A Tale Of Two Sighs

There are many kinds of sighs, a contented sigh say at the end of a productive day, an anguished sigh of frustration when your computer crashes again. and many more shades of sighing. You can read about some of the science of sighing at Scientific American blog [1]. But I know what you're thinking, "what's that got to do with Noah's flood?" Noah's father Lamech said this when he named baby Noah.

Gen 5;29 And he called his name Noah, saying: 'This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh from the ground which the LORD hath cursed.' 

Birth of Noah [http://misteroriginal.com/4120bc0814/]

"Shall comfort" is translated from y'nachámënû יְנַחֲמֵנוּ. See the nacham? That's the root of the word, and it originally meant "to sigh". It also means comfort.

Strong's #5162: nacham (pronounced naw-kham') a primitive root; properly, to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself):--comfort (self), ease (one's self), repent(-er,-ing, self).

A little speculation here. We know that Noah didn't give them comfort - after all, they all died in the flood, and Lamech himself died five years before the flood. Lamech's statement was prophetic, but perhaps it was more of a question than a statement. I can picture Lamech (and all mankind) scrabbling out an existence due to the curse of thorns and thistles (Gen 3:17), heaving a sigh saying "May this one bring us comfort". Was it hope or frustration?

Labor

Lamech wanted relief from "our work and in the toil of our hands". I know what you're thinking, "What's this got to do with Adam and Eve?" There is the obvious connection that the curse of thorns and thistles was Adam's punishment. But there is a linguistic connection as well, the Hebrew for toil (some translations say labor) is itzavon עִצָּבוֹן, the same word used in Gen 3:17. 

Gen 3:17 cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life
Gen 3:18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee

Some translations say toil, some say labor or even painful labor, some say sorrow.  So it would appear that the curse on the ground was still in force in Lamech's day, but was lifted after the flood. While gardens and fields today produce some weeds and some thorns and thistles, it is not the hard labor described by Lamech. But today's harvest does not compare to the prophecies, for example Amos 9:13. While Adam's curse may have been partially lifted by Noah so to speak, the ultimate fulfillment of that is still to come, and will be lifted by Christ at His return.

But that's not all. Eve's punishment involved pain too.

Gen 3:16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children." 

In fact, it's the same word for pain as in Adam's curse - itzabon. It's the same in English too, women suffer labor pains in childbirth, and men labor making a living from the earth. Since woman still suffer greatly in childbirth, it appears Eve's curse has not been lifted yet, not even a little. If Lamech's wife had made the prayer, perhaps it would have been...

Rest

Noah's name also means rest. The New American Standard Bible translates it this way.

Gen 5:29 Now he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will give us rest from our work"

It seems even easier to imagine Lamech sighing and saying "Perhaps this one will give us rest".  Rest fits nicely with the Sabbath day of rest, six days of labor, a day of rest, 6000 years of strife, 1000 years of peace, all foreshadowed by Noah. It also fits nicely with Christ's words.

Mt 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

and

Heb 4:9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

Sigh Two

Now let's see the other sigh of the story. When God saw that all mankind was wicked, it records this.

Gen 6:6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
Gen 6:7 The LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."
Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Model of Noah'sArk [2]

The phrase "was sorry" is translated from YiNächem, the same word nacham used earlier when Lamech sighed and named Noah. I picture God sighing in frustration and saying he was sorry he made man. How sorry was He? "Grieved Him to His heart" translated from Yit'aTZëv el-liBô יִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל־לִבּוֹ.  Atsav, the root word of Yit'aTZëv, means to carve. Taking some license in translation, it carved His heart out. (By the way, Gen 6:8 is the first time grace is used in the Bible.)

God Suffers With Us

We can think of God as unfeeling, as the Prime Mover, not subject to pain like humans. "Classic theism teaches that God is impassible—not subject to suffering, pain, or the ebb and flow of involuntary passions." God Without Mood Swings  [3]. This notion came from the Greeks, not the Bible, The God Who Suffers, Christianity Today  [4]. The articles quoted here show that God suffers with us, arguably suffers more than us. 

As John Austin Baker says, "The crucified Jesus is the only accurate picture of God the world has ever seen." The sight of Jesus on the cross disclosed God as one who suffers with humanity. [4]

 the God who suffered for us also suffers with us The God Who Suffers With Us [5]

This isn't some literary device so we humans can comprehend that God is "feeling our pain", this was real pain that carved His heart out. It is not just the pain a parent feels when their child is ill or hurts themselves, worse than the pain I caused my mother in my misspent youth. He suffers right along with us. I have felt abandoned by God even though I knew the scripture that He will never forsake us (Heb 13:5), but that is nothing compared to how Christ must have felt on the cross.

And Hope

These two sighs seem to be born of frustration, but they also reveal insights into the gospel of God, one foreseeing mankind's salvation through Noah, and one speaking of mankind's destruction. 

Lamech: Perhaps he will give us rest.

God: I'm sorry I made man.

Notice that the salvation was arranged before the destruction. The fix was in. The same is true of Christ's second coming, rescue planned long before the end time destruction on the earth.

References

1. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/ignobel-prize-winner-a-kiss-is-just-a-kiss-but-is-a-sigh-ever-just-a-sigh/
2. https://leesbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/noahs-ark-c2a9c2a9flickr-elmada.jpg
3. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/articles/impassib.htm
4. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1997/february3/7t2038.html
5. http://www.myronjtaylor.com/pdf/withus.pdf

Mmmm... Fat

Americans have a love/hate relationship with fat. We have low fat diets and high fat diets. At the same time, we have an obesity epidemic (WebMD) [1]. Now "they" talk about good fats and bad fats (Mythbuster) [2]. Dietary fat is not the sole cause of obesity, but it plays a significant role (WebMD) [3]. I don't know nearly enough to offer dietary advice, I want to explore fats from a Biblical angle.

Is Fat OK?

I had always thought that the Bible forbade eating fat, so I trimmed my steaks, but I also believed "marbled fat is OK". Was this only kidding myself? What about sausages or hamburger? Even if the package says 90% lean, the other 10% is still fat (assuming that's bad of course). The problem is that fat is tasty, lots of flavors like spices are soluble in fat, making it even tastier.

The first thing to clear up is that I am talking about meat and fat from "clean" animals, that is cows, sheep, goats, deer, but not pigs, bear, or dogs. You can read What Does the Bible Teach About Clean and Unclean Meats [4] for a more thorough explanation.

Here is why I thought the Bible forbade eating fat, Lev 3:17 "It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that ye shall eat neither fat nor blood."  But then in Neh 8:10 it seemingly says the opposite "Then he said unto them: 'Go your way, eat the fat'". Which is it? Eat it or don't eat it? Chew the fat or eschew the fat...

Fat is often used in a positive way in the Bible. See Is 25:6 And in this mountain will the LORD of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things. Some argue that fat here and in Neh 8 is not literal fat, but fatness, or rich food. That just means it is the best part. The prodigal son's father brought out the fatted calf, the best.

A Closer Look

Beef suet

I was surprised to learn that fat is translated from two different words in these two verses. Lev 3:17 uses the Hebrew word chelev, while Neh 8:10 uses shamen. Shamen is often translated oil. Chelev is explained earlier in Lev 3, verse 9 "And he shall present of the sacrifice of peace-offerings an offering made by fire unto the LORD: the fat thereof, the fat tail entire, which he shall take away hard by the rump-bone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards". This is more or less what we call suet in English. Again, it is the best part.

Lev 7:23-25 clarifies Lev 3:17 in that not all suet is forbidden, only that from animals that can be used in a temple sacrifice, specifically cows, sheep, and goats. "Only the chelev of animals that are of the sort from which offerings can be brought in the Tabernacle or Temple are prohibited"  Wikipedia Chelev [5] "For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the LORD shall be cut off from his people" Lev 7:23-25. Some interpret this verse to pertain only to animals actually used in offerings, not ordinary food.  I lean toward the view in the Wiki quote. So you can keep your jar of schmaltz (chicken fat). But all manner of blood is still forbidden (Lev 7:26).

Even from a clean animal, there are parts that are not food, like teeth, hide, fur, or feathers. The Bible adds chelev to this list. One of the things we learn from clean versus unclean is that this knowledge had to be revealed. We would not figure it out on our own. In recent times, humans have found health reasons for many of the Biblical dietary laws, including clean and unclean meats.

Bottom Feeding Carp

But Israel could not have figured it out 3500 years ago - it was revealed to them way ahead of modern science. And yet, bottom feeding carp is clean, go figure, so there are still mysteries to explain. [The Bible does not say it is because of health reasons however, it says to distinguish between clean and unclean, to be separate and holy.]* Following Biblical dietary laws is one way that believers separate themselves. Most everyone is aware of the Jewish people because of their observance of Kosher food. As someone who is not Jewish but avoids pork and shellfish, the most common unclean meats in America, I get noticed for it. But with so many vegans and vegetarians today, most people accept dietary restrictions. Sometimes it leads to a discussion of why. Read a discussion of it in the UCG article Clean and Unclean Meats [4].

For decades, I have avoided unclean meats, but never considered the other laws about meat. There is very thorough teaching demonstrating that the laws concerning clean and unclean meats are still applicable today, but no discussion of chelev versus shamen. There are other prohibitions in the Bible about meats to consider as well, like "the proper removal of blood, and the animal's manner of death" Let's Chew the Fat [6]. So let's talk about Kosher.

Biblically Kosher vs Rabbinic Kosher

Common Kosher Symbols

What is the difference between  Biblically kosher and Rabbinic Kosher? Certainly, the rabbinic notion of kosher is based on the Bible but takes into account more than just whether the animal is clean or not. "The Rabbinical tradition is far more intricate than just literally following what the Bible says in Leviticus 11 ... There are laws explaining how an animal should be slaughtered in the Bible" Biblical vs Rabbinical Kosher [7].

Is Halal the same as Kosher?

Halal Symbol

The Hebrew dietary laws are known as kosher, which simply means "fit", as in fit to eat. Halal is the Islamic dietary law,  where halal means "lawful". Although there are many similarities, like avoiding pork, there are differences. Halal requires that "the name of Allah is said before the slaughter". Having Allah's name on my steak feels like "meat sacrificed to idols" Acts 15:20, 1Cor 8:4. Read more at Are You Eating Meat Sacrificed to Idols? [8]. There is lots of debate on this. My understanding is "don't ask", but if you know the meat is sacrificed to idols, "don't eat". A blessing is usually said before a Kosher slaughter, but not required Islamic/Kosher Dietary Laws [9]. Here's the big difference in this context "Kosher prohibits the eating of chelev, but halal does not." Other similarities and differences are listed at at the Wikipedia link.

What To Do?

I don't butcher my own cattle, so I am at the mercy of the butcher. Will a non Kosher butcher trim the chelev? Or do they throw it in the generic ground beef? By regulation (in America), ground chuck or ground sirloin has to be just that, and it can't have scraps from other parts of the animal. But generic ground beef? Or sausages? Fast food burgers?

Does that mean I have to buy all my meat at a kosher butcher who  has had special training? According to Wikipedia [9], "Any sane adult Jew who knows the proper technique may perform the shechita (slaughter)" I would think this applies to anyone, not just Jews. After all, the laws were given to all Israel, Judah being only one of twelve tribes.  So if I did butcher my own animal and removed the chelev, the meat should be "fit". Assuming the animal was slaughtered properly, cuts of meat like steaks and roasts would be safe because there is no chelev there. And ground chuck/round/sirloin is OK for the same reason. The meats that make me uncomfortable are ground beef and sausage. Unless I trust the butcher to remove the chelev (I suppose I could ask him), these products may not be fit.

When I started to write this, I only thought to write about chelev versus shamen showing that certain fats were OK (yes, marbling is OK), but I didn't realize I would end up finding out meats that would not be fit, and that I would have to change. If you care about clean and unclean meats, you too may see a need for change.

* Added June 3, 2015

References

1. http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/obesity-epidemic-astronomical
2. http://www.blackinkwithcab.com/2011/05/16/mythbuster-monday-good-fat-bad-fat/
3. http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/skinny-fat-good-fats-bad-fats
4. http://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-does-the-bible-teach-about-clean-and-unclean-meats
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelev
6. http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/02/eating_biblically_lets_chew_th.html
7. http://jewishroots.net/library/food/biblical_verses_rabbinical_kosher.html
8. http://www.wnd.com/2011/01/255825
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Islamic_and_Jewish_dietary_laws

Ethiopian? Eunuch?

In 1985, I went to a conference called UNIFORUM to take a class. At my hotel, I was on the elevator when another guy got on. Being a friendly Minnesotan (this was before my curmudgeon days), I asked the guy "Are you here for the UNIX conference?" He mumbled some reply and got off at the next floor. So not all the guests at the hotel were there for the conference... I guess computer operating systems weren’t as well known then.

The deacon Phillip, often called Phillip the evangelist, apparently didn’t suffer from ill chosen words like me. When he met the Ethiopian eunuch, described in Acts 8:26-40, he made a better impression, culminating in the baptism of the Ethiopian. From the view of the 21st century, we perhaps don’t see how remarkable this story is. From the view of a 1st century Jew, it has some puzzling features. Ordinarily Jews would not associate with Gentiles, though he appeared to be what the Bible refers to as "God fearing", perhaps a Jewish proselyte. Eunuchs would not be allowed in the Temple, yet he was returning from worshiping in Jerusalem. We take Bibles for granted, but he was reading a scroll of Isaiah, at a time when scrolls were rare and precious, the equivalent of new car today. Most striking is that the Ethiopian eunuch would be the first Gentile convert to Christianity -- before the Apostle Peter met Cornelius. Peter was more reluctant than Phillip, he explained to Cornelius that it was against Jewish law to visit a Gentile.

He was a man from Ethiopia

Most scholars seem to agree that he really was an Ethiopian, a dark skinned person. MacLaren’s Expositions [1] states confidently “Here was a full-blooded Gentile, an eunuch. Philip asked nothing about the eunuch’s proselytism, or whether he had been circumcised or not.” John Dick [2] writes  “This man was a proselyte to the Jewish religion.” There was a Jewish element in Ethiopia since the time of Queen Sheba’s visit to Solomon, possibly from the time of the Exodus, a proselyte seems plausible. "This African court official was the first non-Jewish Christian." Craig Keener [3]

He was a eunuch

Likewise, most scholars seem to agree that he really was a eunuch. “This Nubian court official was probably a Gentile 'God-fearer'. When meant literally which was not always the case (Gen. 39:1 LXX), eunuchs referred to castrated men.” Craig Keener [3]

However, “The title “eunuch” can be used of a government official who is literally a eunuch, but also for an official who is not. Thus, we cannot know for certain whether or not this man was literally a eunuch. If he was, indeed, a eunuch, he would have been forbidden to enter the assembly of the Lord”. Bob Deffinbaugh [4]

He is returning from worship in Jerusalem

He may have known who Christ was, after all Christ was the “talk of the town” in those days. Yet his questions about Isaiah 53 suggest that  it was news to him. Who is this sheep led to slaughter? 

I think one reason that this episode is recorded is to show that converting to Judaism is not enough for salvation, after all, the Ethiopian eunuch was already a Jewish convert. "We are not saved (as the Judaizers would insist) by becoming Jewish proselytes, for the Ethiopian was a proselyte. But while he was a religious Jew, he was not saved. People thus are saved by recognizing their sins, just as the Jews must, and by trusting in Jesus as God’s Messiah, just like the Jews. Gentiles must be saved as Jews are (so here), and Jews must be saved as the Gentiles are (so Galatians 2:15-21)." Bob Deffinbaugh [4] However, it does not mean we have license to throw out the Old Testament and its laws!

He is reading Isaiah

Acts 8 quotes the passage in Isaiah, it is ch 53. If he had continued reading Isaiah after Phillip was spirited away, he would have read this just three chapters later, which suggests to me he really was a eunuch. Imagine the impact these words had on him. Isaiah 56:

3. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
4 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

He is baptized that day

“Modern Churches require candidates to submit to a tedious process of probation. Prudence now counsels delay, but the eunuch was baptized immediately” J. Cynddylan Jones  [5]. At the other end of the spectrum are deathbed baptisms - “The baptism of Constantine at the end of his life initiated a common practice of deathbed baptisms in the early church” Everett Ferguson 'Recent Studies in Early Christianity' [6].

Apparently people wanted to live life their own way and have their sins forgiven right at the end.

The rest of the story

According to church tradition, this man was to become an evangelist among his own people.

From the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches [7] article on the Ethiopian church:

Ethiopia embraced Christianity and has maintained its doctrines from the era of the apostles to the present day. Acts 8:26-39 recounts the story of the Ethiopian eunuch who was baptized by St. Philip. This eunuch was a minister of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. This story is the beginning of Ethiopian Church history. Eusebius speaks of this eunuch as the first fruits of the faith in the whole world. Irenaeus writes that he preached the Gospel to the Ethiopians. Tradition further records that the apostle Matthew preached the gospel to the Ethiopians and won a few converts to the new doctrine before leaving the country. 

Irenaeus (mentioned above) gives his name as Simeon Bachos the Eunuch. In Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition he was referred to as Bachos and in Eastern Orthodox tradition he is known as an Ethiopian Jew with the name Simeon also called the Black, the same name he is given in Acts 13:1.Wikipedia 'Ethiopian_eunuch'

[8]

By Their Fruits Shall You Know Them

The only pre-colonial Christian church of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Ethiopian Church has a membership of between 40 and 45 million.  Wikipedia 'Christianity in Ethiopia' [9] Not bad for someone who got a few hours of teaching in a chariot.

References

1.http://biblehub.com/commentaries/acts/8-26.htm
2.http://biblehub.com/library/dick/lectures_on_the_acts_of_the_apostles/lecture_xi_the_conversion_of.htm
3.http://www.craigkeener.com/philip-preaches-to-the-ethiopian-eunuch-in-acts-826-27/
4.https://bible.org/seriespage/13-ethiopian-eunuch-acts-826-40
5.http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/jones/philip_and_the_eunuch.htm
6.http://www.amazon.com/Recent-Studies-Early-Christianity-Collection/dp/0415898129
7.http://www.scooch.org/member-churches/the-ethiopian-church/
8.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_eunuch
9.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Ethiopia

What Is Truth?

Facts? Feelings? Faith?

 We fall in love with our own ideas. People often merely reinforce their existing beliefs, in other words “our beliefs can dictate the facts we chose to accept” . “Researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds" How Facts Backfire [1].

I would characterize this as pride of knowledge. And it manifests in all sorts of places, not just politics, religion sadly being one as in “my doctrine’s better than yours”. But not all ideas are right even though we strongly believe our own ideas are. Computers can be good for teaching us that our own ideas aren’t always right. I have what I think are great ideas that don’t actually work on the computer.

Follow Your Heart?

Well if I can’t trust my brain, how about my heart? Feelings just “are”, they aren’t right or wrong, or are they? Consider these well known sayings and songs.

“If it feels good, do it.”

“Search your feelings Luke, You know it to be true.” – Star Wars

“It Can’t Be Wrong When It Feels So Right!” - Debbie Boone.  

“Hooked on a Feeling” - Mark James and B. J. Thomas

 Popular culture appeals to feelings as a source of truth.  We have expressions like “gut feeling” or “trust your gut”. And research shows “Americans Are Most Likely to Base Truth on Feelings” [2] (the title says it all).

But it doesn’t always feel good to do the right thing. A righteous man swears to his own hurt (Ps 15:4). Feelings are real, sometimes very intense, but they may not be true. Sometimes you should listen to your feelings, not my strong suit. Read Blink [3] by Malcolm Gladwell for a fascinating look at how people make decisions.

No matter what issue you pick (abortion, free speech, immigration, terrorism, health care, global warming, GMOs) and within the church (nature of God, calendars, pre-existence of Jesus, Sabbath or Sunday), there are people on both sides, people with strong opinions and strong feelings on both sides. I submit that both sides can’t be right. Yet each side has their facts and “searched their feelings” and is certain they are right.

Here’s how I came to think about these things. I had a stroke in 2011 that hit the pons region of my brain. After that, I suffered from pseudo bulbar affect (PBA), a fancy term for excessive laughing and crying. It’s not unemotional crying, but deep feelings welling up into tears. In the hospital I felt grief with my whole being. It got better, but lasted for months and months, music being a big trigger. Finally, I started medication, and it stopped that day, which isn’t the way it’s supposed to work. I’ve tried to stop the meds and the PBA comes back. I wanted to stop the meds because I thought somehow that the unmedicated me was the real me, that those were my true feelings. And remember feelings are always right. But I have feelings whether I take the meds or not. Which ones are real?

What brought it to focus was when I visited a stroke patient who asked “what about the feelings?” I saw that he was going through what I went through, and I told him it wasn’t real. But I decided later that’s not true. I think it would be more accurate to say the feelings are real, but they’re not true. Just like an idea or thought can be false, so can a feeling. Those of you with high emotional intelligence would probably say I’m stating the obvious, but I’m better with numbers than feelings.

So I can’t trust my thoughts and can’t trust my feelings, where does that leave me? (I overstate my case for effect.) I have to step into the spiritual realm. It’s simple enough to say trust God. But let’s get more specific, in what am I trusting?

Misplaced Faith

Let me share more of my own story. Before I started the meds, I struggled at times with depression. I remember a low point the night I felt God had forsaken me. My feelings bore witness that God had forsaken me. I knew the Bible says “I will never leave you or forsake you”, my feelings told me otherwise. Looking back, I would guess that God was nearer than ever (near to the broken hearted). I just didn’t believe He would do this to me. BTW, God does take responsibility for evil, He doesn’t hide behind statements like “God allowed it”. Concerning Satan’s attack on Job “although thou didst move Me against him, to destroy him without cause” Job 2:3. So I believed something that wasn’t true, misplaced faith if you will. I used to believe in Santa Claus too. What else do I believe that’s wrong?  What do you believe that’s wrong? With a nod to Jeff Foxworthy: If you think you’re better than others because you have special knowledge, you might have misplaced faith. If a loved one died waiting for divine healing instead of seeing a doctor, you might have misplaced faith. If you believe Sunday is the Sabbath, you might have misplaced faith. If you think it’s OK to kill infidels, you definitely have misplaced faith. If you think [insert name here] is a prophet, you might have misplaced faith. If you believe a trial will be lifted as soon as you learn some certain lesson, you might have misplaced faith. If you believe a corporation is the church of God, you might have misplaced faith. If you think you’re one of the two witnesses, you might have misplaced faith. You get the idea.  Trust the Bible, Right? Let me take a shortcut and just state that I believe God exists, the Bible is His word, and it is true. So it should be simple to say just believe what the Bible says. But look at all the different opinions about what the Bible says. How do I determine which interpretation to believe? There’s the rub, we’re stuck when it comes to understanding the Bible. We are influenced by our environment – our parents, our education, our language, our friends, books, TV, ministers, etc. It’s like the Ethiopian eunuch said “How can I [understand], unless someone guides me?” Acts 8:31, that is to say, “reading and understanding Scripture are not the same thing” Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch [4]. Someone has to guide us (especially at first, to give us the milk of the word). We have to believe someone. Well who? That’s a topic for another day. I sympathize with Pontius Pilate’s question, “what is truth?” Christ had just told Pilate “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” Jn 18:38.  I want to listen to His voice, not my own. I need to compare my beliefs to the light of the Word like the Bereans, “searching the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so” Acts 17:11. I'm trying to root out my misplaced faith. I look at my beliefs differently now, some I’m pretty sure of, others not so much. And I’m trying to shed my own ideas of faith. I Know the Truth When I Hear It... But that seems a bit academic. Believe the Bible, absolutely, but that leaves no room for inspiration, insight, revelation even. I believe the Bible was written by men moved by inspiration of God, but what about today? I would be suspicious of anyone who said he got a revelation from God. At one time, God spoke to people face to face, but that ended with Moses. We sing a hymn "God Speaks To Us". How does He speak with us now?  He leads us with His Spirit. In order to understand the truths of the Bible, at some point, God has to open one’s mind, give us inspiration or insight if you will. How does that work? Ideas come from somewhere - other people, books, TV, our own minds, God’s mind, even Satan’s mind. We have all had the experience of sudden insight when the solution to a problem just comes to you. I think when God works with our minds, it is like that, as a still small voice, as if it were our own thought, making it hard to recognize as inspiration. In New testament times, revelation was accepted in the church “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying”. 1Co14:26 In the end times or “latter days”, old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions Joel 2:28. Again, I’d be suspicious, but it is going to happen sometime. Here is the test for those who claim revelations, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Is 8:20. In order to apply this test, we’d better know what is in this word. We can’t figure it out on our own, but God will guide us, He promised, “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” Heb 11:6. 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer 29:13. There’s that heart again, I guess I’ll have to trust it sometime.

References

1. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire

2. https://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/67-americans-are-most-likely-to-base-truth-on-feelings

3. http://gladwell.com/blink/

4. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Acts/Philip-Ethiopian-Eunuch

26

[Reconstruction of a speech I gave to our church men's club in 2012. My hard drive crashed, and I didn’t save a paper copy of the text. I also made minor changes to take advantage of the printed word.]

Numbers are my friends. People make good friends too, but numbers you can count on…

Let me introduce you to my friend 26, a very interesting number. I picked 26 because God’s name is associated with it. His name is not associated with more popular numbers like seven or 12, but 26. Why 26? Proverbs 25:2 says It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.  Can we search out this matter?

First, let’s see why God’s name YHVH (יהוה) is associated with 26. In ancient Hebrew there are no separate symbols for numbers, they reused the letters. So every word in the Old Testament takes on a numerical meaning. It’s a simple substitution code - here are the first 10 letters.

א	ב	ג	ד	ה	ו	ז	ח	ט	י
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

 Mapping letters to numbers is known as Gematria, the full table of letter/number mappings can be seen at wikipedia [1] or hebrew4christians.com [2]. By the way, this also works in English for the word “God” – again a simple substitution A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, D = 4, … G = 7, …O = 15 makes GOD = 26. I won’t defend Gematria too hard, it has its uses and limits. For example, there are alternate letter/number mappings, are any of these mappings “sacred”? You can’t use Gematria to establish doctrine, that must come from the plain text, but I think it’s possible to unconver hidden connections in Scripture. Consider this – “Six hundred sixty-six is called the "number of the beast" in (most manuscripts of) chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, and thus also in popular culture.” Wikipedia 666 [3]. So there is at least one example of Gematria in the Bible. Incidentally, I learned that the fear of 666 is called hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia [4].

Anyway YHVH = 26 is well known. Let’s see where it leads. Is there anything special about 26? There is no number that’s not interesting, and there is a simple proof. Let N be the first uninteresting number. Isn’t that interesting? 

Here is an interesting mathematical fact about 26.

26 is the only integer that is one greater than a square (25 = 5²) and one less than a cube (27 = 3³). Full proof (not for the feint of heart) at www.normalesup.org [5].

Big deal. All that shows is that 26 actually is an interesting number. Some want to say that by being between a square and a cube, 26 is a bridge between physical and spiritual, I think that’s a stretch. But I do believe it shows God’s humility because 26 is not an obvious choice like 7. It invites us to dig a little deeper to get to know Him.


While everything in nature reflects God in some way, in His word He reveals Himself and His plan through 26. Consider these examples.

·        Gen 1:26 - Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; …”

·        Ps 136 is 26 verses, each verse has the phrase “for He is good, and His mercy endures forever”. “ki tov ki l’olam kasdo”

·        The Greek Strongs number G26 is Agape which means Love, an attribute of God

·        According to Jewish chronology, God gave the Torah to Moses in the 26th generation since Adam

·        You can read many more interesting facts about 26 at amazingword.blogspot.com [6]

Let’s consider some more math, (maths to the Brits). A 3 x 3 x 3 cube, think Rubik’s cube, has 26 visible cubes, and one invisible cube in the center. We may not be able to see it, but we know where it is and how big it is. The invisible is known by the visible. Rom 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

But wait, there’s more.

Iron Pyrite Crystals

We have seen that 26 and 27 are connected to cubes. I have only been able to find two cubes in nature – salt and iron pyrite a.k.a. fool’s gold, wombat scat [7] notwithstanding. God’s people are called the salt of the earth. He chose salt, not fool’s gold. Salt is essential for life, fool’s gold is shiny and would no doubt be most people’s choice, it has commercial uses, but is not valuable like real gold. 

Natural Salt Crystals from the Dead Sea

Salt is readily available nowadays, but in times past, it was precious. “It is commonly believed that Roman soldiers were at certain times paid with salt. (They say the soldiers who did their job well were "worth their salt.") The word 'salary' derives from the Latin word salārium, possibly referring to money given to soldiers so they could buy salt.” Wikipedia "History of Salt" [8].

The cube area in back is the Holy of Holies [9].

The only cubes found in the Bible are the Holy of Holies of both the tabernacle and later the temple, and the city of New Jerusalem, described in Rev 21, which some interpret it as a cube, a square, or a pyramid. Nonetheless, all three are places where God dwells. More precisely, the tabernacle and temple are where God placed his name YHVH, ie 26.

1 Kings 9:3 The Lord (YHVH) said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

God dwells in cubes, we are salt, and God dwells in us.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

What a beautiful picture, and all of this is pictured by my friend, number 26.

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gematria
2.http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_Eight/Hebrew_Gematria/hebrew_gematria.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/666_%28number%29
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
5. http://www.normalesup.org/~baglio/maths/26number.pdf
6. http://amazingword.blogspot.com/2010/03/about-26-number-for-godliterally-both.html
7. http://io9.com/5872472/the-wombats-cubic-poop-is-one-of-natures-weirdest-superpowers
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_salt

9. https://servinghandskc.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/transporting-the-walls-of-the-tabernacle/

The Koran Points to Jesus Christ

I am not an expert on Islam or the Koran. I have not read the Koran. Until very recently, I had not read any of the Koran. Now I can say I have read a few verses. So why would I say that the Koran points to Jesus? Because it's not my idea, I got it from a former imam (Muslim priest) whose Western name is Mario Joseph. 

Mario gave an interview on Spanish TV which is available on Youtube [1]. A written transcript is available at CBCG.org [2]. He described his background -  his childhood, his family, and that he studied for ten years to become an imam. When someone asked him "who is Jesus?", he began to study the question. What he found from the pages of the Koran led him to the Bible. He has converted to Christianity.

What did he find in the Koran?

Let me present a summary of Mario's arguments.

Some background. The Koran, Islam's holy book, has 114 chapters, 6666 verses. Interestingly, Mohammed's name is found in only four places, but Jesus' name is found 25 places. No women's names are mentioned anywhere in the Koran, except Maryam, that is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She actually gets two whole chapters, chapter 3 "Family of Maryam" and chapter 19 "Maryam". The Koran asserts that Mary was sinless.

http://quran.com/3/42 [3]And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds

And some Muslims believe in the Assumption of Mary, that is, they believe she went directly to heaven Wikipedia 'Mary In Islam' [4]. Mario lists ten points about Jesus based on Ch:3 45-55.

• Jesus is the "Word of God" 
• Jesus is the "Spirit of God"
• Jesus spoke at 2 days old
• Jesus made live bird from mud
• Jesus cured a man born blind
• Jesus cured a leper
• Jesus gave life to dead people
• Jesus went to heaven
• Jesus is still alive
• Jesus will come again

Quoting just two verses here.

http://quran.com/3/45 [5] [And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ]. 

http://quran.com/3/55 [5] [Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.

Then Mario says that Mohammed is not "Word of God" or the "Spirit of God". Mohammed is not alive and will not come back. So he asked his his teacher, "Teacher, how did God create the universe?" The teacher answered that he created the universe through the Word.

So then he asked his teacher, "Is the Word Creator or creation?" If the Word is creator, then Jesus is creator, then the Muslims must become Christian. If the Word is creation, how did God create the Word? Mario was confused and prayed for understanding. He believes this was his answer from the Koran, in his words, "If you have any doubt in this Koran, go read the Bible, or ask the people who read the Bible." 

http://quran.com/10/94 [6] So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters.

The Bible also says Jesus is the Word of God, John 1:1. It also says Jesus gave them power to become children of God, John 1:12. But the Koran teaches people are slaves and Allah is master. The Koran says to fight with non believers in 18 places. It says to kill the one who rejects Islam. Mario concludes "To have eternal life, you need Jesus".

I applaud Mario for his courage in converting from Islam to Christianity, and for his wisdom in seeing through the Koran to the Bible. 

I don't agree with all his statements or theology. For example, the Koran may claim that Jesus spoke at two days old, but it is not recorded in the Bible. Likewise, making a live bird from mud, it's an interesting story. The other eight assertions are Biblical however, so maybe...

Later in the interview, he insists that Catholicism is the true form of Christianity. I think he may have gravitated to it because it had something familiar from Islam that he could retain, that is the veneration of Mary.  I would say that Mario has gone from worshiping the wrong God to worshiping God wrongly, a big step in the right direction. But we are all at different points on our journey.


His interview is worth watching, there is obviously more than I included here. You can also gauge his sincerity and conviction, especially when he speaks about miraculous events in his own life.
I found other Mario Joseph references on the Net like dangerous-road-from-imam-to-catholic-preacher [7]. 

According to Al-jazeerah [8], six million Muslims convert to Christianity every year, however CNN [9] says "little data is available on conversion, but what little there is suggests Islam loses as many adherents via conversion as it gains". David Garrison, author of "A Wind in the House of Islam" 
windinthehouse.org [10] said in an interview with World Magazine [11] that between 2 and 7 million Muslims have converted to Christianity in the last two decades. Whatever the exact number, many many Muslims are converting, some like Mario at great risk.

Most of this is happening in the Middle East and Africa, after all that's where most of the Muslims are. But someday you might be seated next to a former Muslim. Or you may be challenged to "give an answer for the hope that is in you" if a Muslim should ask "who is Jesus?"