Podcasts about Sodom

Gil Rosen joins the conversation to discuss his book Alien vs. Decoding Genesis and his interpretation of Genesis through the original Hebrew text. He argues that many familiar biblical stories — especially the creation story, the serpent, the Nephilim, and the flood — have been flattened by translation and tradition. Throughout the episode, he connects Genesis to ancient astronaut ideas, the book of Enoch, global mythology, megalithic structures, and modern questions about AI and consciousness. gilrosen.net https://alienverses.info/ Gil's main argument is that Genesis reads very differently in Hebrew than in English. He believes the text points to multiple divine beings, not just a purely singular God. The serpent in Eden is framed as a bringer of knowledge rather than a villain. Genesis 6 and the Nephilim are presented as evidence of a hybrid experiment. Gil connects biblical stories to myths from other cultures around the world. The episode also explores whether advanced beings, consciousness, and AI could be connected. Gil sees this as a moment where science, spirituality, and history are starting to overlap again.   To gain access to the second half of show and our Plus feed for audio and podcast please clink the link http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support. For second half of video (when applicable and audio) go to our Substack and Subscribe. https://grimericaoutlawed.substack.com/ or to our Locals  https://grimericaoutlawed.locals.com/ or Patreon https://www.patreon.com/grimericaoutlawed   https://www.skool.com/audiobooks THE GRIMOIRE Audiobook Club and Library https://pegsandjokers.ca/ Family and Friends Cards and Pegs Boardgame online https://www.simulationmaps.com/#products Disaster Maps, Volcano Sim, Asteroid Sim, Shipwreck Map, UFO Map etc Support the show directly: https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify https://grimerica.ca/support-2/ Our Adultbrain Audiobook Podcast and Website: www.adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats  Discord Chats Darren's books www.acanadianshame.ca Sign up for our newsletter http://www.grimerica.ca/news InstaGRAM https://www.instagram.com/the_grimerica_show_podcast/ Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show www.grimerica.ca/swag ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/ MUSIC Tru Northperception, Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com   Timestamps 0:00 — Introduction and book overview 1:00 — Gil's background and how he started questioning Genesis 5:00 — Elohim, plural language, and divine beings 10:00 — Narrative shaping and early mental programming 17:00 — Adam, Eve, the serpent, and the fruit of knowledge 24:00 — Jehovah, the Garden, and the physical nature of Genesis 33:00 — Enoch, the Nephilim, and Genesis 6 41:00 — The book of Enoch and forbidden knowledge 49:00 — Global mythologies and shared symbols 58:00 — The book's timing and current disclosure conversations 66:00 — Gil's simplified thesis of Genesis 70:00 — Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham's negotiation 76:00 — Light weapons and declassified reports 81:00 — Ancient engineering and megalithic structures 86:00 — AI, consciousness, and the soul 94:00 — Closing thoughts and where to find Gil                    

The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com Garth Heckman Spud Webb 5'7 In Junior high he went to try out and his coach told him to sit in the stands…. You are too short.  Cut from his Junior year of BB and had to talk his coach into keeping him. He scored 20 points his first game.  No Div. 1 college would even look at him. So he had to play at Midland College- lead them to a national JR league Championship, then got a scholarship to NC state.  Every NBA scout scoffed. They said maybe he could play overseas or if he was lucky he could play with the Harlem Globetrotters. Every NBA team passed on him multiple times… He fell to the fifth round and was drafted by the Detroit pistons… and cut before the season ever started.  He was “lucky” enough to be signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Hawks… At that time his star teammate Dominique Williams was the Slam dunk Champion… spud entered the contest and Dominique said he thought it was a joke and he would do layups… Spud won with numerous 360 slams, dunks off the backboard and Reverse slam dunks…. People laughed at him! He credits his belief in knowing God gave him that talent for a reason, and that dream for a purpose.    My question today is: How will you respond when people laugh at your dream?       Gen 18:1  And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2  He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3  and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.4  Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,5  while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”6  And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.7  And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.8  Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.9  They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”10  The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.11  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.12  So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”13  The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'14  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”15  But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”         Rather than just "inappropriate" or "disrespectful," biblical scholars and linguists often look at Sarah's reaction in Genesis 18:12 through a few distinct lenses:   1. Incredulous Incredulity captures a mix of disbelief, shock, and impossibility. Sarah was roughly 90 years old, well past childbearing age, and had dealt with a lifetime of infertility. Hearing a stranger tell Abraham she would have a baby by the following year sounded biologically absurd.   Abraham lives in a Spiritual and Theological worldview… Sarah lives in a physical biological world view…     2. Sarcastic (or Cynical) In Hebrew, Sarah's inner monologue reads as a self-deprecating scoff: "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?" Describing her reaction as sarcastic or cynical highlights the defense mechanism of a woman who had likely given up hope decades prior and saw the statement as a cruel taunt or bad joke.   3. Human Her reaction was deeply human. It wasn't necessarily a malicious rebellion against God; it was an involuntary emotional slip—a defense mechanism triggered by years of grief, trauma, and disappointment over her barrenness.   The Nuance: Her laugh isn't scoffing insolence; it's a reflex against emotional re-traumatization. When a deep, long-buried desire is suddenly brought up by a stranger, cynicism acts as armor to protect the heart from being broken one more time. The Insight: Faith doesn't require instantaneous emotional compliance. God engages directly with her reaction rather than striking her down, recognizing the pain behind her defense.   4. Prophetic In the broader arc of Genesis, her laughter is viewed as prophetic or foreshadowing. The Hebrew root for laugh (tzachaq) is the exact root used for the name of the child God promises: Isaac (Yitzchak), which literally means "he laughs" or "laughter". What began as the laugh of doubt in Genesis 18 transforms into the laugh of joy and wonder when Isaac is born in Genesis 21: "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me".   Key takeaway: While her response is often labeled as "disbelief," calling it incredulous or sarcastic better captures her emotional reality, while calling it prophetic reveals the literary wordplay embedded in the text.     MAYBE OUR REACTION SHOULD MATCH *TO SOME DEGREE …SARAHS… WHY? WHY WOULD GOD USE ABRAHAM A MAN OF MANY FAULTS?      Failure 1: Deception in Egypt Age ~75 (Gen 12:10–20) The Misstep: When a severe famine strikes Canaan, Abram migrates to Egypt without seeking divine direction. Fearing the Egyptians will kill him for his beautiful wife, he asks Sarai to lie and say she is his sister.   The Fallout: Pharaoh takes Sarai into his royal palace as a concubine while enriching Abram. God strikes Pharaoh's household with severe plagues. Upon discovering the truth, Pharaoh rebukes Abram for his deceit and expels his family from Egypt.       Separation from Lot & Rescue Age ~75–80 (Gen 13–14) As their livestock herds grow too large for the land to support both of them, quarreling breaks out between Abram's and Lot's herdsmen. Abram generously gives Lot first pick WITHOUT SEEKING GOD - Lot gets captured.      The Unconditional Covenant Age ~85 (Gen 15) Abram voices concern that he remains childless and his servant Eliezer will inherit his house. God reassures Abram that a biological son will be his heir and cuts a formal covenant with him, promising descendants as numerous as the stars.       Failure 2: Scheming with Hagar Age 85–86 (Gen 16) The Misstep: After living in Canaan for ten years without a child, Sarai proposes that Abram take her Egyptian servant, Hagar, as a surrogate mother. Abram agrees without seeking God's guidance, taking matters into his own hands to force the fulfillment of the promise.   The Fallout: Once Hagar becomes pregnant, domestic conflict erupts. Hagar despises Sarai, Sarai mistreats Hagar, and Abram washes his hands of the dispute. Hagar flees into the wilderness before an angel instructs her to return. She gives birth to Ishmael when Abram is 86.       The Covenant of Circumcision & Abraham's Internal Doubt Age 99 (Gen 17) The Moment of Disbelief: After 13 years of silence, God appears, renames Abram to Abraham ("Father of a Multitude") and Sarai to Sarah ("Princess"), and institutes circumcision as the covenant sign. When God explicitly states that Sarah herself will bear a son within a year, Abraham falls face down and laughs to himself, asking mentally: "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at ninety?" (Gen 17:17).     The Three Visitors at Mamre & Sarah's Laugh Age 99 (Gen 18:1–15) Three divine visitors visit Abraham under the oaks of Mamre. The Lord repeats the divine pledge: "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."   Overhearing this from inside the tent entrance, Sarah laughs to herself, thinking about her advanced age and physical state. When the Lord asks why she laughed and whether anything is too hard for God, Sarah denies it out of fear, but the Lord responds: "No, you did laugh."     MAYBE SARAH IS LAUGHING KNOWING WHO HER HUSBAND REALLY IS?       BECAUSE EVEN AFTER THIS VISITATION FROM GOD….   King Abimelech (Genesis 20:1–18) The Outcome: Abimelech takes Sarah into his harem. However, God appears to Abimelech in a dream, warning him that Sarah is married and that he will die if he touches her. Abimelech protests that he acted in good faith, returns Sarah untouched, gives Abraham restitution, and asks why Abraham did this.     Pattern in Abraham's Failures Across these 24 years, Abraham's missteps shared a common theme: self-preservation and impatience.     BUT LETS ASK OURSELVES A QUESTION: Regardless of how Sarah saw her husband Abraham - regardless of how we see him… How did God see him?      Names and Titles Given to Abraham   Abraham ("Father of a Multitude"): Originally named Abram ("Exalted Father"), God personally renamed him in Genesis 17:5 to reflect his ultimate destiny: "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations." "My Friend": God personally refers to Abraham as His friend in Isaiah 41:8 ("Abraham My friend"), a title affirmed throughout Scripture (2 Chronicles 20:7, James 2:23). Prophet: In Genesis 20:7, God speaks to King Abimelech regarding Abraham, stating, "Restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live." "My Servant": God repeatedly refers to Abraham with honor as His servant (Genesis 26:24, Psalm 105:6), marking him as a trusted agent of the Divine will. The Promises and Blessings Spoken Over Him Divine Shield and Great Reward: Infinite Descendants: Royal Lineage and Multiplied Nations: Universal Blessing for All Humanity: Divine Protection: An Everlasting Land Covenant:     SARAH MAY HAVE LAUGHED AT FIRST IN DISBELIEF - BUT   3. Sarah's later reversal is the untold "second half" of the story. But Genesis 21:6 gives Sarah's own commentary once Isaac is born: "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." She takes the very word she used in doubt and reclaims it in worship. Isaac's name literally means "he laughs." This is a remarkable narrative arc — cynical laughter transformed into worshipful laughter —          FINAL THOUGHT: WHY DID GOD CHOOSE ABRAHAM?  IN SPITE OF ALL HIS FLAWS HE PRACTICED GODS HEART AND DESIGN FOR PRAYER.   What do I mean? Gen. 18 later in the chapter God tells Abraham I am going to destroy Sodom and Gomorra and Abraham does something very familiar according to Luke 11.       Luke 11 tells us how to pray - AFTER SHARING THE LORDS PRAYER JESUS SAYS SOMETHING AWKWARD ABOUT PRAYER - A parable.  A man goes to his friends house - he needs 3 loaves of bread… he will not give up asking.    If you ask seek knock - out of sheer perseverance I will answer!   Abraham here in Gen. 18 does just that for Sodom and Gomorra - showing Gods heart for the lost. 50 45 40 30 20 10!   I believe one of the greatest clues is given in these two stories in scripture about who God uses!   The one that will not give up asking God to fulfill his purpose!     WHAT IF WE UNDERSTOOD THE STORY OF ABRAHAM LIKE THIS: Yes he was a heap of missteps, failures, a massive example of weak humanity….    But in all his mistakes and failures he never quit asking God for that son!  FOR THAT ANSWERED PRAYER.      WILL YOU BE THE ONE WHO P.U.S.H.es into God. P - pray U - until S - something H - happens?

The angels have entered Sodom, and Lot has pulled them into his home despite the risk, in a city where sheltering a guest overnight is itself a crime. Rabbi Epstein and Tom pick up as the meal Lot serves turns out to be matzah, and the timing is not incidental. This is Passover night, centuries before the Exodus, the night the Torah ties to the very possibility of freedom. Lot has spent years chasing what Sodom offers and could never walk away from it on his own. Now G-d is about to take the choice out of his hands, and the conversation traces what that kind of mercy actually costs.That night the men of the city surround the house, and Lot makes an offer to the mob that is hard to read as anything but appalling. Rabbi Epstein and Tom work through what he might have been calculating and how the Sages weigh a failure like that. When the angels finally strike the crowd blind and drag Lot inside, warning him to gather his family before dawn and get out, he doesn't move. The Torah marks the moment with a cantillation so rare it appears only a handful of times in the entire text: he lingers.They end on the question they'll pick up next episode. If you've earned the right to survive judgment, have you also earned the right to watch it happen?

In this episode, we explore the biblical concept of God's delayed judgment and what it reveals about His mercy and grace. Because Jesus came first to reconcile humanity to God, we are living in an age where God's wrath has been satisfied through Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. From the warnings of the Old Testament prophets to the examples of Israel, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, Scripture reminds us that God is patient but His judgment is certain. We'll also examine the moments God brings discipline or judgment, and what these examples teach believers today. As the age of grace moves toward its conclusion and Scripture points to Christ's return and the coming day of judgment, we are called not to condemn others or seek vengeance, but to pray, forgive, extend mercy, and leave justice in God's hands. This episode is a sobering reminder that God's patience is an expression of His grace, while His warnings call us to take sin seriously and live faithfully in light of Christ's return. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries please visit us at: https://soulchoiceministries.org/  You can find more of Bill's teachings at: BillWieseTV-YouTube

No one let the Pope listen to this week's episode.   Our guest is Natasha Pulley, genre-defying author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, The Bedlam Stacks, The Kingdoms, and now, in the The Salt King she pits the Vatican and Catholic Doctrine against something much, much older, lurking in the salt mines of the world.   It leads us to a conversation about faith of many kinds, about reality-adjacent fiction, the horrid truth of Sodom and Gomorrah, dark representations of the Catholic Church, and the challenge of fusing folk horror and global apocalypse.   There are also some holy dick pics.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Gentle Things (2026), by Danielle Giles Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2024), by Susanna Clarke The Hill in the Dark Grove (2026), by Liam Higginson The Name of the Rose (1980), by Umberto Eco Foundation (1951), by Isaac Asimov A Canticle for Liebowitz (1959), by Walter M. Miller Jr Father Alberto and the Flying Girl (2026), by Timothy X Atack   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to "The Bible in Today's World", the show that compares today's world with the Word of God. In general and specifically, are we following the Bible in our daily walks? Is society demanding that we follow the Word of God in all that we do? Does our Almighty Father look upon us and frequently say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" - or is He thinking of us as He thought/thinks of Sodom and Gomorrah? On today's show, we will discuss Genesis, Chapter 22.

# Genesis 12–23: The God Who Provides## SummaryGenesis 12–23 marks a major shift in the biblical story. God calls Abram into a personal relationship and promises him land, descendants, and a blessing that will reach all nations.Abraham responds in faith, but his journey is not perfect. He struggles with fear, makes poor decisions, and sometimes tries to accomplish God's promises in his own way. Still, God remains faithful.In Genesis 15, God confirms His covenant by passing alone through the divided animals, showing that the promise rests on His faithfulness, not Abraham's perfection.God eventually gives Abraham and Sarah the son He promised, Isaac. Then in Genesis 22, Abraham is tested when God asks him to offer Isaac. Abraham obeys, trusting God to provide. At the last moment, God provides a ram in Isaac's place, and Abraham names the place “The Lord Will Provide.”Abraham's story reminds us that God desires relationship with us, remains faithful through our failures, and provides even when we cannot see how.**Big Idea:** Trust God, obey Him, and believe that He will provide.## Sermon Notes### 1. God Calls Abraham**Genesis 12:1–3**God calls Abraham to leave everything familiar and follow Him into the unknown.**Key Principle:** God desires a relationship with you, not just religious activity.### 2. Abraham's Faith Is Imperfect**Genesis 12:10–20**Abraham trusts God, but fear still causes him to make bad decisions, including lying about Sarah.**Key Principle:** Your weaknesses do not automatically disqualify you from what God is calling you to do.### 3. Abraham Chooses Trust**Genesis 13:1–18**Abraham lets Lot choose the land first. Lot chooses by sight, while Abraham trusts God with what remains.**Key Principle:** Choose by trust, not simply by appearance.### 4. Abraham Rescues Lot**Genesis 14:1–24**Abraham rescues Lot, meets Melchizedek, gives him a tenth, and refuses the king of Sodom's wealth.**Key Principle:** Live in a way that makes God's faithfulness visible.### 5. God Makes a Covenant**Genesis 15:1–21**God promises Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars. God alone passes through the covenant pieces.**Key Principle:** God's promises depend on His faithfulness, not our perfection.### 6. Abraham Tries to Rush God's Plan**Genesis 16–17**Abraham and Sarah try to produce God's promise through Hagar. Their shortcut creates pain, but God does not abandon them.**Key Principle:** God's timing is better than our shortcuts.### 7. God Provides Isaac**Genesis 21**After years of waiting, Sarah gives birth to Isaac.**Key Principle:** Waiting does not mean God has forgotten.### 8. The Lord Will Provide**Genesis 22**God tests Abraham by asking him to offer Isaac. Abraham obeys, trusting that God will remain faithful.At the last moment, God provides a ram in Isaac's place. Abraham names the place “The Lord Will Provide.”This points forward to the greater sacrifice God would provide through Jesus.**Key Principle:** We can trust God's provision even when we cannot see it yet.## Practical Applications1. **Take the next step of obedience.** What is one thing God has been asking you to do?2. **Stop forcing God's timing.** Identify one area where you are trying to control the outcome and surrender it to Him.3. **Choose trust over appearances.** Make decisions based on God's character, not simply what looks easiest or best.4. **Give God the credit.** Recognize where He has provided, opened doors, or carried you.5. **Prioritize your relationship with God.** Set aside intentional time this week for prayer, Scripture, and worship.6. **Lay down what you are carrying.** Give God the fear, burden, or uncertainty you have been trying to manage yourself.## Discussion Questions1. Where do you see Abraham growing in trust throughout these chapters?2. In what area of your life is it hardest to trust God's timing?3. Have you ever tried to force something instead of waiting on God?4. What does Genesis 22 teach us about obedience and trust?5. Where have you seen God provide in an unexpected way?6. What is one practical step of obedience God may be asking you to take?7. What burden do you need to surrender to God this week?> **“The Lord will provide.” — Genesis 22:14**

If it were possible to control another person telepathically or psychokinetically, could you force them to convert to Christianity—and would that conversion even be valid? In this episode of Catholic Answers Live, Jimmy Akin tackles unusual questions at the intersection of Catholic theology, science, history, and pop culture. He examines whether baptisms performed by the character Mr. Eko on Lost would be valid, whether Jesus received DNA from Mary, and how Catholics should respond to ancient-alien theories that reinterpret God, angels, and biblical events as extraterrestrial encounters. Jimmy also discusses the credibility of controversial claims made by Malachi Martin and breaks down the differences between Newtonian physics, special relativity, and general relativity. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 05:34 – Let’s suppose for a moment here that it is possible to either telepathically or psychokinetically link up to another person to the point of being able affect their bodily motions or in other words, let’s suppose that possessing other humans can be done. Let’s suppose the host is a non-Christian and the possessor a Christian. If the possessor, while  inside of the host’s body, pilots them into going to confession and declares Christ as Lord and Savior, is this a conversion and additionally would this be permitted? Why or why not?  17:10 – On the show LOST: are the baptisms performed on the island by “Father Eko” valid? The usual “desert island scenario” does not quite cover it. Eko is not a priest but is only impersonating one. And neither of the baptized was in imminent danger of death (although Charlie thought so on the basis of a dream) but survived at least into Season 5.  21:01 – I know this will be speculation, but do we have any proof one or the other whether the Holy Spirit used one of Mary’s eggs so there would be a DNA connection between them? Or is the general understanding that the Holy Spirit implanted an embryo in her, independent of her DNA?  28:42 – I saw an interview with Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, the ancient alien theorist on National Georgraphy YouTube… He claimed dozens of alien species have been with humanity for millions of years… Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed not by the Wrath of God but by a UFO. Tsukalos and other co-working theorists hold to the idea that we were visited by aliens during the pyramid era. For example, Tsukalos says that the Aztecs have carvings saying they saw huge giant snakes flying thousands of years ago (flying planes)… or floating turtles hovering over them (flying UFO discs) he claims it simply came down to misinterpreted technology from aliens for their lack of better words and explanations of what they saw… and therefore calling them Gods. This makes a lot of sense to me. Is it blasphemous to think or call God (the father) and his angels… aliens? What do you think about this misinterpreted technology?  44:34 – Malachi Martin made some weird complaints about things allegedly happening in the Vatican. How credible was he?  49:11 – What does the theory of relativity add or detract from the galelei-Newton system of coordinates? Was it just factoring in light speed? I'm reading through the theory now and I don't even get the difference between general and special (specific?) relativity. 

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17) When Abraham was interceding with God to spare Sodom if even 10 righteous people were there, he asked, &ldq... More...

Welcome to "The Bible in Today's World", the show that compares today's world with the Word of God. In general and specifically, are we following the Bible in our daily walks? Is society demanding that we follow the Word of God in all that we do? Does our Almighty Father look upon us and frequently say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" - or is He thinking of us as He thought/thinks of Sodom and Gomorrah? On today's show, we will discuss Genesis, Chapter 21.

Movies are filled with cars, buildings, and cities blowing up—we love explosions! Does the Bible have any explosions? Kaitlyn and Noah, her fiancé, ask what counts as an explosion and elect one "explosion" the best.   0:00 - Theme Song   1:26 - What's the Biggest Explosion in the Bible?   3:10 - Was Creation an Explosion?   5:20 - Sodom and Gomorrah   8:17 - The Walls of Jericho   13:50 - Sponsor - Blissy - Pure mulberry silk pillow cases—hypoallergenic, naturally cooling, and recommended by dermatologists! Go to https://www.blissy.com/KAITLYN and use code KAITLYN to get 30% off!   14:46 - Sponsor - With and For - With & For: Psychology and Spirituality for Thriving Podcast. Check it out now! https://pod.link/1712333330   15:50 - Sponsor - Tyndale - To celebrate the NLT's 30th anniversary, Use code CURIOUS30 to receive 30% off any NLT Bible! https://tyndale.com   16:49 - Explosive Showdown: God vs Baal   26:36 - So—what's the biggest?   35:57 - End Credits

Hosts Pastor Robert Baltodano and Pastor Lloyd Pulley Question Timestamps: Bobby, DE (2:01) - Where does the idea that not tithing is a sin come from in the Bible? Nina, MA (6:10) - Is it okay to have cut off my marriage after my fiancé pressed me for certain things meant to happen only after marriage? Lisa, NY (11:02) - How can I convince my son that Jesus is God? He married a Jehovah's Witness. Cindy, NJ (16:45) - Where did the Gentiles go that died before Jesus died on the cross? Iris, Facebook (23:49) - Are the promises in the Bible for me? E.T., email (26:00) - My wife has taken off her ring after finding out about my sins. What should I do? Nina, MA (33:37) - Is it true that once you are engaged, you are married? Carrie, YouTube (35:52) - Does Isaiah 24 speak about Jesus's second coming? Kat, YouTube (39:47) - How do I talk to my brother, who is part of the Church of Christ, about the truth? Ed, VA (41:58) - Is the word "Jehovah" in the Bible? Where do the Jehovah's Witnesses come from? Why do we call them a cult? Henriquez, HI (45:01) - Can man change God's commandments? whassupwu, YouTube (46:56) - How close do you think our society is to Sodom and Gomorrah? Wild, YouTube (49:06) - Why do Christians say "Jehovah Jirah?" Bob, email (50:55) - How do you know the difference between instincts and when God is guiding you? What is the difference between coincidence and God's answer to prayer? Ask Your Questions: Call: 888-712-7434 Email: Answers@bbtlive.org

God does not take delight judgment. But sometimes a society can become so corrupt that It forces God's hand in this matter. In this episode we see both the depravity and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The post Genesis 19v1-29 The Depravity and Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah appeared first on Calvary Chapel Crossover.

Sodom is a city under a death sentence. Abraham has just finished negotiating with G-d over how many righteous people it would take to save it. Now the angels sent to carry out that judgment are walking through the gates and encounter Lot, Abraham's nephew, a man who chose to live in a place like this. Rabbi Epstein and Tom pick up the story right as the angels arrive, and the questions start piling up fast. Why come at night, in a city where sheltering a guest overnight is itself a punishable offense? And why is Lot the one sitting at the gate? From there the conversation opens into a bigger question: what is an angel? The answer is that an angel is a messenger with a job and no ability to refuse it. It does what it's told, then retires to sing praise in heaven forever. It can't rebel. It can't choose the harder right over the easier wrong, because choosing involves free will, something angels don't have. Humans, of course, do have free will; every time someone does the harder right thing when the easier wrong thing was sitting right there, they've pulled off something no angel can do. That is why a human being, though flawed, distractible, and capable of failing completely, outranks the beings who surround G-d's throne.

Because we're the QueerTheology Podcast, of course we're going to dive into Isaiah 1:10–18. This is a familiar and powerful […] The post The Sin of Sodom & Gomorrah? appeared first on Queer Theology.

A sermon from Genesis 19 on Sodom and Gomorrah.Speaker: Gregory W Mathis

DISCLAIMER: This week's sermon topic is rated PG-13.  The Bible is full of great children's stories, and then there are some that should never make it on the kids book shelf.  The story of Sodom and Gomorrah would be one of those. But the author of Jude uses that story not to shock us, but to caution us of what happens when we allow, and even normalize, moral corruption and perversion in our lives and communities.  The story may be unfamiliar, and even uncomfortable, but it's often in these stories we see the depth of God's grace and power. The heartbeat of Church on the Rock is to help people discover how they can LOVE God and LOVE one another, LIVE with passion, purpose and freedom, and LEAD others to this same experience in Jesus. We simply say, “helping others Love, Live, and Lead in Jesus". Commit to your "One More": https://onemoreak.com Let's Connect here: https://churchak.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/84/responses/new Learn more about us at https://churchak.org If you enjoyed our teaching and would like to donate to our ministries go here: https://pushpay.com/g/churchak?src=hpp

A @Christadelphians Video: # YouTube Summary/Description**[Actual, provable Bible Truth]** In a world that celebrates what Scripture clearly defines as sin, we must stand firm on God's Word. This thought-provoking and insightful presentation tackles the difficult subject of LGBTQ+ issues from a thoroughly biblical perspective, examining what the Old and New Testaments actually say about homosexuality, identity, and God's design for humanity.Join us for this outstanding expositional study as we blow the trumpet and sound the warning that our community desperately needs to hear. Drawing from the Law, the Prophets, and the Apostles, we present a clear, compassionate, and uncompromising look at what God thinks about these matters—not what the world thinks, not what we think, but what the Father has revealed in His Word.This wonderful presentation offers hope through the powerful truth that **such were some of you**—but you were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Change is possible. Overcomers are made through faith.##

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/03-0809db.mp3 Listen to Bible reading Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 09 Hosea 11 – 12 God's Love for Israel Hosea 11 1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more I called to them,     the more they went away from me. [1]     They kept sacrificing to the Baals     and burning incense to idols. 3 Yet I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk.     I took them in my arms, [2]     but they did not realize that it was I who healed them. 4 I drew them with cords suitable for a man, [3] with ropes of love.     For them I became like someone who lifts a yoke off their neck,     and I bent down to feed them. 5 They will not [4] return into the land of Egypt.     Instead, an Assyrian will be their king,     because they refused to repent. 6 The sword will slash against their cities.     It will destroy the bars of their gates,     and it will devour them because of their plans. 7 My people are determined to turn away from me.     Though they call him the Most High, he certainly will not exalt them. 8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?     How can I hand you over, Israel?     How can I make you like Admah?     How can I treat you like Zeboiim? [5]     My heart is changed inside me.     All my compassion is stirred up. 9 I will not carry out my burning anger.     I will not destroy Ephraim again,     because I am God, and not man, the Holy One among you.     I will not enter a city. [6] 10 They will follow the Lord.     He will roar like a lion.     Yes, he will roar, and his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come trembling like a bird from Egypt,     and like a dove from the land of Assyria.     I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord. Israel Must Repent 12 Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood,     and the house of Israel with deceit.     Judah still strays from [7] God,     even from the Holy One, who is faithful. [8] Hosea 12 1 Ephraim feeds on wind and chases the east wind all day.     He multiplies lies and violence.     They make a treaty with Assyria,     and olive oil is carried to Egypt. 2 The Lord has a case against Judah.     He will deal with Jacob according to his ways.     According to his deeds he will repay him. 3 In the womb Jacob grasped his brother by the heel,     and when he was a grown man, he struggled with God. 4 He wrestled with the Angel and prevailed.     He wept and sought his favor.     He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him, [9] 5 namely, with the Lord, the God of Armies.     The Lord is the name by which he is to be remembered! 6 So return to your God.     Observe mercy and justice,     and wait for your God continually. 7 A merchant has fraudulent scales in his hand.     He loves to defraud others. 8 Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich.     I have secured wealth for myself.     Among all my possessions no one will find anything that makes me guilty of sin.” 9 But I have been the Lord your God from the time you left the land of Egypt.     I will make you dwell in tents again,     as in the days of the appointed festival. [10] 10 I have spoken to the prophets.     I have given numerous visions.     I taught meaningful lessons through the prophets. 11 Since Gilead is wicked,     it is certain that they are worthless.     In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls.     Yes, their altars are like piles of stones in the furrows of a field. 12 Jacob fled to the territory of Aram.     Israel worked as a servant to get a wife,     and for a wife, he took care of sheep. 13 By a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,     and by a prophet he took care of Israel. 14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger.     Therefore his Lord will leave him bloodied by his guilt     and bring his disgrace back on him. Footnotes Hosea 11:2 A variant reading is the more they called them, the more they went away from them. Hosea 11:3 The text of the pronouns in this verse is uncertain. The translation follows the Greek Old Testament. Hosea 11:4 Literally cords of mankind. The words translated man and love have homonyms meaning leather, so there may be a play on words here. Hosea 11:5 Not is missing from some manuscripts. Hosea 11:8 Admah and Zeboiim were daughter cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Hosea 11:9 Or come in wrath. The Hebrew is difficult. Hosea 11:12 Literally wanders with. Translations disagree whether the term is negative or positive. Hosea 11:12 English verse 11:12 is verse 12:1 in Hebrew. In chapter 12 the subsequent Hebrew verse numbers are one higher than the English numbers. Hosea 12:4 Variant us Hosea 12:9 The Festival of Shelters in the autumn The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Welcome to "The Bible in Today's World", the show that compares today's world with the Word of God. In general and specifically, are we following the Bible in our daily walks? Is society demanding that we follow the Word of God in all that we do? Does our Almighty Father look upon us and frequently say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" - or is He thinking of us as He thought/thinks of Sodom and Gomorrah? On today's show, we will discuss Genesis, Chapter 20.

Send us a text or a voicemailAfter his daughter is kidnapped by a network of AI goons, Grandmaster Slash sets out on a rampage to find her. His only allies are an unlikely trio of uncoordinated podcasters whose co-host mysteriously disappeared. Fueled by furious vengeance, the unlikely group ruthlessly fight against the artificial unintelligent automatons. On Episode 729 of Trick or Treat Radio our featured film discussion is the relentless martial arts marathon The Furious from director Kenji Tanigaki! We also talk about AI being used more and more in film, which actress joined the dark side, and we react to trailers for the films; Violent Night 2 and Victorian Psycho! So grab your skull crushing hammer, phone an ass-kicking friend to help you seek revenge, and strap on for the world's most dangerous podcast!Stuff we talk about: Horror surprises, Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives, Clown Chowder, clown around, voices in MZ's head, Nekromantik 2, Session 9, Catriona MacColl, Horrors Hallowed Grounds, Russ Meyer, Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, Tito Santana, The Brotherhood of Satan, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, replacement Jan Brady, Eve Plum, Watch Me When I Kill, The Meteor Man, Robert Townsend, My Boyfriend's Back, Mystery Men, The Sixth Sense, Vampire Whores from Outer Space, Tales of Halloween, Melissa George, Bag of Bones, 30 Days of Night, The Amityville Horror remake, Soleil Moon Frye, Dead and Breakfast, Vera Farmiga, M. Night Shyamalan, Unbreakable, Catherine Hicks, Child's Play, Paul Bartel, Escape from L.A., Umberto Lenzi, City of the Walking Dead, Demons III, Man from Deep River, Andy Warhol, Blood for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, The Yagas, The Blarney Stone, Slipknot, Der Fan, Salo: 120 Days of Sodom, Jebediah Tubi, Violent Night 2, David Harbour, Samara Weaving joins the dark side, Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Maika Monroe, Victorian Psycho, AMAB: All Marvel Are Bastards, A-List, Casablanca, Red Skull, Hugo Weaving, Crispin Glover, The Night Comes for Us, The Furious, Tagalog, Joe Taslim, Timo Tjahjanto, Dev Patel, Monkey Man, Stephen Chow, Journey to the West, Septic, Dick Grayson, Borderlands, Ice Cream Man, Chris Jericho, Eli Roth, Green Inferno, Hostel, and the Adidas-clad Bowman.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/trickortreatradioJoin our Discord Community: discord.trickortreatradio.comSend Email/Voicemail: mailto:podcast@trickortreatradio.comVisit our website: http://trickortreatradio.comStart your own podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=386Use our Amazon link: http://amzn.to/2CTdZzKFB Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/trickortreatradioTwitter: http://twitter.com/TrickTreatRadioFacebook: http://facebook.com/TrickOrTreatRadioYouTube: http://youtube.com/TrickOrTreatRadioInstagram: http://instagram.com/TrickorTreatRadioSupport the show

Were the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 merely descendants of Seth, or were they heavenly Watchers who descended to earth as described in the Book of Enoch?In this powerful episode of The Forefront Radio, we examine the biblical evidence surrounding one of Scripture's most debated subjects. We compare the modern Sethite interpretation with the ancient understanding preserved in 1 Enoch, Jubilees, Jude, 2 Peter, and other historical writings to determine which interpretation best fits the biblical record.In this lesson, we examine:• Genesis 6 and the identity of the "sons of God"• Why Jude quotes the prophecy of Enoch• Peter's connection between the fallen angels, Noah's Flood, and Sodom & Gomorrah• The rebellion of the Watchers at Mount Hermon• The rise of the Nephilim and the corruption of mankind• Ancient testimony concerning forbidden knowledge, warfare, sorcery, and violence• Noah's generation and the reason for the Flood• Tartarus, the prison of the fallen angels, and the destiny of rebellious spirits• Evidence from the books of Enoch, Jubilees, Wisdom of Solomon, and Sirach• How ancient Ethiopian preservation kept these writings alive when many traditions marginalized themOur goal is to examine the Scriptures carefully, compare passage with passage, and encourage viewers to study these texts for themselves. Whether you are new to this topic or have studied biblical history for years, this presentation will challenge you to revisit Genesis 6 through the lens of the biblical and ancient literary evidence.

Send us Fan MailOne choice can change the direction of a whole family, and Genesis 13 shows it in painfully clear detail. We watch Abram and Lot hit a pressure point: their herds grow, the land feels limited, and the conflict starts to spread. What happens next isn't just a story about ancient tent life, it's a mirror for modern Christian living, leadership under stress, and the daily decisions that shape our witness.We talk through a principle that hits close to home: righteousness spills over. When Christ is alive in us, the blessing doesn't stop with us, it touches our kids, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and church. But the overflow works both ways. Sin and compromise don't stay private for long, and the people closest to us often pay the first price. From Joseph's influence in Potiphar's household to Abram's mixed track record, we tease out how integrity and failure ripple outward.Then we slow down at the crossroads moment: Abram offers Lot the first pick, and Lot chooses what looks best. The Jordan Valley seems like Eden, yet it pulls him toward Sodom. We connect “pitching your tent toward Sodom” to the modern temptation to stay close enough to the world to enjoy its advantages while trying to keep a clean testimony. That tension leads to a practical question: if your light is getting swallowed by the darkness around you, do you need to step back and rebuild strength?We close with a path forward for anyone who feels compromised: confess to God, make it right with people, and protect your witness with real boundaries. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs clarity, and leave a review so more listeners can find these Genesis devotions.Support the showhttps://www.jacksonfamilyministry.comhttps://bobslone.com/home/podcast-production/

Welcome to "The Bible in Today's World", the show that compares today's world with the Word of God. In general and specifically, are we following the Bible in our daily walks? Is society demanding that we follow the Word of God in all that we do? Does our Almighty Father look upon us and frequently say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" - or is He thinking of us as He thought/thinks of Sodom and Gomorrah? On today's show, we will discuss Genesis, Chapter 19.

The Time Traveler’s Quick Guide to Armageddon       Over the last several months, we have done some deep dives into the principalities and powers in high places, the beast kingdoms, and then more particularly, into the kings of the east, another category that intersects with the beast kingdoms, including the Persian bear.   In term of their proto-prophecies in the Torah, we’ve been all over the place because prophecy is cyclical, even though not identical, from generation to generation. When we read of events in the Psalms, Writings, Prophets, and New Testament, the writers expect us to already be familiar with those proto-prophecies.   It was important to establish the earmarks of the battles with the kings of the east in Torah because Adonai declares the end from the beginning. If we want to have the basic understanding of the sixth and seventh bowls of wrath in the end and how they lure in the nations to Armageddon (Har-Megiddo), then we familiarize ourselves with them at the beginning:   “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”)   And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.   Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.” (Re 16:12-18)   Har is “mountain,” and Megiddo is “a place of crowds,” so important in its military situation that it has been destroyed and built over numerous times. It overlooks the Jezreel Valley's flat, agriculturally fertile abundance as well as the road to the Western Sea, or Mediterranean, an excellent place to monitor the coastal trade route that connected continents from ancient times. John prophesies of a final crowd that will be drawn to this ancient hill in the ol’ breadbasket of Israel.   Rather than review some of the many points from our Heaven Shaking the Bear series, I will use them to augment some additional points in this newsletter. You can always go back and access the transcripts (thank you, volunteers!) or videos for little details, such as why even Canaanite kings are considered kings of the east. I'd rather add some new information for your handy time travel guide to Armageddon. We'll be half Marty McFly and half Indiana Jones on our hunt for clues to Armageddon.   Let's take a seat in our time machine, the Word, and travel back to our familiar story in Judges 4-5, the story of Deborah, Barak, and Sisera with his 900 iron chariots. A little clue is in Sisera's 900 chariots. It links the ancient with the future. Nine hundred years (plus some) is the typical age of the pre-flood notables from Adam to Noah. In human history, they are the ancients. It was an era marked by the rebellion of the “sons of Elohim” who provoked human beings to such a violence.   Sisera's chariots were iron, denoting the Roman beast kingdom that is mingled with clay in the feet of his image. In other words, something of Deborah's story will establish a template for understanding the final defeat of the Red One, who appears in Revelation as the chosen steed for the Great Harlot Babylon. The nine-hundred-year era of the days of Noah and its violence will link to the end time of Armageddon.   Every time I see the word “Babylonian,” my mind says, “babaloney.” Don't know why. But ick.   Okay, now let's power up the time machine. We need to visit Abraham's time during the battle for Sodom among the kings of the east, the Covenant Between the Pieces, and then visit Moses in the wilderness.   Ready? Push the Abraham button. It might say, Avram, but you'll recognize it. Here we go.   Wait, wait. First, tape a copy of Judges 4-5 and a map of Israel on your steering wheel. We'll need to compare what we see with the first battle of Armageddon that Deborah fought against Sisera to our past future locations.   Okay, here we come, Abrahamic period. We are landing among the four kings of the east, led by Amraphel (perhaps Nimrod), who marched through and defeated territories east of the Jordan. The five kings of the Sodom coalition have quit paying their taxes, so the four kings are on their way to collect plus interest.   Even though those cities of Sodom are situated mostly to the east of the Salt Sea, after the four kings first march and defeat cities east of the Jordan and in the highlands of Bashan, they are continuing as far as the Negev near Kadesh, En-Mishpat, and Hazazon-Tamar. By bypassing the Sodom coalition cities, the four kings are giving the five kings time to muster before the four kings turn back east and meet them near the Salt Sea in battle. Do you see this? Inexplicably, Sodom's five kings are falling into tar pits! Shouldn't they know about those tar pits? After all, this is their territory! How strange!   And there goes Lot and his family as captives. And there…someone escapes and runs to tell Abraham. Okay, we don't have to follow them up to Damascus. We know how this ends. Check your Judges 4-5 Scriptures and map. They're taped to your steering wheel, remember?   Something similar happened to Sisera's iron chariot. Like Pharaoh drove his chariots into the Reed Sea and there his chariot wheels became “confused,” so Sisera drove his chariots into the mud of the Kishon, which he should have known about because he was a Canaanite.   Although Pharaoh was not a “king of the east,” he is the dragon, and his authority was passed to them. This suggests that our soggy bottom boys are experiencing a Divine intervention, not just a human battle. Something flies in their brains, stings them, and causes confusion…perhaps the tzirah, the supernatural hornet of Moses and Joshua?   The tzirah went before the armies of Israel, and it helped Moses conquer on the east side of the Jordan and Joshua on the west side of the Jordan. It first causes confusion, and then it cuts off root and fruit. It is the supernatural bug described as being released from the King of Abaddon in Revelation.   Not so coincidentally, Deborah's name means “bee” in Hebrew, and “hornet” in Aramaic. The root of her name is “word,” as in Devarim, the fifth book of the Torah and perhaps the most apocalyptic since it is the little scroll of Torah. There was a reason Barak would not take his soldiers into battle without her; she represented the Divine power of the Word going before them!   How does Deborah know to tell Barak that he needs exactly 10,000 soldiers mustered from a place named “Kedesh”?   Deborah judged Israel under the “palm tree of Deborah.” A palm tree is a tamar:   “She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment (mishpat ????????????).”   Can you see Deborah studying the scrolls of Torah? Those scrolls are rolling her right into the time of Avraham, and she sees the conquests of Moses and Joshua in the wilderness, such as Amalek. She recognizes the conquests of the four kings as having the same names that are in the hill country of Ephraim near Har-Megiddo: From Kadesh to Kedesh. From Hazazon-Tamar to the tamar providing her shade to read the scroll. From En-Mishpat to her job rendering mishpat for Israel.   We know Deborah has spent time scroll-rolling back to Abraham's time because she mentions something specific in her Judges Five song. The Song of Deborah mentions the courage of the tribe of Ephraim in the defeat of Sisera's chariots:   “From Ephraim, those whose root is in Amalek came down…”   If you need to, program in “Amalek in the Wilderness,” and travel there to see a bit of the battle. This “root in Amalek” is thought to refer to the wilderness battle under Moses in which the Ephraimite Joshua defeated Amalek. The tribe of Ephraim is rooted in its leadership in the victory in the wilderness in Israel's first encounter with Amalek.   Deborah knows Amalek is enticed to attack when its opponent looks weak, so that gives her a Divine strategy in enticing this king of the east Sisera to his Armageddon. Okay, now travel back to the battle between the four kings and the five kings. The four kings of the east also conquered Amalek before turning back to battle the five kings of Sodom.   While the battle continues, let's return to this question (you already know how that battle ends): How does Deborah know to tell Barak that he needs exactly 10,000 soldiers mustered from a place named “Kedesh”?   We've only partially answered it. And our answer is based on the battle between bad kings of the east vs worse kings of the east. We don't want to take this as the only source of Deborah's inspired strategy to lure Sisera to Har-Megiddo. Deborah is scrolling through the rolls of the Torah, and she must have some even better prophecies on which she bases her battle with Sisera. Let's leave these guys for Avraham to deal with and travel forward and back to Deborah's palm tree for more clues.   Yes, time travelers. Next week we'll go back to the future with Deborah and spend some more time with Avraham and Moses. There must be a connection between Deborah's forty years of peace in Israel and Moses' forty years in the wilderness. Deborah has the handy traveler's guide to help her map it all out. We'll see her secret of selecting 10,000, and we might even take a peek inside Yael's tent to find that she knew the Torah, and it guided her hand when she drove the tent peg into Sisera's head.   Oh, dear, oh dread. Sandals muddy like heavy lead. Some yogurt he was fed. Then he went to bed. Now Sisera is dead. A tent peg's in his head.   Okay, Deborah is better at composing songs than I am. I gave it a shot. Roll your time travel machines to Judges 4-5, and we'll see you next week.   Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Welcome to "The Bible in Today's World", the show that compares today's world with the Word of God. In general and specifically, are we following the Bible in our daily walks? Is society demanding that we follow the Word of God in all that we do? Does our Almighty Father look upon us and frequently say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" - or is He thinking of us as He thought/thinks of Sodom and Gomorrah? On today's show, we will discuss Genesis, Chapter 18.

(Genesis 13:10-13) Good families often make bad decisions. Mr. and Mrs. Lot are an example of this truth and a warning to us all. The saddest thing in Sodom was the destruction of a home that could have been blessed. In this study we find out why it happened and how we can avoid it. (10182260731) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal delivers a rich expository sermon on James 5:1–6, one of the most striking prophetic passages in the New Testament epistles. Drawing on the Jewish literary and cultural context of James's original audience — Jewish Christians scattered from Jerusalem by persecution — Tony unpacks why this text is not a blanket condemnation of wealth, but a devastating judgment oracle against those who hoard riches and oppress the vulnerable. Along the way, he explores the eschatological weight of accumulated wealth, the theology of God's omniscient justice, and the stunning comfort available to the suffering believer. The episode closes by returning to James's thesis: that trials of every kind, including economic oppression, can be counted as joy because of who God is and what He has done in Christ. Key Takeaways James is a deeply Jewish book written to a specific audience — Jewish Christians dispersed from Jerusalem by Saul's persecution, not a general audience of wealthy or Gentile believers. The prophetic "Come now" signals a judgment oracle, not a direct address — James is not rebuking wealthy members of his congregation, but pronouncing eschatological judgment on oppressive landowners using a technique common in Amos, Malachi, and Micah. Hoarding wealth is not morally neutral — it is self-condemning — The corroded gold and moth-eaten garments are not just symbols of decay; they serve as legal evidence against those who refused to use their wealth for God's glory and the good of others. Withholding wages from laborers constitutes a form of murder — In the ancient world, depriving workers of their wages could literally cost them their lives. James draws on Old Testament law to frame predatory economic exploitation as a capital sin. God sees and hears the cries of the oppressed — The wages of defrauded workers "cry out" to the Lord of Hosts, echoing the blood of Abel in Genesis 4. God's justice is not passive or delayed out of ignorance — it is certain and coming. Matthew 25 reframes Christian mercy as care for the body of Christ — The sheep-and-goats judgment is not a general humanitarian mandate, but a specific call to care for persecuted brothers and sisters — and to recognize that mistreating them is mistreating Christ Himself. Trials are counted as joy through the doctrine of imputation — Suffering is not stripped of its pain, but it can be moved from the loss ledger to the profit column because God uses adversity as the instrument of sanctification and glorification. Key Concepts The Prophetic Address: Who Is James Actually Talking To? One of the most common misreadings of James 5:1–6 is assuming James is directly rebuking wealthy Christians in his own congregation. Tony Arsenal corrects this by grounding the passage in its literary and historical context. James employs a well-established prophetic technique — seen in Amos, Malachi, and Micah — of addressing an absent party in order to pronounce judgment on them, while simultaneously comforting those who overhear the oracle. His audience is the dispersed, impoverished Jewish Christians who fled Jerusalem under Saul's persecution. There were almost certainly no wealthy landowners in the room. The "Come now, you rich" is a judgment declaration directed outward, designed to assure the suffering poor that God has seen their oppressor and will act. Far from being a proof-text for radical poverty, the passage is a pastoral comfort wrapped in prophetic fire. Corroded Gold as Legal Evidence Against the Soul James's claim that gold and silver have "corroded" is deliberately shocking — and theologically precise. Gold, uniquely among metals in the ancient world, does not corrode. By saying it has already corroded, James is not making a metallurgical claim but a moral and eschatological one. The accumulated, hoarded wealth of the oppressor has lost its purpose. It sits idle while workers starve, and in doing so it becomes evidence — a legal witness — against its owner in the court of divine justice. Tony draws a direct line between this image and Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount about treasures stored on earth being subject to moth and rust. Both brothers — Jesus and James — appear to be drawing on the same shared wisdom, likely rooted in the same household and the same mother's instruction. Unused wealth does not just fail to help others; it actively indicts its holder. Counting It All Joy: The Accounting Logic of Sanctification Tony closes the sermon by returning to James 1:2 — the thesis statement of the entire letter — and unpacking the word "count" as an accounting term, directly related to the doctrine of imputation. Just as righteousness is reckoned to the believer in justification, so suffering can be reckoned as joy in sanctification. This is not a call to pretend pain isn't real, or to perform contentment. It is a theological reframing: what belongs in the loss column of the ledger can, by faith, be moved to the profit side — not because the trial was pleasant, but because God is sovereign, good, and working all things toward the believer's conformity to the image of Christ. The oppressor means their wickedness for evil. God means it for glory. The supreme example is the cross itself — the only truly innocent man, suffering the worst evil ever committed, for the redemption of His people. Memorable Quotes The corrosion of that gold serves as evidence for the condemnation of those who are harming you — and the corrosion of this wealth is an indication of the corrosion of their very souls. He sees your pain. He sees your suffering. He sees your victories even when no one else is celebrating them. He sees you — and that should be a great source of comfort. Imputation is an accounting term. And when we count it all joy, we're taking what should be a red line in the loss ledger — what should be an expense — and we're able to move it to the profit. Not because it didn't hurt, and not because we wanted it to happen, but because our God is good enough to not rob us of the chance to be sanctified. Full Transcript Tony Arsenal: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you." It's always a little, uh, strange to sort of jump into the middle of a series, and, um, you know, Wes is one of the most competent preachers that I know personally, so I trust that he has given you a good and satisfying overview. Uh, but I don't feel like I would be doing my responsibility if I didn't at least touch on a few things, uh, related to the, the intro to James that I think is relevant for this particular passage in a way that maybe is not relevant for the rest of the book. So some of this I hope is review, I, I anticipate is review, but I think it's worth, uh, touching on. James, as you know, is the, the half brother of Jesus. He was the leader of the Jerusalem church, and specifically he was sort of the figurehead of the Jewish church as a whole. Um, the Jewish church was the only church for the very early part of the church's growth. There were always, uh, Gentile believers. Even in the Old Testament, there were Gentiles who trusted in the Lord of Israel and the God of Israel. They were often called God-fearers. They rarely converted all the way to Judaism, but they were sort of seen as an attachment to the Jewish people. They didn't participate in all of the blessings of the Jewish people, but they did participate in most. They often had the same kind of protection. They were in a form of covenant with God. Um, they were able to worship and offer sacrifices. The temple itself had a whole portion of the temple dedicated called the Court of Gentiles, specifically for these Jewish worshipers. And as the church spread, primarily through persecution, which we'll touch base on here in a minute, as the church spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria, and ultimately to the ends of the earth, it took on a, an increasingly Gentile Greek flavor. As more and more primarily initially Greek converts came into the church, and then of course, as it spread to other sort of non-Hellenistic lands, other, other types of people, other nations, other people groups joined the church, the scriptures which-- the New Testament we receive primarily from Paul, at least in terms of the epistles, um, also began to take on a more Gentile flavor. Not because Paul was a Gentile, but because Paul was ministering primarily to Gentiles What we'll see here is that James is a very Jewish book. I'm sure that along the way there's been several kinds of things pointed out to you to show that, but I wanna show a couple things that not only establish James as the author, James the brother of, of Jesus, but also root the, not only the author, but the audience in a distinctly Jewish Christian, uh, context. So you don't have to turn there, I'll read this, but in Acts, uh, 15, which is the, the great Jerusalem Council, uh, we read this. It says, "With the following letter..." So the, the council meets, they make a decision about what k- what parts of the Jewish law were going to be commended to and recommended, uh, and required for the Christian believers, the Gentile Christian believers, and when they're done, they send this letter to all of, all of the churches. And it says, "With the following letter, the brothers, both apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are at, of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings." Now, I don't know about you, but I always sign my emails the same way, right? I've got, like, my work signature that I have to use, that the, the hospital makes me use with all the proper formatting and colors and fonts, but I always have the same signature. Mine is very simple. I just say, "Thanks," right? I just sign it as, "Thanks," above my signature, and I'm sure you all have that sort of characteristic way you sign a s- sign an email, or maybe it's the way you say goodbye at the end of a phone call. My father-in-law always says, "So long," which is a phrase you don't hear very often, so it's very distinct to him. We all have these little tells in our communication that sort of tip off who they're from. If you turn quickly back over to James 1, so just flip the page, uh, to the left here, he starts his letter by saying, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, greetings." It's the only two letters in the New Testament that we have where the author identifies himself, sends to a sort of generalized audience, and then signs it, "Greetings." Now, James, the brother of Jesus, was the leader of the Jerusalem Church. He was the leader of the Jewish ch- the Jewish Church in general, and he signed the letter coming from the Acts Council as sort of the presiding minister. If, if we were, y- you might call them, like, the moderator of your business meeting, or we would call them the moderator of our presbytery or our session in the Presbyterian context I come from. He was the one who sort of, like, presided over there, and so the letter that went out to the churches was signed in his name and written, drafted by him. So we see this characteristic way that the letter is addressed with this final word, "Greetings," which is not used frequently in the New Testament We also see when we look at the language carefully that the audience of this, uh, of this letter, it's debated and there are good arguments, but i- in my opinion, it's very clear that the audience of this letter is not Jewish Christians in general or, uh, Jews who have not yet converted. There are some people who would say that 'cause they're called the 12 tribes. But instead it is the Jewish Christians who originally dwelled in Jerusalem and were sent out into the countryside after the persecution that was started primarily by Saul. If you look at Acts, Acts 1 which is, uh, the passage where Saul begins to persecute the church or where Saul kinda comes on the scene as the persecutor of the church, there's a couple distinct, um, distinct linguistic markers we should touch base on. Starting in verse one it says, "And p- Saul approved of his execution. And there arose a day-- that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. They were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church and entered the house after house. He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison." When we look at this and we compare it to that, uh, again, that first verse of James where he says to the ones who are scattered, we see that there's a pretty strong linguistic parallel that tells us that the people he has in mind for this letter, the people he's addressing, are the same people who were dispersed or scattered out of Jerusalem in the persecution. When he says to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, that word dispersion is not really a translation. It's what we call a transliteration. So it's not like we've taken a word and sort of given it an English word. We've just changed the word, the letters over to English letters. In Greek, the word is diaspora, dispersion, and in, uh, Acts 1, the verb used to, to sort of describe this scattering of them is diaspero. And it is a picture of scattering seed. This is what a farmer would do. So it's not even the normal word we would use when someone is fleeing persecution. It's this idea that God has scattered Christians out into the world, in this case by persecution. He scattered them out into the world to be planted. A lot of this is where we get phrases from Tertullian about the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Now, why does this matter? As I mentioned, we often think in Gentile categories when we're reading the New Testament, and for good reason. One, we're all, all Gentiles, I'm presuming. I, I don't, I don't think-- I think I mentioned this last time, and no one came up and corrected me. I don't think anyone here is ethnically Jewish with ancestry that they're directly aware of, you know, where they trace their lineage directly back. Europe is a, a big amalgamation of just about everything, so most of us probably have a smattering of different ethnicities. But none of us are ethnically Jewish to the idea that we would, uh, identify as such in the same way. And even if we were, we've been raised and grown up in a Gentile context. We live in the West. We have-- We think in different categories. And what's more is most of the New Testament is written primarily to Gentiles by someone who is ministering to Gentiles. So Paul uses a fair amount of, of Hebraisms or things that are related to the Old Testament. Of course, he's explaining the Old Testament, and he makes ample reference to the Old Testament because that is the word of God, and it is profitable for our teaching, our correction, our reproof, and ultimately for our, our sanctification. But he uses metaphors and language in a way that is not common to the Israel context that Jesus and James and Peter and the other apostles were raised in. We don't have time to go there, but there's even some metaphors that Paul uses that are actually used the opposite way in, uh, in the more Hebraic Jewish, uh, epistles we have. One example that comes to mind is, um, Paul looks at the concept of milk, and that's not necessarily a good thing, right? It's not a bad thing, but it's what immature believers use, right? They can't handle the meat of the Bible. They have to be given the milk of the gospel before they can progress to the meat. In the Book of Hebrews, which I don't think was written by Paul, and in other places, Peter uses milk as a way to talk about nourishment, right? We think of the land flowing with milk and honey. Milk was not seen as some sort of substandard food that was only for babies. It was seen as, like, the richest, best thing that you could eat. We all have a linguistic environment that we grow up in. We all have a shared vernacular. You know, if I say something like, "You can't get there from here," everyone knows what that means. Obviously, you can get there from here, but you have to take this circuitous route. We know what that means. I think if we went around the room, we probably would find that there is this shared language. And then if we took individual families, we'd find that even within those families, there's further narrowing down of sort of like inside jokes and words that are used in ways that are not necessarily the same as others So when we read James, or when we read the letters of Peter or the letters of John, we should default to thinking more along the lines of comparing them to the words of Christ in the Gospel, first and foremost, and then to the Old Testament before we start to think about them necessarily comparing them to Ja-- or to Paul or to other kind of first century Hellenistic literature. That's not, of course, to say that Paul and James contradict. I'm sure that we went through a long explanation with much detail when you got to James chapter two, which is, of course, the most famous example. Paul uses the word justification or justify in a legal sense to make or to declare someone to be righteous. It's the verdict that the judge delivers, and it communicates the status. It actually performs what it says. When the judge says, "I find you not guilty," it changes your status from being potentially guilty to being cleared of all charges. Paul uses it slightly differently. He's not using it in the sense of to make someone righteous or to declare them righteous. He's using it to say they've been shown to be righteous. They've been validated. They've been vindicated. And if we get that mixed up, that's the source of all sorts of confusion. So when we come to this passage, and we'll get there, I promise, when we come to this passage, we have to understand some of the metaphors and the language that's being used draws from an existing body of shared cultural language that is foreign to us and is in some ways foreign to the rest of the New Testament, apart from what we see in the Gospels And it's important to remember, and this is why it's so key to land, that the audience of this letter is the persecuted, poor Jewish Christians who probably had a fairly comfortable life, relatively speaking, living in Jerusalem. These are city folks. These are people that live in Jerusalem or farm into the fields immediately around Jerusalem. They were established. They owned land. They probably had family that they had to leave, and now they're scattered out into the country with nothing. They're sent out into the world with no jobs, no family connections, no social welfare. Because they've left the Jewish faith, at least from the perspective of the Jews, they can't even go to their Jewish brothers and sisters and rely on the hospitality that's required in the law of Moses This is so important when we think about how James opens the letter and delivers what I think is his thesis statement. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of every kind." Trials like not knowing where the next meal is gonna come from, not knowing where the next roof over your head is, not being sure you can feed your children. We all face real trials and tribulations in our life. Some of them are related to our faith, and some is just the fallen human condition in the fallen world we live in. But we're talking here about a totally different category of, uh, trial and persecution than most of us hopefully will ever experience That brings us to our actual passage now. James opens up this section with a linguistic marker that signifies this is a change in topic. He says, "Come now," or another way to translate it might be, "Now listen. Listen up." When my son is doing something that, uh, I need him to stop or I need to give him instructions, I hold him by his shoulders and I say, "Look at my eyes. I want your eyes right here. Look at my eyes." That's what Paul is doing. He's stopping and he's interrupting the flow of language. This shows us this is a new topic and a new audience. James is not speaking to rich Christians in his audience. First, 'cause there likely weren't any rich Christians directly in his audience. Remember, these are the, the poor Christians scattered out into the Judean countryside, into Samaria He's using a technique that's really common in the prophets. It's common in Jesus, where he's addressing the people who are not really listening as a way to establish that they will be judged, to hold them accountable, but also to comfort those who are hearing the message. This is a form of prophetic address. We see this in Amos, where he's chastising the Jewish leaders. Uh, in Malachi and Micah, this happens. Malachi is primarily, at least initially, is primarily, uh, a book that is railing against the rich leaders in Jerusalem who had oppressed their own brothers and sisters. The chances that those Jewish cr- uh, Jewish leaders were reading his prophecy or hearing his prophecy is pretty slim. So he was addressing a different group to establish the judgment that he was proclaiming on another party. Jesus does this when he says like, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees." There were probably scribes and Pharisees in the audience there, but he wasn't just talking to the people in front of them. He was pronouncing a judgment oracle, a judgment prophecy on all people who fit that category, and James is doing the same thing here James is not opposing wealth generally. Sometimes James is used as kind of a New Testament example to justify the idea that we should all be poor and wear shabby clothing and walk around barefoot and dirty all the time. Right? This is a key passage that's used, uh, in parts of the church that really emphasize sort of a poverty-based lifestyle. Think of like the wandering monks of the Middle Ages or the, the, um, sort of more radical exclusionists that exist even in our day. I remember when I was in college, I was really enamored with this figure named Shane Claiborne. Some of you have probably heard of him, and I remember I was so impressed because he, he didn't buy new shoes. He just cut new shoes out of duct tape and put them back together. Now, there's some, you know, there's some rugged, uh, rugged get-it-done-ness that, uh, I think us, uh, New Englanders can appreciate, but God does not call us to wear duct tape shoes, at least not universally. I'm not gonna comment on whether he calls Shane Claiborne to do that. I also don't think Shane Claiborne does that anymore. Um, some of us he may call to a lifestyle of poverty in association with a mission field or in association with a specific calling. He does not call us generally to be poor or to not gain wealth What he is opposing here is the refusal to use wealth appropriately for God's glory and the accumulation of wealth just for wealth's sake We'll see that as we unpack the language here a little bit. He establishes that he's not just talking about the earthly hoarding of wealth, as though somehow the very act of accumulating wealth was itself the problem. What he's doing is he's pronouncing an eschatological judgment on those who hoard wealth and use it to oppress others. We see here he says, "Come now, you rich, and weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you." Th- that word weep and howl, those are li-- those are words that are most commonly used in prophetic literature to describe the final cry of anguish. Think about the weeping and gnashing of teeth that Jesus talks about. This is the language he's using. He's talking about the final estate of those who refuse to submit their wealth to God He says, "Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be the evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasures in the last days." Now, remember what we said. We, we should read this not in light of some general wisdom, although it is general wisdom that if we accumulate wealth, it tends to not actually go well for us if we're not utilizing it in God-honoring ways. But we should read this in light of the most obvious connection, his big brother, Jesus, who taught his people, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." To maybe land this linguistic, uh, this linguistic connection a little more, I don't know, vibrantly, I'm gonna speculate a little bit. So if you don't like it, then you can disregard it. This is not God's Word. This is a speculation. I can just imagine little Jesus, little nine-year-old Jesus, and probably little six or seven-year-old James and the rest of their siblings, and there's quite a few of them. And we have Joseph, uh, who maybe at this time was still living, although probably not. We know he was living until Jesus was later, you know, 12, he was still around, but we don't know exactly when he left the picture. But he was a carpenter, and he was not, probably not overly wealthy. Uh, they had had to pick up and move, you know, cross-country anyways. They-- We don't know exactly where they were from initially, but they went to Bethlehem, and then they returned to Nazareth. They probably didn't have a lot. There were a lot of mouths to feed and only one business. They didn't have a farm. They didn't own livestock that we know of. I can just imagine a time when little J- little James or one of his sisters was frustrated about the fact that they didn't have anything. And I could picture Mary getting down and going, "Do not store up treasures in, in, uh, in heaven or on Earth. It's all gonna waste away." The same way we might tell our children kind of a, a moral kind of story. Sometimes we have this picture, last time I was here I, I spoke on Philippians 2, we have this idea that Jesus was somehow like Superman, that he, he was just pretending to be a normal human most of the time. As it touches his humanity, as, as we think about Jesus as a human, he had a, his own human set of thinking faculties, his own human knowledge. He grew in wisdom and stature is what Luke teaches us. Well, where did he get some of this wisdom? There's a good reasonable argument to be made that some of the pr- more proverbial type sayings that we see in Christ, that they actually come from the wisdom of his mother and father. And a really good reason to believe that is James relies on the same exact, uh, sort of proverbial wisdom to l- land his point. He doesn't create his own metaphor, he goes back to, at the very least we can say he goes back to the words of Christ. That's a very safe position to take. But this is the shared linguistic context that they both grew up in And he says, "You've done this in the last days." Now, the, the phrase last days in the Bible, uh, in the New Testament generally refers to the time period from Christ's resurrection to his return. We, for a lot of reasons, think about it as kind of like that climactic end period in time. Depending on your, your persuasion, maybe this is when the Antichrist comes, or maybe this is before or after, or maybe during the time when the church is raptured. But in either case, we think of that sort of last period in time before Christ finally comes back. But the New Testament writers are really talking about the entire duration, from Christ's resurrection to his return is what they're referring to. But it does have in view this idea that we are in the last times. The, the final judgment is not necessarily strictly something that's out there in the future. We are living in the last days now, and so what we do and what we say and, and how we worship and if we worship is eschatology. It is the theology of the last times He also positions this as though this is a universal thing going on with those who hoard wealth. This is a very shocking image. Um, we have very good ways to preserve things in our modern world, right? We have ways to m- to make, uh, stainless steel that won't rust, or at least won't rust quickly. But most things in the ancient world, even most precious metals, corroded. Um, I remember when I was growing up, there was this project in my hometown. I lived in a, a little town called White Bear Lake in, in, um, Minnesota, although little is relative. It's pretty big compared to most of what we have out here. And I remember when I was maybe 12 or 13 years old, they had this big building project to build this brand-new, beautiful lakeside pavilion in the center of town, and it w- just gleamed in the sun. It was so gorgeous, and it was made of copper, and everybody loved it, and two years later, it was bright green. I think it's still bright green. I think they figured out it wasn't worth repairing, so they, they just, they just make sure it doesn't keep getting worse, and at some point, I'm sure they either have or will tear it down. But the one metal in the ancient world that didn't do this was gold. It's part of why gold is such a durable measurement of wealth is because it doesn't wear out. It doesn't corrode. It's very soft. It's very easy to damage it, which is why we don't build statues out of it, or we don't build, uh, buildings out of it usually, but it didn't corrode. So when James says here, "Not only your silver, which tarnishes and corrodes, but your silver and gold have corroded." Not are corroding, but have corroded. The rich hearer of this is probably, you know, sitting around like Scrooge McDuck with a pile of gold coins thinking, "Ah, it looks pretty good to me." And what James is saying is, "No, no, no. No, it's corroded. It's eating away at your heart. It's lost its value because you refuse to use it, and so it sits in a pile doing nothing for no one, except serving to further your own condemnation." This is such a crazy, shocking situation that the insanity of not using your wealth, period, the insanity of sitting on your wealth in the ancient world is going to serve as a form of evidence justifying the condemnation of these wicked fools And further, the corrosion of this wealth is an indication of the corrosion of their very souls. There's something about money. I was-- When I was here a couple times before, I preached one of the wealth passages out of Ecclesiastes, and there's something about money that has a unique way of really, really wrecking us. Either we don't have it and we want it, or we have it and we don't wanna lose it, or we have it and we don't spend it wisely. It seems like there's an infinite number of ways to screw it up. And we landed last time that the gospel is good news because with the nearly infinite ways of screwing it up, we're going to screw it up. But the one way that he talks about screwing it up here is hoarding it and sitting on it and not using it Moving on into verses four and five, James moves us now to a more sort of temporal register. He starts out by talking about what wealth is and what it's doing and how it will ultimately affect the entire life and eternity of those in his targeted audience, those he's proclaiming this prophetic, uh, judgment against. But in verse four, he moves back to the behaviors that are being, uh, being engaged in to show the state of these people's souls. He says, "Behold, the wages of the laborers you, who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter." James here points at the, at the behaviors that show this hoarding behavior, and he does it for a number of reasons. One, he needs to call out sin. That's part of the role of a Christian, and especially a leader or a minister in the church, is, um, to not only call out sin in the body of, of Christ, but in a, I think a very particular way, and there's all sorts of, uh, all sorts of theological controversies flying on around about Christian nationalism and other associated things. Some of it is just the spirit of the age. Um, post-COVID, there's a, a real strong sense that our government has failed us and we need to replace it with something else. But there is a, a true way, and I, I think some of those things are a little misguided, but there's a true way that the church, particularly her leaders, should be speaking to the culture around us, and yes, even to the government, to proclaim the truth of God into a wicked and godless culture. This might take the form o- of a m- minister who goes to a town hall meeting to speak out against a gambling association that's going to be forming, or a, an elder in the church or a deacon in the church who goes to speak to, uh, to the city hall or to the state legislature about the wickedness of abortion and about what we see it does to women's lives when they are fooled into thinking that this is the right thing for them. Again, the church is not the state, and the state is not the church, and we should be very careful not to cross those lines for all sorts of reasons. But we as a culture, as a Christian culture, in the United States particularly, have lost sight of our responsibility to speak truth in all circumstances to those in power So James is doing that, of course. But even more so, this is a way that he establishes for his direct audience, for the Jewish poor Christians who have been scattered in this diaspora, in this dispersion. He looks at them in a sense and says, "I see you. I see what's happening to you." And as God's representative, as his chosen voice for this message, as his inspired author, God sees you too This goes back again, the first two chapters of James serve as kind of a thesis statement and table of contents for the whole book. We get an idea of what may have been happening, the actual, uh, acts that were being engaged in, in, in chapter two verse six, he says, "You have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?" James has in mind here a form of predatory land purchasing, where the rich were sort of sweeping up property. They were sweeping it up, and then they were charging probably exorbitant prices to those who would lease the land to try to eke out a living. Does that sound at all like any of our current context, right? When's the last time any of us have tried to buy a house and found anything reasonable? Well, a large part of that is that there are big companies that are scooping up all the land and buying all the, the developments. Now, I'm not commenting on those particular situations. I don't know those people. I don't know their hearts, and some of those things actually are doing good things for the community. But we're familiar with this idea of someone who will purchase a resource, who will then jack the price up in order to turn a profit on it. I'm not opposed to turning a profit. Y- y- yeah, it takes money to run a business, and you have to, you have to recuperate those funds if your business is going to survive. But there's a, there's a way that that can be done that is a predatory act These rich landowners were getting fat on those that they were victimizing In our, in our modern world, we tend to think of someone who is overweight as unhealthy, for good reason, right? Too much weight, and I say that with someone with a little too much padding around the middle, so no, no judgment on this, but too much weight is not healthy, right? We hear that from our doctors, that there's a healthy weight range and there's an unhealthy weight range. In the ancient world, obesity was not the concern, right? Malnutrition was the concern. And so when you see, uh, a king in the Old Testament who's, who's noted to be fat, that's not always negative. Sometimes it is, but he's noted to be fat or he's noted to be large. Even the word for glory, I'm sure you've heard this before, the word for glory in the Old Testament has to do with being heavy. So this idea of weightiness or, um, being able to eat enough to actually gain weight instead of being thin was seen as a good thing, but not when you use it as a way to victimize other people. A person who gathers wealth honestly and enjoys it, that's, that's Proverbs right there. That's the Book of Ecclesiastes in its sort of positive sense, is that we, when we accumulate wealth and we use it for God's glory, it's perfectly okay for us to also use it for our enjoyment. God wants us to enjoy the fruit of our labor. But when we accumulate wealth and use it as a way to gain power over someone and to abuse them, that is what James is railing against here And ultimately, with the audience that James is writing to, this is a form of murder. This is why he says, "You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter." Because a person who can't feed their family in the Old Testament or in the New Testament era was likely to see them die. There are not a ton of people in modern America that are starving to death on the streets. It's not to say it doesn't happen. It's not to say that there's not things like food insecurity or malnutrition, but there are, there are plenty of places people can go to get their basic food needs met. It was not like that-- It's not like that in most of the world now, and it certainly was not like that in the ancient world. And so a, a landowner who again refuses, we're talking about the Jewish landowners, refuses to obey the Jewish law to leave some leftovers for the poor, and instead gleans all the way to the corner so that they can turn a little bit of extra pro-profit, is not only sinning against the Old Testament law, but is committing murder in the strictest sense by refusing to preserve the life of these poor, uh, Christians who are destitute And again, James is encouraging his readers here that the Lord has not ignored their plight. We can think back to the Book of Habakkuk, where Habakkuk basically lodges a lawsuit against God, saying, "You are not paying attention. You're not doing your thing. You're not being faithful to your covenant." And God says, "Let me show you how faithful to my covenant I am. The Chaldeans are on the way." And Habakkuk is like, "Whoa, wait a second here. That's not what I had in mind." God sees the oppression of the poor. He knows when His people are targeted. He knows when children are abused or when widows are ignored. He knows when the government does something to shut down a church, or when the medical institution refuses to acknowledge your personal rights. He sees those things, and He's not ignorant, and He's not static. He's not sleeping on those things. The purpose here is to comfort the oppressed by showing that God is not ignorant of what has happened to them. Just two quick Old Testament examples that use similar language. In Genesis 4, we read of Cain and his murder of Abel, and in verse eight it says, "Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, 'I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?' And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.'" Numbers, uh, 35 verses 30 says, "If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. And you shall accept no ransom from him who has fled to the city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land except for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it." There's a rich history in the Old Testament of language of inanimate things, land, blood, wealth, other kinds of things that give testimony to God in some way, and specifically of these inanimate, uh, impersonal things testifying to the sin of the people that dwell around them. Even Christ says, "If these people do not worship me, the rocks will cry out." Now, the rocks are not literally crying out, although it certainly would be within God's power to make the rocks sing. But Christ is not saying in that passage that the rocks are going to form mouths and begin singing Hosanna or whatever song they might have been doing. What he's saying is that the very rocks themselves give testimony to the glory and goodness of God. So even if the people around here fail to do so, the entire rest of creation is doing so, and that is what James is saying here. My dear brothers and sisters scattered in the dispersion who have nothing, and in society's eyes are nothing, some of you are facing persecution. Some of you will be killed for your faith, but God sees because the wealth that is being accumulated on the breaking of your own backs is crying out. The corrosion of that gold serves as evidence for the condemnation of those who are harming you We often want justice in the moment. I think we always want justice in the moment, don't we? I think it's a really hard discipline to say, "That person wronged me, but I'm okay letting God sort it out." That is a hard pill to swallow, but it is often the pill that we have to take. It's the medicine that God uses to further our justification, our j- our, uh, excuse me, our sanctification Paul says, you know, "Do not take vengeance. Let the Lord do that." We can trust, and this is where the comfort of this passage comes for us, brothers and sisters, we can trust that when we are wronged, that when someone has done something to us that is a violation of God's law, that that sin will be punished. Now, when we're dealing with other Christians, that sin has already been punished, and so it is not, it is not appropriate for us to hold onto that and to take vengeance. That's what the parable of the unmerciful servant is all about If I as a Christian refuse to forgive my brother and sister when they've wronged me, it's me saying that I'm a better judge of their sin and I'm a better executioner than the Lord is when he punished that sin on the cross. But that sin was not atoned for when we're talking about unbelievers. When we're talking about those who will ultimately end their earthly life and find themselves waking up in flames, that sin has not been atoned for, and so God will have his justice, and we will have our justice. We won't turn there, but in Revelation, we're familiar with the passage, I think it's chapter six, where the martyred saints are under the throne and they say, "How long, O Lord?" Well, God doesn't answer their question, but he gives them new clothes. When Job cries out and he's, he's saying, "I don't understand why this is happening. Why are you targeting me, God? Why, why are you a hunter with your arrows in my liver?" God doesn't tell him why, but he says, essentially, "I'm God and you're just going to have to trust me that this is right." We see a very similar, uh, kind of situation here when we think about when, uh, when Abraham, uh, when God tells Abraham what he's about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, and then Abraham negotiates, apparently negotiates with God, uh, trying to secure the salvation of the city for the sake of the righteous. And we read starting in verse 20 of chapter 18, he says, "The Lord said to, to Abraham," he says, " 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. If not, I will know.' " God is always seeing and investigating the sin of people We're, we're teaching my son, August, the children's catechism, which is a, a great resource. Um, and one of the questions is, "Can you see God?" And the answer is, "No, but he always sees me." Now that may feel at first to some people like a little bit of a heavy-handed answer, but knowing that God sees us is not just there to correct our sin. It should do that, right? Even the secret sins we commit in the dark when, when we're not being watched by anyone else, even, even those God sees. But do you know what else He sees? He sees your pain. He sees your suffering. He sees your victories even when no one else is celebrating them. He sees your progress. He sees you, and that should be a great source of comfort Now this passage, especially verse six, can be a little bit hard to apply because although we're the targeted audience, we're not the target of the judgment oracle. So I think what we have to do, we have to, we have to think about this in light of the way that God talks about the judgment of unbelievers in other places in the scripture, and how that helps us to understand kind of what our, what our status is. If you'll take your Bibles and open to Matthew chapter 25, I think the, um, the account here of the goat and sheep judgment, uh, is instructive for us Starting in verse 31, it says, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory and the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King answered them, 'Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those on the left, 'Depart from me for you for, uh, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also, uh, they also will say, answer saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not minister to you?' Then he will answer them saying, 'Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Now, this passage is sometimes understood as a general command to feed the poor or the sick, or to visit those in prisons, or any of the f- the sort of mercy ministry things that, that, um, are mentioned here. And those are all things that Christians should do, right? We should be engaged in, um, in mercy ministry to the poor, to those who are destitute. We should be mindful and thoughtful of those who have needs around us. What this passage is teaching, though, is not a general command to feed all people, but a specific command to care for your brothers and sisters in Christ when they have a need He doesn't say to the righteous, "You did these to everyone." He says, "Whatever you did to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me." All of the things that are listed here, the, the six mercy ministries that are listed by Christ here, are things that persecuted Christians were suffering at the time, persecuted Jew- Jewish Christians, and that would be common experiences for, for Jewish Christians and for all persecuted Christians. Right? They're hungry. They don't have food. Our diaspora Jewish Christians don't have land to farm, and even if they're able to scrape together enough funding to lease out a farm, they're being, uh, they're being totally overwhelmed by the cost of that. The sort of homeowners association dues of these pyramid schemes that were going on in the first century, they were so exorbitant that it wasn't even subs- subsistence farming. Christians were being thrown in, uh, in prison. They didn't have enough money to replace their clothes when it wore out. They couldn't have access to clean water. We take clean water as such a, such a basic thing, and it's so easy. You just turn on the tap, or you just go to the store and you buy a bottle of $7 water. It wasn't like this in the first century. If you didn't have a well, you didn't have water, unless you had someone who cared enough to share this precious resource with you. And so what Christ is saying to, to his people, both in the immediate audience on the Sermon on the Mount, uh, and in this, the Olivet Discourse here, what he's saying to his people is when someone in the body of Christ does not have what they need, the body of Christ should step up and make sure that that is the case, that they take care of that person. And likewise, he's saying to those who are not a part of the body of Christ, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Now, the intro to this, why it sometimes is called a parable, is the sheep and the goats. We sometimes go way too far into the arena of comparing the behavior of sheeps with the behavior of the people here, right? Sheep are nice, they're affable, they listen to you. In reality, from what I understand, sheep are pretty dumb and can be very stubborn, right? And then we, we read and we go, "Goats are stubborn, they're rebellious, they're not really good for anything." Well, there's a reason people have goats on farms. They, they can be stubborn, right? They can be destructive, but they also serve a purpose. So the point here is not that sheep are good and goats are bad. The point is that sheep are not goats and goats are not sheep. And, uh, another point that comes with this is sheep don't become goats by behaving like goats, and goats don't become sheep by acting like sheep. I have some friends that will tell you they have very affectionate, friendly, lovable goats, right? I'd, I would... If I could get my kids one of those little pygmy goats that everybody loves, I would do that, 'cause they can be very kind, very sweet, and they're very smart. But they're not sheep. And if you read this passage carefully, this fact that those who are taken to the right are, are in fact taken to the right is not because they fed the poor. It's not because they ministered to Christ by feeding the least of these. They did those things because they were part of the kingdom The King says to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." The sheep on the right were always going to be the sheep on the right. They were predestined according to the counsel of God's will before all time to live and walk in good works. That's just Ephesians 2 there. That's also just James 2 there. You have faith, I will show you my faith by my works. This is evidence language, loved ones Likewise, the ones who are told to depart into eternal darkness were also predestined not to inherit this kingdom. No kingdom was prepared for them before the foundation of the world. They have no inheritance. They have nothing. They will end up in the state that they are trying to impose on these poor Jewish Christians. They will end up in the state that they may be trying to impose on some of us in this room And for the final verse here in, in chapter five, in verse six here, there's a lot of discussion and debate in the commentaries about who the identity of this righteous one is. It says, "You've condemned and murdered the righteous person, he does not resist you." Now, some commentators will take the fact that this is the singular righteous person, that he has been murdered and h- was condemned, and will take this as a reference to Christ. And that would, would make good sense, right? The Jewish, the wealthy Jewish landowners, the wealthy Jews in Jerusalem who per- who persecuted and cast out, um, the Christians, they were in the same group of people who condemned and murdered Jesus And at least at the time of writing this, and in many ways in our own day, God is not necessarily resisting them. He's allowing them to store up judgment for the coming day of wrath There are others who will take this as sort of the hypothetical singular, right? The righteous one or the righteous person is this, uh, representative hypothetical person that represents all of the persecuted Christians. And so it's more like saying, um, to the, the wealthy landowners who are persecuting Christians, "You have condemned and murdered the Christians, the righteous people, and we do not resist you." Now, at the end of the day, it's, it's always good to have good, sober, well-intentioned, text-based debates about what the Bible means. We can and we should try to convince others, uh, when we think they're wrong about what the scripture means. So that's not what I'm saying here. But in many ways, which of those two perspectives it actually is doesn't change the interpretation of this passage. Like we read in Matthew 25, like we read in Acts 9 when Christ comes and confronts Saul, what you do to God's people, you are doing to Christ himself. What you do to the body, you have done to the head. It's a little bit weird to say that when I stub my toe, I injure my head, but that's true, right? I don't injure my toe as though it's some separate piece. It's not like I'm a Lego man where I can just swap out a hand that gets cracked and put it back on. When I injure my toe, I injure myself. My whole body is injured even though it's specific to a part of my body. When you-- when someone persecutes you, when they, uh, try to extort your wealth, your funds, when they try to harm your body, when they try to take away your children, all things that are happening not just out there in the world, but in our country, even in our own region. When they try to tell you that because you don't wanna play a basketball game, that you can't play sports at all. When a city taxes a portion of a church's property because they don't think it's being used for religious purposes, they are doing that to Jesus Christ himself, and God will not be mocked This should call us both to faithfulness and to encouragement How people treat Christ or how people treat Christ's people, including how we trust, tr- uh, treat Christ's people, shows us what we think about Christ. The people who take care of the church do so because they love God, and they do it out of a regenerated heart that already loves God. And the people who hate the church do it because they hate Christ, and they do it out of their wickedness and out of their wicked heart This brings us back again to the thesis statement of James. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." And then he says later in that, uh, first chapter in verse nine, "Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower fails, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." Now, you're all coming up to the end of James here. Um, we probably have two, two more sermons, I would guess, and the rest of this chapter is reinforcing this. It's unpacking for the immediate audience and therefore for us, it's unpacking that although the rich have their punishment coming to them, that likewise our consolation, our comfort from Christ is also coming to us. He closes the whole letter out, he returns to his thesis statement to say, "I'm not going to pretend that the trials you're going through are joyful, but you can count it all joy." You can reckon it, you can impute it as joy, my brothers and sisters. You can put it in the joy column instead of the t- the pain column, right? We had discussion about the beautiful word imputation in the announcements and scripture reading in the beginning here Imputation is a, is an accounting term. And when we count it all joy, we're taking what should be a red line in the, in the loss ledger, right? We're taking what should be an expense, and we're able to move it to the profit. We're able to move it to the positive side, not because it didn't hurt and not because we wanted it to happen, but because our God is good enough to not rob us of the chance to be sanctified When we are oppressed and opposed, those who are oppressing and oppose us mean it for evil, just like Joseph's brothers, uh, and Pharaoh, and all sorts of wicked men in, in the Old Testament and in our own world. Pilate, Herod, you mean, you name it in the Bible, this applies. They meant their wicked acts for wicked things, but God, rich in mercy, works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And what is that purpose? That we might be transformed into the image of Christ so that Christ may be glorified and He may be the firstborn among many brothers. When we face trials and suffering of every kind, it leads us to our sanctification and to our ultimate glorification. We do not earn those things. We don't sanctify ourselves any more than we justify ourselves, or that any more than we will glorify ourselves or will raise ourselves from the dead. That is all God's work from start to finish. But God does use these things that He brings us through as a way to bring about that work It's like he bends us over the hammer, over the anvil of trials, and he hammers us until we become a sharp sword in the hand of, in his hand. Or he polishes us with a rough cloth until we become a smooth, beautiful gem, right? Think of any number of refining things that need to be done. It always involves, if the thing was, uh, was a person, it always involves something that would hurt a little bit. It always involves a little bit of damage to wear away the impurities. Our sanctification and our glorification is no different than that. He uses adversity. He uses the wicked actions and intentions of, of evil men and women. He uses those things to glorify us. So although we should never, uh, we should never seek those things, right? You don't have to go and make yourself the soft target to the wicked people. It's okay to keep your head down. There's nothing wrong with that. The Jewish Christians were probably doing their best to keep their heads down most of the time, and that's fine. There's not any words in scripture about being a coward if you don't, if you don't put a target on your back. But your target is gonna get there eventually, and that's not a bad thing. We can welcome that. We can count it as joy because of who God is and what he's done. The supreme act of suffering, the supreme act of, of evil happened to the only innocent person there ever was, and it happened to him for us.  this episode is available below.

Host Tom Alvarez sits down with acclaimed playwright, actor, novelist, and cabaret performer Charles Busch for a candid conversation about the people, experiences, and creative passions that shaped his remarkable career. Busch reflects on his early years in New York and Chicago, the profound influence of his beloved Aunt Lil, finding his artistic voice through theater pioneer Charles Ludlam, and building a groundbreaking career with works like Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. Along the way, he shares behind-the-scenes stories about Bette Midler, Broadway, cabaret, and television, offers thoughtful insights into the evolution of drag and queer theater, and discusses the challenges, triumphs, and resilience that have sustained more than 50 years of storytelling. Warm, witty, and deeply personal, this episode is an inspiring look at a singular artist whose greatest ambition has always been to tell unforgettable stories.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#top .av-special-heading.av-gs9o3p-6876f3e9e3f13b72e580af8e17a9fc7e{ padding-bottom:10px; } body .av-special-heading.av-gs9o3p-6876f3e9e3f13b72e580af8e17a9fc7e .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{ font-size:25px; } .av-special-heading.av-gs9o3p-6876f3e9e3f13b72e580af8e17a9fc7e .av-subheading{ font-size:15px; } Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 30Amos 3 – 4 LISTEN HERE Through My Bible – July 30 Amos 3 – 4 (EHV) https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/03-0730db.mp3 See series: Through My Bible Why Amos Must Prophesy Amos 3 1 People of Israel, listen to this word that the Lord has spoken concerning you, concerning the entire family of clans that I brought up from the land of Egypt: 2 You alone have I chosen [1] from all the clans of the earth.     Therefore I will inflict punishment on you for all your guilt. 3 Can two people walk together without agreeing to do so? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest if it does not have prey?     Does a young lion growl from its den if it has not caught anything? 5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?     Does a trap spring up from the ground when nothing has tripped it? 6 If a ram's horn is sounded in a city, the people become alarmed, don't they?     If a disaster takes place in a city, is it not the Lord who has done it? 7 Certainly the Lord God does not do anything         without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. 8 A lion has roared! Who can avoid being terrified?     The Lord God has spoken! Who can hold back from prophesying? Judgment Against Samaria 9 Make this known to the citadels in Ashdod     and to the citadels in the land of Egypt.     Tell them, “Gather yourselves together on the mountains of Samaria.     See the great confusion [2] there     and the oppression in her midst.” 10 They do not know how to do what is right, declares the Lord.     They are storing up violence and destruction in their citadels. 11 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:     An enemy is all over the land.     He will strip your strength from you,     and your citadels will be plundered. 12 This is what the Lord says:     Just as a shepherd rescues two legs or a tip of an ear     from the mouth of a lion,     so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be rescued     with only a corner of a bed or a piece of cloth [3] from a couch. 13 Listen and testify against the house of Jacob,     declares the Lord God, the God of Armies. 14 Indeed, on the day when I punish the rebellious deeds of Israel,     I will punish the altars of Bethel.     The horns of the altar will be cut off,     and they will fall to the ground. 15 I will strike the winter house     along with the summer house.     The houses decorated with ivory will be destroyed,     and the great houses will come to an end,     declares the Lord. Amos 4 1 Listen to this, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,     you women who are oppressing the poor,     who are crushing the needy,     who say to your husbands, “Bring us more drinks!” 2 The Lord God swears by his holiness:     The days are surely coming against you,     when they will drag you away with hooks,     every last one of you with fishhooks. 3 You will go out through the broken-down walls.     Each woman will go straight ahead,     and you will be thrown out [4] toward Harmon, [5]     declares the Lord. 4 Go to Bethel and rebel.     Rebel even more at Gilgal.     Bring your sacrifices every morning,     your tithes every third day. 5 Burn some leavened bread as a thank offering,     and proclaim voluntary offerings—announce them!     For you love to do this, you people of Israel,     says the Lord God. Warnings Produce No Repentance 6 I am the one who gave to you clean teeth [6] in all of your cities,     and lack of food in all your places,     but you did not return to me,     declares the Lord. 7 I am the one who withheld the rain from you     while there were still three months before the harvest.     I would send rain on one city,     but on another city I would not send rain.     One plot of ground would receive rain,     but another plot, on which it did not rain, would dry up. 8 Whenever people from two or three cities staggered to another city to get water to drink,     they would not have enough,     but you did not return to me,     declares the Lord. 9 I struck you with blight and mildew.     Your many gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees,     and your olive trees were devoured by locusts,     but you did not return to me,     declares the Lord. 10 I sent plagues against you like the plagues in Egypt.     I killed your best soldiers with the sword,     together with your captured horses.     I made the stench of your camp rise up into your nostrils,     but you did not return to me,     declares the Lord. 11 I overthrew some of you,     just as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,     and you became like a burning stick snatched from the fire,     but you did not return to me,     declares the Lord. 12 Therefore, this is what I will do to you, Israel.     Yes, this is what I will do to you:     Prepare to meet your God, O Israel! 13 Indeed, he who forms mountains and who creates wind,     who declares his thoughts to mankind,     who turns dawn into darkness,     and who treads down the high places of the earth,     the Lord, the God of Armies, is his name. Footnotes Amos 3:2 Literally known Amos 3:9 Or turmoil Amos 3:12 The meaning of this word is uncertain. Amos 4:3 In the Hebrew text the verb is active, you will throw. The translation follows the Greek text. Amos 4:3 The meaning of the word Harmon is uncertain. It may be a place name or mean something like garbage dump. Amos 4:6 A striking description of people who have no food to chew #top .hr.hr-invisible.av-aocsdx-89cb4ca21532423cf697fc393b6fcee0{ height:10px; } The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. #top .hr.hr-invisible.av-4vzadh-3f04b370105df1fd314a2a9d83e55b26{ height:50px; } Share this entryShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare by MailLink to FlickrLink to InstagramLink to Vimeo

What is a righteous life worth? Abraham puts that question to G-d directly, negotiating on behalf of a city he owes nothing to and testing how many good people it takes to redeem the many. He opens at fifty people, and stops at nine. Rabbi Epstein explores why that number carries significance far beyond this one episode, and what it reveals about the kind of presence a small group of committed people can have in a world that seems too far gone to save.Along the way, the conversation turns to what humility actually looks like when you are, by any honest measure, a great man. And the episode circles back to Lot, the nephew Abraham could not quite let go of, and the choices that placed him in a city under judgment in the first place. By the time the angels reach the gates of Sodom, one question lingers: if Abraham understood exactly what it would take to save the city, why didn't he go there himself and do it?

Time to wrap up our discussions on the Death Stranding Novelizations (at least until October when the first volume of the DS2 novels releases). We honestly had such a great time with these books. Not only were they a great way to revisit and reconsider Death Stranding, but there was quite a lot specific to the novel worth discussing! Join us for that after Danny puts Austin's knowledge of the final lines of all of the Metal Gear games to the test... for reasons. Mostly because we just can't help ourselves from talking about AC!D 2 again.Episode 89: "I have SODOM"

Promises for Provision (audio) David Eells – 7/29/26 We have many revelations on our site of how God has planned to provide for His saints in the coming wilderness tribulation. I'm going to share just a few of these with you today.   God's Warehouse in the Wilderness K. H. - 08/29/2008 In a dream, my mom, sister, nieces, and I were moving into this warehouse that seemed to be off on its own in a way, and if you weren't looking for it, you would miss it. (Many do miss God's warehouse because they don't take His promises seriously and in faith. It is off on its own because it is in the wilderness place of our weakness that His power is made perfect.) As we entered the warehouse, I was amazed at all the things that I saw in it. There were beds, couches, lamps, refrigerators, toys, food, water, etc. (Also, there are eyes that see, organs, limbs, and all heathy things.) It looked like there was anything and everything that we would ever need in there. The enormity reminded me of a store that I went to a few months ago called IKEA (“eye-key-yah”) but it was larger than that and had so much more. In the warehouse, I also saw several more families; some of the kids were playing. There was such joy and peace that filled this large room. We all were just so thankful that we would have all that we would ever need in that warehouse. Praise the Lord! As my mom and I were talking about the dream, she immediately mentioned that God let me see His warehouse or storehouse for His saints. Praise God! Paul says in Philippians 4:19, And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I have experienced God supplying our every need but what a blessing to actually be able to see God's warehouse for those who live in His shelter. This promise is something that the children of God will need to stand on in the coming tribulation. The sum of His Word is truth and no matter what it may look like, the Lord will provide and bring us through. Praise Jesus; thank you, Father!   Obedience In Provision Anonymous 3/30/23 (David's notes in red) I had a vision of an average man. He was suddenly blessed with a very large abundance of money and a driven calling from God. (There are many prophecies of the Man-child being abundantly blessed to build the Kingdom of God.) The man was then led to buy all these businesses and houses that were for sale, and he obtained almost a whole city. (Many people represented by the houses will be coming into the Kingdom in Spirit and Truth. Also, this has been fulfilled by the Lord since this 2023 revelation.) In so doing and led by God, to change a country and giving hope and faith by his example in servitude. Every one of the businesses and houses were for those in need. Housing the poor and the faithful in Christ; businesses were used for His Glory according to the Word and Christ and gave spiritual truth and provision for all their needs to be met. (Again, this has been fulfilled by the Lord since this 2023 revelation. In return, all those he helped then participated with their gifting or their profession, and many helped in genuine love as one community for God, and it grew. The changes even convinced many non-believers not to change it back to what it had been. (This is coming.) (I felt this is our deepest desire to have His Kingdom be established here and now in the physical, not for our own selves but to fulfil the needs of others.)   An Abundance of Provision for the Bride L. W.- 2/3/23 (David's notes in red) I had a dream where I was in what looked like a big warehouse, with bank tellers. (The Father's gift of wealth coming to bank accounts through NESARA that will especially favor the Bride. It is money the D.S. stole from everyone for many years but D.T. found.) I went to get a statement for my account, and when the lady handed it to me, I noticed I had about $37,000,000,000. That's $37 billion. (She was expecting this but had a critical, unforgiving spirit, and I tried to gently warn her, but sadly she lost it all and went to her place.) In the dream, I remember thinking, “Yesterday, I was thinking about how I wanted a billion dollars,” but I hadn't asked God for this. (In real life, I have no desire to be a billionaire. The number 37, in Bible Numerics, means “Word of God”.) (Those who have the Word manifested in them will have all needs met.) In the dream, my goal was to keep the knowledge about how much money I had a secret and use it anonymously for good. I was planning on using it to build a personal house, a church building for UBM, to get my husband a new truck (Which he badly needed at the time), and to help others in need. I remember thinking in the dream that “I would just keep my current car.” End. …In dream #2) It was a sunny day. My husband and I were looking into getting another house. We were looking at one that was multi-story and had two kitchens. UBM was there looking at it with us. I thought that it would be a great place for pot blessings. (All the good she previously had a desire to do.) I remember specifically seeing Gabe and Michael and didn't think much about it. But later in real life, I think the Lord reminded me that two of His archangels are Michael and Gabriel. (His angels watch over the affairs of UBM.) (To render to all according to their works.) …I asked the Lord for a verse by faith at random about these dreams and got Rom. 1:17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. (The faithful righteous will be blessed soon!)   Provision to Preserve & Build the Kingdom Eve Brast - 11/05/18 (David's notes in Red) I had a couple of dreams involving a Monopoly game board. It's no coincidence that as I sat down to write this, an announcement on the radio said that on this day in history, November 5, 1935, Parker Brothers introduced the game of Monopoly to the public. (Which had to do with dealing with money.) Dream 1: I was sitting in the dining room of our old house on Vanderbilt Rd. in TX. (Vanderbilt is representative of the wealthy elite... The Vanderbilts were once the wealthiest family in America. Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest American until his death in 1877. After that, his son William acquired his father's fortune and was the richest American until his death in 1885. The Vanderbilts' prominence lasted until the mid-20th century, when the family's 10 great Fifth Avenue mansions were torn down, and most other Vanderbilt houses were sold or turned into museums in what has been referred to as the “Fall of the House of Vanderbilt”. Wikipedia. (They lost it all as many will do.) But, instead of a dining table, there was a green card table. (The Deep State house of cards is falling.) It was dark in the kitchen area, but there was a light shining down on the card table. (Father is shining the light on the fact that many are gambling with their life.) There was an empty Monopoly board game on the table, where three men with slicked-back, black hair were sitting around the Monopoly board with me. (Black hair represents submission to darkness. The elite behind the Deep State are playing the game of spiritual monopoly, and they are losing due to God.) R. S. was to my right with her hands folded over her forearms, observing the scene. The only thing each of us had been given was the usual amount of Monopoly money that each player receives. There were no houses, hotels, or game tokens to move around the board. (The value is not in the material possessions but in the funny money itself. By her composure, we know that R. S. was resting in the flesh, for she fell away. Eve was just sitting there resting in the Lord. All things are provided freely in our rest from self-works. The monopoly money, thought to be worthless, represents the national currency of nations that have fallen to a very low value. NESARA will change this for the righteous.) Suddenly, a pair of dice appeared above the board as if an invisible pair of hands was shaking them. Then the dice were cast onto the board, and they came up 3 and 4, equaling 7. (God rolls the dice for He holds the future, and He and those who abide in Him, win the game. He has His own people at the table to receive the gift.) The three men all declared, “7!!!” in a defeated and disgusted tone. (God has defeated the elite who planned to use this currency for their own New World Order.) Then they all got up from the table, took all their Monopoly money and stacked it in a large pile on top of my money, and then it all turned into real money as they left the game. (The revaluation of currencies to come up on a par with the dollar, which must lose some of its value to come into alignment. Hence, those with worthless currencies will find they have become real money. This is necessary to have a GCR or global currency reset, where all come to the same value. In the short term, this will be used to build the Kingdom, as in the temple of God, which is His people. The elite had planned to take the Christians down, and then they would take all. But Trump, who, as Cyrus did, will contribute Babylon's vast hidden wealth towards the temple of God's people.) I then realized I'd won even though I didn't know I'd been playing. (None of us has been playing, but like this, it will be given to us by God's roll.) R. S. then said, “Wow, Eve! You really made out!” (Eve could represent herself and the corporate Bride). I was so amazed by this. Then I woke up and I looked at my phone, and the time was 3:33 am. (I thought of Jeremiah 33:3 because I had asked Father to show me more about His plans and what He is doing currently. Jer. 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not. (I said months ago I wondered if the elite would be taken down so that they could not be involved in this revaluation and that their currencies' value would then be left to be divided to the people of God. Now I know it was a word of knowledge.) I asked Father for a word concerning the Monopoly game and the black-haired men (Who I believe represent the [elite through the] Deep State) and my finger was on, “Shalt thou reign?” in Jeremiah 22:15. Jer 22:12-17 but in the place whither they have led him captive, there shall he die, and he shall see this land no more. 13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not his hire; 14 that saith, I will build me a wide house and spacious chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. 15 Shalt thou reign, (Those who were sure they would reign by collecting enormous profits from this revaluation have lost it. The people's monopoly money is now worth much more, for the till has the elites' and the wicked's money in it and it will be divided as God sees fit.) because thou strivest to excel in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? then it was well with him. 16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith Jehovah. 17 But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. I then asked for a word for the men giving me all their money, and my finger was on Matthew 6:29. In context Mat 6:28-34 And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (When I pasted this text in this article, somehow, I accidentally turned the background red, but this underlined part was white. I know of no way this could naturally happen, and my accident was not an accident. So believe God to supply for you in the coming wilderness as He did for Israel.) 31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Also, this verse came to mind. Pro 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children; And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous. Dream 2: I went back to sleep, and again I was sitting in front of the Monopoly board, alone this time. I was looking at a small stack of money between the game board and me. In the dream, I knew that it was $42. And I was thinking, “It will not be enough; I'm going to fall short.” (Everyone wanted the revaluation to happen too early. If it had, it would have been swallowed up by the criminals.) Then Donald Trump merged with David and came in through the door near the dining room that led out to the garage. (When I say they were merged, it was like their two images flickered back and forth between Donald Trump in a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie, and David in a white Polo shirt and light blue jeans.) (This merger has been seen for a while, especially in Eve's dreams. This represents the David Man-child reformers working to bring about the Kingdom on a Christian level, while Trump-Cyrus works to bring about the Kingdom on a National level. And the Davids will help the Trump.) I heard their voices in unison say, “42....43,44,45” as they added three more dollars to the 42 that I had. (Bill Clinton was the 42nd president, Bush Jr. the 43rd, Obama the 44th, and Trump the 45th. (And currently the 47th. Notice the criminals did not further the process of GCR during their terms because then Christians would benefit having been told by the Lord to invest in this. As a ministry, we have not, but others have for us. Obama/Hillary/Biden's job was to finish off the Christians with their invasion and cheating on the vote. Then came God's 45th and 47th president to prepare us with the tribulation provision. There is a lot of revelation concerning 45, which represents preservation. The Isaiah 45 Trump-Cyrus/Man-child parallel to rebuild the Kingdom, etc.) Isa 44:28-45:3,13 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. 45:1 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: 2 I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; 3 and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. … 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts. I was relieved because this was exactly the amount I needed. The 3 dollars they laid down were much larger than normal, like the size of business envelopes. (I believe that Trump has “bought us” more years, represented by the 3 large dollar bills, before the tribulation begins). Then I woke up. I asked Father for a word concerning the three more dollars and my finger was on “heir of righteousness” in the concordance under Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Arks are expensive and laborious, as we learned when many went to see this huge replica – The Ark Encounter in Kentucky.) Mat 24:37-39 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. What 42 dollars could also represent...   Meaning of Number 42 in the Bible Forty-two is a number with a direct connection to the coming Antichrist kingdom. His evil efforts will last 42 months in the end time, and thus forty-two is firmly associated with him. (This 42nd Presidency brought an end to 3 generations of antichrist leadership, but we are being preserved by the 45th and 47th. In God's view, Trump skipped a year because He is needed now.) On Oct 14, 2018, Melissa Pollock wrote: David, I thought I would look online and see if there is anything about Pres. Trump having dreams and needing interpretation. I looked for a little, but not really hard. The Lord got my attention when I was online, that Trump is the 45th President. I was thinking about how the Lord is using him as a type of Cyrus. Then all of a sudden the Lord brought to mind that Isaiah 45 is the first chapter, which talks about Cyrus. So I went and looked. Actually, verse 28, the last verse of chapter 44, is the first place Isaiah starts talking about Cyrus. Chapter 45 is the only chapter in Isaiah that starts at the beginning, talking about Cyrus. Then I thought about the fact that 45 means preservation. The Lord also got my attention with how I wrote all this info down. PRES. is short for President, and PREServation both begin with the same letters! The Lord is using PRES Trump as a type of Cyrus to PREServe the U.S. and the world by taking down the Deep State. That's so we have a relative time of peace for the sake of bringing His people out of apostasy so they will follow the Man-child into the wilderness, like David has been teaching us. There are only three verses that use the number 45 in the Bible. Gen.18:28 peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five. (45 preserved) Joshua 14:10 And now, behold, Jehovah hath kept me alive, as he spake, these forty and five years, from the time that Jehovah spake this word unto Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. (45 preserved) 1 Kings 7:3, In context 1-3, 1 And Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. 2 For he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was a hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. 3 And it was covered with cedar above over the forty and five beams, that were upon the pillars; fifteen in a row. Cedar wood is bug-resistant and used to store things in order to preserve them from being eaten up by bugs. (His house was preserved and supported by 45 beams)   Huge Box of Gold Coins Given to David David Eells - 11/04/2016 I had a vision in the night. I saw myself in a huge warehouse. I had been sent by my Boss to move a large box that I saw in the Spirit to our part of the warehouse. When I got there, I still saw the box in the Spirit, and I saw the industrial-sized forklift that I was to use to pick it up. I would judge the box to be about 8' square and very strong. It was full of dollar-sized gold coins. I looked at the forklift and wondered if it was big enough to pick the box up. I found the manager of the warehouse and told him what I was told to do. He said, “I was told by my boss not even to speak nominally (in name only) of that box”. Then I told him, “Do you want me to go back to my Boss or do you want to speak to yours?” I knew my Boss, Father, was over his boss, Satan. End of vision. (I believe the Lord is saying we are soon to receive access to the money to serve His saints in the refuge.)   UBM, Refuge from the Storm David Eells - 09/21/2007 In a vivid dream, an elderly white-haired man sat at His desk looking at some papers. He was also watching me with an expression of pleasant approval as I lay on a couch next to Him. I also was looking at some papers. It was revealed to me that He was leaving me with a billion dollars, which to me just represented a lot of money. Later I was told it would literally be infinitely more than that, and it would be to take care of His people, house, property, and the Man-child families. There were household servants who looked on. (The elderly white-haired man represents our heavenly Father, Who will provide Unleavened Bread Ministries with everything necessary to care for that portion of His house and property that He has left us to care for. The house represents His holy people, and His property represents those who are under the blood and in the process of becoming holy. I represent UBM, which is a body of saints committed to preparing the elect to walk in the steps of Jesus. The papers we were looking at represent the Biblical, legal contract between the Father and us that guarantees all these things. The servants are the angels who serve His people to bring this to pass. I was lying down in a restful position, signifying that it would not be by the works of UBM, but as we rest from our own works, the grace of God will bring it to pass.) Afterward, I saw myself walking through the house and looking out a front window. I saw that a storm was raging and that the properties outside the boundaries of our property were being devastated. In other words, we were a refuge. Trees were being blown away, and the landscape was becoming desolate. (Looking out the front window is to look into the future, or what is before the house. The raging storm is tribulation to come. The world outside the property will be devastated to prepare a wilderness that will motivate God's people to flee to the Kingdom of God through repentance and faith. This is abiding in Christ, the “Secret Place” of the Most High God. In the Bible, people are likened to trees, so the trees blown away represent people's lives being destroyed who do not abide in the shelter of Christ.) Next, I saw that inside the boundary of the property were all kinds of animals. I knew that the billion dollars was given to shelter and take care of these. (After the dream, I thought how much this seemed like the beasts who fled to Noah's ark for safety from the storm to come. Solomon taught that men are as beasts. Ecc.3:18 I said in my heart, [It is] because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are [but as] beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts for all is vanity. I have shared in our teachings that the different peculiarities of these animals represent the different strengths and weaknesses of men. The different species can also be seen as different unclean sects, divisions or denominations.) Peter was being prepared by a trance vision to accept into the Kingdom those men he considered to be unclean beasts. Act.10:11 and he beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: 12 wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the heaven. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. 15 And a voice [came] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common. 16 And this was done thrice: and straightway the vessel was received up into heaven. Immediately after this vision, Peter was invited to the house of Cornelius, and he perceived that God had revealed to him that He had cleansed the lost, unclean Gentiles through the sacrifice of Jesus. Act.10:28 and he said unto them, Ye yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to join himself or come unto one of another nation; and [yet] unto me hath God showed that I should not call any man common or unclean... 34 And Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him. At this point, Peter preached the Gospel to all who were in Cornelius' house, and they were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Many unclean beast people will be fleeing the judgments on the world and apostate Christianity and coming into the shelter of the Kingdom through our ministry. These were sanctified of their beastly character by the sacrifice of Jesus, and we will have to deal with those peculiarities by faith and the Word. Some of them will ultimately not be saved, for they will not continue in the faith and endure to the end to be delivered of their beastly appetites. Next, I saw, as I looked out of the front window, a rhinoceros charging towards the window. At the last minute, it veered off and went down the left side of the house. I turned and ran to the back of the house and looked out the back window to see lions and a rhino calf peacefully in the backyard together with other animals. I supposed that the rhinoceros was thinking of protecting its own, but there was no threat; they were all at peace. (Notice that the animals are at peace, like they must have been in Peter's sheet and Noah's ark. This symbolizes the one flock with one shepherd that Jesus said would come. Mat.5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God. In Isaiah 11:1-5, the Branch is Jesus in the Man-child ministry as in Jer.23:1-6. Then it also speaks of the animals being at peace and protected and led by the man-child. Isa.11:6 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them (man-child). 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain (Kingdom of God); for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. The rest of the chapter speaks of gathering God's people to their spiritual Land of Promise and bringing peace between them while conquering the old man in the land. Chapter 12 speaks of them drinking freely of God's salvation. And chapter 13 is the Day of the Lord and the fall of America as we know it. Here, the shepherds and their flocks are gone, but the wild beasts- especially “goats” (the wicked and apostates) and “wolves” (apostate false leaders) are left to “cry in their castles” (churches). 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' (Babylon in religion and politics) pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20... neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. 21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there (religion); and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. 22 And wolves shall cry in their castles (churches), and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.) Looking out the front window in this dream represents seeing into the future, and the left side, where the rhinoceros went, represents where the goats walk. Just as it is now, some self-righteous, competitive, ambitious, sectarian, factious, domineering types will seek to separate those of their own kind and their own thinking from the body when in reality they are in the safest place to be. This also may be speaking of a larger future scenario that involves the new world order religion seeking to separate those who may be proven to belong to them from those at peace with God and each other. They will not be ashamed to use the weapon at their disposal to gore those who have been given authority. The rhinoceros first aimed at me and then at those who agreed with me. Some, like Judas, will go to the place ordained for them because of their selfish ambition and because they abuse their freedom in Christ. Gal.5:10 I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be... 13 For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only [use] not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another (as the wild beasts normally do), take heed that ye be not consumed one of another (as the wild beasts do). 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.... 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, 21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.   Refuge Presence of God B. R. - 05/01/2009 (David's notes in red) I was reading in Second Samuel, and this scripture impressed me: 2Sa.6:14 And David danced before Jehovah with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of Jehovah with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. (When the David Man-child ministries are anointed as the new leadership of God's people, the presence of God will be in their midst for the first time since the Saul ministries began. 1 Chr.12:38 All these being men of war, that could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king... 13:2 And David said unto all the assembly of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and if it be of Jehovah our God, let us send abroad everywhere unto our brethren that are left in all the land of Israel, with whom the priests and Levites are in their cities that have suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us; 3 and let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we sought not unto it in the days of Saul.) Then, last night, I had a refuge dream, and only the following came to mind: We were in a covered pavilion with picnic tables. David (representing the David/Man-child ministries to come) and I had arrived, and there was a group of people expecting us. A middle-aged woman came up to us and told us that the pretzels in the stacked, white boxes of different sizes on the picnic tables were for us to eat. (This represents partaking of the joyous rewards of the unleavened bread of the Word, the crucified life of the heart, and prayer. All this in a clean, white garment representing faith and the works of the Spirit. Which I will share below.) David was walking behind me, singing in tongues. He was in a very joyous mood. (Bringing the anointed presence of God.)   What Do Pretzels Represent? The origins of the pretzel go back to a frugal monastery in the mountains between Southern France and Northern Italy. In 610 AD, the monks created the first soft pretzels. They didn't want to waste the dough leftover from making unleavened communion bread. (Partaking of the pure Word.) Christians, in those days, prayed with their arms crossed over their chest (the crucified life of the heart) with each hand on the opposite shoulder. The monks realized that the dough could be twisted into a similar shape. The treats were given to village children as a reward to children for memorizing their prayers. The monks called their treats “pretiola”, a Latin word that means “little rewards”. (Partaking of the joyous rewards of the unleavened bread of the Word and prayer.)   Provision for the Bride Terri McGinley - 4/19/22 (Deb's notes in green | David's notes in red) I had a dream where I was observing these young men. (Representing the Man-child Body of first fruits reformers.) They were between the ages of 18-23 or so. (Eighteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew word “chai,” which means “life.”... It is a Jewish custom to give monetary gifts in increments of 18, thus symbolically blessing the recipient of the gift with a good, long life. The number 23 in the Bible symbolizes death. The Man-child body of reformers is the first to come to their spiritual death of self so that they can bring salvation, provision, and life through the Gospel of Christ to all of God's elect during their first 3 1/2 years of ministry in the tribulation.) They were camping, and someone there told them of a lady who was in need and asked if they could help out. (Camping represents that the Man-child reformers are in their own personal wilderness.) (The lady in need is the modern-day Church, which has been impoverished by apostasy and division over these last 2,000+ years and is in desperate need of the real Jesus.) One young man said, “Wait, just a minute.” (The young man represents Jesus Who has already given us everything.) He had a stack of birthday cards. (Birthday cards represent invitations to be born into the Kingdom.) He looked through them and found a blank check and a hundred-dollar bill. He took them out of the cards and gave them to the lady in need. (The Man-child will show the woman how to receive the $100 bill representing 100-fold fruit and the blank check representing carte blanche; i.e., whatever is needed; no stipulations or no limits.) (Est 2:13 then in this wise came the maiden unto the king: Whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house.) He left the check blank. I was really surprised, thinking he'd give maybe five or ten dollars, especially since he didn't seem to have much and was so young. That was the whole dream. (Jesus didn't have much during His earthly life according to the world's standards, but He gave all of His life so that we could have Life. A “blank check” reminds me of Mar.11:24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them.) AMEN.

Welcome to "The Bible in Today's World", the show that compares today's world with the Word of God. In general and specifically, are we following the Bible in our daily walks? Is society demanding that we follow the Word of God in all that we do? Does our Almighty Father look upon us and frequently say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" - or is He thinking of us as He thought/thinks of Sodom and Gomorrah? On today's show, we will discuss Genesis, Chapter 17.

A sermon from Genesis 17 & 18 on Abraham, a visit from God, and the intercession over Sodom.Speaker: Greg W MathisTags: obedience, Christian, waiting, sermon, gospel, mercy, judgment, sexual sin.

Main Idea:  In this lesson we'll learn that Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the Old Testament's most sinful cities. Genesis 19 tells the story of how God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, but spared Lot and some of his family.Message Notes: http://bible.com/events/49640518

Where your eyes lock, your life follows. Esau stared at a bowl of stew and traded away his birthright. Lot lifted his eyes halfway — just far enough to see Sodom, not far enough to see God. But Jesus? At the dinner table, at the tomb, on the way to the cross — He kept looking up. To step into the fullness of what God's calling you to, you have to Lift Your Eyes. Don't let your eyes get locked onto the world.

Welcome to "The Bible in Today's World", the show that compares today's world with the Word of God. In general and specifically, are we following the Bible in our daily walks? Is society demanding that we follow the Word of God in all that we do? Does our Almighty Father look upon us and frequently say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" - or is He thinking of us as He thought/thinks of Sodom and Gomorrah? On today's show, we will discuss Genesis, Chapter 16.

Don't Look Back

Welcome to Day 2909 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2909– “The Ultimate Close Encounter”  based on Luke 10:1-16 Putnam Church Message – 06/21/2026 The Good News According to Luke: “Practical Talk to Those in Ministry.”   Last week's message was “A Face Like Flint,” in which we studied the One who set His face toward Jerusalem now sets His grace upon His people. Today, we continue with our twenty-ninth message from Luke's narrative of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Today's message is: “Practical Talk to Those in Ministry.” Our core passage today is Luke 10:1-16, on page 1611 of your pew Bibles. Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two 10 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. 5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.' 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick>who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.' 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[b] 16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Opening Prayer Father, we come before You today grateful that You invite ordinary people into Your extraordinary work. We confess that we often feel inadequate, distracted, discouraged, or afraid. Sometimes we carry burdens You never asked us to carry, and sometimes we measure ministry by results rather than faithfulness. Lord Jesus, teach us today from Your Word. Show us what it means to be sent by You, to labor for Your harvest, to depend on Your provision, to speak peace, to serve faithfully, and to leave the results in Your hands. Help us see that ministry is not reserved for a few, but belongs to all who follow You. May our lives become faithful witnesses to the nearness of Your Kingdom. Amen. Introduction: Why Would God Use Us? I have often wondered why God involves people in His work when He can do everything Himself. Have you ever thought about that? God does not need our talent. God does not need our strength. God does not need our planning ability. God does not need our committees, schedules, buildings, sermons, songs, or programs. He can do the job better than we can. He can speak a word, and worlds come into existence. He can open blind eyes, raise the dead, calm storms, silence demons, and move kings according to His will. So why does He entrust something as important as building His Kingdom to people like us? People who get tired. People who misunderstand. People who get proud. People who become discouraged. People who argue about greatness. People who sometimes want to call down fire on their enemies. That is the mystery of grace. God does not involve us because He lacks power. He involves us because He loves us, forms us, and gives us a genuine part in His redemptive work. In the previous message, “A Face Like Flint,” we saw Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem. Luke 9:51 is a hinge in Luke's Gospel. From that moment forward, Jesus is moving toward the cross, the resurrection, and the ascension. Nothing will distract Him from the Father's mission. Now, in Luke 10:1–16, Jesus does something remarkable. He multiplies the mission. Earlier, He sent the Twelve. Now He appoints seventy-two others, or seventy depending on the manuscript tradition, and sends them ahead of Him into the towns and places He plans to visit. This means the ministry is expanding beyond the inner circle. The Kingdom is not a private project for the Twelve. It is not merely the work of clergy. It is not limited to those with public titles. Jesus is building a people who are sent. And in this passage, He gives practical talk to those in ministry. That includes pastors, teachers, elders, deacons, missionaries, children's workers, worship leaders, caregivers, parents, grandparents, encouragers, prayer warriors, business owners, neighbors, friends, and every believer who bears witness to Christ. If you belong to Jesus, you are involved in ministry. So let us listen carefully to His practical instruction found in four truths in your bulletin insert on the side that says Practical Talk to Those in Ministry. Main Point 1: The Harvest Belongs to God, but the Labor Belongs to Us Jesus says the harvest is great, but the workers are few. So, He tells His disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest, asking Him to send out workers into His harvest. That is where ministry begins: not with panic, but with prayer. Jesus looks at the world as a harvest field. That image would have been vivid to His listeners. In an agricultural world, the harvest was urgent. When the crop was ready, delay could mean loss. Workers had to go into the field while the time was right. But notice what Jesus calls it. It is not our harvest. It is not the church's harvest. It is not the pastor's harvest. It is the Lord's harvest. That matters. When we forget this, we carry burdens God never intended us to carry. We begin to think the future of the Kingdom depends on us. We stay awake at night worrying about results we cannot control. We measure faithfulness by numbers, approval, visible response, or immediate fruit. But Jesus calls Himself the Lord of the harvest. He owns the field. He knows the soil. He sees the hearts. He sends the workers. He brings the growth. Our responsibility is not to control the harvest. Our responsibility is to labor faithfully. Object Lesson: A Seed Packet and a Basket Hold up a packet of seeds and an empty basket. The seed packet represents the work entrusted to us. / We can plant. / We can water. / We can tend. / We can prepare. But we cannot force life into the seed. The basket represents the harvest. / We long to see it full, and that longing is good. / But only God can bring the harvest. Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 3:7  It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. That is freeing. We are not excused from labor. Jesus calls us workers. But we are freed from pretending to be God. Ancient Context When Jesus sent these seventy-two, He sent them ahead of Him. They were not going out to build personal followings. They were preparing towns for the arrival of the King. In the ancient world, messengers often went ahead of a ruler to announce his coming. They did not invent the message. They did not negotiate the king's authority. They...

From a political fight (that compared Nashville to Sodom) to an untimely death and unusual grave, the story behind Tennessee's physical seat of government has more twists than you might expect. Plus the local news for July 21, 2026 and reclaiming the American flag. Credits: This is a production of Nashville Public RadioHost/producer: Nina CardonaEditor: LaTonya TurnerAdditional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Megan Jones and the staff of WPLN and WNXP

The Story of Sodom and Gomorrah Isn't What You Think.For generations, Genesis 19 has been weaponized as a "clobber verse" against same-sex relationships. But what does the original scripture actually say?In this quick 4-minute breakdown from The Bible and Homosexuality series, we examine the ancient context of Sodom:The Mob: Why an entire city's male population (young and old) proves this wasn't about sexual orientation.The Real Sin: How violent xenophobia, abuse of power, and the failure of hospitality were turned upside down over time.The Irony: How a text originally written to protect vulnerable outsiders was forged into a weapon against them.

In JT's Mix Tape #89, JT is joined by Brian of Demon Erasers and Aaron of Tune Thy Heart to examine the growing problem of “conspiracy slop.” The conversation begins with CERN and the latest Mandela Effect claims before moving into celebrity alien videos, demonic imagery in children's entertainment, deceptive social-media advertising and the spiritual cost of sacrificing truth for influence. The guys also confront sensational stories spreading through Christian deliverance and supernatural podcasts. Are these testimonies leading people toward Jesus—or creating fear, pride and dependence upon self-appointed deliverance ministers? Finally, the discussion turns to theories connecting America with Egypt, ancient Israel and the biblical Promised Land. Could America contain remnants of the Old World, or are creators forcing biblical geography to fit viral narratives?In this episode:CERN and the newest Mandela Effect claimsThe difference between being wrong and knowingly lyingWhy false information spreads so quicklyJames Franco's alleged “alien” videosThe demonic symbolism surrounding the MinionsHow social media rewards deceptionChristian deliverance ministries and spiritual fearKatie Souza's supernatural claimsChrist's authority over demonsKathie Lee Gifford's appearance on Blurry CreaturesThe corporatization of independent podcastsWas ancient America connected to biblical Israel?Utah, Judah, the Red Sea and Mount NeboEvidence surrounding Mount Sinai and Sodom and GomorrahHow to explore mysteries without abandoning discernmentThe goal isn't to mock everyone who gets something wrong. We have all changed our minds and corrected past mistakes. The real issue is whether truth still matters once a false story begins generating money and attention. Watch early and uncensored episodes on Patreon, support the show through Modern Roots Life, grab JT Follows JC merchandise and learn more about social-media coaching through the Echoes of Truth Network using the links below. Question for the audience: Where is the line between honest speculation and irresponsible conspiracy content?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jt-s-mix-tape--6579902/support.Please support our sponsor Modern Roots Life: https://modernrootslife.com/?bg_ref=rVWsBoOfcFPatreon: https://patreon.com/JT_Follows_JC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkJESUS SAID THERE WOULD BE HATERS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/mens-shirts/JT's Hats: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/hats/Coaching Program: https://www.echoesoftruthnetwork.com/joinTelegram Group: https://t.me/jtsmixtapeNew Trucker Hat: https://www.shopmmca.com/shop/p/jt-follows-jc-hat

Can one man's prayers save a city from divine judgment? Discover the power of intercession and mercy in this compelling episode.In this episode of "Heroes in the Bible," Dr. Ed Young explores the powerful lessons from the story of Abraham's intercession for Sodom. Through Abraham's heartfelt pleas and God's compassionate responses, we learn about the importance of asking, seeking, and knocking with faith and sincerity.Today's Bible verse is Matthew 7:7, from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Day 2906 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. Day 2906 – Theology Thursday – Prayer as Communion, Petition, and Covenant: From Ancient Near East to Modern Faith Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2906 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps!   I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2906 of our Trek.   The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Our current series of Theology Thursday lessons is written by theologian and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God's Word. John's lessons can be found on his website   theologyinfive.com.   Today's lesson is titled PRAYER AS COMMUNION, PETITION, AND COVENANT: FROM THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TO MODERN FAITH. In the religious systems of the ancient Near East, prayer was a vital function, though its framework was drastically different from what later developed in Israelite and Christian thought. Prayer was primarily a method of maintaining the cosmic order through appeasement and transaction. Gods in Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Egypt were seen as powerful but unpredictable, often requiring elaborate rituals, sacrifices, and formulas to grant favor or avert wrath. These cultures did not operate under a theology of relational covenant but rather through a pattern of reciprocity: offerings and words were meant to provoke a specific divine response. Babylonian prayer texts like the “Shurpu” and “Maqlu” series reflect a deep concern with curses, omens, and unseen transgressions. The supplicant might not even know which god was offended or what sin was committed. In such cases, prayers became generalized pleas for forgiveness from all deities. Egyptian prayers often took the form of hymns to the gods, extolling their attributes and requesting protection or intervention, especially concerning the afterlife. Canaanite prayer and sacrifice, while less preserved in textual form, mirrored these transactional patterns. Ultimately, prayer in the ANE was primarily about control, using proper language and rites to maintain divine favor and personal or national survival. The first segment is: The Distinctive Voice of Ancient Israel: Relational and Covenant-Based. The emergence of Israel as a people devoted to Yahweh introduced a significant break from the ANE paradigm. While early Israelite religion still bore some cultural similarities to its surroundings, the theology of Yahweh as a covenantal, relational deity revolutionized the nature of prayer. No longer was prayer simply a means of magical manipulation or guesswork. It became a medium through which a person engaged with a God who had revealed His name, His character, and His promises. The earliest biblical prayers, such as those found in Genesis, reflect this relational nature. Abraham argues with God over the fate of Sodom, appealing not to ritual but to God's justice. Moses intercedes for Israel after the golden calf incident, reminding Yahweh of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These prayers do not treat Yahweh as distant or unknowable but rather as a God who can be reasoned with, challenged, and persuaded because of His own covenant loyalty. The Book of Psalms shows the breadth of human emotion brought before God: joy, fear, doubt, anger, and praise. Lament becomes a central form of worship, as seen in the cries of David or the national laments after Jerusalem's destruction. These are not sterile performances but passionate expressions of faith. Prayer becomes an act of courage, a wrestling with God, a protest against silence, and a clinging to hope when the world falls apart. The second segment is: From Temple to Synagogue: Formalization in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. As the Hebrew Bible gave way to the practices of Second Temple Judaism, especially after the exile, prayer began to evolve in response to historical necessity. With the destruction of the First Temple and the loss of the sacrificial system, the Jewish people turned increasingly to prayer and study as their central forms of worship. What was once spontaneous became structured. What was once private became communal. During this period, daily prayer rhythms began to emerge. Fixed times of prayer, morning, afternoon, and evening, mirrored the times of temple sacrifice and were eventually institutionalized. The Amidah, or “Standing Prayer,” developed into a core liturgical centerpiece. It offered a framework of blessings praising God, requesting needs, and praying for national restoration. The Shema, a declaration of God's unity and Israel's devotion, became part of daily prayer and identity. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Rabbinic Judaism restructured prayer life around the synagogue. Prayer was no longer centered on the priesthood and sacrificial rites but on the Torah, communal liturgy, and ethical action. This shift preserved Jewish identity during centuries of diaspora. Though formalized, prayer retained its relational element. It became the heartbeat of Jewish life, binding communities together and anchoring them to God's enduring promises. The Third Segment is: Prayer Reimagined in Early Christianity: Access through Christ. The earliest Christians, being Jews themselves, inherited this rich tradition of covenantal and liturgical prayer. Yet their belief in Jesus as the risen Messiah transformed their approach to prayer in significant ways. Central to this transformation was the idea of direct access to God through Christ. Jesus's own prayers, such as the Lord's Prayer, serve as both instruction and theological statement. The address “Our Father” reflects unprecedented intimacy. It reaffirms the covenantal relationship while highlighting the nearness and care of God. The prayer also orients the believer toward God's will, God's kingdom, and daily dependence, not merely petition. The Apostle Paul builds on this foundation by portraying prayer as a Spirit-driven communion. Believers are said to cry out “Abba, Father” by the Spirit. Paul claims that even when words fail, the Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for speech. This understanding of prayer shifts it away from set ritual toward a continual, personal interaction with the divine. In Christian theology, Jesus becomes the eternal High Priest, interceding on behalf of believers. This transforms the act of prayer from an attempt to reach an uncertain deity into an assurance of access to a loving Father through a faithful Son. Whether corporate or private, spontaneous or formal, prayer is understood as the believer's participation in the divine relationship secured by Christ. The Fourth Segment is: Boundaries and Prohibitions: When Prayer Becomes Misuse. While prayer is central to both testaments, not all prayer is accepted. The Bible gives several warnings about misguided or forbidden types of prayer. Chief among these is prayer to other gods. The First Commandment is clear: Israel was not to call on or serve any deity but Yahweh. This was not a cultural preference but a matter of covenant loyalty. Invoking Baal, Molech, or Asherah was not neutral. It was spiritual adultery. Another prohibited form was manipulative or theatrical prayer, often seen in paganism. The prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel danced and cut themselves, trying to compel their god to act. Elijah mocks this as futile. Jesus echoes this in the New Testament when He warns against “vain repetitions” and showy public displays. The goal of biblical prayer is not to impress people or mechanically control God. It is relational. Also forbidden were necromancy and communication with the dead, practices common in surrounding cultures. Deuteronomy 18 lists these among the detestable practices of the nations that Israel was not to imitate. Prayer was not to be blended with conjuring or attempts to access hidden knowledge through forbidden means. Later rabbinic tradition added safeguards to ensure prayer was done with the right heart. One was not to pray while intoxicated, or in moments of ritual impurity, or without focus. Christian writers like James and Peter also warn against praying from selfish motives or while harboring unresolved sin. The Fifth segment is: Rhythm and Repetition: Between Discipline and Pagan Imitation Repetitious or rhythmic prayer is sometimes misunderstood. Scripture does not forbid repetition outright, but it sharply distinguishes between reverent repetition and pagan-style incantations. Psalm 136 repeats the phrase “His steadfast love endures forever” 26 times as an act of worship, not manipulation. Many psalms and prayers use repetition as a poetic or liturgical feature, meant to reinforce covenant truths and lead the heart toward trust. The Shema and priestly blessing were repeated regularly in Jewish worship. Jesus's warning in Matthew 6 verse seven, “Do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do,” targets the kind of mechanical babbling seen in magical or pagan rituals. It does not prohibit...

July 15th, 2026 - We welcome back Bishop Joseph Strickland to discuss the final battle: Sodom, Fatima, and our troubling times. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

Today’s Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel – Matthew 11:20-24 – Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of His mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the nether world. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Saint Kateri, pray for us!Bishop Sheen quote of the day Steve Ray joins Terry to discuss the Biblical worldview of grandparents and other relatives

Original Post Date: July 16, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 11:20-24 Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the nether world. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Reflection We know that Jesus is divine. We forget sometimes that he is also human, and as a human being, he can feel and be frustrated as any of us would be. When something that we're working on, something we believe in, so much is not working, it's not convincing people that they need to pay attention to Jesus as the representative of God. And because he can do these marvelous, wonderful deeds, they still won't accept him. And so his condemnation of them is more of a frustration with them wanting them to realize how important it is that they do receive his message. Closing Prayer Father, when we live in an illusion and someone points out that illusion, it's not unusual for us to be absolutely angry and resistant. And that just shows that there is a part of all humanity that has a difficult time shifting its emphasis in its focus. Give us patience with each other. Help us to know that God will continue to work with us, but he'll warn us over and over again that if we don't change, we won't find the life that he's made for us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s Topics: 1) Gospel – Matthew 10:7-15 – Jesus said to His Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words– go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Memorial of Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs Saint Augustine and Companions, pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2, 3, 4) Dr. Ralph Martin on his book: The Coming Judgment: Are We Ready?