Don't Stop Reading

A head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of a mixture of clay and iron. What was the meaning of this splendid statue in the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar?

The meaning of the dream was given to Daniel who then relayed its meaning to the king. It was revealed and written down; no speculation.

Some parables and prophesies are challenging to understand. Most often the mystery is solved simply by reading the text. That’s the way you can discern the mysterious imagery in the prophesies recorded in Daniel 7-12. The same is true regarding much of the imagery found in the book of Revelation. Jesus explained some of his parables, so no further interpretation is needed.

The Apostle Peter reminds us…

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

—2 Peter 1:20–21

God revealed his mind to mankind. We must never treat God’s word casually as if any interpretation we come up with is acceptable.

Sometimes we need other help. Occasionally a Hebrew or Greek term in the Bible text has a perfect English counterpart, but one not commonly used. For example, Jesus is referred to as our propitiation in 1 John 2:2. Though not found in all modern translations, propitiation is the perfect word to translate its Greek counterpart. An English dictionary will be helpful in this case. Just bear in mind that an English dictionary reflects English usage and has absolutely no impact on the way words were used in the ancient Hebrew and Greek languages of the Bible.

Some terms and expressions in the Bible are simply foreign to us. One example is the Asherah that Gideon cut down in Judges 6. Asherah was a goddess, so why was Gideon cutting it down? A good Bible dictionary should provide an answer.

A Bible dictionary can also help with weights and measures used in Bible times, expressions of time such as, “the third hour of the day,” etc.

Did you know that Zion, a term found 39 times in the Psalms, refers to Jerusalem? You’d have to do a lot of reading to find this connection. So, though it can be discovered by reading, a good Bible dictionary can tell you where the term is first used and give other examples.

Many things in the Bible are challenging because they were written in a different language and written to a specific audience with cultural experiences that we do not share. Some things that God revealed to us were written in a poetic style that doesn’t match the way we think of poetry. Some things were revealed through lengthy conversations, others through two-line proverbs. There are also long narrative sections and plenty of direct instruction. Even so, God revealed to us His thoughts. (See Amos 4:13.) He is not hiding His thoughts or being difficult. So, if you are serious about understanding God’s word...

• Read and read and read.
• Keep an English dictionary handy.
• Use a good Bible dictionary when needed.

You don’t have to have a college degree to read and understand the Bible. Yet, it does take dedication and patience.

Mark Stinnett

September 24, 2023

365,000 to 1?

Is the Bible full of encoded messages? Some people think so; and it’s true that there are difficult passages. But you don’t have to be a master at deciphering myth and history like Hollywood’s Indiana Jones or Ben Gates of "National Treasure" fame. Yet, there are some really wild interpretations out there. So, what do we need?

We need to be diligent in our study.
We need to be careful in how we interpret.

Let me show you one simple example of what I’m talking about. But first, let me show you why this verse has been misinterpreted.

A couple hundred years ago in Europe there were folks who were very dissatisfied with the church. For most people the church was either the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England. Both had a kind of stranglehold on the interpretation of Scripture and were in cahoots with the government. This bond between government and church meant strong control over the general population.

Some dissatisfied folks, instead of turning to the Bible for answers, simply turned away from religion. At the same time science was making great strides and was accepted at face value.

It was in this climate that some people began to throw off the power of religion because they wanted to engage in activities of their choosing without the severe judgment of the church. However, they needed credible justification.

The theory of evolution had been around for a while but had gained no popularity, not until Darwin suggested that the changes in species had evolved over long periods of time. He claimed to have found evidence for an old earth that was millions of years old. Though without proof, that was all that was needed for others to market the theory to the public as science.

Many clergymen were unable to stand against the sacred cow of science. So, to embrace science without throwing the Bible out, theistic evolution was born.*

Theistic evolution suggests that God created things but set evolution in motion and let it develop naturally. In other words, the creation account in Genesis had to be reinterpreted or thrown out completely.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. —2 Peter 3:8

Science said, “Aha!” and religion, “Hallelujah!”

This was like a decoder ring that allowed the word day in Genesis be reinterpreted as a thousand years (365,000 days). So, a day in the creation sequence could have been millions of years (though that kind of reasoning makes sense nowhere else). Yet, looking back to the verse of Scripture, notice that Peter wrote, “with the Lord” one day “is like” a thousand years. It was a statement describing the timelessness of God...and that’s all. The point was that it might seem that God was taking a long time to do something, but that was only man’s view. God is not restricted by time. Not only that, God is not ignorant of the meanings of words. He communicated accurately about His work.

The Law of Moses was given to common people. 

The prophets were sent to common people. 

The New Testament was written to common people. 

God wants and expects common people to understand His word. 

We need diligence, not a mysterious decoder ring of subjectivity.

Mark Stinnett

September 17, 2023

*Among other sources, these things have been documented by Milt Marcy in his book, “The Emperors Who Had No Clothes.”

Are You Ready?

The title question, “Are you ready?” is often asked in reference to time. Of course, it could also be a question about one’s preparation, and that’s what I want you to think about.

The question, “Are you ready?” is to ask, “Are you fully equipped?” Even then, ambiguity remains, “Fully equipped for what?”

We go to school (or are home schooled) and that is supposed to prepare us...for something. Some high school grads go to trade school, while others go to college. Those are also supposed to prepare us...for something. The work place, from blue collar to white collar, is filled with every kind of training opportunity.

All of that tells us that we put quite a lot of time and energy and money into training. But for what purpose?

We might think of resumes, job interviews and work references as part of the process for finding out how well equipped a person is for a job.

Parents provide training that spans areas such as language and communication, good manners, personal hygiene, moral behavior, getting along with others, how to thrive in one’s surroundings (home, neighborhood, town, world). Additional training might include personal organization and planning, finances, yard/car/house maintenance, long-term planning, gardening, animal/pet care, and the list goes on. That training partly equips us for life on earth.

Have you ever thought about God’s training?

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NASB95)

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Scripture is beneficial in getting you ready! Specifically, it is beneficial in fully equipping you “for every good work.”

High school is inadequate; college is inadequate; trade school is inadequate. Even the best parents are inadequate. All of the training designed and carried out by people is inadequate to fully equip a person “for every good work.”

It is not that educational institutions or parents or anyone else has failed. Rather, it is God’s intention to prepare people for something different than our usual focus. Our training programs focus on what we (humans) think is important. God has focused on what He knows is important because He designed us. In fact…

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. 

—Ephesians 2:10 (NASB95)

God did not create us for building cars, entertainment, forestry, accounting, selling furniture, cooking, managing a business, archaeology, or a world full of other areas of work. He created us for good works. His revealed word, Scripture, is capable of making us “adequate, equipped for every good work.”

God is not a big fan of the separation of church and state. He expects us to take our Christianity into our homes, into our places of work, into our schools, into stores and entertainment venues. His expectation is that we walk in good works every day in every place.

We often misunderstand God’s will because our focus is on ourselves, our jobs, our ideas of what is important. So, let’s realign our focus and embrace God's training. And then, let's get out there and walk in good works.

Mark Stinnett

September 10, 2023

All Things to All People

In the past two centuries man has managed to reform Christianity into something quite foreign to that of the Bible.

• Religion, salvation and even Jesus have been personalized by many.
• Jesus’ parables have become stories.
• The witness of the Apostles has been traded for personal testimonies that all too often draw attention away from God and His word to human experiences.
• God’s will has been personalized to the point of turning our attention from the “kingdom of God and His righteousness” to my personal bucket list for God. In other words, people decide what they want to do for God instead of offering themselves, “What does God want of me.”

What kind of God do you want?

• Do you want a God who will give you warm snuggles at night?
• How about a God who loves story?
• How about a God who loves everyone and accepts everyone...just as I am?
• Would you like a God who promises health, and wealth and power?
• How about a genie-in-a-bottle God?
• Would you like a God who puts up with all kinds of sin, except for the really bad sins?
• How about a God who has changed His mind on His own standard of morality, saying, “That was once sinful, but no longer”?

“Living Under Water” is a book about Christian baptism. The author reported that as a part of his year-long study on the doctrine of baptism, he had baptized folks from infants to elderly; by sprinkling, pouring and immersion; in baptisteries, natural bodies of water, and a farm watering trough; as a part of formal ceremonies and informal occasions; in public and in private; and for whatever reason the one being baptized wanted to be baptized: confirmation, membership, salvation, declaration of dedication, etc. For the author, Christian baptism had become all things to all people.

Translation: Baptism lacked meaning.

The Bible tells about the Creator who is the God who declared, “I Am Who I Am,” a God who is changeless and timeless, the same yesterday, today and forever.

The God of the Bible is not like our high school yearbook buddy who wrote, “Stay the way you are.” He says, “Come as you are, but I will transform you into something better.” Indeed, God has reached down into the pit of mankind, but not to become like us and fit our definition of the kind of god we want. He came and lived among us in order to pull us up out of our pit of sin and death so that we could enjoy life!

Each person must decide whether he wants the God of the Bible or a god of his own design. If you wish to know your Creator, and not a god made in the mind of man, then you must open your mind and heart to God’s revelation of Himself, the Bible.

For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind and declares to man what are his thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, The Lord God of hosts is His name. 

—Amos 4:13

The God of the Bible has revealed Himself. He is not a meaningless all things to all people kind of god.

What is your God/god like? 

Does your god bow to you?

Or, do you bow before the changeless Creator of mankind, the great I AM?!

Mark Stinnett

September 3, 2023