"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." Colossians 2:16-17
We have just finished the Book of Colossians in our weekly Bible study. The book was written by Paul during his first imprisonment in Rome after he announced to the chief of the Jews:
It's resurrection time again!
"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:38-40
Have you noticed that today's "Messianic synagogues" are made up mostly of Gentiles, not Jews? Among some Christians there is the thinking that to partake of Jewish feasts, Jewish rituals, Jewish days and Jewish attire makes one more spiritual than a Gentile in a New Testament church. Even in the future Smyrna church during the tribulation period there will be people claiming to be Jews who are not (Revelation 2:8-10.)
Israel, today, is "Lo-ammi" (Hosea 1:9) meaning not My people. Israel's condition is described in Hosea 3:4:
Valentine's Day is a religious holiday that only one religion connects any religion to it. The background and research is so flimsy that Valentine could have been one of three saints or no saint at all. The holiday is depicted by boxes of candy, red hearts, little make believe angels called cupid (angels in the Bible have no wings.) Nothing about salvation, heaven, hell, resurrection, the cross, etc., are connected to this day. Even though Valentine Card sales are only #2 in regard to Christmas cards, the day does not leave much impression outside of erotic, romantic or frivolous.
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20
Welcome to the 21st century! The whole world and especially America is coming under this condemnation. In politics the practice is called putting the "spin" on certain things, in the Bible God calls it lying.
I wonder if man has outsmarted himself. With technology continuing to improve, the world-wide web, Facebook and Twitter; tablets and exquisite cell phones, interplanetary travel, the ability of friend or foe to know where you are and what you are doing at all times, can the mark of the beast be far behind?
"Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their INVENTIONS" Psalms 99:8 (caps mine) "Thus they provoked him to anger with their INVENTIONS and the plague brake in upon them." Psalms 106:29 (caps mine)
"Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own INVENTIONS." Psalms 106:39 (caps mine)
"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many INVENTIONS." Ecclesiastes 7:29 (caps mine)
"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Psalms 12:6-7
In my lifetime, I have seen America's leadership begin to "…hate the good, and love the evil…" (Micah 3:2.) This hate of good and love of evil seems to parallel with the changing of one Bible translation right after another. Like the Athenians on Mars' hill, today's religious (not necessarily Christian) crowd seem to spend "their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing." (Acts 17:21) {C}
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." Amos 8:11
Most apply this verse to our present age and culture. I am not so sure about that. A famine of bread and water would cause people to do anything they could to satisfy their hunger and thirst. They would go to whatever extreme was required to get something to eat or drink. If anything, our present culture is the opposite.
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
The Bible has always been fairly specific when it comes to naming sin. Today we have crafted euphoric terms to define sin. We have the "unauthorized use of a motor vehicle" instead of car theft. Whether the speaker be Paul, Jesus or another, they called sin by its real name, not a pseudonym.
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:8
Have you ever thought about what this verse is really saying? Does God love everybody regardless of their actions or thoughts? Is God's love some kind of "catch all" for all the misfits, incorrigibles, law breakers and child abusers? Does this mean that regardless of the life of any person, God will love him in the end? Bible teachers encourage us to always get the context of any passage before interpreting it, so let's look at the context.