Archive for 10 Commandments

A Simple Legal Argument

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Freedom in Christ with tags , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2022 by paulthepoke

Excerpts taken from The Gospel 33 AD by Paul Lehr.

At the core of the need for the gospel message is a simple legal argument and matter. God made this very clear from the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. Listen and obey God’s directions. “Eat all you want except for one.” There are consequences. Some consequences are good and some are bad.

Genesis 2:16-17 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

As time progressed, Moses was given the Law for the nation of Israel on Mount Sinai. God communicated His Law to Moses approximately 3,600 years ago. These directions were given to Moses approximately 1,600 years before Christ. In total, there were 613 laws given. This number includes the Ten Commandments. Jews have even broken down the number of negative and positive commands. 365 are negative commands and 248 are positive commands. Read the first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) of the Bible for these laws or mitzvoth (Hebrew term).

As far as God is concerned, there is no separation of moral and legal code. Culturally and legally the United States is different. We have a separation of church and state. That is not the intended case with God and His nation Israel.

Well so what if we break God’s Law? What is the big deal? Sin is a big deal to God. It does not matter the offense. If you break the law, the punishment is death. It does not matter if one steals, lies, commits murder or adultery, covets, or whatever. There are no “shades of grey” when it comes to sin. There is not a sliding scale for sin. One sin is not more condemning than another. If you break one, you break them all. That is God’s standard.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death…

1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law…

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The critic often says, “Well, the Ten Commandments are in the Old Testament and we live during the church age in the New Testament. Jesus took care of the Law.”

A message for the critic, the Mosaic Law is still present whether you believe it or not. The issue is whether or not you have Jesus to cover your mess. The Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments have not gone away. Jesus Himself made this very clear.

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

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Wild Fires Spread Across Turkey

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Trend Update with tags , , , , on August 5, 2021 by paulthepoke

As of July 30, 2021… Wild fires have broken out across Turkey. There are over 100 wild fires in 30 plus cities and they continue to spread.

Hurriyet News

These events coincided with the finding of the ancient gateway to the temple of Zeus. Archeologists have vowed to rebuild and refurbish the structure as ancient worshippers experienced the temple. This would essentially allow the reinstitution of Zeus worship as the ancients practiced.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s response is being called into question. Erdogan has refused help from Greece. Instead he turned to his prophetic friends as documented by Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39, Russia and Iran. Qatar was also contacted for help.

In light of Exodus 20 and the 10 Commandments…

Exodus 20:3-6 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Commandments.”

Does God really exist? Which god is the real God? Is Zeus real and is Zeus God? Would the God of the Bible really respond in jealousy to a violation of His Commandments? Does any of this really matter? Or is it all coincidental?

Please pray for mercy and grace and these fires be extinguished for the people and environment being affected.

These questions and more are answered on This Week in Prophecy. Click on the YouTube link below.

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Sabbath Offerings

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus is Temple worship service. The grain offering has been reviewed. Next, Nehemiah reminds the Jewish people of the Sabbath Offering.

Nehemiah 10:33b …the Sabbaths…

The concept of the Sabbath has its roots in the creation week. The Sabbath is “barak” in the Hebrew or blessed. This day is set apart and clean. Even God rested. He set the precedent. He was not tired. God blessed the seventh day.

Genesis 2:2-3 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

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The Sabbath offering is a bit different than the daily offering.

In both cases, two male lambs without blemish are sacrificed.

What is different is the amount of flour. The daily offering has 1/10 of an ephah. The Sabbath offering has 2/10 of an ephah. As a reminder, an ephah is roughly one bushel or 8 dry gallons or 35 liters or 8 pounds. Multiply x .2. We are looking at 1.6 gallons or pounds or 7 liters of flour.

There is a progression of the amount of flour from the daily offering to the Sabbath offering to the monthly offering. The daily offering has 1/10 of an ephah. The Sabbath offering has 2/10. And the monthly offering has multiple recipes pending the sacrifice being offered. In the case of the monthly offering, more fine flour is offered.

The fine flour is mixed with an amount of oil that is not defined.

There is also an undefined amount of wine as well.

The text is clear with a reminder. The daily offering is different than the Sabbath offering.

Numbers 28:9-10 On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

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The Sabbath is unique in that it was created and written before the law. Its foundation is in the creation week. The Sabbath was instituted before the Mosaic Law. If anything the Sabbath law in the 10 Commandments is a reminder.

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Fast forward roughly 1,440 years from Moses receiving the law on Mount Sinai to Jesus. The context of the discussion is a wheat field with the disciples and the religious leaders on the Sabbath.

Mark 2:27-28 And He (Jesus) said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

See also Matthew 12:8, Luke 6:5.

Jesus is the author of the law as given to Moses. The Sabbath was created for man to rest. Jesus fulfilled the law. It is good for us to rest in Him.

Christ is the Creator. Jesus is greater than traditions of men or the Sanhedrin in this context.

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

As believers in Christ we have our Sabbath in Him because of His death, burial, and resurrection.

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: The Sabbath

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is getting back to God’s ways. The next step is honoring the Sabbath.

Nehemiah 10:31a And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day.

The concept of the Sabbath was introduced to Israel when they were wandering in the desert for 40 years. This is the first mention of the term “Sabbath”. The specific details are noted in Exodus 16:22-30. God is promising Israel He will provide. Take a day off and rest. It is a gift from God.

Exodus 16:23 then he said to them, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”

Exodus 16:29 “See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

The word “Sabbath” in the Hebrew is transliterated. It is also “Sabbath” in English. The term is equated with rest. It is to be set apart, sacred, and holy.

Genesis 2:2-3 The Sabbath

God introduced the concept in the creation week. On the seventh day, He rested and reflected on His work. God did not need to rest but He did. The Sabbath is “barak” in the Hebrew or blessed. This day is set apart and clean. The ordinance is best described as given to Moses by God Himself. The context is the 10 Commandments.

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Isaiah 1:12-15 Rest Means Rest!

Nehemiah is teaching Israel about the Sabbath at the end of the week and the holy days. Economic activity will cease during these days. Sales will come to a halt. God set the standard.

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“One Nation Under God” & Moral Relativism… Phil Kulis

Posted in Phil Kulis with tags , , , , , , , on September 27, 2018 by paulthepoke

PhilKulis PicHere’s the problem of moral relativism.

You are subject to the morality of whoever has power over you. You don’t get a choice.

In a dictatorship such as Nazi Germany or a Mexican drug lord, you don’t get the luxury of saying you don’t want to follow the Ten Commandments. And worse than that you don’t get the benefit of others following the Ten Commandments.

If a dictator wants your money, or your labor, or your wife, children and even your life… You don’t have a say so about it.

The Ten Commandments were a gift to mankind. Prior to that, everyone was subject to the whim of a patriarch, or tribal chieftain, or king.

So, the next time an atheist tries to say they think they are moral in themselves, it’s not about your morality. It’s about the morality of whoever has power over you.

So, thank God that this nation chooses to say “One nation under God” and “In God we trust.” Because the morality of God is fair to all.

American-flag

 

Exodus 20:1-17 And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

10-Commandments- Heritage Auctions

Photo: Heritage Auctions

 

 

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Revelation: Pergamum, Let’s Review

Posted in Prophecy, Revelation, Teshuvah/Repent with tags , , , , , on February 12, 2017 by paulthepoke

Revelation 2:15-16 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

The church at Pergamum had the same issue as the church at Ephesus, worship of Nicolaitan teaching. There is no reliable documentation to confirm the identity of the Nicolaitans. They are suspected to participate in pagan feasts and orgies.

The issue is the relentless assault of false teachers. Pergamum is Satan’s home and throne. People in the local church were following Satan, Balaam, Balak, and the Nicolaitans. They were not following Jesus Christ.

This is in clear violation of two of the first four Commandments in Exodus. God still wants to be worshipped.

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exodus 20:5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.

Notice how God equates worshipping a false god as hatred towards Him. God says worshipping other gods has consequences to your grandchildren and great grandchildren. Does God really mean this? Are there really consequences for believing in other religions and their gods? Did God change?

Therefore repent…This is a call to change your mind. This is the third time in Revelation Jesus calls believers to repent. Incidentally, Jesus will remind the churches seven times in Revelation…Completely repent. Rethink what is being taught.

The Greek word for repent is μετανοεο/metanoeo. It means: to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins. –Strong’s Concordance.

The idea of repent in the Hebrew is teshuvah. Prepare and turn to God. People are called to turn away from their sin, repent, and change course. It is a time of inward reflection and sincere self-assessment. The goal is a change in lifestyle away from sin to obedience in God’s word. The Hebrew month of Elul initiates a 40 day period called Teshuvah.

https://paulthepoke.com/2016/08/28/teshuvah-2016/

This is a reminder to us today as well. Believers throughout the course of the Bible are warned about false teachers. Do not follow false teachers. Worship and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ who is God the man.

or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

This is the second sword reference to the church at Pergamum. The first sword reference was in Revelation 2:12. I take it they did not repent and Jesus used His sword. The city and church of Pergamum are no longer with us in the 21st century. Today the ancient city is ruins.

FYI: In the last week (February 12, 2017) of the writing of this post, a series of earthquakes has struck approximately 60-75 miles northwest of modern day Pergamum or Bergama, Turkey. The area is back in the news.

Draw your own conclusions.

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Trend Update: Palmyra Arch, London, Trafalgar Square, April 2016

Posted in Gospel, Trend Update, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2016 by paulthepoke

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exodus 20:4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

Exodus 20:5-6 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

These are the first three commandments. They are relational to God. Notice, how one relates to God comes before how people relate to each other. God is the priority. Then, He defines how we are to relate to each other.

God states the consequence of the “iniquity”. The Hebrew word is `avon. The word can also be translated as perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt, or punishment (Strong’s Concordance). Idol worship and/or worship of other gods will impact your family tree to your grandchildren and great grandchildren. God takes this quite seriously.

Worshiping or bowing down to idols and/or false gods is equated with hating God.

The critic often says, “Well, the 10 Commandments are in the Old Testament and we live during the Church age in the New Testament. Jesus took care of the Law.”

The Law (10 Commandments) has not gone away. Jesus Himself made this very clear. Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Granted if one is a believer in Christ, He has you covered literally and figuratively. To the unbeliever, the Law is in full effect whether they believe it or not with consequences defined by God.

Following and obeying the commandments are equated with loving God. This is the case in both the Old and New Testaments. The message is consistent throughout the course of the Bible.

John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

See also John 14, 1 John 2, 1 John 5, and 2 John 1.

The reconstruction of the arch of Palmyra is a direct violation. The arch is a gateway to the temple of Bel. There are idols of Bel. People worship Bel and the arch. Granted, this is not Bel specific. It is any other god(s) other than the Creator God of the Bible.

The Palmyra Arch was redesigned on a smaller scale and placed in Trafalgar Square, London on April 19, 2016. The rebuilding of the arch was done in defiance of ISIS. The arts and antiquities crowd is upset with the terrorists for destroying the original in Palmyra, Syria.

A replica was also to be erected in Times Square of New York City. Due to backlash from the Christian community, the arch was not unveiled in Times Square in April 2016. Segments of Christian society are running around with a hollow victory. The arch is still planned to make its way to New York City in September of 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/arts/international/replica-of-palmyra-arch-is-unveiled-in-trafalgar-square.html?_r=0

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/palmyra-arch-destroyed-isis-rises-again-central-london-180958848/?no-ist

If someone sacrificed themselves to keep you out of Hell…what is your response?

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What the Hell…Gehenna

Posted in Hell with tags , , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2015 by paulthepoke

Luke 12:5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! – Jesus

hinnom

Hell, is it real or not? There are many terms in the Bible that are related and quoted as synonymous. Some of these include Hades, the pit, outer darkness, Sheol, the Lake of Fire, Gehenna, and the chasm from the Bosom of Abraham. They are different places. Some of these terms are not the same as Hell.

The first of these terms to be addressed in this series is Gehenna. This term is used 12 times in the New Testament. Jesus uses the term 11 times and the one other is utilized by His half-brother, James. Jesus teaches about Hell more than anyone in the Bible.

Per Strong’s Concordance, Gehenna is the Greek word used by Jesus. It means: Hell is the place of the future punishment called Gehenna or “Gehenna of Fire“. This was originally the Valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction.

Gehenna is translated from the Hebrew ge-hinnom or the Valley of Hinnom. In the Hebrew, Hinnom means “lamentation” per Strong’s.

Per Easton’s Bible Dictionary: The Valley of Hinnom became the common receptacle for all the refuse of Jerusalem. Dead bodies of animals, criminals, and all kinds of filth were cast and consumed by fire kept always burning. During the process of time, the valley became the image of everlasting destruction.

The Valley of Hinnom is below Jerusalem to the south and west. The valley is located below what would have been the site of the Temple. God notes this through the prophet and the book of Jeremiah. The Israelites made and placed idols in God’s Temple. They made idols in the valley. The Jewish people sacrificed their children by fire to the false god Molech. Other gods were worshipped. It is not in God’s will for us to sacrifice our children.

Jeremiah 7:30-31  “For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the LORD, “they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.”

2 Chronicles 33:6 He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

Israel broke the first three commandments of the 10 Commandments with their actions at this site: 1) no other gods before God, 2) building of idols, 3) idol worship or worship of other gods.

The irony is Gehenna or the Valley of Hinnom was a place where Israel used fire to sacrifice to and worship other gods. In the final analysis, God will use fire to judge.

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