This is the 8th post in a series I am writing about end times prophecies in the Bible.  If you would like to read the earlier posts, the series starts here.

The culture of the ancient Hebrews has all but been erased.  Today, the closest thing we have to this ancient culture are the Bedouins.  Like the Bedouins of today, the ancient Hebrews lived in a culture of semi-nomadic tribes of  farmers and herdsmen.  They traveled in small, familiar groups, lived in tents made of goats hair tarps and had few material possessions.  Their wealth was measured in terms of children and the size of their herds.  As such, they were used to living in the wilderness.  Their lives consisted of traveling from watering hole to watering hole and pasture land to pasture land, all according to the seasons and the rains they brought.  As desert dwellers, the lives of the ancient Hebrew literally depended upon the rain, so everything about their lives was focused on the rain and the life-sustaining crops that it yielded.

Consequently, it is no surprise that the ancient Hebrew tended to stress the importance of rain.  But not only the rain: he also placed a great deal of importance on the crops and pasture lands the rain provided.  To the ancient Hebrew, the three were all connected to the continuation of his life and the lives of his family, and that connection was further extended to his dependence upon God to provide those life-giving rains.  Thus, the ancient Hebrew didn’t think, he knew that his life was entirely dependent upon the Lord.  If the Lord held back the rain, the ancient Hebrew was in peril of dying.  Given this, it is only natural that we should expect to see the ancient Hebrew relating to God through  images connected to their way of life and, more importantly, the things which God provided to sustained their material lives.

The ancient Hebrew was also thought in material or concrete terms.  To him, if you could not see, taste, smell, hear or feel it, then it made little sense.  This is not to say he did not have any understanding of the abstract, because he did.  The ancient Hebrew was very religious, and by its very nature, religion is an abstract thing.  It just means that the ancient Hebrew tended to use concrete imagery to describe and discuss abstract thing.  Here again, if we do not understand this concrete way of thinking and we try to overwrite our modern world view, which is so rooted in the abstract, we are not likely, but guaranteed to misunderstand the ancient Hebrew Scriptures.

The ancient Hebrew also thought of time in a very different way than we do today.  Today, we think of time as being a linear thing, with a starting point and moving constantly forward.  Thus, we think in terms of ‘past,’ ‘present’ and ‘future.’  But the ancient Hebrew did not think this way.  To him, there was only those things that ‘had already manifested’ (i.e. had already came to be, or happened) and those things which ‘were yet to manifest’ (i.e. had not yet came to be, or happen).  Given that the ancient Hebrew would have thought this way, then we should expect that he would have communicated with this assumption in mind, as well.  Therefore, if we try to force our modern, linear perspective of time over top the ancient Hebrew Scriptures, we are not likely to misunderstand, we are all but guaranteed to misunderstand.

Another interesting characteristic of the ancient Hebrew is that he was an excellent historian in a time when man had not yet started to care about history.  In fact, it could be argued that the ancient Hebrews were the fathers of modern history.  Before them, men did record things, but they usually only recorded things to glorify some important person or event, and even then, they tended to embellish what actually happened, and/or leave out the negative.  This is not the case with the ancient Hebrew.  To him, the history of his people was his religion: the two were inseparable.  Consequently, he recorded everything — good and bad — as accurately as he could because, in his eyes, that history was a record of God’s Hand in the lives of his people.

This brings us to the final point I’d like to make about the ancient Hebrew culture, which is that their faith was central to everything they did.  It was their very existence.  In the mind of the ancient Hebrew, everything he did was part of a relationship with the Lord.  Thus, to live a righteous life was to live in harmony with the Lord’s ways.

Now, all of this should naturally be expected to reflect in the way the ancient Hebrews spoke, and, as we will see in my next post, it is.  But, for now, we should understand that, just as our dependence upon technology influences the way we see and relate to the world, the ancient Hebrew’s dependency on God to provide rain shaped and influence the way he saw the world.  And, just as we work the things of our daily lives into the way we communicate, the ancient Hebrew worked the familiar things of his daily life into the way he communicated, including his writings — and, yes, even Scripture.

You can find the next post in this series here.

ADDITIONAL READING ON ANCIENT HEBREW CULTURE

The Ancient Hebrew Culture

The Nomadic Lifestyle of the Ancient Hebrews

Hebrew Society, History, Religion, and Texts

This is the seventh post in a series I am writing about end times prophecies in the Bible.  If you would like to read the earlier posts, the series starts here.

Having written a six-post introduction to my series on Biblical prophecies, it may seem that it is time to start getting into the prophecies, themselves.  Unfortunately, we’re not quite ready to do that. That’s because we have to learn the language of prophecy before we can study prophecy.  Now, that may sound absurd, but it isn’t.  That’s because — in this case — I am using a much more expansive meaning of ‘language.’  I do not mean that we have to learn Hebrew and Greek, or any of the languages into which the Scriptures are translated.  No, I mean we have to understand everything connected to the way the prophets tried to communicate their visions.  To do this, we not only need to understand their written and spoken language, but also their culture.  Only by studying these things can we hope to place the prophets’ messages in their proper context.  So, before we can understand the language of prophecy, we have to learn how to put ourselves in the prophets’ sandals (so to speak).  We do this by addressing three general areas, all of which are connected to the language of any given culture and time:

First, we have to understand that all of the prophets were Hebrews (i.e. Jews), and they were writing from a Hebrew perspective and to a Hebrew audience.  Therefore, we have to learn something about the Hebrew culture.  Otherwise, we may miss the cultural references written into prophecy.  This is especially important for those of us who have been raised in the Western world, as we have inherited a Greek mindset, whereas the ancient Hebrew was of a Middle Eastern mindset.  The two are very different.  The primary difference being that the Greek mind tends to think in abstract terms, whereas the Middle Eastern mind tends to think in more concrete terms.  If we do not understand the differences, though we may read the Scriptures with sincere desire to understand, we will likely never understand their fullest meaning simply because we do not understand the cultural divide.

Next, we have to understand the Hebrew language.  In many ways, language and culture are interconnected: each helps to shape and define the other.  This would also include things like idioms, allegories  and figures of speech and the way they are connected to a given culture. It is no different with the ancient Hebrew culture and language.  The need to understand the ancient Hebrew culture and language is made all the more important when we realize that the ancient Hebrew only had some 8,500 — 9,000 words in his entire language, and those words were all based in relation to a nomadic culture that saw the world in concrete terms.    Now consider what this meant to the ancient prophet who was told to describe Spiritual things (which are inherently abstract in nature) to a people who thought in concrete terms.  Not only did the prophet have to explain something alien to the Hebrew mind, but he had to do so using a language that was based in concrete thinking.  Think of it like this: how would you explain computer programming to someone who has never seen a computer, and how would you explain it without using any of the language computer programmers use to describe what they do?  If you can imagine how difficult that task might be, then you will have some idea of the task that was handed to the prophets.

Finally, we have to understand Hebrew poetry.  This is because a great deal of prophecy is actually written using various forms of Hebrew poetry.  Now, at first glance, this may not seem to be all that important: why would it be unusual that an ancient author might write in poetic form?  After all, we still do this today.  The problem is that Hebrew poetry is very different from the poetry most of us recognize.  Therefore, if we do not know and understand Hebrew poetry, we might miss it in the prophets’ writing.  Now just imagine, how would your understanding of a modern poem change if you did not realize it was poetry and tried to force a literal interpretation onto the words in the poem?  I doubt any of us could make much sense out of any modern poem if we tried to read it in this way.  Well, why should it be any different when reading ancient Hebrew poetry?  It isn’t.  So, if we do not realize we are reading poetry, then, no matter how sincere, we simply will not be able to understand the message.

Therefore, before we can hope to understand ‘the language of prophecy’ in its fullest meaning, we have to understand as much as possible about the three areas I just mentioned.  So, by the way I reason, this means we should start first with the ancient Hebrew people and their culture.

This is the sixth post in a series I am writing about end times prophecies in the Bible.  If you have not read the previous five posts, STOP!  DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!  It is imperative that, before you read any further in this post, you  go back to the first post and start reading — for your own sake, not mine.

OK, for most believers, this is going to be a difficult post.  None the less, this series is about studying what Scripture actually says and not the things that men teach.  So, with that said, let me say this as clearly as I can:

Scripture never talks about a single figure known as “THE” Antichrist, nor does it ever say that Satan will ever manifest himself incarnate!

Now, before the reader leaves me, allow me to use Scripture to prove that I am correct — because understanding what antichrist actually is changes everything! Continue reading “BIBLE PROPHECY: What Is ‘Antichrist?’” →

BUT NO MORE!

This nation has been conquered!

And the American people cheered while they watched it happened! Continue reading “Superman’s America Has Been Conquered!” →

This might sound obvious to most, but — surprisingly — it doesn’t seem to be the case.  How many people think that Revelation must be mythology because of the beasts it describes?  How many believers actually insist we will see such beasts in the flesh?  Both interpretations result from not knowing the language that John was using.  We encounter the same problem today.  If I told you “I store my contacts in the cloud,” what would it mean to you?  I am using English, but does it mean I put the contacts from ignition system in a cloud in the sky?  Or my corrective contact lenses in that cloud in the sky?  Or have I put my list of personal contact information on a computer somewhere on the Internet?  It all depends on to who I am speaking and when.  This is because the language can only be understood when viewed from the vantage point of the culture being addressed, at the time it was addressed.  So, let’s start with a few basics to help us understand the language of prophecy. Continue reading “BIBLE PROPHECY: Start By Learning The Language” →

WHY STUDY PROPHECY?

When the non-believer reads prophecy, all they usually see is a bunch of fanciful, vaguely worded stories that can be interpreted to mean nearly anything.  Consequently, they dismiss prophecy as foolishness.  Sadly, many believers also dismiss prophecy.  To them, it simply isn’t important.  I even know pastors who say they are not concerned with prophecy.  Frankly, this troubles me more than non-believers who dismiss prophecy.  Nearly one third of the Bible is prophecy. If the Lord thinks prophecy is important enough that one third of His Word has been revealed in the form of prophecy, then I should think that, at the very least, believers should think it is important enough to study (let alone a pastor).  But more than this, the Scriptures actually tell us why we should study prophecy.  Here’s what I’ve found in studying this subject. Continue reading “BIBLE PROPHECY: Why Study Bible Prophecy?” →

AN INTRODUCTION

Like many believers (and even some who do not believe), I have always been fascinated by the end times prophecies in the Bible. I have always believed in the Lord, though I have not always been obedient to His Word.  Still, even after I started to obey, I had difficulty accepting the most commonly taught understanding of Biblical end times prophecies,  This would be the interpretations presented in the “Left Behind” interpretation of prophecy: where the Church is raptured, there is a seven year tribulation, during which a figure known as the Antichrist makes peace with Israel, then, after 3 1/2 years, he breaks the peace and attacks Israel leading to Christ’s return and the battle of Armageddon.  For me, the problem with this story is that it simply isn’t supported by Scripture.  There are too many holes, inconsistencies and contradictions in it to be the correct understanding of Biblical prophecy.  Consequently, like I am sure so many others have done, and for the same reasons, I dismissed this teaching of prophecy.  Needles to say, this had a negative effect on my faith — until I actually started to let the Bible speak for itself.  Once I did that, everything changed!
Continue reading “BIBLE PROPHECY: A New Look At The End Times Prophecies In The Bible” →

Scripture tells me I am to be in the world, just not of it.  In other words, I have to live in this world, but I must not allow myself to conform to the ways of this world.  Scripture also teaches me to be as wise as a serpent, but as innocent as a dove.  This means I must use wisdom to guide my actions, but I must not allow my reasoning to become so twisted that I start to believe good is evil and evil is good.  Sadly, I must confess that, for the majority of my life, I failed on both counts: I have conformed to the ways of this world, and I have allowed myself to believe in lies.  What’s more, I believed I was doing ‘right’ both times.  Thankfully, the Lord opened my eyes a few years ago, so now, though I still do not see perfectly, I do see more clearly than ever before.  I just wish I could help others to open their eyes as well.  Sadly, this election cycle has shown me just how difficult that can be — especially when you are trying to open the eyes of those who are convinced their wicked way is actually the will of God. Continue reading “Party Uber Alles!” →

This is the first in what I plan to be a series of posts intended to help us identify (and thus, avoid) the weapons of Apollyon.

Of all the weapons Apollyon uses to destroy, hypocrisy is among the most poisonous.  But why is that? Continue reading “THE WEAPONS OF APOLLYON: Destruction Through Hypocrisy” →

I became politically aware when I started my last two years of college.  I set out to earn a law degree, but I did not want to take the usual path most people were taking at the time by starting with a political science degree.  Instead, I chose to study the foundations of the law and society, so I earned a degree in both philosophy and sociology.  I suppose that’s what woke me up to the injustices in our society, but also to the need for consistent principles in trying to deal with them.  For me, the only source offering anything that even resembled rational consistency was the political right, or ‘Conservatives.’  Oh, if only I had also studied political science and history, as well.  Maybe then I might have come to the conclusions I have reached a little sooner — but I didn’t.  Instead, I fell into a trap that, at that time, I couldn’t see because I didn’t even know it existed.  It wasn’t until about seven years ago that I found the key that opened my eyes.  Now?  Now I see exactly what is going on, that I am guilty of being part of it, and that — if I want to make amends for my part in all of it — I can no longer continue playing the game. Continue reading “I Refuse To Fight On The Side Of Apollyon Any Longer!” →

When Trump and his supporters reject Cruz for urging people to vote their conscience, they also reject the words of one of our most faithful and longest-serving founders:

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

— John Quincy Adams Continue reading “Trump And His Supporters To John Quincy Adams: We Reject You!” →

My last post explained how logic dictates that those Trump supporters who booed Cruz for urging people to vote for those who will uphold the Constitution actually demonstrated they do not care about principles, the rule of law or the Constitution.  I caught a lot of hate for saying that, but I was correct.  Trump and the majority of his supporters do not care about the Constitution or the rule of law.  That means they are no different from the Democrats — none!  But — this time — before you tell me how wrong I am — understand that it is Trump saying he does not care about the Constitution!  Here’s the story: Continue reading “Trump Is Telling World Cruz Is Correct To Distrust Him, But Trump Supporters Refuse To See Anymore Than Obama’s Or Hillary’s” →

Before I address some glaring contradictions in the things Glenn Beck has been telling his audience about Mormonism and Islam, I want to stress this point once more:

I do not ‘hate’ Glenn Beck.  I still find value in the things Glenn Beck brings to the public discussion.  I just believe that someone has to offer sound rebuttal to his spiritual blindness and logical inconsistency.

So, with that said, let’s discuss Beck’s position on his religion and that of Islam. Continue reading “APPLIED LOGIC: The Tyranny In Glenn Beck’s Words” →

This is a basic principle for anyone who seeks to live a  rational and self-disciplined life.

I have written that reason dictates we should take people at their word.  However, in that blog post, I also provided a condition to this rule.  When a persons actions contradict their words, it may be cause to disregard what they say in favor of what they do.  However, as with most things, there are conditions to this rule, as well. Continue reading “PRINCIPLES FOR LIVING A RATIONAL LIFE: A Person’s Actions Outweigh Their Words” →

From my blog on Natural Law, The Road to Concord:

A fundamental principle of Natural Law is that definitions are fixed.  Once a thing is defined, it does not change.  If it does, then it is not the definition that has changed, but the thing itself, in which case, the definition is still fixed, it just no longer applies to that thing.  While this may sound confusing, it is not.  And while it may not seem important, it is imperative to everything we do.  Please allow me to explain. Continue reading “PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL LAW: Definitions Are Fixed” →

I have said that I cannot support Trump because he has to many similarities with Adolf Hitler (the 1930’s Hitler — before he started WW II).  Well, if you are a Trump supporter, you are not going to be happy with this post, either.  That is because, the longer we watch him, the more Trump has proven that my concerns are warranted (or as Trump would say, he keeps proving me right).  Have you seen this yet? Continue reading “Trump Is Proving My Assessment Of Him Correct –He’s A Hitler In The Making!” →

From my other blog, The Road to Concord:

If we are to be free and self-governing, we have to understand something: liberty is not safety!  In fact, a free people will never be a safe people.  This is because there will always be people looking to enslave those who are free.  Those who seek to rule over others are tyrants — period!  There is no “yes, but:” they are tyrants and all tyrants are enemies to liberty, and to mankind in general.  Which brings us to another hard fact we need to accept:

ANYONE — and this means ANYONE who appeals to some ‘crisis’ or ’emergency’ as a justification for taking away the rights of free individuals is a tyrant! Continue reading “PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL LAW: ANYONE Who Appeals To ‘Crisis Or Emergency’ As A Reason To Suspend Rights Is A Tyrant!” →

This is a post from a friend of mine.  He owns The Rio Norte Line blog.  While TRNL is more politically focused than I am, with this post, my friend is right in line with the theme of The OYL.  I urge you to give it a read…because he is correct!

“What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

What follows is less than a scholarly tome. It is an accumulation of thoughts gleaned from a lifetime of personal observation and study, so I only propose it as something to think about. Continue reading “The Five” →

This post is a simple lesson in applied logic.  It is intended to show that Obama is intentionally trying to cause racial strife in America.  Here is how logic tells us this is a fact, and not just an ‘opinion:’

First, you need to know some facts.  By ‘fact,’ I mean things that actually are and cannot be disputed, debated or ignored.  In this case, I am going to present you with the official FBI statistics on violent crime broken down by the race of the offender and the victim.  You’ll find this information here:

CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES, 2013

Next, we look at some charts that give us a picture of the same information according to the DOJ:

And then there is this:

The real racial bias: Cops more willing to shoot whites than blacks, research finds

“In other words,” wrote James and her co-authors, “there was significant bias favoring blacks where decisions to shoot were concerned.”

[This means the police were less likely to shoot at blacks, not more likely.]

The Color of Crime

Major Findings

• The evidence suggests that if there is police racial bias in arrests it is negligible. Victim and witness surveys show that police arrest violent criminals in close proportion to the rates at which criminals of different races commit violent crimes.

• [This means the police arrest people in direct proportion to who is committing the most crimes, so, if they are arresting more blacks, then more blacks are committing crimes.]

Now we make some simple observations:

Blacks are killing whites in disproportionate numbers.

Whites are killing blacks at a lower percentage than we would expect just from a statistical spread (blacks are 12% of the population, but whites are committing violent crimes against blacks at a rate of less than 11%).

OBAMA KNOWS ALL OF THIS!

He is the President, the FBI and DOJ work for him, and he gets their briefings.  Therefore, we should assume Obama knows these numbers.  And if he doesn’t, then we can still hold him accountable and act as though he does — because he should.  It is his job to know!

Finally, we apply simple logic:

If the President makes public statements that give the impression that the police are racist, or that whites are racist, HE IS LYING!  It is not his ‘opinion.’  HE IS LYING!

Why can we say this?  Because, unlike the average person, Obama has the facts.  As President, Obama knows that the actual evidence from his own FBI and DOJ does not support his claim!  This means, when he says there is evidence of racism in the police force, or the white population in general, he is intentionally lying.

Now, if a person goes on national television and intentionally makes remarks that give people the impression that the police are racist, or that all whites are racists, he is intentionally fanning the flames of racial strife.  Folks, that is illegal!  According to U.S. law, it is called inciting or attempting to incite a riot and/or violence and, if we were not dealing with a President who hides behind the color of his skin, this could also link Obama directly to the deaths of any officer or white murdered by blacks as a result of Obama’s words.  But then, that would only apply in a nation where the rule of law reigns supreme.  Sadly, under Obama, this is no longer the case.  Under Obama, we live by the rule of men, not the law.

Oh, one other logical observation.  When you live under the rule of men, and a black man is in charge, and this same black man is claiming that whites are the source of the social violence in that society and then uses the law against whites, then you do have racism on your hands, BUT THE BLACK MAN IS THE RACIST!  Remember, Obama is one of the very same black men who told us you cannot be racist if you do not have power.  Well, white do not hold the power in this country anymore.  The President and Attorney General — the two most powerful law enforcement officers in the country — are both black.  So, by Obama’s own definition (before he was elected President), he is a racist.  But again, this only applies in a lawful society, where the rules of logic still apply.  Again, under Obama, this is no longer a lawful society…

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

Lately, I have had a lot of people commenting that they think I am being a defeatist, and many of them are personal friends of mine.  Well, I’d like to share my point of view for a moment.

First, I am a Christian; a Christian who is trying hard to actually live the teachings of his faith instead of just claiming the name of Christ as though it were some magic cloak that will cover all sins.  It doesn’t, and it won’t.  So, while I pay attention to politics, I no longer place my trust in men.  I did that for far too long, as have most the rest of us.  Look where it has gotten us.  This year, we will chose between a corrupt politician and a corrupt businessman.  Either way, depending on our own wisdom has left us where we will knowingly vote for someone who know to be corrupt in hopes that they will end the corruption.  Well, I might be going way out on a limb here, but I think this is a mark of insanity.  This is why I have decided to actually live my faith and place my trust in God — just like our original founders did.

Now, before I can live my faith, I have to learn what it actually teaches me.  So I have not just been reading the Bible, but I have been studying it — hard.  I have been learning about the ancient Hebrew culture, and their language.  And I have been studying the nations which surrounded ancient Israel.  One of the things I have found is a pattern which repeats over and over throughout the record of God’s people.

First, God stands His people up, and places them in a nation where they can grow prosperous.  Then He protects them, and they become prosperous.  But, eventually, they start thinking they are the source of their own prosperity.  When this happens, they turn away from God.  God is patient, and He starts to warn them, but they usually ignore the warnings.  However, God is also perfect justice so, eventually, He passes judgment on them by turning them over to their own sinful desires.  When that happens, we always destroy ourselves.  Sometimes, however, when God’s people have become wicked enough, God actually sends others to destroy them.

Either way, the Lord wipes away the evil so that only the few who have been trying to cling to Him and His ways remain.  Then He rebuilds from out of this remnant.  If we read the Bible, we will find that it constantly tells us to remove the evil from among us.  This is the reason for the death penalty in Scripture.  It is like pulling weeds so they do not take over the garden.  And when God destroys His people, that is a lot like when a forest fire clears away the dead growth so that new growth can spring up and renew the forest.

Now, I do not know whether or not God is going to save this nation.  He may not.  After all, Israel is the eternal seat of God’s thrown on earth forever, and we are not Israel.  All I know is that the signs suggest we have past the point where a just God must give us over to the consequences of our infidelity.  There is nothing I can do about this.  Either God will save us out of the ashes or He won’t.  Even if He does, I may not survive what is coming.  It could be that none of us will.  All I know for sure is that Scripture is clear as to what I have to do.  If we see danger coming and we do not warn others, then their blood will be on our hands.  But if we see the danger and we warn them but they do not listen, then we are free from guilt.  So I do my best to warn those who will hear the message so that they may have time to turn back to the Lord in time to be saved before it is too late.  For after all, what is the span of this lifetime compared to that of eternity?

So, for me, there is no defeatism — just a realignment of what I consider to be a victory.  I will warn those who will listen, and urge those who already hear to cling tightly to the Truth.  I will live as Scripture commands me and leave the result to God — as Scripture tells me to do.  And I will trust God and His plan.  If I do this, then no matter what happens here in this world, I am assured a part in the final victory.  Now, if you call this defeatism, then so be it.  Just understand one last thing:

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]