Contentment

Contentment:

*HOW DO I FIND TRUE PEACE AND CONTENTMENT IN LIFE?

ISAIAH 26:3

There are many ways to have transient peace or what we think is peace, but genuine peace is found only in a trusting relationship with the Lord.

GENESIS 33:9

Forgiving those who have wronged us is a key to contentment.

**IS CONTENTMENT FOUND IN MONEY OR SUCCESS?

ECCLESIASTES 5:19-20; PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13; HEBREWS 13:5

Contentment is not dependent on wealth, nor does it have to be stifled by poverty. Wealth by itself is neutral—neither good nor bad. The key is to thank God for what we have and to use our time and resources to please him.

1 PETER 5:8

Satan’s goal is to get us to believe the illusion that knowing more or having more will make us content. Actually, it just shows we’ll never be satisfied. A person who is never satisfied is a person who fails to fully trust God.

1 TIMOTHY 6:6-7

Knowing that our real home is with God in eternity should help us be content with what we have now. Making wise personal investments here will bring us great wealth in heaven.

***HOW DO I LEARN TO BE CONTENT IN ANY SITUATION?

MATTHEW 5:3; LUKE 14:33

Contentment comes when we are willing to give up everything for God. Only then are we truly free to rest in the peace and security God offers.

DEUTERONOMY 3

*The Israelites faced a big problem-the well-trained army of Og, king of Bashan. The Israelites hardly stood a chance. But they won because God fought for them. God can help his people regardless of the problems they face. No matter how insurmountable the obstacles may seem, remember that God is sovereign, and he will keep his promises.

**What encouraging news for Joshua, who was to lead his men against the persistent forces of evil in the Promised Land! Since God promised to help him win every battle, he had nothing to fear. Our battles may not be against godless armies, but they are just as real as Joshua's. Whether we are resisting temptation or battling fear, God has promised to fight with and for us as we obey him.

***God had made it clear that Moses would not enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12). So God told Moses to commission Joshua as the new leader and encourage him in this new role. This is a good example to churches and organizations who must eventually replace their leaders.

"Good leaders prepare their people to function without them by discovering those with leadership potential, providing the training they need, and looking for ways to encourage them............"

Motives

*SO LONG AS WE DO THE RIGHT THING, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES OUR MOTIVE MAKE?

GENESIS 4:3-5

It is quite likely that Cain’s sacrifice was regarded as inappropriate because his motives were impure.

MATTHEW 6:1-8, 16-18

When we pursue spiritual life with self-serving motives, we rob ourselves of the joy God intends.

PHILIPPIANS 1:18

Sometimes God chooses to use even those motivated by selfish ambition to accomplish his purposes.

**HOW CAN I HAVE PURER MOTIVES?

1 CHRONICLES 28:8-10

We must learn to serve the Lord with a pure heart and mind.

PROVERBS 21:2

We must recognize that God is as interested in motive as he is in deed.

1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-5

Remember that God alone knows your heart. Ask him to reveal to you any area in which your motives are less than pure.

(Promise: Ezekiel 36:26)

Idol worship ???

Exodus 32

*Idols again! Even though Israel had seen the invisible God in action, they still wanted the familiar gods they could see and shape into whatever image they desired. How much like them we are! Our great temptation is still to shape God to our liking, to make him convenient to obey or ignore. God responds in great anger when his mercy is trampled on. The gods we create blind us to the love that our loving God wants to shower on us. "God cannot work in us when we elevate anyone or anything above him". What false gods in your life are preventing the true God from living in you?

**Even if we do not make idols, we are often guilty of trying to make God in our image, molding him to fit our expectations, desires, and circumstances. When we do this, we end up worshiping ourselves rather than the God who created us-and self-worship, today as in the Israelites' time, leads to all kinds of immorality. What is your favorite image of God? Is it biblical? Is it adequate? Do you need to destroy it in order to worship the immeasurably powerful God who delivered you from bondage to sin?

***Two popular Egyptian gods, Hapi (Apis) and Hathor, were thought of as a bull and a heifer. The Canaanites around them worshiped Baal, thought of as a bull. Baal was their sacred symbol of power and fertility and was closely connected to immoral sexual practices. No doubt the Israelites, fresh from Egypt, found it quite natural to make a golden calf to represent the God that had just delivered them from their oppressors. They were weary of a god without a face. But in doing so, they were ignoring the command he had just given them: "Do not make idols of any kind" (20:4). They may even have thought they were worshiping God. Their apparent sincerity was no substitute for obedience or excuse for disobedience.

****God was ready to destroy the whole nation because of their sin. But Moses pleaded for mercy, and God spared them. This is one of the countless examples in the Bible of God's mercy. Although we deserve his anger, he is willing to forgive and restore us to himself. We can receive God's forgiveness from sin by asking him. Like Moses, we can pray that he will forgive others and use us to bring them the message of his mercy.

*****How could God relent? God did not change his mind in the same way that a parent decides not to discipline a child. Instead, God changed his behavior to remain consistent with his nature. When God first wanted to destroy the people, he was acting consistently with his justice. When Moses interceded for the people, God relented in order to act consistently with his mercy. "God had often told the people that if they changed their ways, he would not condemn them". They changed, and God did as he promised...........!!!

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DIWALI

Diwali ! A day to rejoice! A day to be happy with exchanging sweets, delicious food and wearing new dresses! Bright lights everywhere and the sound of firecrackers, which drives people crazy sometimes. All their money has been burned out into ashes while bursting firecrackers.

But why should Indians celebrate this auspicious day? It is a long story. Let us find out how & why?

Once upon a time there lived a giant called Naragashur. Narag means hell and Ashur means giant. So he was a giant of hell. He did many harms to the civilians as well as to the sages. All people cried to the Lord for relief. The Lord incarnated and one fine evening, the Lord killed the giant. People came out of their houses with joy holding torches in their hands. So it became a tradition and it has been followed by the generations and that is why every year they celebrate this festival which is called Diwali.

The question is, if people wanted to celebrate a day because of the death of a giant, then the whole lifetime will not be enough for a person to celebrate because there are so many similar stories in the Puranas like Hiranya, Ravan, Kamsa, Bagava, Idumba, Andakashur, Jalandashur, Hiranyatcha, Tirunavartha and so on, who were killed by god's incarnations. So, the festival Diwali has nothing to do with the death of Naragashur. Kandapurana part VII ?Upadeshkanda says about an auspicious day, which is called Diwali.

This word is a combination of two words. Deep, which means light and Awali, means line. Lights in a line. During the month of Oct-Nov a day before the new moon, people take holy bath early in the morning. They keep a heap of paddy and place a pot and upon that with holy grass which is called dharba (a type of hyssop) and worship the god Shiva with fasting and prayer. Some people fast for 21 days. On the day of new moon they complete their fasting and put on new clothes, eat sweets and food. On this day they should not eat non- - vegetarian food. Those who eat such food will go to hell. This is what the great man Thirumuruga Kirubananda Variayar says. (Variyar Virundhu-page 84-87)

But what people experience today? There are lights around them, but inwardly they are immersed in darkness. They think that the giant (Satan) was killed but they do not understand that the giant still live in them and keep them under bondage like debts, sorrow, sickness, hatred, poverty etc.

The puranic stories were written to make people understand that God has to come in flesh to release the people from the bondage of this giant who is called Satan. But who is this Satan? Who is the incarnation of god who manifested in flesh? The Giant is sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, evil thoughts, theft, murder, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, slander, arrogance, folly, homosexual, smoking, chewing panparak, drugs, watching blue films, reading filthy stories, bribery, and so on. Such kind of giant still lives in the minds of people and spoils everyone?s life and also the lives of his kin and kids and the society. The giant is also called the darkness of the world. He has blinded the minds of people so that they cannot see the light of the good news of the real God who came in flesh who is the image of God.

Great saints like Thirumoolar, Agastiyar, Thayumanavar and other Siddhars (nameless saints who knew god and the truth) anticipated God as light who will remove the darkness from the mind of people. The 19th century Hindu saint Vallalar otherwise called Jyothi Ramalinga Adigalar who started worshipping god Murugan, then Nataraja but later declared that God is light and he proclaimed that truth throughout Tamilnadu. The dominating Brahmin religious leaders ignored this Saint. Many of his poems about this light focus towards Jesus Christ. Darkness cannot be removed by bullets, money, austerity, rituals, temple attendance, celebrations, holy baths or self righteousness, only light can remove darkness. Ordinary powerful lights cannot remove the darkness that is in the minds of the people.

If God is light then who is this god?

The Bible has the answer. Jesus said: "I am the light of this world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12) If this is true then why people do not accept this light who is Jesus the Christ? The Bible has the answer again. It says, Light has come into this world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. When Jesus said: "I am the light of this world" he also said that his followers are lights of this world. He said: "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise God the Father in heaven". Jesus is the light and his followers make a line after him. Lights in a line!

The real Deep-Awali = Diwali! It is good that the Indian saints celebrate this festival during October. Jesus lived thirty-three and a half years. He was nailed to the cross in the month of April. He was only thirty-three and a half years old. His birthday fall after six months, that is in October. The month God came to this world as light. Saul, a tribe of Benjamin of Israel who was against Christian believers killed many of them met Jesus on his way to Damascus. God appeared to him in the form of light. He became a follower of Jesus Christ and preached the glorious Gospel to many thousands. He writes in one of his letters that "For god who said, let light shine out of darkness made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the Glory of god in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing powers is from God and not from us" (2 Cor 4:6,7)

The light of God, which is the knowledge, should shine in the minds of people. The human body is the temple of God. It has body, spirit and soul. We have no authority to make it unclean or impure. One of the great Tamil poets said that in the garden of god man was made out of clay and the soul was in him. Not knowing this because of darkness of sin he enjoyed the luxuries of this world and broke it into pieces. This is a true fact.

This is the message we heard from God and declare to you.

God is light, In Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with God and yet walk in darkness, we die and do not live by truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ purifies us from all sins (darkness). The real meaning of Deepavali or Diwali is that God the light has come into this world to remove sin the giant of darkness. Let us come out of darkness to light. Jesus is the light of the world.

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One Way or Many Ways

DO ALL RELIGIONS REACH THE SAME GOAL?

It may be popular to say that all religions are one. It pleases all and offends none; it permits everything and does not include a cross. But, is this the truth?

Ancient scriptures of the world do not say that all `ways' lead to salvation or moksha. Religions differ in philosophy and ethics. They vary in concepts such as God, man, world, salvation, life, death, and life after death. Religious worship differs; some worship fire, others water and yet others worship spirits. Some glorify self and others renounce it. Even the deities differ. How then can all religions mean the same thing?

What is the result of their differences? In many countries people suffer on account of their religious convictions and some have even been martyred. In some instances families persecute their members who embrace other religious faiths. But, if all religions lead to the same goal, why do these things happen?

It is clear that all religions cannot be the same. Why then do people persist in saying that all religions are good and lead to one place? Could it be because this idea would kill the spirit of inquiry and analysis?

We live in a scientific age and no scientist dares to say that every theory is correct. Nor can we assert that all things are right and good. There is a way that is right and there is also a way that is wrong. The necessity to choose between them puts the onus on us to discover the truth.

One of the ancient scriptures of India, the Rig Vedha says.

"Yekham sath vipre bahutha vadhanthi"
(Truth is one; but men have divided it).

So, we can be sure that there is only one truth and one way - that is God. But, man by his own power and knowledge cannot see or know God.

Many ancient saints in India understood that they were in darkness and presumed God to be `Light'; they readily accept this concept of God as the light of this darkened world. Some presumed God as "Truth", some as `way' and some as `Life-giver'.
A famous Tamil saint, Thirumoolar, who lived around 900 A.D. wrote that man cannot get rid of his sins by his own efforts, just as a thief, bound by ropes cannot free himself. Only God could come down to earth form heaven and in human form to offer Himself in payment of the penalty for sin. He will show the right way through His spirit entering into the heart of man. Thus He washes away the sins of man.,

How does God reveal himself to man?

A God-fearing person believes that there is ONE God who is the Truth, the Way, the Life, the Word, and that He is omniscient, the sin-bearer and Sacrifice for sin. Instead of waiting for the real to reveal Himself by His own grace to men, they formed their many gods and goddesses out of their own imaginations.

Yet, God who was the `word' in the beginning did reveal Himself in the flesh. The Bible says:

"In the beginning was the world,
and the word was God,.
And the word became flesh, (John 1: 1,2,14).

He was called Jesus because He would bear the sins of the world. Jesus said, "I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6). The Gospel of St. John, Chapter 2:24, 25 says that Jesus is all knowing. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice and paid the penalty for our sins.

Does God reveal Himself in many ways?

God is not confused and He will never confuse His own people. God will therefore, surely not reveal himself in different ways; as Jehovah, to Jews, Jesus to Christians, Allah to Muslims, Shiva to Saivaites, Bishu to Vaishnavites and over three hundred million gods and goddesses and god-men and god-women to the Hindus, thus confusing His people and putting them in conflict with each other.

God is love and righteousness. It would be incorrect to say that there is one God of love and another God of righteousness. It is the attributes of one and the same God which man has assigned to various deities.

Man, realizing his own sin, falls at the feet of God for forgiveness and redemption. The righteousness of God declares, "This man accepts that he is a sinner. He must pay the penalty". The love of God proclaims, "This man realizes that he is a sinner and has come for forgiveness. He must be shown mercy". Man stands before God, full of fear, wondering if God would punish him or forgive him. If God, in righteousness, punishes him, He would not be a loving God. If God, in love, ought to meet the demands of justice while at the same time shows mercy and love. So He reached down to man, took man's punishment upon Himself, thereby fulfilling the demands of righteousness, and thus is able to forgive man, expressing His love. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself". (I Corinthians. 5:19).

"God so loved the world that He gave He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". (John 3:16).

"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is Good" - (Psalms 85: 10-12).

Search	Revelation
The Aryan search for the God to whom they would offer oblation.	Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father God" (John. 14:9)
Their search for Thathvagnana (truth)	Jesus said, "I am the truth" John. 14:6
Their search for Amrutham (a kind of drink which will never permit them to die)	Jesus said, "Whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst" John. 4:14
Their pursuit after Shanthi (peace)	Jesus said, "My peace I give to you" John. 14:27
Their search for Jyothi (light)	Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John. 9: 5)
They anticipated the Prajapathi or Vishvakarma (Creator of universe)	Through Jesus all things were made John. 1:3
They anticipated the Thrata (Saviour)	Today a savior is born Luke 2:11
They called him the Medha Purusha or Yagnapurusha (God who will sacrifice his body)	Behold the lamb of God. Who takes away the sin of world. John. 1:29

Many people believe that only truth can liberate man from sin. This is certainly true. Jesus said,"You shall know the truth and the Truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). What then is Truth? This was the question Pilate the Roman Governor asked of Jesus when Jesus was brought before him. Jesus never gave him an answer, for He is the Truth, He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father but by me" (John 14: 6)

God is not found in a book or in lectures or discourses. He is found whenever a sincere seeker opens the door of his or her heart by faith and with repentance, offers to Jesus Christ, a complete personal surrender. God will be found of such a person. 'When you seek and find God with all of your heart, I will be found by you declares the Lord'. *(Jeremiah 29:13-14)

Desires

IS IT OK TO WANT SOMETHING?

1 KINGS 3:5; PROVERBS 13:12

God created desire within us as a means of expressing ourselves. Desire is good and healthy if directed toward the proper object of desire: that which is good and right and God-honoring.

PSALM 73:25; ISAIAH 26:8; JEREMIAH 29:13

Our greatest desire should be to seek after God.

PHILIPPIANS 4:8

Desiring sin is always wrong. Make sure the object of your desire is good, consistent with God’s Word, and not harmful to others.

HOW DO I RESIST EVIL DESIRES?

JAMES 3:13

Keep yourself busy.

MATTHEW 6:13

Pray about it.

2 CHRONICLES 34:33

Take away the source of temptation.

COLOSSIANS 3:2; PROVERBS 15:22

Find a person willing to help you.

CAN GOD HELP ME CHANGE THE DESIRES WITHIN MY HEART? HOW?

ROMANS 7:5-6

When we commit our life to God, he gives us a new heart, a new nature, along with a new desire to please him.

EZRA 1:5

God stirs our hearts with right desires. It is up to us to act on them.....

THE BIBLE

( AN INTRODUCTION )

Names of the Bible

The word Bible is not in the English version of Scripture. It is the equivalent of the Gr. word biblia, meaning books. The term the books (tabiblia in Gr.) occurs in Daniel 9:2 of the Septuagint, referring to the prophetic writings; similarly in 1 Macc. 12:9, the holy books. The usage was taken up by the Christian church for the O.T., and later was extended to mean the whole of the Scriptures. The Bible came to be termed such by Clement in the middle of the 2nd century; he called the sacred writings tabiblia-The Books. Jerome's name for the Bible (4th century) was The Divine Library. Afterward there was an important change from the plural to the singular meaning. In the 13th century The Books by common consent became The Book-The Bible.

How the Bible Was Given

See Nine Ways the Bible Was Given, ^§ 2 Tim. 3:16, note; In Many Parts and Ways, ^§ Hebrews 1:1; how received, ^§ 1 Thes. 2:13, note.

Languages of the Bible

1. The O.T., with the exception of Ezra 4:8-6:18; Ezra 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11; Daniel 2:4-7:28, was written in Hebrew. These passages were written in Aramaic (the so-called Chaldee), a dialect related to Hebrew which gradually took its place as the spoken language after the exile.

2. The language of the N.T. was the common (Hellenistic) Greek or Hebrew-Greek, so-called because the Jews introduced so many of their own idioms into the Greek which became well known through the influence of the Septuagint and Jewish businessmen who traveled everywhere. This was the commercial language spoken throughout the Roman Empire at the time of Christ, and it was the most adapted to express Christian doctrine. The Bible is now printed in over 1,100 languages and dialects.

Divisions of the Bible

1. The O.T. Five divisions-Thirty-nine books:

(1) The Pentateuch-5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

(2) The twelve historical books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

(3) The five poetical books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Canticles)

(4) The five books of the major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

(5) The twelve books of the minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

2. The N.T. Five Divisions-Twenty-seven Books:

(1) The Four gospels-History of the Messiah: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

(2) The historical book: Acts of the Holy Spirit and the apostles

(3) The fourteen Pauline epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews

(4) The seven general epistles: James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude

(5) The Prophetical book: Revelation

What the Bible Is Not

1. The Bible is not an amulet, charm, fetish, or anything to work wonders by its very presence alone, and it does not claim to be such. It does claim that if one will study and practice its teachings he will see wonders worked in his life both now and in the hereafter.

2. The Bible is not a book of chronological events or an unbroken series of divine utterances. It was given, here a little and there a little, to many men through 18 centuries (Isaiah 28:9-11); but regardless of this, it forms a perfect unity.

3. The Bible is not a book of heavenly utterances in supernatural language; it is God's revelation in the most simple human language possible.

4. The Bible is not a book of mysteries; it explains its so-called mysteries, and is so self-interpreting that no mystery remains.

5. The Bible is not a book that says one thing and means another. Generally, the passages have one simple meaning. In the few which have a double meaning, this fact is quite clear, either from the verses themselves or from parallel passages. One cannot, as is sometimes said, get a thousand different meanings from the Scriptures.

6. The Bible is not a specimen of God's skill as a writer or logician. It is a book written by men whom He used to record His revelation. The method was by giving them ways of expressing truth, and freedom in the use of their own language. What inspiration guarantees is unity of truth, not sameness of words and expressions.

7. The Bible is not a book of systematic discourses on any one subject, but it does give divine information on practically every subject. One must collect together, from here and there, all God's information through various writers, in order to know the whole truth. When this is done there is perfect harmony, and everything which a man really needs to know about a subject is clear.

8. The Bible is not a book adapted to the tastes, customs, and habits of any one nation or people; it is not for any one age or period of time. It is a book to which all people in all ages can conform, and yet retain their own lawful customs and habits which are not contrary to the will of God.

What the Bible Is

1. The Bible is God's inspired revelation of the origin and destiny of all things. Here heaven is opened and the gates of hell disclosed. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter.

2. The Bible is the power of God unto eternal salvation and the source of present help for body, soul, and spirit (Romans 1:16; John 15:7). Christ is its grand subject, man's good its design, and the glory of God its end. It is a mine of wealth, the source of health, and a world of pleasure.

3. The Bible is God's will or testament to men in all ages, revealing the plan of God for man here and now, and in the next life. It will be opened at the judgment, and it will last forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward for the least to the greatest of labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

4. The Bible is the record of God's dealings with man in the past, present, and future. It contains His message of eternal salvation for all who believe in Christ, and eternal damnation for all who rebel against the gospel.

5. As a literary composition, the Bible is the most remarkable book ever made. It is a divine library of 66 books, some of considerable size, and others no larger than a tract. These books include various forms of literature-history, biography, poetry, proverbial sayings, hymns, letters, directions for elaborate ritualistic worship, laws, parables, riddles, allegories, prophecy, and all other forms of human expression.

6. The Bible is the only book that reveals the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts binding, its histories true, and its decisions immutable. It contains light to direct, spiritual food to sustain, and comfort to cheer. Man should read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. He should read it that it might fill his memory, rule his heart, and guide his feet in righteousness and true holiness. He should read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully, meditatively, searchingly, devotionally; and study it constantly, perseveringly, and industriously-through and through, until it becomes a part of his being, generating faith that will move mountains. See Twelve Symbols of the Word of God, ^§ Hebrews 4:12, note.

How to Read the Bible

1. Frequently, daily (Joshua 1:8)

2. Not for controversy, but for profit (Proverbs 3; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)

3. Meditatively (Psalm 1:3)

4. In love (Psalm 119:97-104)

5. With consciousness of need (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39; 2 Peter 1:1-10; 2 Peter 3:18)

6. In faith (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6)

7. Searchingly (John 5:39)

8. Openness to all of it (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; Jude 3)

9. By comparing scripture with scripture (2 Cor. 2:13)

10. In the Spirit (John 14:16-17; John 15:26; Galatians 5:16,26)

11. Through, and over and over again (Matthew 5:18)

12. In obedience (Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26).

How to Interpret the Bible

See Ten Classes Who Find the Bible Hard to Understand; Seven Reasons Why the Bible Is Simple; and Seven Reasons Why the Bible Is Not Understood. For hints on understanding the Bible, see note, ^§ Mark 10:49; note, ^§ Mark 11:17; note, ^§ Mark 14:21; and note, ^§ Mark 15:28. That the Bible is easy to understand, see notes, ^§ Hebrews 5:11-6:1; note, ^§ 2 Peter 3:16; and note, ^§ Matthew 15:10. The law of interpretation is stated in note on ^§ 2 Cor. 13:1; Twelve Rules of Interpretation; and the secret of understanding in note on ^§ Mark 4:24. The Bible is to be taken literally as other books (see note, ^§ Mark 9:10). See also Rightly Dividing Truth.

The Apocryphal Books

In some large family Bibles there is a section of 14 books called the Apocrypha-a group of spurious books that were rejected from our present canon of Scripture because they did not pass the tests required of inspired books:

1. They were not written or approved by a prophet.

2. They were not recognized by the Jews as inspired and a part of Scripture.

3. They were not recognized or quoted by Christ and the apostles, a fact that is more striking when we realize that Paul even quoted twice from heathen poets.

4. The last O.T. prophet predicted that the next messenger coming to Israel from God would be the forerunner of Christ (Malachi 3:1). Most of the Apocryphal books were written during the period between Malachi and Christ.

5. Divine authority is not claimed by their authors, and by some it is virtually disowned (2 Macc. 2:23; 2 Macc. 15:38).

6. The books contain statements at variance with the Bible history.

7. They are self-contradictory and in some cases opposed to doctrines of Scripture.

8. Josephus, who lived at the time of the apostles, did not regard the Apocryphal books as Scripture. He stated that the O.T. books (the ones in our present version) were the only inspired writings (Josephus, Against Apion, I:8).

9. The Apocryphal books were not a part of the ancient versions of Scripture. They were first added after A.D. 300. The Laodicean Council in A.D. 363 rejected them as being uninspired, thus proving that by that time some were claiming inspiration for them. (They first appeared in the Vatican Version of the 4th century. At the Council of Trent in A.D. 1546 Catholics accepted 6 of these books as inspired and added them to their modern versions of Scripture. They are: Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees).

10. Philo and others did not regard the Apocryphal books as inspired.

11. There is a lack of prophetic element in them; and there is an apparent imitation of the inspired O.T. books.

12. They show too free use of the imagination which has given rise to silly stories and the lack of spiritual force and power.

Inspiration of the Bible

God-Breathed.

The Bible a Revelation

Christianity is a revealed religion, the record being contained in the sacred Scriptures. See Revelation; the source of revelation, ^§ Matthew 16:17, note; and Six New Revelations.

Much of the Bible is a revelation. Man could never have known about ages of eternal past, the pre-Adamite world, Lucifer's past, the creation of the spirit and material worlds, the future eternal ages, and many other things related to God's plan for man except by direct revelation of these things through the Holy Spirit (Romans 16:25; Ephes. 3:3; Col. 1:26; Col. 2:3; Rev. 1:1). The many hundreds of prophecies are a direct revelation of things to come, which God alone could give (Acts 15:18; Ephes. 2:7; Ephes. 3:9-10; Rev. 1:1).

Revelation discovers new truth while inspiration superintends the communication and recording of it. Revelation guarantees that what God has revealed is truth; inspiration guarantees that not only all revelation, but all other records of Scripture are truth-that what is recorded actually happened, as recorded. All the Bible is inspired whether each passage is a revelation or not (2 Tim. 3:15-17). Furthermore, inspiration records with equal accuracy the language of God, Satan, angels, demons, and men; but it does not place all that is said on the same level. For example, when Satan, evil spirits, or men are recorded as speaking lies to deceive, inspiration only records what was actually said; it does not affirm what was said was truth. No lie can be truth, but inspiration can faithfully record both.

The ignorance of man regarding his origin, past, and eternal future; his lack of knowledge concerning the will of God; and the fact that all philosophers have failed to construct a complete, coherent, and adequate religion-these things make revelation absolutely necessary.

How We Got Our English Bible

Our English Bible is the result of 1200 years of work by all kinds of learned men. Portions were translated from the Vulgate, the Latin version, beginning as far back as A.D. 700 when Aldhelm translated the Psalms into Saxon. Egbert translated the 4 gospels sometime later. In A.D. 735 Bede translated parts of the Scriptures into Saxon. King Alfred undertook a translation of the Psalms but died in A.D. 900 before it was finished. Elfric translated the Pentateuch and some of the historical books in the 10th century. Nothing else was done about translation from then to the time of John Wycliffe, who made the first complete English Bible from the Vulgate in A.D. 1380. The next was a N.T. by William Tyndale in 1535 and the Pentateuch in 1530. In 1535 Miles Coverdale made the first complete printed English Bible. Then came the Geneva Bible in 1560, followed by Bishop's Bible in 1563 and revised in 1568. The Roman church came out with Douay version of the N.T. in 1582 and the whole Bible in 1609 which has been used by that church up until now. In 1604 King James authorized 47 men to make a complete translation of the Bible from the original languages. It was finished in 1611 after 7-8 years of diligent work. It has been the most popular and accepted version of the English speaking world from that day until now. There have been several revised versions since then, and a number of Bibles in modern English, but none have been as well accepted and as lasting as the King James version and perhaps never will be.

Bible Chronology

The length of certain periods is definitely stated in Scripture which, added to the years of doubtful dates given in the most widely accepted encyclopedias, give a total of 6,258 years between the creation of Adam and 2007, as follows:

Adam to the flood of Noah (Genesis 5)	1,656
Flood to call of Abraham at 75 yrs. age (Genesis 11:10-12:5)	0,427
Abraham to exodus (Exodus 12:40; Galatians 3:17; note, § Genesis 15:15)	0,430
Exodus to Christ's ministry (see Dispensation of Law)	1,718
From Christ's ministry (about A.D. 30) to 2007	2,007
	_______
Total-Adam to 2007	6,258

SATAN AND HIS KINGDOM

I. SATAN'S ORIGIN AND HOME

The Scriptures give but veiled glimpses of his origin and home, for their purpose is more expressly to reveal God in His character; and Christ as the Redeemer of men; with the history of the redeemed from the fall of Adam, their salvation through the Cross, and their eternal destiny, when Christ shall have "abolished all rule and all authority and power" (1 Cor 15:24), contrary to the reign of God, and God Himself shall be All in all. Our Lord says of Satan, "he was a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44) and John says of him that he "sinneth from the beginning" (1 John 3:8).

II. SATAN'S POSITION AND CHARACTER

In regard to the position and character of Satan we know that he is the very embodiment of a lie, for "There is no truth in him ... he is a liar, and the father of it," said the Lord. The various names by which he is described in the Scriptures reveal his power. Fallen though he be, he is called by the Lord Jesus no less than three times the "prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), thus plainly recognizing his rule over the earth. That he is a personage of rank and power we learn from Jude: "Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee" (Jude 9). He is also called the "god of this age" (2 Cor 4:4, margin), for men obey and worship him, even unconsciously, when they do not obey and worship the Creator.

The fallen archangel (Satan) is described as the "prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2), meaning wicked spiritual powers dwelling in the aerial heavens, for it seems the "Satanic confederation has its seat in the atmospheric heaven-in the spaces above and around our world" (Seiss). That the "prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2) has power (when permission is granted) to wield the forces of the air we see in the history of Job; for at his bidding lightning fell from heaven to consume the flocks of the faithful servant of God, and he caused a wind to blow Job's house down and kill his children. In relation to his attacks upon the children of men the prince of this world is called the "tempter" (1 Thess 3:5), because it is his fiendish delight to tempt others from loyal obedience to God. And he is named "the devil" (1 Tim 3:6-7)-a word never used in the plural, and always, and only, of Satan himself. The Hebrew name Satan occurs in the New Testament thirty-five times interchangeably with the Greek diabolos (NT:1228), which is also used thirty-five times. The word diabolos signifies "separator and slanderer" (Blackstone), or "malignant accuser." Satan is the great separator, and he separates by slandering. He separated the race of man from God in Eden, and ever since he has been separating men from each other, with hatred, malice, envy and jealousy and death. He is especially named the "accuser of the brethren" (Rev 12:10), and we find him also described as "the great dragon," the "old serpent," and the "deceiver of the whole inhabited earth."

That the adversary still has the world under his rule, is unmistakably shown in his attack upon the Lord Jesus in the wilderness. The Lord was led, under the constraint of the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness to be "tempted of the devil," and after other temptations, the devil showed Him "all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth. And the devil said unto Him, To Thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be Thine" (Luke 4:5-7, margin).

What a daring condition to put to the Son of God. The fallen archangel is craving for worship still.

The extent of His claim to "all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth" the Son of God did not deny, and later the Lord plainly speaks of Satan's kingdom. "If Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand"? (Luke 11:18). And He adds, "The strong man fully armed guardeth his own court," until "a Stronger than he" comes upon him, and sets his captive free. How fitting therefore the petition, "Deliver us from the evil one" (Matt 6:13)! John also emphasizes the universality of Satan's rule, for he writes, "The whole world lieth in the evil one" (1 John 5:19)-it is sunk in the darkness which is his sphere, and is under the rule of the "world-rulers of this darkness" (Eph 6:12). The Scripture makes no distinction between high and low, or between cultured and ignorant, when it states that the "whole world"-pagan and Christendom-lies "in" the realm of the evil one.

In pagan lands, the deceiver is daring in his tyranny, holding men and women in gross and open sin. In civilized countries, the god of this age needs must veil his working. In these last days, however, he is beginning to more openly manifest himself as the prince of the world. He is familiarizing people with his name. Books to be popular must be about him, and in fashion's realm serpents have been the favorite ornaments of dress, while palmistry, clairvoyance, planchette, and other means of intercourse with the spirits of evil, abound on every hand.

The adversary has also his organized governments, which the Apostle Paul describes as "principalities ... powers sovereigns of this present darkness" (Eph 6:12, C.H.). We read of "Satan's throne" (Rev 2:13); of "his ministers" (2 Cor 11:15); of his "principalities" and his "powers"; and of his hosts of "spirits of evil" (Eph 6:12, C.H.) in the heavens. Daniel's account of his interview with the messenger from God supports the view that these principalities and powers of Satan are given charge of specified countries; for the Satanic "prince of Persia" withstood the heavenly messenger, who said that on his return he would again have to meet with the same Prince, together with the "Prince of Greece" (Dan 10:13,20). Satan therefore reigns over an aerial kingdom of hierarchies and spiritual powers, and a kingdom on earth in the world of men, and he governs by means of an organized government.

But let us not forget that all these hosts are compelled to acknowledge the Sovereign Lord of the Universe! Unbelievers in God are alone to be found on earth, for the powers of evil "believe and shudder" (James 2:19), knowing that they are reserved unto judgment.

III. SATAN'S SYSTEM OF RELIGION

In his organized government the adversary has also a religion for those whom he can delude and deceive, showing his perfect mimicry of the worship of the true God.

WORSHIP OF IDOLS

In 1 Corinthians one aspect of Satan's religion is revealed as we are shown what idol-worship actually means. They who would walk in fellowship with God must "flee from idolatry," lest they would hold "communion with demons." They dare not partake of the "table of the Lord," and of the "table of demons" (1 Cor 10:19-22, C.H.). The matter was vital to the Corinthians, as it now is to native Christians in pagan lands, for oftentimes the meat offered for sale had first been offered to idols, and some of the Corinthian Christians had accepted invitations to feasts celebrated in the temple of pagan gods-feasts which were acts of idolatrous worship. Thus we see how the fallen archangel not only deceives, and holds in darkness the human race, but he adds to their destruction, by seeking to meet the desire for an object of worship which lies dormant in every breast.

OUTWARD PROFESSION OF GODLINESS

But apart from direct Satanic worship, Satan has other ways of meeting the need for some religion. Paul writes to the Romans, "Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?" (Rom 2:22, margin) as he shows that no outward rite or ceremonial fulfillment of the law is acceptable to God. Satan knows this, and therefore persuades men that outward obedience to some creed is enough, thus deluding multitudes into a false peace by causing them to rest upon an outward ceremony or form of words.

In the Lord's message to the church at Smyrna, He spoke of those who "say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Rev 2:9). It appears by this that the adversary has not only a religion which gives him worship through material images, but that his "synagogue" or congregation is made up of professors of religion who are without the inward truth. John writes, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness (i.e., in sin), we lie, and do not the truth" (1 John 1:6, KJV), and the most severe words that ever passed the lips of Christ were His scathing exposures of the Pharisees. "They say and do not" He said, and "outwardly appear righteous unto men" (Matt 23:28), when inwardly full of hypocrisy. He told them they were of their "father the devil," and called them "serpents," and the "offspring of vipers" (Matt 23:15). And yet the Pharisees claimed God as their Father, and were the straitest sect in Israel in the outward fulfilling of the law! The Lord's strong words make it appear that Satan's invisible "church" is filled with those who make religion a cloak while they are really his subjects.

SATAN'S DOCTRINES

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that the Holy Spirit had expressly told him that in the latter days the adversary would seek to draw many away from the faith by the teaching of spirits inculcating "doctrines of demons" (1 Tim 4:1, margin). So that Satan has "doctrines" as well as system of worship-a "cup," a "table," and a "synagogue!" Paul said that the teaching would be given through men who would profess to be what they were not, and whose consciences would be seared as with a hot iron.

These "teachings of demons," through false teachers acting under their control, had already begun in the first century, and seducing spirits were evidently at work in the church at Thyatira drawing servants of God from their Lord through the "deep things of Satan" (Rev 2:24). One calling herself a prophetess was leading souls astray, teaching them to "eat things sacrificed to idols." The Lord's complaint was that the church suffered these things to be in its midst-things upon which He pronounced the most awful warning of certain judgment. Satan's religion has always one clearly defined mark in the omission of the Gospel of Calvary. And by this test all "gospels" that are not the Gospel may be recognized! The atoning death of the Son of God; His propitiation for sin; His blotting out of sin; His deliverance from the power of sin by the severing power of the Cross; His call of the blood-redeemed soul to the Cross in humiliation of self, and sacrifice for others-in brief, all that Calvary means, is emphatically repudiated, or else always carefully omitted, in the doctrines of the seducing spirits which are evolved in hell! Let everyone thus test the tenets of Theosophy, of Christian (?) Science, and all other teachings now being poured into the world by spirits of evil, who do not hesitate to appropriate for their purposes the very language describing the effects, and blessings of the Gospel.

It cannot always be said that there is no mention of the Cross (and in his later workings, even of the Blood of Christ), in Satan's religious teaching, but it is the Cross as only an outward symbol without the inward power, for he knows that it is only the real acceptance of the death of Christ-or Cross of Christ-which saves from sin and delivers the soul from the power of Satan.

IV. SATAN'S SUBJECTS

"The whole world lieth in the evil one," declares the Apostle John, but it is of the supremest importance to the prince of this world that those who dwell in his realm should not know it. To keep men ignorant of their position he blinds their minds! "The god of this world hath blinded the minds (margin: thoughts) of the unbelieving, that the light of the Gospel ... should not dawn upon them" (2 Cor 4:4).

The adversary dreads the light of God, for light reveals things as they are, both in the natural and in the spiritual world. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). The truth about the love of God to men, of men as sinners needing a Saviour, and of God's gift of a perfect Saviour when really apprehended by the soul, must set free, and so the adversary hides the truth from his captives. They are kept "darkened in their understanding" and are thus "alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them" (Eph 4:18).

That the truth must reach the understanding to be effectual in delivering the soul is evident from the Lord's words that the good ground which received the seed was in the one "that heareth the Word, and understandeth it" (Matt 13:23; see also Col 1:9; 1 John 5:20). The adversary therefore labors to keep the understanding darkened, blinding the mind with (1) wrong thoughts about God, (2) prejudices of all kinds, (3) philosophy of earth, (4) false reasonings concerning spiritual things, or else he occupies the thoughts with earthly things, earthly idols, or the cares and pleasures of this life. The Spirit of God alone can defeat the evil one, and destroy the veil which darkens men's minds.