Understanding the Religion of LIEberalism

America’s most famous inventor, Thomas Edison, referred to humanity as “incurably religious.” Thus it comes as no surprise that when people forsake belief in God or some deity/deities, they retain the earmarks of a religious person; it’s just that their ‘god’ becomes the state, pseudoscience, a godless ideology, self, or some combination of these.

We now live in a post-Christian society in Western civilization (including places influenced by Western civilization) where our schools & universities promote forms of so-called progressivism and despise biblical Christianity. Generally speaking, believers in Christ & the Bible are held in contempt as “backwards,” “bigoted” and “uneducated.” As such, whenever ‘progressives’ throw around the word ‘education’ what they really mean is “indoctrinated by Liberal ideology.”

Since they radically oppose Christ, the truth (John 14:6, 8:32; 17:17), it comes as no surprise that their doctrines, beliefs and practices in general are rooted in lies; in other words, their ideologies by nature “suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18), which explains why I refer to Liberalism as LIEberalism. While I originally coined this term to be amusing, its accuracy is increasingly clear in light of the absurd lies Liberals preach and insist everyone else must accept as truth. For instance, the idea that there are scores of genders (I’ve lost count) or that a man can have his penis surgically removed and not only become a woman, but legitimately compete in female sports; anyone who objects to this or refuses to refer to him with a female pronoun is slandered as a “bigot,” a “transphobe” and even guilty of a “hate crime.”

Whilst Liberals tout themselves as tolerant, they are only tolerant as long as people agree with them or, at least, don’t try to hinder their secular agenda. They exalt “diversity,” but try finding a Conservative on staff who dares to question Lib group think and speaks the biblical truth. For instance, why aren’t Libs celebrating the victory of the first female Prime Minister in Italy? Obviously because she believes in God and supports biblical morality and family.

LIEberalism Is Preached at Colleges

It goes without saying that the more “educated” by secular institutions a person is, the less likely s/he will believe in absolutes, like God, truth and morality. I attended a state university as a devout believer from late 1989 to early 1995 and I could feel the anti-Christ spirit that permeated the classrooms and halls. My faith was challenged on every side on a daily basis, but 1. I maintained my relationship with the Lord and 2. kept anchored in my biblical studies, feeding regularly from God’s Word and sound ministers (Matthew 4:4).

Yet I could readily see how the faith of Christian students would be weakened in such a godless environment, even to the point of falling away from the faith (Hebrews 6:4-9; 2 Peter 2:21). I’ve known several solid believers who went off to college and left as agnostics or atheists. And yet Christian parents continue to blithefully send their kids off to God-hating Universities and are shocked when they come out as unbelievers. Gee, go figure. (For anyone who says it’s impossible for a believer to lose his/her salvation, see this article).

The vast majority of professors in our schools of (supposedly) higher learning are hardcore atheists and it comes as no surprise that they promote their anti-God “progressivism” when teaching on neutral subjects. For instance, I had a lesbian English teacher in college who constantly attacked the concept of Judeo-Christian values while espousing her “Liberal” idiotology. We were supposed to be learning about the English language, and did, but we also got lectured on the non-morals of what was obviously her religion.

For anyone who objects to my reference to Liberal ideology as “idiotology,” all genuine Christ-followers are called to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness, not passively condone them (Ephesians 5:11). Christ Himself resorted to more extreme language during his earthly ministry when dealing with the religious fascists of the 1st Century, which you can read about here. In Western countries today we are threatened by irreligious fascists and I’ll supply plenty of examples of how their beliefs & practices are outrageously idiotic. The fact that Liberals support demonic-looking transvestites mentoring our little children in public forums tells all. Worse, they’re proud of it because they view it as a badge of their “progressivism” (aka moral regressivism).

At least agnostics honestly admit that they don’t know what the truth is, as far as ultimate reality goes. I happened to be an agnostic throughout my teens. Yet Atheists claim to know there is no Creator of life & the cosmos, which explains why the Bible plainly refers to hardcore atheists as fools (Psalm 14:1, 53:1, 10:4). The obvious problem with this is that these are the very people mentoring our youths at college — people whom the Bible openly calls fools. Can this result in anything good?

Recently I checked on the status of some former celebs in the Christian music industry who were held up as mentors in the 80s-90s. The reason I looked them up is because I was reading some old interviews with them wherein they stated how they were going to go to college to get a degree for this or that so they could earn a living. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, as it’s an understandable goal. The problem is that these Christian icons, who were examples to younger believers and very much respected, would be exposed on a daily basis to the aforementioned atheistic “progressivism” that permeates the halls of secular universities. Would their faith be able to withstand the Christ-rejecting onslaught that I myself experienced? I was disappointed to find out that several of them had become atheists in the process, like Joey “Ojo” Taylor of Undercover and Ian Arkley of Seventh Angel, amongst others.

I’m not here to condemn these people; it’s perfectly understandable how they lost their faith given the nature of modern universities. My point is: If secular college can convert seemingly strong Christian celebs like this to the religion of atheism/secular humanism, what about our children whom we sincerely send off to college to get ‘educated’ for the positive purpose of earning a good living? They might earn a degree and get a lucrative job, but what of the things of God and eternity? No “education” or job is worth losing reconciliation with the Creator and eternal life!

LIEberalism Has Become the Establishment ‘Religion’

So-called progressivism is now the religion of Western Civilization and is essentially one-in-the-same as liberalism or secular humanism and its current fad “woke-ism.” How is it a religion? It has all the earmarks of one:

• An irrefutable “god” (science or what Liberalism says is science, aka pseudoscience).
• Its own “scripture” (Lib-approved journals & textbooks, as well as pseudoscientific works, like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and basically whatever a hip ‘authority’ says on the topic at hand, like Fraudci and his perpetual lies and contradictions during the 2020-2023 plandemic).
• Its own faith-based cosmology (the big bang theory).
• Its own miracles (e.g. the idea that everything originally sprang from nothing, which violates the scientific axiom of biogenesis — that life can only proceed from life).
• Its own beliefs in the supernatural; even many of those claiming to be strict atheists acknowledge what they call extrasensory perception or paranormal activity (studies have shown that Liberals are more likely to believe in paranormal phenomena compared to Conservatives, whether ghosts, talking with the dead, fortunetelling or astrology. Let me put it this way: Is a New Ager or fortune-teller more likely to be a Liberal or a Conservative?).
• Its own “churches” (public schools & colleges) (more on this in a moment).
• Its own “high priests” (godless ‘scientists,’ professors & teachers) (ditto).
• Its own “saints” (corrupt politicians, immoral celebrities and thugs who make the limelight for one reason or another, like George Floyd).
• Its own sacrifices (abortion, infanticide and suicides, as well as fake suicides of its own people when necessary, e.g. Jeffrey Epstein). (As far as suicides go, consider the devout Libs who commit immolation to protest the hoax of “Climate Change”).
• Tithing (to teachers’ unions, tuition and donations/taxes for sacred Leftist causes, like the ambiguous “Climate Change” & the corresponding Paris Agreement/UNFCCC).
• Obeisance for their hallowed leaders, institutions and activist organizations (Obama, Harvard, NOW, Greenpeace, etc.).
• Its applauded virtues (recycling, sexual perversions, mask-wearing, getting the experimental vax & perpetual boosters, etc.).
• Its loathed practices or “sins” (chastity, reading/believing the Bible, sharing the gospel of Christ, converting people from native religions, etc.).
• Its own faith-based explanation of life itself, aka the theory of evolution (after over 160 years of desperate searching they have yet to prove that random mutation & natural selection leads to the creation of a new species).
• Its revered “ancestors” (apes or ape-like beings).
• Its faith-based insistence that humans are created in the likeness of apes rather than the image of God.

This should not be interpreted to mean that all scientists, professors, public school teachers, etc. are godless and frothing at the mouth with evil because this isn’t true in the least. For instance, one of my English teachers at state university was a devout Christian man (unfortunately, he was contrasted by the lesbian English teacher noted earlier). I’m of course speaking in generalities in this article. But let me ask you a relevant question alluded to earlier: Can a genuine believer openly espouse their perspective in an academic environment without being seriously penalized in some way, even losing their job (and I’m not even talking about proselytizing)? We all know the answer. Liberals are only tolerant of their own ideology and those who bend to it, although they’ll exempt anyone who’ll jump in bed with them in their fight against biblical truth, like Muslims. In other words, although Liberalism and Islam are opposing belief systems (religions), they are united in their vehement opposition to Judeo-Christianity.

If you doubt that classrooms are now the top forum for spreading secular humanism & its nuances, consider what John Dunphy said in an article way back in 1983, over forty years ago:

I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers much embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of educational level — preschool, day care or large state university. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new — the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of “love thy neighbor” will finally be achieved.

– “A Religion for a New Age” from the Jan/Feb, 1983, issue of Humanist magazine

Are you starting to see why I refer to Liberalism as the modern state religion? Are you seeing why I refer to it as LIEberalism? It is riddled with falsities and glaring contradictions:

• Homosexuals are “born that way” while child-molesters can be rehabilitated;
• Saving a tree or plant is virtuous, but slaughtering babies by the millions is okay, including allowing ones that survive abortion to die unattended;
• We should eat organic foods and must wear masks to hinder the spread of ailments, but the possibility of spreading a gross disease via casual sex or perverse sex is an unalienable right;
• Sexual activity is merely genetic & all-for-fun and has zero sacred purpose or moral consequence, but the slightest hint of sexual harassment against a female is diabolical (speaking as someone who’s wholly against sexual harassment);
• Druid-like reverence of the Earth is praiseworthy and progressive, but biblical worship of the Almighty is superstitious and backwards;
• Liberalism claims to wholly support feminism, yet curiously advocates & commends biologically male transsexuals competing (and winning) against biological females in women’s competitions;
• It’s perfectly okay if primitive peoples from Asia settle in the Americas, i.e. AmerIndians, but not technologically-advanced people from Europe.
• The current fad of “wokeness” is a state of awareness achieved by those dumb enough to find injustice in everything except their own behavior, e.g. the lawless thugs of BLM and ANTIFA, who love Burning/Looting/Murdering whole blocks of cities (always the less wealthier sections).

The Bible reveals that when a society forsakes God and common sense wisdom, they are given over to a “reprobate mind” wherein what is good becomes evil and what is evil becomes good (Romans 1:28; Isaiah 5:20). It’s an upside down world and explains the Bible’s description of their glaring absurdities: “At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness” (Ecclesiastes 10:13).

This explains the response of Democrat “leaders” in present-day America to the consequences of their bad policies and corruptions. They say with a straight face that:

• mass destruction through violent rioting & looting is merely protesting;
• heart attacks (from being forced to get the experimental vax) are healthy;
• gross inflation means a strong economy;
• supply chain breakdowns are perfectly normal;
• empty shelves (due to communistic measures) mean people are buying;
• unvetted people illegally pouring through the Southern border by the millions is just immigration;
• Biden is by far the most popular president ever with 81 millions votes (just not 81 million voters, which you can learn about here).

This is merely a taste of their lies and upside down madness in present-day America.

Without an intentional origin or divine purpose, secularists in the modern era lack a moral compass. Seeing themselves as little more than animals, since their original ancestor is Cha-Ka, they tend to veer toward hedonism or some form of immorality to find fulfillment and even identity. Others glorify the State — or its corresponding ideals — and serve accordingly to find purpose. Others succumb to a disillusioned life of “quiet desperation,” as Henry David Thoreau put it, and are usually assuaged by an excess of “meds.”

Christ said “You will know them by their fruits,” referring to people who falsely speak for God (Matthew 7:15-23). This would include people who claim to understand and represent the truth or ultimate reality. (Remember, Christ said he was “the truth” in John 14:6 and ‘truth’ in the Greek is alétheia, which means “reality” or “the way it really is”). What is the fruit of the Liberal intelligentsia who in essence worship (pseudo)science and their religion is “progressivism”? Answer: Things like godless Marxism (Socialism/Communism), gross slander, brazen voting fraud, arrogance, condescension, hypocrisy, sexual immorality and sexual perversion.

Why is hedonism and sexual immorality rampant on secular campuses? Why is it that whenever you visit a college town you’ll see overt evidence of homosexuality, but hardly ever in other areas? Answer: Because that’s what is preached & commended at these schools of supposed higher learning despite the facts that the practice of homosexuality results in a much higher rate of STDs, mental illness, drug use and suicide or suicide attempts. Of course those who choose the homosexual lifestyle are to be tolerated and respected as fellow human beings who have the right to make choices about their lives, whether positive or negative, just like we tolerate obese overeaters, smokers, drinkers, drug addicts and so on. However, this doesn’t mean that homosexuality should be promoted and celebrated since that would be asinine in light of the facts that support its all-around unhealthiness.

LIEberals Support Pseudoscience

The sneering scientific sophistication of Liberals is merely a pretense. They actually hate real science and flee from it screaming like vampires responding to holy water. Here are some examples of genuine science:

• unborn babies are sentient human beings with a beating heart;
• males who foolishly have their penis chopped off and take female hormones are not females and this is proven by their DNA;
• the AIDS virus does discriminate;
• there is such a thing as IQ;
• the sexes have differing abilities in different areas (e.g. math, science and gymnastics);
• non-life cannot create life;
• and nuclear power is actually not very dangerous.

Meanwhile Christians are pro-common sense and anti-false science (again, I’m speaking in generalities; there are, admittedly, people who claim to be Christians who are unfortunately corrupted by legalism). For instance, the scientific principle that only life can create life — biogenesis — obviously points to a Creator. Believers in Christ naturally question questionable “science” regardless of how popular it might be in Liberal circles.

When it comes to science, some good questions include: What specific topic is being addressed? And is the ‘science’ thereof reliable or dubious? For instance, climate alarmists have a long history of false predictions supposedly based on ‘science.’ The current “Climate Change” hysteria is actually a Leftwing agenda and politically motivated. As such, the scientists they use to support their position are basically ‘yes men’ and ‘yes women’ because their jobs and funding depend on agreeing with the false narrative, as well as backing it up with supposed evidence. See these videos for insights: My Gift To Climate Alarmists, Are We Doomed? And Climate Scam No Longer Needed.

We must understand that the Bible is a theological work and not a scientific one. It shares some info that’s applicable to the sciences in a general sense, but often requires further study on part of the one seeking knowledge. For instance, the Bible is not an astronomy book, but it does support the basic idea that the Earth is a spherical body suspended in the empty space of the Universe, which disproves the idea of a flat Earth (Isaiah 40:22; Job 26:7). The Scriptures teach that the Universe constantly “pours forth speech” and “displays knowledge” to “all the Earth” (Psalm 19:1-4); the apostle Paul backed this up by the Spirit in different words (Romans 1:19-20). So the LORD knew we’d acquire important details through our astronomical observations and studies.

Or consider the human brain. The Bible tells us a lot about the human mind, but it doesn’t give us details about the physical brain or brain surgery. We naturally obtain knowledge of the latter through specific studies.

We have to get away from this modern-day notion that scientists are infallible gods. Just because they say something is so doesn’t necessarily mean it is. Christ said to be “wise as serpents” not gullible as idiots (Matthew 10:16). For one thing, scientists are not God. For another, scientists disagree all the time based on the data they acknowledge and the agenda behind their work. Thirdly, scientists are perfectly capable of presenting data in a skewed way to back-up their case for decidedly selfish reasons, like apprehending funding or keeping their job. This explains the saying: 97% of “scientists” agree with whoever funds them. After all, being a scientist doesn’t make one immune to being a liar. As for those scientists who say there is no God, however smart they might be, the Bible says they’re fools in no uncertain terms (Psalm 53:1; Psalm 10:4).

True science is the study of any aspect of God’s physical creation. When people worship science above God it becomes an ‘idol’ and devolves into pseudoscience. In the end, are you trusting in science (the creation) or God (the Creator) to give your life meaning and salvation?

Close

The religion of LIEberalism has several sects and the corresponding names — atheism, secular humanism, progressivism, liberalism, LGBTQ, wokeism, Marxism (Socialism/Communism), etc.; there are nuances, of course, but it all comes down to people united in “suppressing the truth,” which means they suppress reality (Romans 1:18). Why are they obsessed with suppressing the truth? Because they’re children of the lie who “follow the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). This spirit is satan, “the father of lies” (John 8:44), “who leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9); in other words, “the whole world is under the control of the evil one,” this father of lies (1 John 5:19). When you grasp this, you start to see why unbelievers are so vulnerable to believing and walking in glaring lies and gross error. It helps with compassion. And it explains why teachers & professors in Western nations are instructing our youth about hundreds of genders and why mommy has a penis rather than focusing on reading, writing, arithmetic and legitimate science & history.

So what’s the answer? The only answer to lies & error is truth, which explains why Christ said “the truth shall set you free” (John 8:31-32). This reveals the purpose of this article — to confront the suppressing lies of the religion of LIEberalism with basic truths. It’s the starting point for setting people free of this godless religion. Rather than being “mean” and “bigoted,” I’m just sharing common sense data & truths in a concerned, honest manner. It’s called tough love. Christ did the same and the world hated him for it (John 7:7; John 3:20). Thankfully the Lord followed up with “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” (John 3:21). This process of getting set free from the lies/error promoted by LIEberals starts with receiving from legitimate sources of truth and accepting the awesome message of Christ.

Anyone reading this who has been caught in the web of LIEberalism and the pseudoscience thereof, the LORD is calling you out of darkness and bondage, just as God called me & millions of others out of darkness and bondage. As Paul exhorted: “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Here’s how to reconcile…

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life… ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:16,36 (BSB)

⁹…if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10 (BSB)

You can read details about what’s really going on with this crazy world and God’s gracious plan of liberation for humanity & creation here.

Related Topics:

Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?

Is NAME-CALLING Ever Appropriate?

Is it Ever Okay to Call Someone a “Fool”?

The Fall of Man (Humanity) and Slavery to Satan

Understanding “the Right” and “the Left” from a Biblical Perspective

The Left’s Unbalanced View of Christ & Christianity

The Basics of Christianity

The Prophetic LAW OF DOUBLE REFERENCE

The Law of Double Reference is the tendency of Scripture prophecy (2 Peter 1:20) to sometimes refer to two things simultaneously — one relevant to the general time of the prophecy and the other relating to the distant past or far-off future. The first two chapters of Isaiah offer a good example: The prophet jumps from the restoration of Jerusalem to the Millennium and the New Earth and from a warning to the inhabitants of Jerusalem of impending judgment to a warning of God’s Day of Judgment of the entire world (Isaiah 2:12-22). In other words, what was about to happen in Jerusalem was just a foreshadowing of what will happen to the whole Earth. Just as Jerusalem was restored, so the Earth will be restored after God’s reckoning.

Why did the LORD hide prophecies concerning the distant future or past in ones that had a more immediate application? In other words, why is there a “Law of Double Reference” at all? Perhaps because the prophecies of Old Testament prophets had to be 100% accurate. If their words were proven to be false, they were to no longer be regarded as prophets and, in fact, were to be put to death (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). As such, their prophecies of the distant future or past required a more immediate application, not necessarily all the time, but often enough to verify that the prophet was speaking the truth. Another likely reason can be attributed to the proverbial “killing two birds with one stone.”

Now let’s consider several other examples of this “law of double reference”…

The fall of the King of Babylon paralleled with the fall of Lucifer

This double reference can be observed here:

¹⁶ Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
¹⁷ the man who made the world a wilderness,
    who overthrew its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”

Isaiah 14:12-17

The soon-to-come application of this prophecy applied to the king of Babylon, as shown in verse 4, whereas the far-flung application refers to Lucifer. As such, parts of this prophecy apply specifically to the king of Babylon while other parts obviously refer to satan; and some to both. Put simply, Isaiah prophesies the king’s doom and parallels it with the much earlier fall of Lucifer.

FYI: Assyrian king Sennacherib (suh-NAK-uh-rib) conquered Babylon and hence dubbed himself the King of Babylon.

Observe verses 16-17, which clearly refer to a “man” who “overthrew cities” and “made kingdoms tremble,” thus making “the world a wilderness.” This was true, of course, of the king of Babylon who infamously conquered surrounding nations and sacked Jerusalem in 586 BC, taking the Israelites captive (verse 17). Furthermore, verse 15 shows the end of this man — he would perish and be brought down to “the realm of the dead,” which is Sheol in the Hebrew (corresponding to Hades in the Greek), a term that refers to the “world of the dead” where the dead souls of unregenerate people are stored until their resurrection on the Day of Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). The “pit” is a synonymous word for Sheol, as shown in the second part of verse 15 (which is an example of synonymous parallelism). Why is this significant? Because Sheol (Hades) applies only to human beings and never to fallen angels. Lucifer was not a “man,” of course, and therefore this part of the prophecy does not apply to him.

Speaking of which, certain parts of this prophecy clearly apply to the devil. For instance, verse 12 shows Lucifer falling from Heaven, which could never be literally true of the king of Babylon. After all, did this infamous king literally fall from Heaven down to the Earth, like the devil? Was he nicknamed “morning star,” aka “Lucifer” (which is how the King James Version and New King James Version translate the Hebrew word for “morning star”)? Furthermore, Jesus partially cites verse 12 as a reference to the devil in Luke 10:18, which is reinforced by Revelation 12:7-10.

Why would the LORD draw a parallel between the king of Babylon and satan with Isaiah’s prophecy? The same reason Jesus rebuked Peter as “Satan” in Matthew 16:23 for being a mouthpiece for the devil’s ungodly agenda. Just as Satan was the spiritual force behind Peter’s rash words, so he was the diabolic authority behind the king’s oppressive reign.

The fall of the King of Tyre paralleled with the fall of Lucifer

Just as Isaiah 14 parallels the fall of Satan with the demise of the king of Babylon, so Ezekiel 28:9-19 parallels Lucifer’s fall with the fate of the king of Tyre, Ithobaal II. Why? Because the devil was the evil spiritual authority who pulled the strings of both of these pagan rulers. With this understanding, Ezekiel 28:12-19 is speaking of either Satan or the king of Tyre, and sometimes both, depending on the verse. Let’s look at the passage:

¹² “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
¹³ You were in Eden,
    the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
    topaz, onyx and jasper,
    lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
    on the day you were created they were prepared.
¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
    for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
    you walked among the fiery stones.
¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created
    till wickedness was found in you.
¹⁶ Through your widespread trade
    you were filled with violence,
    and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
    from among the fiery stones.
¹⁷ Your heart became proud
    on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
    I made a spectacle of you before kings.
¹⁸ By your many sins and dishonest trade
    you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
    and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
    in the sight of all who were watching.
¹⁹ All the nations who knew you
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
    and will be no more.’”

Ezekiel 28:12-19

Verses 12-17 refer to Lucifer and could only be applied to the king of Tyre in a figurative sense. After all, the person addressed is described as “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (verse 12) who dwelled in “Eden, the garden of God” and is plainly called a “guardian cherub” — an angel — in verses 14 and 16. The LORD then throws this archangel to the Earth in disgrace after he’s corrupted by pride due to its beauty and splendor.

Verses 18-19, however, more clearly apply to the earthly king of Tyre because they show his body being “reduced to ashes” in the sight of spectators as he comes to “a horrible end” and is “no more.” Since we know from numerous other passages that Lucifer was not reduced to ashes when he fell to the Earth and didn’t become “no more,” these statements obviously refer to the king and not satan. The latter’s alive and not-well on planet Earth to this day. He dwells in the underworld, the dark spiritual realm that parallels or underpins the Earth and Universe, which you can read about here.

So Isaiah and Ezekiel prophesied the doom of the kings of Babylon and Tyre and paralleled them with the much earlier fall of Lucifer. Where some readers of the Bible have gone wrong is to suggest that every element of these passages apply to satan, even when it’s clear that they don’t. This is where some come up with the idea that Lucifer was reigning on Earth over nations of peoples before his fall and the later supposed judgment on a dubious pre-Adamic race. This is a clear case of unrightly dividing the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15). (Anyone interested in reading more about this “pre-Adamic race” can do so here, just scroll down to the appropriate section).

Another interesting Double Reference

So the monumental event of satan’s fall (Luke 10:18) is chronicled in the Old Testament using the kings of Babylon and Tyre as types. The passage in Ezekiel shows that satan was once a “cherub,” an angel (28:14,16).

The New Testament offers a fascinating flashback to satan’s fall from Heaven:

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth…

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Revelation 12:3-4,7-9

This prophecy is actually a double reference and therefore has two applications: It refers to the devil’s last gasp attempt to conquer Heaven during the mid-point of the future seven-year Tribulation (Revelation 6-19), yet it’s also a flashback to his original fall. Verse 4 figuratively indicates that a third of the angels fell with the devil — the “red dragon” — to the Earth. Keep in mind that “stars” are a metaphorical reference to angels (Job 38:7).

The obvious difference between this double reference and the previous examples is that this passage refers solely to heavenly events. As such, there’s no soon-to-come application on Earth as is the case with the other examples.

By the way, the fact that the devil & his filthy spirits will again attempt to conquer Heaven shows that they’re hopelessly incorrigible. They never learn from their mistakes. It’s reminiscent of the saying: “Insanity is doing the same thing over & over again expecting different results.” If this is accurate, Satan & his minions are decidedly insane.

A more obscure example of the Law of Double Reference

While we could look at further obvious examples of the law of double reference, I’ll leave that for you to discover in your studies. Let’s close with an example of an Old Testament verse that you might not think contains a double reference, Proverbs 11:19. Here it is in both the New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version (the NIV is more of a thought-for-thought translation while the NRSV is a literal word-for-word translation:

The truly righteous man attains life,

    but he who pursues evil goes to his death.

Proverbs 11:19 (NIV)

 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,

    but whoever pursues evil will die.

Proverbs 11:19 (NRSV)

The verse is pretty unmistakable: The righteous person will attain life whereas the evil person will ultimately die, which shows that it’s prophetic in a general sense. These are the two polar opposites detailed throughout the Bible — life for the righteous, death for the unrighteous (see Romans 6:23, Matthew 7:13-14, John 3:16, Romans 8:13, Galatians 6:8 & Psalm 145:20).

Some theologians may scoff at applying this verse in the absolute sense; they would argue that the text strictly applies to the Israelites who were subject to the blessings and curses of Old Testament law (Deuteronomy 28). One of the curses of this law was premature death for unrepentant sinfulness (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Thus these religionists would contend that the text technically refers to earthly death, not eternal death, and only historically to the Israelites subject to the penalties of Old Testament Law.

If this is the case then Proverbs 11:19 has absolutely no relevance to us today. In fact, from the standpoint of our earthly life in this current era — the Church Age — the verse is a lie because many righteous people die prematurely while many evil people live to a ripe old age. The verse therefore has validity to us today only if we regard it in the absolute sense: The righteous will attain everlasting life, whereas the ungodly will perish (John 3:16), i.e. suffer “everlasting destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

This shows that Proverbs 11:19 is actually a double reference: It was applicable in an earthly sense to the Israelites subject to Old Testament Law, but it has always been applicable to all people in an absolute sense. Today, in New Testament times, we can only regard the passage in the absolute sense: Those who choose to pursue evil will ultimately die — they will be eradicated from existence via just execution (Matthew 10:28, Hebrews 10:26-27, James 4:12 & Luke 19:27) — for such is the ultimate wage of sin (Romans 6:23). Whether or not they live a long life on this earth is irrelevant.

Related Topics:

What Are the Sources of TRUTH (Reality)?

Created in the IMAGE OF GOD — What Does It Mean?

Why Is This World So Messed Up?

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation

Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation

Berean Spirit — What is it? How Do You Cultivate It?

Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized them as Scripture Canon?

Bible—Is it Full of Contradictions? Does it Promote Slavery, Tyranny and Discrimination?

Sectarianism — What is It? What’s Wrong with It?

Why Is the King of Babylon PARALLELED WITH SATAN in Isaiah 14?

–

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Matthew 11:23 (KJV)

“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.”

Matthew 11:23 (NIV)

The Fall of Man (Humanity) and Slavery to Satan

The Fall of Man (Humanity) and Slavery to Satan

HOW OLD IS THE EARTH? (The Gap Theory vs. Young Earth Creationism, Plus other Theories)

PROPHETS — New Testament and Old Testament (There’s a Difference)

Are Homosexuals BORN THAT WAY?

One major defense for homosexuality is that those who have this inclination were “born that way.” In other words, they have a genetic predisposition for the practice. The obvious problem with this line of reasoning is that it suggests that people are in bondage to fleshly desires or whims and must live according to them because, after all, they were “born that way.”

For instance, since I like ice cream and my flesh desires to eat a gallon of ice cream every day, does that mean I have to live that way and suffer the inevitable consequences — obesity and bad health? I’m a 58 year-old married man, if I spot an alluring young woman and I discern my flesh yearning for her, should I act on that whim on the grounds that I was “born that way”? Or take men who have a fleshly penchant for adolescent or preadolescent girls. Does that justify that they should live as ephebophiles or pedophiles? Obviously not. It’s the same thing with a fleshly predisposition for homosexuality.

When I say “fleshly” I’m talking about the sinful nature, which is the evil side of every human being ever born; this carnal nature constantly flashes negative thoughts/desires to one’s mind (Galatians 5:17; Romans 7:18). Freud called it the “id” (not that I’m a follower of Freud). Each person has the choice to either 1. feed these impulses with their thought life, which naturally increases the desire and ultimately compels him/her to sinful action or 2. reject the impulses by not feeding them and not acting on them (Romans 8:5). This explains what the LORD says:

“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”

Isaiah 55:7

The problem with modern society is that our celebrities and learning institutions in Western (or Western-influenced) areas have for the most part thrown out the concept of evil or unhealthy desires. Instead they essentially teach that any desire you have is good and should be embraced & acted upon because you were “born that way,” no matter how dubious, unhealthy or perverse. It’s all about doing what “feels good” at the moment, which is the hedonists‘ manifesto. Anyone who doesn’t do this is “repressed” (rolling my eyes).

It’s important that we differentiate between the desires of the sinful nature, which every human being experiences on a regular basis, and the actual embracing & practice of those desires, whether in imagination or deed. To experience a fleshly thought is not a sin because that’s what the sinful nature constantly produces — destructive whims, ideas and desires. Rather it’s the practice of those fleshly inclinations (in thought or action) that is sin. You can learn more about this inner war within every human soul and the biblical model of human nature here.

Liberals today want to reinterpret morality and therefore claim that homosexuality is not sinful. They argue that it’s something to be proudly embraced and lived as a lifestyle. Even more, they encourage the person to identify with the fleshly desire, à la ‘Gay American’ and so on. However the Bible plainly says it’s a sin, both Old Testament and New Testament (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Leviticus 18:22). ‘Sin‘ literally means to miss the mark. In other words it’s moral error and the practice of sin (in thought or deed) will lead to destruction in some way, including eternal destruction.

Yet you don’t have to be a Christian or know any verse in the Bible to grasp that homosexuality is wrong. It’s a matter of being honest about the obvious facts of reality. It’s common sense and you don’t need the Bible to tell you one way or another. I don’t mean to be crude, but honestly consider the male and female sex organs. They’re simple to figure out: Tab ‘A’ fits into Slot ‘B.’ Tab ‘A’ doesn’t fit with Tab ‘B’ nor does Slot ‘B’ fit with Slot ‘A.’ It’s common sense. Those who rebel against this glaring natural axiom are rebelling against their Creator and nature itself. They’re embracing a lie.

Thankfully, as the Lord proclaimed, the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32) and thus freedom from any fleshly issue is available for anyone who wants it, even if it’s a life-dominating sin bondage, like homosexuality, drug addiction or porn bondage. You can find details here.

Now let’s get back to the core question as to whether being born with a fleshly inclination for homosexuality justifies the practice of this behavior…

I had a friend from my youth who constantly struggled with alcohol all his life until he passed away earlier this year at the premature age of 53. He obviously had a fleshly predisposition for alcohol consumption. I overindulged in drinking alcohol in my mid-teens simply because, as a reserved youngster, I enjoyed being inebriated and letting loose socially. In short, I enjoyed drinking because I enjoyed the effects of alcohol. Yet I quit the so-called party lifestyle well before I was 20 years-old and have never struggled with the temptation of drunkard-ness since. My friend was born with a fleshly inclination for alcohol while I wasn’t. Yet we both indulged in overdrinking with the difference that I quit before I entered my 20s. What’s my point? We both engaged in this sinful behavior yet only one of us was born with the fleshly predisposition for it. You can relate this to any sinful activity.

Take homosexuality, there are homosexuals who have always been inclined toward that behavior because they were born with a flesh proclivity for this particular sin, but other homosexuals plainly admit that they chose the lifestyle for one reason or another, such as easy sexual gratification, a (misguided) sense of intimacy with others of their gender and freedom from the awkwardness & hassles of romancing the opposite sex; the behavior naturally developed into an addiction, meaning a flesh bondage.

Consider Billy Hayes, who was imprisoned in Turkey from 1970-1975 when he was 23-28 years-old. In his autobiographical account, Midnight Express, he admitting to having a homosexual affair in prison for sexual gratification and a sense of intimacy. After escaping, he was at an airport in Greece preparing to fly home to America wherein he purchased a nudie mag at the book store because, he reasoned, he hadn’t seen a woman for so many years. The point is that he engaged in homosexuality for a period of time in prison, but he wasn’t “born that way” and obviously preferred women as far as sexual attraction goes. When it comes down to it, homosexuality is a sexual behavior and not something necessary for survival, like air, food and water.

Want more proof that not all people who practice homosexuality were born with a flesh inclination for it? If they were all “born that way” then the percentage of homosexuals would remain constant in any given society. But that’s not the case. For instance, homosexuality was rampant in Sodom & Gomorrah (Genesis 19:3-5) and the town of Gibeah in Benjamin (Judges 19:22), the latter of which led to a war between the Benjaminites and the other Hebrew tribes based on — essentially — homosexual rights, which tragically ended with the tribe of Benjamin almost being wiped out (Judges 19-21). Truly, “the wages of sin is death.”

From a biblical standpoint, the rise of homosexuality indicates that a society is in its final stages of decay, which eventually incurs the Creator’s judgment because it’s an intrinsic abomination that defiles the landscape, resulting in the land “vomiting out its inhabitants,” one way or another (Romans 1:18-32; Leviticus 18:22 & 18:28). This has been borne out in societies throughout history, like the Greek and Roman empires.

Basically, as a society decays morally, homosexuality becomes the ‘sin du jour’ and spreads socially because it’s the ‘hip’ thing to do. This is what happened in Sodom & Gomorrah and Gibeah in the Bible. We see it happening today in America with homosexual bastions, such as parts of San Francisco, Provincetown, New York City, Palm Springs, Key West and many others. It was the same with Sodom & Gomorrah 3900 years ago and Gibeah 3000 years ago. Truly, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). This, incidentally, destroys the arrogant argument that homosexuality is something “new” and “progressive.” No, it’s a perverse, unnatural act that is as old as sin.

So not all people who practice homosexuality were born with a fleshly inclination for this behavior. Many were attracted to the perverse lifestyle for reasons already noted. Others were lured into it by a practicing homosexual. Why else do you think homosexuals typically make references to “converting” people? If all homosexuals were “born that way” then no one would have to be converted.

Being the ‘sin du jour’ today, people are being brainwashed into the lifestyle. For instance, a girl I knew was encouraged by her uber-liberal mother to watch the Ellen DeGeneres show since she was a little girl. They watched it religiously on a daily basis wherein the girl was constantly exposed to DeGeneres’ “gay” propaganda. Is it any wonder that, upon reaching adulthood, she ‘came out’ as a lesbian and ‘married’ her lover?

I’m sharing this with compassion about the moral fall of America & modern Western nations in general with the hope of waking people up from the brainwashing of militant homosexuals & their enablers to see freedom through the gospel. God is calling all to repentance & faith (Acts 20:21); this includes people who have a flesh penchant for homosexuality or any other sinful practice.

Being born with a carnal inclination for a certain sin is no defense to justify its practice. If it were then thieves, pathological liars, drunkards, pedophiles and adulterers could claim innocence on the grounds that they were “born that way.” While I hate sin and the fleshly bondage it brings, I don’t hate people. Rather, I want to see them set free and do everything in my power to accomplish this, despite the knee-jerk persecution from Liberals. Speaking of which, some unbelievers will automatically accuse…

‘You’re a Bigot and a Homophobe!’

For those who rashly jump to such a conclusion, please consider this: The Bible plainly teaches that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This includes those who practice homosexuality. Like all people, the LORD has lovingly provided a way for them to escape their sin and the wages thereof — death — to reconcile via spiritual rebirth and obtain eternal life.

Is homosexuality wrong in God’s eyes? Yes, but so is fornication, adultery, drunkard-ness, pomposity, hatred, strife, gossip, slander, religious hypocrisy and numerous other sins (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21). The wages of all sin is death and God wants us to escape it through the gospel, which literally means “good news” because it holds the power to set us free and reconcile us to our Creator (Romans 6:23). You see, there’s no discrimination — the LORD wants all people across the board to be set free from slavery to fleshly bondages. Christianity’s all about freedom: “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free” (Galatians 5:1).

Modern culture has embraced two lies:

1. If you disapprove of someone’s lifestyle it automatically means that you fear or hate them;
2. to truly love someone you must agree with everything they believe and do.

This is absurd. I don’t approve of practicing alcoholics, addicts and fornicators, but this doesn’t mean I fear or hate them. I actively walk in love toward arrogant people, liars, adulterers and slanderers, but that doesn’t mean I agree with their destructive behaviors. And by “walk in love” I don’t just mean the gentle variety because sometimes “tough love” is in order, which includes sharing the awful truth about the wages of sin — eternal death.

Related Topics:

Homosexuality Is a Sin, BUT There’s Freedom Through Christ

How to Walk FREE OF THE FLESH by being Spirit-Controlled

The Basics of Christianity

What Is CONSCIENCE?

Understanding “the Right” and “the Left” from a Biblical Perspective

The Left’s Unbalanced View of Christ & Christianity

Understanding the Religion of LIEberalism

What Is the YEAR OF JUBILEE?

Leviticus 25:10 shows that the Year of Jubilee refers to the 50th year after 7 cycles of 7 years in which the land of Israel and its people gained freedom and celebrated. It was to be a year of:

1. Rest for the Hebrews and the soil (25:11). Since the 49th year was already a sabbatical year (25:1-7), this meant the land would have two years of rest.
2. All land in Israel was to revert back to the original owner because the original distribution of property was to remain intact (25:10-34 & 27:16-24).
3. Every Hebrew who sold himself as a servant due to poverty was to be freed, along with his family (25:39-46). This law had a leveling effect on Israel’s culture by ensuring everyone was guaranteed a chance for a fresh start in their lifetime.

One thing this reveals is that the LORD takes healthy rest very seriously and doesn’t want his children burning out on sowing & reaping in pursuit of mammon. Speaking of which…

Is the Year of Jubilee Applicable to Believers Today?

Can this be applied to believers during the Church Age? Obviously most of us won’t be able to take a sabbatical year off of work, but we can certainly take some time off to rest & refresh in the Lord, whether a couple hours, a day, a weekend or a vacation. We can also forgive those who are morally indebted to us.

During such periods of Jubilee we can sit at the Lord’s feet to rest & refresh, like Mary wisely did while her sister scurried around in a flurry of activity in the name of duty or “working for the Lord” (Luke 10:38-42). Christ plainly pointed out that Mary chose the better option. You can read details here.

We can also look forward to our eternal Jubilee with the LORD in the New Heavens and New Earth, the eternal home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13).

The spiritual/mental/physical healthiness of taking a ‘Jubilee’ from regular work now & then leads to a final key point to consider…

“Do Not Wear Yourself Out to Get Rich”

When I was in my early 20s I was working for a small company wherein the supervisor suddenly quit and I was offered his job. I was excited because the position offered an impressive salary. I took the job but suddenly found myself running around like a headless chicken and no longer had the time to spend with studying the Scriptures or prayer/meditation, things that were dear to my heart. After a few weeks I went to the remote corner of a dark stockroom and literally wept. I had inadvertently made money my god and was pursuing it at the expense of more important things.

This brings to mind this wise Scripture:

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

Proverbs 23:4 (BSB)

This corresponds to what Christ said about how the deceitfulness of wealth — which includes the obsessive pursuit of it — can “choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). This is what happened to me on this occasion.

Needless to say, we have to be careful not to fall into the mindset of the world where everything revolves around how much you make and the respect/privileges thereof. The world says that if you make under a certain figure you’re in “poverty” and if you make over a certain figure you’re “prosperous,” but this is irrelevant to true prosperity. The Scriptures say that Joseph was prosperous as a slave in Potiphar’s house and when he was in prison (Genesis 39:2-6 & 39:20-23).

Related Topics:

HOLIDAYS—Which Ones Should Christians Observe or Not Observe?

Sabbath — What is it? Should Believers Observe It?

Provision, Money and “Prosperity”

The SEVEN FREEDOMS — Take Hold of ‘Em!

The Basics of Christianity

The Issue of CIRCUMCISION

Are male believers in Christ obligated to be physically circumcised? What do the rightly-divided Scriptures say?

Let’s start with how the apostle Paul knew how to recognize legalists because he used to be one. Notice how he refers to legalists in this passage:

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

Philippians 3:2-3 (NRSV)

Paul was warning the Philippian believers of legalists who taught that non-Jews had to be physically circumcised in order to be truly saved. They were obsessed with it. Notice that Paul doesn’t mince words here. He blatantly calls these legalists “dogs” and “evil workers”!

Calling someone a “dog” was even more offensive in biblical times than it is today. The term referred to people of low moral character. For instance, “dogs” is used in the Bible in reference to homosexual prostitutes (Deuteronomy 23:18), wicked betrayers (Psalm 59:5-6), corrupt leaders (Isaiah 56:10), heathen people (Matthew 15:26-27) and, in this passage, staunch legalists.

How would you like to be called an “evil worker”? That’s pretty harsh, don’t you agree? This is recorded in God’s Word to show us that legalism is utter wickedness in the LORD’s eyes. It cannot be tolerated; it must be confronted, exposed and reproved. And believers need to be warned for their protection.

Roughly a decade earlier, the Judaizers corrupted the churches in Galatia with a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6), a gospel mixed with Jewish law. Paul said the Galatian believers were “bewitched” for tolerating this heresy and allowing it to corrupt their assemblies (Galatians 3:1). Notice what he blatantly says about these legalists:

If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Galatians 1:9

Paul says that anyone who preached this different gospel should “be eternally condemned!” You know what this means in plain English? “Let ’em go to hell!” Yes, as unbelievable as it may seem, Paul, the greatest figure of Christianity after Jesus Christ, forcefully declared that those who unrepentantly preached a different gospel — a “gospel” which soiled the body of Christ with legalism — should be forever damned!

Needless to say, legalism is a grievous sin in God’s eyes and cannot be tolerated, whether in myself, yourself or others. It must be recognized, corrected and purged ASAP.

This “different gospel” included the practice of circumcision, the cutting off of the male foreskin, which was commanded in the Torah:

On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.

Leviticus 12:3

But physical circumcision is not necessary in the new covenant because believers are circumcised inwardly through spiritual regeneration (Romans 2:29 & Titus 3:5). As such, this is what Paul told the Galatian believers about circumcision:

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 5:2-6

Paul blatantly warns the Galatians that, if they allowed themselves to be circumcised, Christ would be of no use to them at all! He equates any attempt to be justified by the Law — including the practice of circumcision — to being “alienated from Christ” and “fallen away from grace.” Lastly, he points out in verse 6 that whether someone’s physically circumcised or not holds no value for those “in Christ Jesus,” meaning believers.

Numerous other New Testament passages teach against the practice of circumcision in relation to the Mosaic Law, including: Acts 15, 1 Corinthians 7:17-20, Galatians 2:1-3, Galatians 6:12-16, Philippians 3:2-3, Colossians 2:11, 3:11 and Titus 1:10.

This is a crushing blow to the arguments of legalists who try to add one element of the Law or another to faith in Christ. How so? Because circumcision was clearly part of the Torah — the Old Testament Law — and the New Testament plainly says that it is not applicable to New Testament believers, just like Sabbath-keeping, observing the feast days and dietary laws. These things were but a shadow of what was to come, the reality is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

I should add that Paul had his missionary helper circumcised, but this was so that Timothy wouldn’t hinder the spread of the gospel as they reached out to unsaved Jews (Acts 16:1-3). This was in line with Paul’s missionary strategy, which he put like this: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law” (1 Corinthians 9:19-20).

Circumcision Was the Sign of the Abrahamic Covenant

We first hear of circumcision in the Bible as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham through faith. This contract promised that the LORD would make Abraham “the father of many nations” — meaning he would have countless descendants worldwide — and that the land of Canaan would be theirs forever (Genesis 17:3-8). More importantly, God promised that all peoples on earth would be blessed through one of Abraham’s descendants, which referred to the Messiah (Genesis 12:1-3,7 & Galatians 3:16). The outward sign of this agreement was circumcision for Abraham and all his descendants (Genesis 17:9–14 & Acts 7:8). It might help to grasp the concept of an outward sign of a covenant by considering our marriage contract and the corresponding wedding rings.

Four hundred years later, Abraham’s descendants were groaning as slaves in Egypt and cried out to God. Thus the LORD “remembered his covenant with Abraham” (Exodus 2:24) and — being faithful to this agreement — delivered the Hebrews from Egypt and began to lead them to the land he promised their forefather.

During their journey to the Promised Land the Israelites entered into an additional covenant with God, which was the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19-20 & 24:7-8). Like the Abrahamic Covenant, this covenant required an outward sign, which was Sabbath-keeping (Exodus 31:12).

The Sabbath day Law was one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). The Ten Commandments were inscribed on two stone tablets and they embodied the entire Mosaic Covenant, which is why they’re referred to as “the words of the covenant” and “the tablets of the covenant” (Exodus 34:28 & Deuteronomy 9:9). In other words, the Ten Commandments represented the whole of the Law (Torah) of which there were over 600 laws.

When this covenant was made at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites were under two covenants: The Abrahamic Covenant with its sign of circumcision and the Mosaic Covenant with its sign of Sabbath observance.

Three things need stressed: 1. The promise of a redeemer of the world came though the Abrahamic Covenant and this was much more important than the Mosaic Covenant; 2. the Mosaic Law was “added because of transgression until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” (Galatians 3:19), which indicates that 3. the Covenant of the Law would expire when the Abrahamic Covenant was fulfilled in Christ. This means that the Mosaic Covenant was a temporary contract.

We clearly observe these points here:

¹⁶ The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. ¹⁷ What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.

Galatians 3:16-19

Verse 16 shows that the future “seed” promised to Abraham ultimately referred to Christ, our Redeemer. And verse 17 points out that the Mosaic Covenant given 430 years later did not cancel out the Abrahamic Covenant.

Verse 19 then reveals 1. WHY the Law was added and 2. that it would only be relevant “until” that Seed had come, meaning Christ. In other words, the Mosaic Covenant of the Law had an expiration date! And that expiration date was the coming of Christ.

Paul goes on to elaborate:

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Galatians 3:23-25

The Law is defined as a “guardian until Christ came.” Ever since Christ came we are “no longer under that guardian.” Could God’s Word be any clearer? To suggest that New Covenant believers are still under the Mosaic Law shouldn’t even be a consideration.

Our conclusion on circumcision is that this practice was an outward sign of the Abrahamic Covenant and a law of the Mosaic Covenant. The former promised Christ while the latter pointed to Christ. Ever since Jesus came and completed his mission as Redeemer of the world the practice of circumcision has become irrelevant. New Covenant believers — male and female — receive an inward circumcision through spiritual regeneration (Romans 2:29 & Titus 3:5).

This article was edited from chapter 6 of…

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Related Topics:

Law (Torah) — New Testament Believers are NOT Under the Law

LAW OF CHRIST—What Is It?

Are Gentile Believers SPIRITUAL JEWS?

Legalism — Understanding Its Many Forms

LEGALISTS Are Obsessed With the LETTER of the LAW

Sabbath — What is it? Should Believers Observe It?

HOLIDAYS—Which Ones Should Christians Observe or Not Observe?

Why You should Always FORGIVE WHEN the Offender Is Repentant

There’s this religious myth that Christians must automatically forgive everyone for everything all of the time, but this simply isn’t true. To forgive means to cancel the debt or dismiss the offense. While we are certainly obligated to forgive the repentant — those who humbly ‘fess up or apologize in some obvious manner, even if it’s by their actions as opposed to hollow words — we are not required to forgive the stubborn impenitent. Observe for yourself what Christ plainly taught on the topic:

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

Luke 17:3-4

When the offender repents, we are obliged to forgive him/her. This is the basic principle that the LORD uses in dealing with our transgressions, as observed here:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:8-9

As you can see, God is mercifully forgiving, but the key to receiving that forgiveness is a spirit of repentance, which humbly acknowledges missing it with the obvious intention to change for the positive. This is clear in other passages, like Revelation 2:21-22, Proverbs 28:13 and Psalm 32:5.

This is how the LORD deals with us and it is how he expects us to treat with those who sin against us, which explains the instruction “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1 ESV). Since we are God’s children, born of God’s seed (John 1:12-13 & 1 John 3:9), we are called to imitate our Heavenly Father when it comes to forgiveness. The LORD does not automatically forgive everyone for everything all of the time, but only the humble repentant. That’s why believers are held accountable for unconfessed sin at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10-11) and unbelievers are held accountable at the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). This is rooted in the biblical axiom that God opposes — resists — the proud, but gives grace or favor to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5 & Proverbs 3:34).

Notice Christ’s specific instructions for us concerning handling an offending believer:

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

Matthew 18:15-17

The Lord outlines a process of engagement and correction. Instead of gossiping to others about the offense in question, we are to go to the offender personally and address the transgression as humbly as possible (because this naturally produces better results than screaming). One of the reasons it’s good to personally meet with the person and discuss the offense in question is that it may have been a misunderstanding or we might even discover that we are the ones guilty of a sinning and need to eat humble pie. We’re only to take the matter to other genuine believers if (1) the offense is legitimate and (2) the individual is stubbornly unrepentant. If the offender remains impenitent we’re to hold the transgression against him/her and treat them as if they were an unbeliever. Christ himself said to do this. For scriptural details see this article.

I should point out that these are general instructions on how to respond to an offense by a fellow believer, but they’re not applicable in every situation. In some cases we’re simply instructed to avoid the person rather than confront him/her. You can read details here. Be led of the Spirit.

Our topic here concerns occasions where a believer is offended and the transgressor humbly apologizes in some manner (even if it’s by actions rather than words), but the offended believer refuses to forgive and holds a grudge. This is when unforgiveness is a sin because the believer is not imitating our merciful Creator, who always forgives the humbly penitent (1 John 1:8-9; Revelation 2:21-22; Proverbs 28:13; Psalm 32:5).

Christ gave a parable to reveal what the LORD will do when a believer stubbornly refuses to forgive a repentant offender:

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Matthew 18:23-35

When the servant falls on his knees before his master and begs in verse 26, this is figurative of humble penitence and thus the master cancels the debt and lets him go (verse 27). The servant represents the believer while the master is the LORD. The obvious message is that God mercifully forgives the repentant (1 John 1:8-9).

However, the LORD is understandably angered when this same forgiven servant refuses to forgive another servant that’s indebted to him who “falls on his knees and begs,” which signifies that he’s humbly repentant (verse 29). The master thus hands him over to the jailers to be tortured until he pays back what he owes. In other words, the servant’s former debt is reinstated and he has to pay it back. This isn’t a reference to damnation (although I reckon it could be in extreme cases), but rather that God will allow the devil & his filthy minions to assault the servant in some manner until he repents, which means to change one’s mind with the corresponding actions (Revelation 2:21-22).

The lesson? When someone who has sinned against you humbly ‘fesses up, be sure to forgive him or her. Even if it’s 7 times in one day. After all, isn’t this how the LORD treats you & me when we miss it and ‘fess up? We likewise should extend this same generous mercy to others.

This article was edited from …

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Related Topics:

How to CONFRONT & CORRECT (and How NOT to)

What if You KNOW a Confrontation Will Turn UGLY?

Forgiveness—Should You Forgive EVERYONE for EVERYTHING ALL of the Time?

Insights on OFFENSE & FORGIVENESS from Joseph’s Story

The Six Basic Doctrines of Christianity

GRACE — What Is God’s Grace? How Do You Receive It? How Do You Grow In It?

The Basics of Christianity

Is the SIGN OF THE HORNS Inherently Evil?

With hand signals you have to be careful to discern what the technical signal is and what the individual in question means by it in his or her heart. For instance, someone sent me a photo of Billie Eilish flashing a signal, which the sender assumed was the “sign of the horns,” and it turned out to simply be the American Sign Language for “I love you” (ILY), which you can read about here. The ILY signal is distinguished from the “sign of the horns” by the thumb being out.

Gene Simmons from KISS would use this gesture a lot, the ILY sign, going way back to the 70s. He even tried to have it trademarked in 2017, but failed (for obvious reasons), which you can read about here. It’s likely Simmons genuinely meant “I love you” since his band would always tell their fans in concert “We love you!”

Related Topics:

Judging—When SHOULD You Judge and When SHOULDN’T You Judge?

Legalism — Understanding Its Many Forms

The Basics of Christianity

Can a Certain Style of ART Be Evil?

FORMS OF ART IN THE BIBLE, Including Music, Visual and Performance Art

What Will the Believer’s GLORIFIED BODY Be Like?

Since spiritually-regenerated believers are “co-heirs in Christ” (Romans 8:17) — that is, joint participants — we are going to receive the same kind of resurrection body he did. This is why John said, “we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). And Paul stressed that our current lowly bodies will be transformed “so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). This is one of the many reasons the gospel of Christ is such good news!

With this understanding, how exactly does the Bible describe this resurrection body? See for yourself:

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44

As you can see, the resurrection body that believers will have for eternity is described as imperishable, glorified, powerful and spiritual in nature. Let’s briefly consider what each of these mean:

• Imperishable indicates that our resurrection bodies will not be able to perish. In short, we’ll be immortal, which is one of the benefits of the message of Christ (2 Timothy 1:10). You can read more here.
• Glorified: The Greek word for “glory” here is doxa, which means “honor, renown; glory, an especially divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, splendor.” In short, there will be nothing dishonorable about our resurrection bodies; they will reflect God’s splendor in every way. After all, are we not children of God, born of Christ’s seed? (See John 1:12-13 & 1 John 3:9).
• Powerful: This word in the Greek is dunamis (DOO-nah-miss), which is where we get the English dynamite. It means power, might, strength, force, energy. With our new resurrected bodies we can say goodbye to the maladies that commonly mar our current bodies, like fatigue, disease and injury. We’ll be invulnerable like Superman.
• Spiritual: This word in the Greek is pneumatikos (nyoo-mat-ik-OSS), which comes from the term for spirit (pneuma). Since spirit is polar opposite to the flesh or sinful nature (Galatians 5:17 & 5:21-23), this indicates that our resurrection bodies will not have a sinful nature and thus the proclivity to sin will be absent. You see, the flesh — that is, the sinful nature — cannot inhabit the redeemed universe-to-come (2 Peter 3:13) and so it must be purged from the resurrection body of the redeemed.

The idea that our resurrection bodies will be spiritual, as well as physical, suggests that we’ll also be able to “fly” in our resurrection bodies by floating in the air or ‘riding the wind.’ Also, Christ was able to walk on water by faith while in his mortal body (Matthew 14:22-33), how much more will we be able to do such things with glorified bodies?

Lastly, the resurrected Messiah was able to appear seemingly from nowhere and disappear just as easily (Luke 24:31 & 24:36-37). How was he able to do this? Since his glorified body had a spiritual component, he likely entered into the spiritual dimension, which then gave him access to anywhere in the physical realm.

Speaking of which, although we cannot fully grasp now how wondrous life will be in these new resurrection bodies in the eternal age-to-come, we can get an idea simply by observing what the Bible says about Christ after his resurrection since we’re going to receive the same type of glorified body he did. In light of this, we’ll be able to walk through solid objects (John 20:26), instantly appear out of nowhere and disappear (Luke 24:31,36-37); in short, we’ll be able to teleport at will. With this understanding, we’ll no doubt be able to take “quantum leaps” to anywhere on the New Earth, Moon, Mars or Universe — distances and space will no longer limit us. For details on the nature of eternal life see this article.

Related Topics:

Will People Marry and Have Sex in Eternity?

Eternal Life (“Heaven”) — What Will It Be Like?

Is CHRIST’S BODY After Resurrection PHYSICAL or SPIRITUAL (or Both)?

How Big Will the NEW JERUSALEM Be on the New Earth?

RESURRECTIONS: Firstfruits, Harvest & Gleanings

IMMORTALITY — Only Available Through the Gospel

The Believer’s INTERMEDIATE STATE (Between Physical Death and Bodily Resurrection)