marriages and bring them into line with the word of God; with His design. To do any differently is to say we know better than He does what is right and brings shame on the Kingdom of God.
(Oh, and is love, companionship, and especially sex are really nice fringe benefits of marriage! God built it that way!)
To bad they aren’t true.
First of all, marriage is not something that “evolved” to meet the needs of humans. It was not created by men to keep their women to themselves nor by women to make sure they had the financial support necessary to raise children.
Marriage is the invention of God Himself on the sixth day of creation.
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
This whole thing was God’s idea. He invented it. He decided the rules for it. And He created its purpose.
What is the purpose of marriage?
The Bible repeatedly compares God’s relationship with His people to the relationship between husband and wife.
“For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” Isa 62:5
“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:31-32
“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.” Rev 21:9
The above is just a sample of the scriptures referring to the bride of Christ and the marriage supper of The Lamb. The fact is that God’s people have always been God’s bride. He divorced Israel for unfaithfulness and has married the Christian church.
How do we know what it means, as a church body, to be the bride of Christ? We look at the example God gave us- human marriage. How do we know what human marriage is supposed to be? God gave us explicit rules in His word.
The biblical rules for marriage have the man as the head of the household, loving his wife enough to die for her. Christ loved us enough to choose to go to the cross to die for us, something he didn’t want to do (read the prayer in the garden before the crucifixion) but chose to anyway.
It has the woman as the helper to her husband, submitting and obeying him. The church is God’s helper in this world, submitting to His will and obeying His plans. When a husband and wife love on each other, the family increases in size. When the church loves on God (who, much like most men, is always ready to love on His wife right back;-) the church grows. This is a beautiful parallel; a wonderful object lesson.
Now, let’s examine a few modern “improvements” on marriage:
It is now popular to have an egalitarian marriage; a marriage where no one is supposed to be boss, but man and woman are equal partners making equal decisions. The man and wife both have jobs outside the home, generally, and both jobs and career goals are supposed to be given equal weight in the family. Now how does this play out in the Great Heavenly Marriage? God and the church both have their separate but equal jobs to do. Neither is more important than the other. Neither God nor the church has the right to boss the other around. They make all decisions equally.
Can you picture this? Unfortunately, I can. I see many churches that think their ideas on how to minister to the lost and the community are just as good as the ones God gave us. Sadly, though, it doesn’t work. We will only be successful churches when we submit to God and obey Him as the wife is SUPPOSED to obey her husband. And wives, your family won’t work right if you don’t submit to hubby with the same attitude the church should submit to God!
Dictatorship. I have to add this one because many women think any marriage that isn’t egalitarian is a dictatorship. This is simply not true. A dictatorship is where the head of the house puts his ideas and interests supreme, above everyone else’s. So what if his ideas inconvenience everyone else? It’s HIS house isn’t it? If he has to force (physically or emotionally, like with pouting) his wife to obey, than, well, he will! Question is, though, is this how Christ acts? Does Christ make decisions that are bad for the church? No! Actually, all of Christ’s decisions are made with what is best for the church in the forefront. Everything He does is for the benefit of the church. This is how hubby is supposed to act; everything he does is supposed to be for the benefit of wifey and the family.
Polygamy. Well this idea is out! The Bible is plain that God only has one church, one bride. Polygamy gives a man two brides. Two brides compete for hubby’s attention; they are rivals. If this was a valid marriage format, than different churches would have to compete for God’s attention. Jesus said He wanted us to be one, a doctrine also taught throughout the New Testament. All that are saved are part of the One Church; the One Bride of Christ. Polygamy gives a false picture, and though not outlawed in the bible, it is discouraged and there is not one example that I know of, of a polygamous marriage that is not a dysfunctional home.
Gay marriage. So, God doesn’t really need the church? He just needs to find another God to pal around with? Or the church doesn’t need God? She just needs to find another church to fellowship and not deal with Jesus at all? Can God bring sinners to Him without human voices (the church) to do the preaching? Can the church save souls without Christ? Does this even make sense to anyone?
The childless or child restricted marriage. Let’s imagine this in the form of the church; “Let’s not let anyone new come to our congregation. They just cost money and take work. We can buy a bigger building and fancier choir robes if we don’t have the expense of evangelism. We can have lots of fun with Jesus without winning souls. Besides, we have goals and jobs to do and just don’t have time to teach new converts or to deal with them.”
Or let’s picture Jesus saying “I don’t want anymore converts. I had planned on quitting my work early and just enjoying myself. New converts would mean I would have to keep saving people for many more years to come and I just don’t want to do that.” This is as ridiculous as gay marriage.
Divorce. “Sorry Jesus. I found a new God who turns me on more. I just don’t love You anymore.” Sadly, this is as common as physical divorce.
We need to examine our marriages and bring them into line with the word of God; with His design. To do any differently is to say we know better than He does what is right and brings shame on the Kingdom of God.
(Oh, and is love, companionship, and especially sex are really nice fringe benefits of marriage! God built it that way!)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
What is love?
As with most issues, there are two schools of thought here. One is the Roman, or “Romantic” idea and the other the Hebrew view.
The romantic view of love says that it is a chemical reaction that you have no control over. I find this an insulting idea. “I wouldn’t choose to love you, but my hormones make me.” Yuck.
“I will love you forever.” This promise can never be made. There is never a guarantee someone else won’t come along who stimulates your hormones more. Or that you will quit eating green beans and it was the chemicals in them that caused the chemical reaction of love.
This idea reduces love to nothing more than an uncontrollable, unstable emotional reaction.
If this view is correct, than so are those who believe in sex before and outside of marriage, divorce for any reason, homosexuality, polygamy, bestiality, pedophilia, necrophilia, rape, theft, etc. If our “love reaction” is out of our control, than we have no right telling anyone that they can’t love anyone or anything they “want to,” though of course they aren’t “wanting to.” Their chemistry tells them they must, poor souls. What the pedophile needs is more understanding.
What does this do to the Gospel Story? Christ gave Himself on the cross because His hormones and chemicals made Him love us whether He wanted to or not. He was forced by biology to die to save us. Is that what your Bible says?
We don’t have a choice to love God or not? It is just chemistry and some have and some don’t? Those who don’t? Tough stuff – you’re going to hell, through no fault of your own since it is not in your genetic make up to love God.
This totally eliminates the idea of sin, of course. “Sin” becomes doing what your uncontrollable chemicals tell you to do (rape, steal, murder, lie, adultery, fornication of all kinds, etc.). It then becomes evil to condemn anyone of any sin. Except to condemn someone is just a chemical reaction too. This means some people are just biologically destined to hate certain others, because, after all, hate and love are the same chemical reaction, just opposites on the scale. Why bother to ever try to achieve peace anywhere? It won’t do any good. Whites are biologically programmed to hate blacks, Muslims and Germans to hate Jews, north Irishmen to hate South Irishmen, etc. They are destined by genetics to hate each other.
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The Hebrew idea of love is that it is a choice, a decision. “I choose to love you forever no matter what (or who) comes along.” This is the love God had for us. He chose to love us, even though we didn’t deserve it. He could have chosen to hate us, but He didn’t. Christ gave Himself on the cross of His own free will. “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Mat 26:53. Christ COULD have chosen not to die on the cross, but He didn’t. He CHOSE to love us enough to WILLINGLY give Himself.
God chose what would be called sin in the Bible by what would harm those He chose to love. Every listed sin would either harm the sinner or another human God loved. Every one.
So what does this do to our list of “loves” above? It makes them all sins of not believing God and His design; of thinking you know better than God what is good for you. You know better whether premarital sex will hurt you or not, not the all-seeing, all knowing God who said it would. You know better if molesting little children harms them or not, not the eternal “Father to the fatherless” who said it was evil. The romantic idea of love and its results are, when it comes right down to it, worship of humanity as the most intelligent power on earth. God just doesn’t understand or is too stupid to know.
I believe when we are picking a mate, we should focus, not on how many flip-flops our heart does when they walk into a room, but on how that person meshes with us religiously, mentally, in their personal goals, in their humor; how would we do as a team in accomplishing God’s goals for marriage- to show His relationship with the church and to raise up godly children? The truth is that emotions are fleeting things that come and go in the best of relationships. When we decide, in the Hebrew manner, with our intellect, to love (an action verb) someone, we have done something beyond acting like an animal in heat. We are acting like thinking human beings. We make an intelligent commitment.
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What about sexual attraction? That is based on chemistry; however, studies have proven that the chemistry of the human brain can be changed by psycho therapy. In other words, the decisions you make in your life control the chemical make up of your brain, not the other way around.
If a woman finds a “bad boy” stimulating and chooses to focus on that type of man, she will find herself very un-attracted to good men. She will also find herself abused and alone.
Does a pedophile not have a choice whether or not to be turned on by little kids? If he chooses to find the idea repulsive, in time, his body will catch up and not respond sexually to children. He may never be able to heal enough to be turned on by women his age, but he can change his chemical reaction to children. An alcoholic can choose to be appalled by alcohol. In time, his chemical cravings will lesson until he no longer craves the stuff (though he won’t heal enough to be able to be a social drinker.) The woman who “must” sleep around with every Tom, Dick and Harry, can, if she chooses to, teach her brain to only be turned on by her hubby. I believe most men are sexually attracted to most women. This doesn’t mean it is beyond their control to be monogamous, or even celibate if they decide they need to be. It certainly won’t be easy, but it can be achieved; but only with the decision to do so. The brain must lead, not the emotions. We can control who or what we are attracted to.
The romantic view of love says that it is a chemical reaction that you have no control over. I find this an insulting idea. “I wouldn’t choose to love you, but my hormones make me.” Yuck.
“I will love you forever.” This promise can never be made. There is never a guarantee someone else won’t come along who stimulates your hormones more. Or that you will quit eating green beans and it was the chemicals in them that caused the chemical reaction of love.
This idea reduces love to nothing more than an uncontrollable, unstable emotional reaction.
If this view is correct, than so are those who believe in sex before and outside of marriage, divorce for any reason, homosexuality, polygamy, bestiality, pedophilia, necrophilia, rape, theft, etc. If our “love reaction” is out of our control, than we have no right telling anyone that they can’t love anyone or anything they “want to,” though of course they aren’t “wanting to.” Their chemistry tells them they must, poor souls. What the pedophile needs is more understanding.
What does this do to the Gospel Story? Christ gave Himself on the cross because His hormones and chemicals made Him love us whether He wanted to or not. He was forced by biology to die to save us. Is that what your Bible says?
We don’t have a choice to love God or not? It is just chemistry and some have and some don’t? Those who don’t? Tough stuff – you’re going to hell, through no fault of your own since it is not in your genetic make up to love God.
This totally eliminates the idea of sin, of course. “Sin” becomes doing what your uncontrollable chemicals tell you to do (rape, steal, murder, lie, adultery, fornication of all kinds, etc.). It then becomes evil to condemn anyone of any sin. Except to condemn someone is just a chemical reaction too. This means some people are just biologically destined to hate certain others, because, after all, hate and love are the same chemical reaction, just opposites on the scale. Why bother to ever try to achieve peace anywhere? It won’t do any good. Whites are biologically programmed to hate blacks, Muslims and Germans to hate Jews, north Irishmen to hate South Irishmen, etc. They are destined by genetics to hate each other.
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The Hebrew idea of love is that it is a choice, a decision. “I choose to love you forever no matter what (or who) comes along.” This is the love God had for us. He chose to love us, even though we didn’t deserve it. He could have chosen to hate us, but He didn’t. Christ gave Himself on the cross of His own free will. “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Mat 26:53. Christ COULD have chosen not to die on the cross, but He didn’t. He CHOSE to love us enough to WILLINGLY give Himself.
God chose what would be called sin in the Bible by what would harm those He chose to love. Every listed sin would either harm the sinner or another human God loved. Every one.
So what does this do to our list of “loves” above? It makes them all sins of not believing God and His design; of thinking you know better than God what is good for you. You know better whether premarital sex will hurt you or not, not the all-seeing, all knowing God who said it would. You know better if molesting little children harms them or not, not the eternal “Father to the fatherless” who said it was evil. The romantic idea of love and its results are, when it comes right down to it, worship of humanity as the most intelligent power on earth. God just doesn’t understand or is too stupid to know.
I believe when we are picking a mate, we should focus, not on how many flip-flops our heart does when they walk into a room, but on how that person meshes with us religiously, mentally, in their personal goals, in their humor; how would we do as a team in accomplishing God’s goals for marriage- to show His relationship with the church and to raise up godly children? The truth is that emotions are fleeting things that come and go in the best of relationships. When we decide, in the Hebrew manner, with our intellect, to love (an action verb) someone, we have done something beyond acting like an animal in heat. We are acting like thinking human beings. We make an intelligent commitment.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
What about sexual attraction? That is based on chemistry; however, studies have proven that the chemistry of the human brain can be changed by psycho therapy. In other words, the decisions you make in your life control the chemical make up of your brain, not the other way around.
If a woman finds a “bad boy” stimulating and chooses to focus on that type of man, she will find herself very un-attracted to good men. She will also find herself abused and alone.
Does a pedophile not have a choice whether or not to be turned on by little kids? If he chooses to find the idea repulsive, in time, his body will catch up and not respond sexually to children. He may never be able to heal enough to be turned on by women his age, but he can change his chemical reaction to children. An alcoholic can choose to be appalled by alcohol. In time, his chemical cravings will lesson until he no longer craves the stuff (though he won’t heal enough to be able to be a social drinker.) The woman who “must” sleep around with every Tom, Dick and Harry, can, if she chooses to, teach her brain to only be turned on by her hubby. I believe most men are sexually attracted to most women. This doesn’t mean it is beyond their control to be monogamous, or even celibate if they decide they need to be. It certainly won’t be easy, but it can be achieved; but only with the decision to do so. The brain must lead, not the emotions. We can control who or what we are attracted to.
Motherhood links
I have quite a file of links I want to use someday. I got a bit behind during the election.
First a fun song supporting motherhood
http://mommylife.net/archives/2008/04/the_mom_song_fr.html
My Life For Yours: A Mother’s Pondering About Her Body
“You’ll have a ministry someday too, Deary.” Grrrrrrr.
Wonderful article on the ministry of motherhood; the ministry to our children; Eternal Souls given by God to prepare for heaven.
http://www.mfth.org/publication.html?ID=126&pagename=mfthjournal&phrase=women%20in%20ministry
“G.K. Chesterton compared a mother's duties to those of a monarch, a merchant, and a theology teacher. He said, I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about (arithmetic), and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”
There is not better, no more important, job in the world than “mommy.”
The all important question..
Where Should Your Baby Sleep?
My, how things have changed
Preparing for motherhood...
The most important thing a mom can do.
http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/05/the-most-important-thing-a-mom-can-do.html
It’s ok to NOT be supermom.
It’s ok to ask for help.
http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/05/why-im-not-a-supermom-or-pretend-to-be.html
Here are some very good guidelines on child training.
http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/05/early-child-training.html
How [our adoption really was]
http://www.boundlessline.org/2009/02/how-was-it-part-3.html
There is nothing (ok, so there is probably something but it feels, at this particular moment as though there is nothing) more insulting than to hear, “It must be nice to have easy kids.”
http://paradoxology.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/do-parents-a-favor/
8 tips for surviving (and thriving!) in the midst of chaos Conversion Diary
First a fun song supporting motherhood
http://mommylife.net/archives/2008/04/the_mom_song_fr.html
My Life For Yours: A Mother’s Pondering About Her Body
“You’ll have a ministry someday too, Deary.” Grrrrrrr.
Wonderful article on the ministry of motherhood; the ministry to our children; Eternal Souls given by God to prepare for heaven.
http://www.mfth.org/publication.html?ID=126&pagename=mfthjournal&phrase=women%20in%20ministry
“G.K. Chesterton compared a mother's duties to those of a monarch, a merchant, and a theology teacher. He said, I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about (arithmetic), and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”
There is not better, no more important, job in the world than “mommy.”
The all important question..
Where Should Your Baby Sleep?
My, how things have changed
Preparing for motherhood...
The most important thing a mom can do.
http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/05/the-most-important-thing-a-mom-can-do.html
It’s ok to NOT be supermom.
It’s ok to ask for help.
http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/05/why-im-not-a-supermom-or-pretend-to-be.html
Here are some very good guidelines on child training.
http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/05/early-child-training.html
How [our adoption really was]
http://www.boundlessline.org/2009/02/how-was-it-part-3.html
There is nothing (ok, so there is probably something but it feels, at this particular moment as though there is nothing) more insulting than to hear, “It must be nice to have easy kids.”
http://paradoxology.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/do-parents-a-favor/
8 tips for surviving (and thriving!) in the midst of chaos Conversion Diary
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Book update
I wrote my book several years ago. One lesson homeschoolers need to learn, and sometimes find difficult, is that as your family grows, your needs change. It is ok, even necessary, to change curriculums as this happens.
Just as an update, here is what we are doing, subject by subject:
Bible- the same as before. For those who haven’t read my book….buy it! LOL. You need a Bible of your favorite translation (mine is the King James Version), and a notebook and paper and art supplies for each student. A Hymnal, concordance, dictionary, and Matthew Henry commentary are VERY good helps to add if you can. They are all available online for free.
Reading- I have used the Noah Webster Reading handbook by Christian Liberty Press to teach my five oldest children. I stand by the statement that all you need is a pack of 3x5 cards, some markers and a knowledge of phonics to teach reading (total of less than$20). The NWRH has the phonics rules, as most of us have very limited knowledge of phonics.
However, after going through this book FIVE TIMES, I am heartily sick of it! I couldn’t face doing it again for my sixth child. So I am using Alphabet Island for her. This is a $100 (give or take) program. The authors gave each alphabet character a personality and invented stories to explain how they act with each other. For example, clever C has a pet kangaroo and has learned how to imitate him by jumping and making the /K/ sound. But when he is by girl letters (e, I, and y) he “actS So Silly they hope he leaveS Soon.” This makes it very easy to remember c says /K/ with every letter but e, I, or y, which cause him to say /s/. (L is also a female, but she is the queen and you don’t act silly around the queen). My fifth child needed some extra reinforcement with her letter formation (normal for a seven year old) and my seventh (4yo) needed an introduction to the ABCs, so I include them and spend about half an hour per day on this curriculum. I couldn’t afford that much time for one subject for one child, but by combining all three it is no problem. This is a cutesy curriculum probably best suited to girls.
Penmanship- I will probably be changing to “Handwriting without tears” come tax time. I have heard good reviews and my children take way too much after their mother in this subject.
Grammar- I have done a good deal of just teaching what I know in this subject. My oldest scored 80% on a sample GED test in grammar. However, I have been much less successful with my boys. I have discovered that, though I always got straight A’s in grammar in school, I didn’t learn very much at all. They never taught more than just the basics. I tried Rod and Staff for a year. I have discovered two things; 1) I LOVE complete text books that cover EVERY aspect of a subject in one series (this is what Rod And Staff does). And 2) There is a very good reason many homeschoolers are “textbook phobic.” They are incredibly boring with way too much work! Yes, I could easily MAKE my children do the work. They are good kids and do what I what I tell them without complaining. But why should either of us work that hard? Is the point of a grammar text to teach them to write for an hour per day or to use a period at the end of a sentence? They were spending so much energy on making sure they copied everything right they were forgetting what they were supposed to be learning. When a friend mentioned that she had just switched to Daily Grams and Easy Grammar, I knew instantly that that was what I needed to do. I have heard about this curriculum since beginning homeschooling and God has been bringing it to my mind a lot in the last six months or so. Her mentioning it just sealed it that I should check into it closer.
Daily Grams is a daily drill in the basics of grammar. One sentence to capitalize per day, one to punctuate, some practice with parts of speech, and combining simple sentences into one complex sentence. Takes less than ten minutes and keeps all the rules fresh. (Drill and Kill at its best)
Easy Grammar is based on the Prepositional method. First the child memorizes a list of prepositions, then he is taught to cross out all prepositional phrases in a sentence. Generally, what is left is the subject and the verb. This really simplifies English. One ten minute lesson per day. We have only been using this for a couple of weeks, but I can see a small difference in their other writing already. I expect more as we really get into it.
I am still using First Lessons in Language for first grade as EG+DG doesn’t start until second grade.
Math- I started with Abeka, but left it because it was consumable and I couldn’t see me having the money to buy new books for every child every year. I used Saxon next. It is the most recommended math curriculum on the market. Again, I LOVE it as a complete math program (a little OCD there, I think). My children hated it. Lessons were more than an hour long with lots of work and little progress that they could see. I have tried Rays and a couple of other things since, all just wrong some how. The one thing I have stayed with all the way through is calculaddars, a drill set. I gave Math U See a try starting summer of 07. WOW. All my children seem to understand what they are doing now. I have them watch the DVD and then do the work. It is like having a tutor come in everyday just to teach math. If they don’t get it from the disk, of course I teach them, but most of the time they don’t need me. I feel like the set is too light and way too easy, but since we have changed they are burning their way through the calculaddars. They are obviously learning way more. My oldest was the last to switch. She is now doing- and enjoying!- Algebra. She is not a mathematician so I will only have her do the Stewardship level after this book, but I have hopes of some of my other children making it to upper maths now; something I had given up on.
History- still using Story of the World. I have some complaints, but it is the best I have found so far. We will spend a year just reading biographies after we finish this level. Then probably a year studying American history (one of my complaints is that their US history is way too light). Who knows from there.
Science- I gave up on Physics and Chemistry. I realized I teach these mixed in with biology and earth/sky sciences so a lot of it was duplicated. What wasn’t duplicated is more than I ever learned even through high school. if they need more in these subjects I will buy them the books and let them learn from the experts. We are now studying the human body again. We are taking one system at a time (we are still on the skeleton as we just started a short time ago) and not only studying its parts and how they work, but how nutrition and exercise affect them. We are having a great time!
Everything else is pretty much the same, so if you want to know more you will have to read my book:-)
Just as an update, here is what we are doing, subject by subject:
Bible- the same as before. For those who haven’t read my book….buy it! LOL. You need a Bible of your favorite translation (mine is the King James Version), and a notebook and paper and art supplies for each student. A Hymnal, concordance, dictionary, and Matthew Henry commentary are VERY good helps to add if you can. They are all available online for free.
Reading- I have used the Noah Webster Reading handbook by Christian Liberty Press to teach my five oldest children. I stand by the statement that all you need is a pack of 3x5 cards, some markers and a knowledge of phonics to teach reading (total of less than$20). The NWRH has the phonics rules, as most of us have very limited knowledge of phonics.
However, after going through this book FIVE TIMES, I am heartily sick of it! I couldn’t face doing it again for my sixth child. So I am using Alphabet Island for her. This is a $100 (give or take) program. The authors gave each alphabet character a personality and invented stories to explain how they act with each other. For example, clever C has a pet kangaroo and has learned how to imitate him by jumping and making the /K/ sound. But when he is by girl letters (e, I, and y) he “actS So Silly they hope he leaveS Soon.” This makes it very easy to remember c says /K/ with every letter but e, I, or y, which cause him to say /s/. (L is also a female, but she is the queen and you don’t act silly around the queen). My fifth child needed some extra reinforcement with her letter formation (normal for a seven year old) and my seventh (4yo) needed an introduction to the ABCs, so I include them and spend about half an hour per day on this curriculum. I couldn’t afford that much time for one subject for one child, but by combining all three it is no problem. This is a cutesy curriculum probably best suited to girls.
Penmanship- I will probably be changing to “Handwriting without tears” come tax time. I have heard good reviews and my children take way too much after their mother in this subject.
Grammar- I have done a good deal of just teaching what I know in this subject. My oldest scored 80% on a sample GED test in grammar. However, I have been much less successful with my boys. I have discovered that, though I always got straight A’s in grammar in school, I didn’t learn very much at all. They never taught more than just the basics. I tried Rod and Staff for a year. I have discovered two things; 1) I LOVE complete text books that cover EVERY aspect of a subject in one series (this is what Rod And Staff does). And 2) There is a very good reason many homeschoolers are “textbook phobic.” They are incredibly boring with way too much work! Yes, I could easily MAKE my children do the work. They are good kids and do what I what I tell them without complaining. But why should either of us work that hard? Is the point of a grammar text to teach them to write for an hour per day or to use a period at the end of a sentence? They were spending so much energy on making sure they copied everything right they were forgetting what they were supposed to be learning. When a friend mentioned that she had just switched to Daily Grams and Easy Grammar, I knew instantly that that was what I needed to do. I have heard about this curriculum since beginning homeschooling and God has been bringing it to my mind a lot in the last six months or so. Her mentioning it just sealed it that I should check into it closer.
Daily Grams is a daily drill in the basics of grammar. One sentence to capitalize per day, one to punctuate, some practice with parts of speech, and combining simple sentences into one complex sentence. Takes less than ten minutes and keeps all the rules fresh. (Drill and Kill at its best)
Easy Grammar is based on the Prepositional method. First the child memorizes a list of prepositions, then he is taught to cross out all prepositional phrases in a sentence. Generally, what is left is the subject and the verb. This really simplifies English. One ten minute lesson per day. We have only been using this for a couple of weeks, but I can see a small difference in their other writing already. I expect more as we really get into it.
I am still using First Lessons in Language for first grade as EG+DG doesn’t start until second grade.
Math- I started with Abeka, but left it because it was consumable and I couldn’t see me having the money to buy new books for every child every year. I used Saxon next. It is the most recommended math curriculum on the market. Again, I LOVE it as a complete math program (a little OCD there, I think). My children hated it. Lessons were more than an hour long with lots of work and little progress that they could see. I have tried Rays and a couple of other things since, all just wrong some how. The one thing I have stayed with all the way through is calculaddars, a drill set. I gave Math U See a try starting summer of 07. WOW. All my children seem to understand what they are doing now. I have them watch the DVD and then do the work. It is like having a tutor come in everyday just to teach math. If they don’t get it from the disk, of course I teach them, but most of the time they don’t need me. I feel like the set is too light and way too easy, but since we have changed they are burning their way through the calculaddars. They are obviously learning way more. My oldest was the last to switch. She is now doing- and enjoying!- Algebra. She is not a mathematician so I will only have her do the Stewardship level after this book, but I have hopes of some of my other children making it to upper maths now; something I had given up on.
History- still using Story of the World. I have some complaints, but it is the best I have found so far. We will spend a year just reading biographies after we finish this level. Then probably a year studying American history (one of my complaints is that their US history is way too light). Who knows from there.
Science- I gave up on Physics and Chemistry. I realized I teach these mixed in with biology and earth/sky sciences so a lot of it was duplicated. What wasn’t duplicated is more than I ever learned even through high school. if they need more in these subjects I will buy them the books and let them learn from the experts. We are now studying the human body again. We are taking one system at a time (we are still on the skeleton as we just started a short time ago) and not only studying its parts and how they work, but how nutrition and exercise affect them. We are having a great time!
Everything else is pretty much the same, so if you want to know more you will have to read my book:-)
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Book Review-Education Myths
The author of this book takes every myth about our schools and their achievement and compares them with honestly done scientific research. What does he say we need to do to “fix” the schools? Read the book and see:-D
Are teachers underpaid?
Are the schools underfunded?
Is special-ed draining our schools?
Are social problems insurmountable?
How many children actually graduate each year?
How many are really ready for college?
Does “high stakes” testing cause low education?
How about exit exams?
Should we hold teachers accountable by giving financial incentives?
Do vouchers steal money from Public schools?
Do they help anyone?
Do private schools teach democratic values?
Don’t we need children to be in public schools to desegregate them?
I’ll give you a hint; the answer is very simple and cheap.
Are teachers underpaid?
Are the schools underfunded?
Is special-ed draining our schools?
Are social problems insurmountable?
How many children actually graduate each year?
How many are really ready for college?
Does “high stakes” testing cause low education?
How about exit exams?
Should we hold teachers accountable by giving financial incentives?
Do vouchers steal money from Public schools?
Do they help anyone?
Do private schools teach democratic values?
Don’t we need children to be in public schools to desegregate them?
I’ll give you a hint; the answer is very simple and cheap.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Post election
(links at the bottom)
It has taken me a couple of days to figure out what I wanted to say here.
First of all I would like to say that I have discovered that half of America is very naïve (and that is the nicest of the words I have used), but I can’t because I have known that for years (I’m not even really surprised at the outcome of this election). If you look at a map of the election in 08 and compare it to 04 and 00, (and I wouldn’t be surprised if other years are here too) there was very little change. The few states that did change, only did so by a small margin. In fact, the popular vote was actually almost exactly 50/50, they just fell in such a way that the electoral votes fell blue.
God is still on the throne and I know He is in charge. It is too bad that doesn’t bring more comfort. Does that sound like blaspheme?
God was on the throne and in charge when Babylon carried Israel away into captivity; in fact, the Bible tells us He caused it. He was in charge when the Jews and Romans tortured and killed Christians in the first three centuries and when the Church of Rome killed anyone who disagreed with them for the next 1200 years. He was on the throne when Hitler threw the true Christians in with the Jews in gas chambers. He is in charge right now in India and most Muslim countries where Christians are being massacred as we speak. Yes, He is in charge, but that doesn’t mean we will remain the spoiled brats we have bee for the last fifty to 100 years.
We have taken our freedoms for granted and put our money before the lives of innocents. Pres-elect BO’s speeches sound eerily like those Hitler gave on his way to power. Bo’s following looks and acts just like Hitler’s did, though more colorful.
Let me see if I can put this in more tangible words:
Bo promised Planned Barrenhood that the very first thing he would do would be to pass the “Freedom of choice” act. This bill has been passed in a couple of states, so we know what he means by it. ALL the hard fought regulations on abortion will be wiped out. That is ALL parental notification laws (never mind a child can’t go to Disneyland without her parents permission, she can have a dangerous, invasive surgery without them even knowing), “cooling off” laws (where a woman goes to a clinic and tells them she wants an abortion. She is sent home for 24-72 hours, depending on the state, and only given the abortion if she comes back after that time.) informed consent (where a clinic is required to tell a woman the negative side effects of an abortion and show her a sonogram of the baby before she decides to go through with it. It is a violation of her rights to know the negative consequences??????), the partial birth abortion ban (if you don’t know what this procedure is, write me and I will explain it in clinical terms. Very gruesome), any “post abortion” bans (that is, babies born alive after an attempted abortion, are issued a birth certificate-making them a citizen of the US- and then left to die. Do you realize that those who support this have denied US citizens of their Right to Life without due process? They are totally ignoring not just the Bible, but the constitution also. What makes you think they will respect YOUR rights?).
BO supports the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This wonderful title is for a treaty adopted by all of Europe and many other countries that makes it illegal for a parent to force a child to go to church, be educated anywhere other than public school without the CHILD’S permission, or spank. To get very personal, if the US adopted this treaty, I would become a criminal. My parents would have been criminals. Most of your parents and grandparents would have been criminals under this law. It completely removes all parental rights. The government tells you how to raise your child.
BO has said he wants to redistribute the wealth. This is what all communist leaders have said- right before killing millions and taking property away from anyone who doesn’t whole heartedly agree with them. Did you know many of those celebrating BO’s victory were waving the flag of the SOVIET UNION!!!! This is where the naivety comes in. These brainwashed children (the celebrators in the videos I have seen were very young adults) think they will suddenly be rich and everything will be ok. Communism only makes everyone equally POOR (except of course for the few privileged.)
There is already a bill making its way through congress called “the Fairness Doctrine.” This bill would make it illegal for a radio station to run a conservative talk show (i.e. Rush, Hanity.) without running an equal amount of time of liberals. There are three problems; 1) Who determines who is liberal and who is conservative? The president’s appointed commissioner. This is asking for censorship. 2) Those who listen to talk radio don’t like liberal talk shows. They have been tried repeatedly. Because of this, any liberal shows would loose money. So radio stations (for profit businesses) can’t afford to run them. They will have to cancel the conservatives too, silencing the “oppositions” main voices. 3) This bill does not apply to all media; only those that are traditionally conservative. TV will not be affected. Neither will newspapers. Both are VERY liberal. BO appeared in three times more articles than JM. And when BO went to Iraq, three news anchors followed along. When JM went the week before, the TV stations didn’t even send one correspondent. BO will sign this bill without blinking.
Do you enjoy reading differing opinions on the internet? Get all you can now, because there have already been attempts to put fees on our internet usage and some backroom successes of controlling the content. It won’t take much for them to outlaw blogs like mine in the name of “safety.”
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”
Americans, we have let our guard down. We have traded our freedoms for a “bowl of pottage.” Otherwise know as wide-screen TVS and SUVs in every drive.
Can good come from all of this? Yes. I do hope this proves once and for all that America is no longer a racist nation. This should put certain African American men out of business who have made it their job to stir up racial trouble (Jesse Jackson for one). These men make their living by convincing blacks that they are being abused and can’t make it without taking taxpayer money.
How could people be so callous about the Constitution? World views. You see, many in this country don’t believe the Bible, even if they say the are Christians. they say “the parts I don’t like , don’t apply today, that was just a folk tale, it was misinterpreted, etc.” without the Bible, right and wrong are just abstract concepts that change from year to year and society to society. Thus the constitution, while good for the time it was written “doesn’t apply today, that was just a folk tale, it was misinterpreted, etc.” This means that the highest authority in the universe are the people in the United States government. Whatever they say is right is right and whatever they say is wrong is wrong. If you disagree, you are just too stupid to understand. They honestly believe they know better than you do what is good for you. And they will force you to comply if they can.
I hope this wakes up the Christian community. We American Christians have been saying we believe God and follow the bible while ignoring Its plain commands In order to pursue higher standards of living. The church always grows with persecution. Many have been praying for a revival in the US. This may be God’s means of bringing it. Yes, I believe we are in for at least a low level of persecution. Christians, we must humble ourselves before God, beg His forgiveness, and devour our Bibles finding His will in EVRY area of our lives.
“That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God gives thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. But if any man hate his neighbor (Jesus said everyone is our neighbor. This includes unborn babies), and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and flees into one of these cities: Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.” Deuteronomy 19:13
“They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.” Psalms 94:21
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,” Proverbs 6:17
Those who pass laws legalizing abortion, and those who elect them, are as guilty as the abortionist of shedding innocent blood.
“Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.” Isaiah 59:7 Shedding innocent blood goes along with destruction. They can’t be separated.
“For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. Behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, [even] the whole seed of Ephraim.” Jerimiah 7:5-15
Socialism is nothing but a luxury for the rich
http://www.npri.org/blog/socialism-is-nothing-but-a-luxury-for-the-rich
The Sad Road to Socialism
http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php/3755/Brannon-Howse/By-John-Loeffler
It has taken me a couple of days to figure out what I wanted to say here.
First of all I would like to say that I have discovered that half of America is very naïve (and that is the nicest of the words I have used), but I can’t because I have known that for years (I’m not even really surprised at the outcome of this election). If you look at a map of the election in 08 and compare it to 04 and 00, (and I wouldn’t be surprised if other years are here too) there was very little change. The few states that did change, only did so by a small margin. In fact, the popular vote was actually almost exactly 50/50, they just fell in such a way that the electoral votes fell blue.
God is still on the throne and I know He is in charge. It is too bad that doesn’t bring more comfort. Does that sound like blaspheme?
God was on the throne and in charge when Babylon carried Israel away into captivity; in fact, the Bible tells us He caused it. He was in charge when the Jews and Romans tortured and killed Christians in the first three centuries and when the Church of Rome killed anyone who disagreed with them for the next 1200 years. He was on the throne when Hitler threw the true Christians in with the Jews in gas chambers. He is in charge right now in India and most Muslim countries where Christians are being massacred as we speak. Yes, He is in charge, but that doesn’t mean we will remain the spoiled brats we have bee for the last fifty to 100 years.
We have taken our freedoms for granted and put our money before the lives of innocents. Pres-elect BO’s speeches sound eerily like those Hitler gave on his way to power. Bo’s following looks and acts just like Hitler’s did, though more colorful.
Let me see if I can put this in more tangible words:
Bo promised Planned Barrenhood that the very first thing he would do would be to pass the “Freedom of choice” act. This bill has been passed in a couple of states, so we know what he means by it. ALL the hard fought regulations on abortion will be wiped out. That is ALL parental notification laws (never mind a child can’t go to Disneyland without her parents permission, she can have a dangerous, invasive surgery without them even knowing), “cooling off” laws (where a woman goes to a clinic and tells them she wants an abortion. She is sent home for 24-72 hours, depending on the state, and only given the abortion if she comes back after that time.) informed consent (where a clinic is required to tell a woman the negative side effects of an abortion and show her a sonogram of the baby before she decides to go through with it. It is a violation of her rights to know the negative consequences??????), the partial birth abortion ban (if you don’t know what this procedure is, write me and I will explain it in clinical terms. Very gruesome), any “post abortion” bans (that is, babies born alive after an attempted abortion, are issued a birth certificate-making them a citizen of the US- and then left to die. Do you realize that those who support this have denied US citizens of their Right to Life without due process? They are totally ignoring not just the Bible, but the constitution also. What makes you think they will respect YOUR rights?).
BO supports the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This wonderful title is for a treaty adopted by all of Europe and many other countries that makes it illegal for a parent to force a child to go to church, be educated anywhere other than public school without the CHILD’S permission, or spank. To get very personal, if the US adopted this treaty, I would become a criminal. My parents would have been criminals. Most of your parents and grandparents would have been criminals under this law. It completely removes all parental rights. The government tells you how to raise your child.
BO has said he wants to redistribute the wealth. This is what all communist leaders have said- right before killing millions and taking property away from anyone who doesn’t whole heartedly agree with them. Did you know many of those celebrating BO’s victory were waving the flag of the SOVIET UNION!!!! This is where the naivety comes in. These brainwashed children (the celebrators in the videos I have seen were very young adults) think they will suddenly be rich and everything will be ok. Communism only makes everyone equally POOR (except of course for the few privileged.)
There is already a bill making its way through congress called “the Fairness Doctrine.” This bill would make it illegal for a radio station to run a conservative talk show (i.e. Rush, Hanity.) without running an equal amount of time of liberals. There are three problems; 1) Who determines who is liberal and who is conservative? The president’s appointed commissioner. This is asking for censorship. 2) Those who listen to talk radio don’t like liberal talk shows. They have been tried repeatedly. Because of this, any liberal shows would loose money. So radio stations (for profit businesses) can’t afford to run them. They will have to cancel the conservatives too, silencing the “oppositions” main voices. 3) This bill does not apply to all media; only those that are traditionally conservative. TV will not be affected. Neither will newspapers. Both are VERY liberal. BO appeared in three times more articles than JM. And when BO went to Iraq, three news anchors followed along. When JM went the week before, the TV stations didn’t even send one correspondent. BO will sign this bill without blinking.
Do you enjoy reading differing opinions on the internet? Get all you can now, because there have already been attempts to put fees on our internet usage and some backroom successes of controlling the content. It won’t take much for them to outlaw blogs like mine in the name of “safety.”
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”
Americans, we have let our guard down. We have traded our freedoms for a “bowl of pottage.” Otherwise know as wide-screen TVS and SUVs in every drive.
Can good come from all of this? Yes. I do hope this proves once and for all that America is no longer a racist nation. This should put certain African American men out of business who have made it their job to stir up racial trouble (Jesse Jackson for one). These men make their living by convincing blacks that they are being abused and can’t make it without taking taxpayer money.
How could people be so callous about the Constitution? World views. You see, many in this country don’t believe the Bible, even if they say the are Christians. they say “the parts I don’t like , don’t apply today, that was just a folk tale, it was misinterpreted, etc.” without the Bible, right and wrong are just abstract concepts that change from year to year and society to society. Thus the constitution, while good for the time it was written “doesn’t apply today, that was just a folk tale, it was misinterpreted, etc.” This means that the highest authority in the universe are the people in the United States government. Whatever they say is right is right and whatever they say is wrong is wrong. If you disagree, you are just too stupid to understand. They honestly believe they know better than you do what is good for you. And they will force you to comply if they can.
I hope this wakes up the Christian community. We American Christians have been saying we believe God and follow the bible while ignoring Its plain commands In order to pursue higher standards of living. The church always grows with persecution. Many have been praying for a revival in the US. This may be God’s means of bringing it. Yes, I believe we are in for at least a low level of persecution. Christians, we must humble ourselves before God, beg His forgiveness, and devour our Bibles finding His will in EVRY area of our lives.
“That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God gives thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. But if any man hate his neighbor (Jesus said everyone is our neighbor. This includes unborn babies), and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and flees into one of these cities: Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.” Deuteronomy 19:13
“They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.” Psalms 94:21
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,” Proverbs 6:17
Those who pass laws legalizing abortion, and those who elect them, are as guilty as the abortionist of shedding innocent blood.
“Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.” Isaiah 59:7 Shedding innocent blood goes along with destruction. They can’t be separated.
“For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. Behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, [even] the whole seed of Ephraim.” Jerimiah 7:5-15
Socialism is nothing but a luxury for the rich
http://www.npri.org/blog/socialism-is-nothing-but-a-luxury-for-the-rich
The Sad Road to Socialism
http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php/3755/Brannon-Howse/By-John-Loeffler
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Three institutions
God created three institutions: the family, the church, and government. Each one has specific jobs to do. When one tries to do the job of another, it just doesn’t work right.
God created the family; “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and they twain shall be one flesh….’be fruitful and multiply.’ ”
The purpose of the family is to “be fruitful and multiply.” Malachi tells us that God desires godly children from marriage. The reason for the family, its purpose, is to raise up children to worship God. That is what He made family for. Doing this includes feeding, clothing, sheltering and teaching the children. This is what EVERY family is called to do. All women are called to be mothers and all men fathers. Yes, I know not all families are blessed with children. However, that doesn’t prevent them from being parents. Mother Theresa was a mother to thousands, even though she never married much less gave birth. Same for Gladys Alward and Amy Carmichael. My Great Aunt (Aunty) never had children either. But she spent her life mothering her nieces and nephews. I have heard of many a childless man or woman who were some of the best parents around! Teaching, nursing, mentoring, etc. are all ways to parent. The point is that God called men to support and protect the family, women to manage the home, and both to train children for heaven.
When the church tries to do this job (i.e. Sunday school, youth groups) the end results are 1) parents slack off on their duty (“The church is teaching the Bible so let’s just watch TV instead of having devotionals every evening.”) so the children don’t get the day to day Bible study and example of serving God, only two hours on Sunday morning. And 2) the church spends so many resources doing the parent’s job they forget their own! No, the church’s job is NOT to teach children who have parents!
When the government tries to do this job (i.e. daycare, public school, youth programs, etc.) the children end up not even knowing what a family is much less who God is. Home becomes nothing more than the place you sleep. Proof: how many of you have never heard that you have a duty to God to raise your children for Him before? When you have a problem you go to the proper government authority to solve it (school teacher at first then congressman or social worker, etc.). Take it to your parent? Why? They aren’t the “expert.” The fact is, though, that the government makes a lousy mommy or daddy. The government doesn’t really love you, nor really know you. They also can’t teach morals (it’s illegal, and when governments try, they become tyrannies). So the children end up alone, except for their peers, and are moral-less.
The church’s job is to teach the parents how to teach the children, love each other, equip the congregation to minister to the community, corporate worship of God, and to care for the widow and the fatherless children. This last category covers the families that can’t perform their duties because of life’s circumstances. It is the church’s job to make sure the children who don’t have a provider in the family have food, shelter, clothes and a godly education. Honestly, I think the most biblical way to accomplish this would be to pay the widow’s expenses (rent, food, utilities, etc.) so she can stay home and teach her own children. This allows her to fulfill her obligation as a mother. The church is the tool for God to use to be the father to the fatherless and husband to the widow. It allows the church to show the need for God to those who have physical needs. I believe one reason our churches are so ineffective today is because we spend all our resources either doing the family’s job or putting on professional productions designed to attract the lost to God. Wouldn’t it be more effective to do what God told the church to do and care for people’s physical needs thus opening the door to meet their spiritual needs? Imagine if all the churches put their resources into honestly caring for people’s needs instead of fancy-smancy productions? If the church had done this in the first place we might not have a society today where most people don’t even have a clue what a real family is. We might not have so many on public assistance; so many missing parents.
When the government tries to do the church’s job, they have to take money, by threat of force (Don’t believe they threaten force? Try not paying your taxes), from those that earn it to give it to those that didn’t. This deprives the family and the church of resources that they need to accomplish their job. It also makes them lazy in accomplishing God’s will. Why should the church care for the widow when she can get social security, free job training, and free daycare? The government already provides for all the physical needs of the fatherless child, so why should the church bother? But, of course, the government doesn’t teach people about God. When people have a problem they go to Uncle Sam instead of Father God. This is why we now live in a secular society instead of the Christian society our Founding Fathers created. We have allowed government to be the provider, “God” to the poor. Government is the answer for all problems to most people in our country. Can’t pay your medical bill? Go to the government. Can’t pay your rent? Go to the government. Can’t buy food? Go to the government. Made a bad business decision and your company is going to close? Go to the government. Feel empty inside? Go to the local bar. God? Church? Why?
Government doing the church’s and family’s jobs has also created envy. “How dare anyone make more than middle class income?! No one needs that kind of money. Take it away!” Never mind the achiever works more hours and takes more risks, such as 60 hour weeks and second and third mortgages on their homes, than the average person. We must be “fair.” We must be “equal.”
Now, the family is supposed to help the church achieve its goals. We are supposed to help those less fortunate than us individually as well as through the church body. Older women and older men are to teach the younger ones how to be husbands and wives and parents. But the family can’t provide the corporate worship that a congregation provides. Nor can it teach more than the parents know. The church needs to teach them and handle the other things.
Government’s role is to provide for national defense and police protection, coin currency, and deal with foreign governments. They are to punish those that “infringe on the rights and property of others” and “make sure you do all you agree to do.” When families and churches try to do the government’s job we call it vigilantism.
I know this sounds very different than what we are used to hearing. We are used to hearing how government can save us from poverty, save us from bankruptcy, save us from unfairness! They just barely fall short of promising to save us from our sins! Or do they? “Crime is caused by poverty and a lack of education.” “There is no right or wrong. We all must decide what is right for ourselves.” Hmmm. All we need to do to end sin is give big enough welfare checks, pour enough money into education, and quit being judgmental (except to Christians of course).
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25
The socialist method of taxing (forcing) the “rich” in order to pay for goody programs for the “less fortunate” is man’s way. It is, in the end, trusting and even worshiping man instead of God. Since government grows like a cancer unless it is deliberately cut down, these programs always grow into true socialism. True socialism is communism and always ends in the death of millions of human beings. Our country is already responsible for more than a million baby deaths per year from abortion. How much farther do we go in giving man control of the areas God gave to the family and the church? How much longer do we look to man to solve our problems? How much longer do we do what’s right in our own eyes instead of following what the Bible says?
God created the family; “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and they twain shall be one flesh….’be fruitful and multiply.’ ”
The purpose of the family is to “be fruitful and multiply.” Malachi tells us that God desires godly children from marriage. The reason for the family, its purpose, is to raise up children to worship God. That is what He made family for. Doing this includes feeding, clothing, sheltering and teaching the children. This is what EVERY family is called to do. All women are called to be mothers and all men fathers. Yes, I know not all families are blessed with children. However, that doesn’t prevent them from being parents. Mother Theresa was a mother to thousands, even though she never married much less gave birth. Same for Gladys Alward and Amy Carmichael. My Great Aunt (Aunty) never had children either. But she spent her life mothering her nieces and nephews. I have heard of many a childless man or woman who were some of the best parents around! Teaching, nursing, mentoring, etc. are all ways to parent. The point is that God called men to support and protect the family, women to manage the home, and both to train children for heaven.
When the church tries to do this job (i.e. Sunday school, youth groups) the end results are 1) parents slack off on their duty (“The church is teaching the Bible so let’s just watch TV instead of having devotionals every evening.”) so the children don’t get the day to day Bible study and example of serving God, only two hours on Sunday morning. And 2) the church spends so many resources doing the parent’s job they forget their own! No, the church’s job is NOT to teach children who have parents!
When the government tries to do this job (i.e. daycare, public school, youth programs, etc.) the children end up not even knowing what a family is much less who God is. Home becomes nothing more than the place you sleep. Proof: how many of you have never heard that you have a duty to God to raise your children for Him before? When you have a problem you go to the proper government authority to solve it (school teacher at first then congressman or social worker, etc.). Take it to your parent? Why? They aren’t the “expert.” The fact is, though, that the government makes a lousy mommy or daddy. The government doesn’t really love you, nor really know you. They also can’t teach morals (it’s illegal, and when governments try, they become tyrannies). So the children end up alone, except for their peers, and are moral-less.
The church’s job is to teach the parents how to teach the children, love each other, equip the congregation to minister to the community, corporate worship of God, and to care for the widow and the fatherless children. This last category covers the families that can’t perform their duties because of life’s circumstances. It is the church’s job to make sure the children who don’t have a provider in the family have food, shelter, clothes and a godly education. Honestly, I think the most biblical way to accomplish this would be to pay the widow’s expenses (rent, food, utilities, etc.) so she can stay home and teach her own children. This allows her to fulfill her obligation as a mother. The church is the tool for God to use to be the father to the fatherless and husband to the widow. It allows the church to show the need for God to those who have physical needs. I believe one reason our churches are so ineffective today is because we spend all our resources either doing the family’s job or putting on professional productions designed to attract the lost to God. Wouldn’t it be more effective to do what God told the church to do and care for people’s physical needs thus opening the door to meet their spiritual needs? Imagine if all the churches put their resources into honestly caring for people’s needs instead of fancy-smancy productions? If the church had done this in the first place we might not have a society today where most people don’t even have a clue what a real family is. We might not have so many on public assistance; so many missing parents.
When the government tries to do the church’s job, they have to take money, by threat of force (Don’t believe they threaten force? Try not paying your taxes), from those that earn it to give it to those that didn’t. This deprives the family and the church of resources that they need to accomplish their job. It also makes them lazy in accomplishing God’s will. Why should the church care for the widow when she can get social security, free job training, and free daycare? The government already provides for all the physical needs of the fatherless child, so why should the church bother? But, of course, the government doesn’t teach people about God. When people have a problem they go to Uncle Sam instead of Father God. This is why we now live in a secular society instead of the Christian society our Founding Fathers created. We have allowed government to be the provider, “God” to the poor. Government is the answer for all problems to most people in our country. Can’t pay your medical bill? Go to the government. Can’t pay your rent? Go to the government. Can’t buy food? Go to the government. Made a bad business decision and your company is going to close? Go to the government. Feel empty inside? Go to the local bar. God? Church? Why?
Government doing the church’s and family’s jobs has also created envy. “How dare anyone make more than middle class income?! No one needs that kind of money. Take it away!” Never mind the achiever works more hours and takes more risks, such as 60 hour weeks and second and third mortgages on their homes, than the average person. We must be “fair.” We must be “equal.”
Now, the family is supposed to help the church achieve its goals. We are supposed to help those less fortunate than us individually as well as through the church body. Older women and older men are to teach the younger ones how to be husbands and wives and parents. But the family can’t provide the corporate worship that a congregation provides. Nor can it teach more than the parents know. The church needs to teach them and handle the other things.
Government’s role is to provide for national defense and police protection, coin currency, and deal with foreign governments. They are to punish those that “infringe on the rights and property of others” and “make sure you do all you agree to do.” When families and churches try to do the government’s job we call it vigilantism.
I know this sounds very different than what we are used to hearing. We are used to hearing how government can save us from poverty, save us from bankruptcy, save us from unfairness! They just barely fall short of promising to save us from our sins! Or do they? “Crime is caused by poverty and a lack of education.” “There is no right or wrong. We all must decide what is right for ourselves.” Hmmm. All we need to do to end sin is give big enough welfare checks, pour enough money into education, and quit being judgmental (except to Christians of course).
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25
The socialist method of taxing (forcing) the “rich” in order to pay for goody programs for the “less fortunate” is man’s way. It is, in the end, trusting and even worshiping man instead of God. Since government grows like a cancer unless it is deliberately cut down, these programs always grow into true socialism. True socialism is communism and always ends in the death of millions of human beings. Our country is already responsible for more than a million baby deaths per year from abortion. How much farther do we go in giving man control of the areas God gave to the family and the church? How much longer do we look to man to solve our problems? How much longer do we do what’s right in our own eyes instead of following what the Bible says?
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