Tag: 1

Posted in theology

Great Cities of the Bible #3: Rome

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Great Cities of the Bible #1: Damascus
Great Cities of the Bible #2: Babylon
Great Cities of the Bible #3: Rome
Great Cities of the Bible #4: Jerusalem

Remains of the Roman Forum. EPrata photo

This is the third of a 4-part series on the Great Cities of the Bible. I’ve written about Damascus and Babylon in the first two parts. Damascus first because it is among the first cities mentioned in the Bible and is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. And I chose Babylon second because its presence from Genesis to Revelation dominates the Bible’s spiritual and historical landscape.

Now we turn to Rome. GotQuestions notes that – “Rome is not mentioned in the Old Testament but figures prominently in the New Testament. Although the city of Rome is not often directly mentioned, every place and event in the New Testament has Roman rule as its background.“

Part of the reason I’m doing this series is because we tend to be myopic in our day and age, thinking we are the most advanced or the most sophisticated or our culture is the best. It’s hard to physically go see that in Babylon because it is mostly a ruin now. Damascus is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the Arab world, but sadly, the ongoing war has destroyed much of it by now. However ROME! Ahh, Rome, one can wander the streets and see many buildings from the Bible days intact. One can envision Paul standing up in court…writing his ‘Jail Epistles’ (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon). We can visit the Colosseum where so many Christians were martyred.

Underfloor of the Roman Colosseum, where many Christians were martyred. EPrata photo

Rome is both the city and was an Empire. It is urban setting and also a character itself in the Bible history. It is a city past from Bible days, a thriving city today, and it is an Roman empire future in prophecy. Rome was the oppressor of the Jews in Judea but its engineered roads allowed for the dispersed believers to bring the Gospel out to the world.

It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called “Caput Mundi” (Capital of the World).

Source

Rome is also known as the City of Seven Hills, due to the hills that it is founded on and provide a backdrop. This may become important later when in prophecy, discussed more in the postscript.

For almost a thousand years the continent’s people were either one of the unfortunate tribes conquered and absorbed into the vastly growing Roman empire, or were one of the privileged Romans citizens enjoying the engineering marvels the Romans invented and especially Pax Romana (widespread peace) during the 200 years of the Empire’s height. Paul the Apostle was a Roman Citizen, and this fact allowed him to escape one of the intended beatings, to stand in a Roman Court and plead his case, and at the end, legend says, given the less painful execution of beheading.

Rome was said to be founded around 625 BC in the areas of ancient Italy’s center known as Etruria and Latium. Etruria was home to the mysterious people of the Etruscans (from which we get the name Tuscany). Not much is known of the Etruscans, except they were a sophisticated culture, master bronzesmiths, their tombs were expertly painted, they formed city-states all over Tuscany as far south as Rome, and began sewer and other construction projects in Rome. It is said that the Etruscans had a heavy influence on the conquering Romans.

For about a hundred years or so, this merging and overlap of the Etruscans and the Romans led to the period known as the Age of Kings, which came to an end when the Etruscans disappeared, and the Roman Republic was born. (510 BC). It was during this time that Romans codified their laws and were led by the citizens (upper class senators and knights).

They continued to expand their empire with masterful military strategies and successive victories. By 338 BC they had conquered the entire Italian peninsula and a few years later gained control of the Mediterranean as a dominant maritime power.

The time of Jesus’ birth through his death & resurrection, the rise of the Church, and the last of the first generation witnesses (31BC to 90 AD and beyond) was known as the Imperial Rome era. During this period, Rome saw decades of peace, prosperity, and expansion. Its maximum land expansion occurred in about AD 117, near when Apostle John died. Its empire spanned three continents including Asia Minor, northern Africa, and most of Europe as far north as Scotland.

Unlike many other conquering empires, Rome allowed worship of personal gods. They were a pantheistic society. We remember in Daniel 1 when Nebuchadnezzar besieged and conquered Jerusalem and carried off its captives, “among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.7 Then the commander of the officials set names for them; and for Daniel he set the name Belteshazzar, for Hananiah Shadrach, for Mishael Meshach, and for Azariah Abed-nego.” (Daniel 1:6-7). The practice of forced assimilation was common. The boys were given new names, forced to eat what was eaten by the natives, and forced to worship what the natives worshiped, namely, the king. But unusually for an Empire, that was not Rome’s practice.

Definition: Assimilation is one outcome of acculturation. It involves the complete adoption of the ways of life of the new cultural group, resulting in the assimilated group losing nearly all of its original or native culture.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK248431/box/ch1.box12/

Rome practiced assimilation. Captured peoples from the many wars were brought to Rome as slaves but allowed to practice their religion and maintain their culture. The building in Rome called The Pantheon was originally a temple built for all Roman gods, then later any gods. Pan means “all” and “theos” means “gods”.

The Pantheon in Rome, one of Rome’s best preserved buildings to this day. EPrata photo

The Roman Empire was a primarily polytheistic civilization, which meant that people recognized and worshiped multiple gods and goddesses. Despite the presence of monotheistic religions within the empire, such as Judaism and early Christianity, Romans honored multiple deities. They believed that these deities served a role in founding the Roman civilization and that they helped shape the events of people’s lives on a daily basis. Romans paid allegiance to the gods both in public spaces and in private homes. While the Roman state recognized main gods and goddesses by decorating public buildings and fountains with their images, families worshipping at home also put special emphasis on the deities of their choosing. Source

The Jews in Judea were overseen (oppressed) by Rome, which sent it governors and soldiers to keep the peace, but largely (except for taxes to keep up the empire) they were allowed to continue as they were and that included worship.

Romans built things. Bridges, temples, mansions, aqueducts, and roads. They had sewers, hot and cold running water, and spas. They had colosseums for their beloved games. It was the roads that allowed the dispersing Christians to take the Gospel to the outermost parts of the empire and beyond. It was the spread of the Latin language in the huge Empire that allowed folks to understand one another when sharing the Gospel with natives. The Roman influence on art and architecture was massive and stands to this day. They loved games and competitions, and they built amphitheaters to play them in. The round and oval stadiums we see today are derived from the Romans. They even held “naumachia” in them, or sea battles. They engineered a system where the amphitheaters could be flooded to host maritime competitions with ships!

Because of their sophisticated government, art, engineering, culture, and lifestyle, the Romans often referred to all other tribes as “barbarians.” They deeply believed they were a superior race to the Germanic tribes or the Celts, both of which they had conquered. However, the Romans for all their marvels and sophistication in the arts, were still pagans, which means, barbaric themselves. Any culture that enjoys live bloody competitions to the death, which invents crucifixion as a method of execution, or dips Christians in tar and sets them alight for garden illumination, is barbaric themselves. No veneer of art or poetry or law can hide the fact that without Christ, any society will die. And the Romans did. After its Pax Romana era came to a close, the city declined until 410 when the Visigoth King Alaric successfully sacked the city of Rome. The “Eternal City” was no more.

POSTSCRIPT

After Alaric and the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Popes, and in the 700s, Rome became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Even today, Vatican City is a sovereign state inside Rome. The Pope is one of the very the last absolute monarchs on earth. An Absolute Monarchy, which Vatican City is governed by, is defined as “a form of government in which a single person—usually a king or queen—holds absolute, autocratic power. In absolute monarchies, the succession of power is typically hereditary, with the throne passing among members of a ruling family.”

“Absolute monarchies, where the monarch is the final authority, are few and far between these days. There are currently five, excluding subnational monarchies: Brunei, Eswatini, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Vatican City.”

In Revelation 17:7, we read that Babylon the harlot is riding on a beast having seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads are called seven hills or seven mountains in verse 9. Everyone at the time that passage was written was so familiar with Rome being called the city of seven hills it is likely that they understood this to be Rome. As Daniel 2 describes the flow of the world empires from beginning to end in a vision of a statue, will the last empire be a revived Roman Empire? One that includes an absolute monarchy, that already exists today, led by a false prophet (of the Catholic Church?) Many think so.

Further Reading

Book- SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard. (I’m reading this book. It’s good).

Essay- Rome and the Apostle Paul

Essay: What is the significance of Rome in the Bible?

Sermon: The Rise and Fall of the World part 3 (if you are interested in the revived Roman Empire)

Posted in theology

The Great Cities of the Bible #2: Babylon

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Great Cities of the Bible #1: Damascus
Great Cities of the Bible #2: Babylon
Great Cities of the Bible #3: Rome
Great Cities of the Bible #4: Jerusalem

Ruins at Babylon. By Osama Sarm – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48596563

Babylon. City of mystery, history, prophecy. The very name Bab-iliu means “the gate of the gods” in Akkadian, which is the oldest recorded Semitic language and the most common language of the ancient Near East until the eighth century BC.

It was founded on the great river, Euphrates, about 200 miles north of where the Euphrates joins the Tigris and drains into the Persian Gulf, two of the 4 great rivers flowing out of Eden to “water the garden”. (Genesis 2:14).

Babylon was a sacred site dedicated to the (false) god Marduk, the city’s patron god. Often Marduk’s name is included with the title ‘Bel’ to Marduk’s name to indicate supremacy of all the gods. The city’s inhabitants celebrated Marduk at the start of their new year with a festival noting his ascension as king of all gods and his seating in his temple in the city.

Marduk was mentioned in the Bible in Jeremiah 50:1–2 where Yahweh ordered Jeremiah to declare:

‘Babylon has been captured;
Bel has been put to shame; Marduk has been shattered;
Her images have been put to shame; her idols have been shattered.’

For two thousand years Babylon dominated Mesopotamia.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary indicates that Babylon was a “cultural and political center of Mesopotamia during much of the second and first millennia BC. Located in modern-day Iraq along one branch of the Euphrates River, about 59 miles southwest of Baghdad.“

Babylon Past

Throughout the entire Bible, Babylon stands as a dominating presence as an actual historical empire but also as a symbol of spiritual apostasy and evil opposition to God and His people. Its name Babel is first found in Genesis 11:9,

Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth’

Babylon is the Greek form of the name Babel. Babylon began its ascent in 2300 BC to greatness but really exploded in cultural and architectural wonders during the reign of Hammurabi in 1792 BC, the sixth king of his line. During his reign and later his son’s reign, numerous temples were built and irrigation channels were excavated. King Hammurabi also conquered all of the surrounding cities, including the famous city of “Ur” where Abraham had lived centuries before.

Hammurabi (standing) receiving his royal insignia from Shamash (or possibly Marduk) By Mbzt – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59794940

But like many cities, Babylon then began to decline, and this up and down swing continued until Assyria was finally defeated. It then reached another pinnacle during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II and entrenched itself as one of the most important cities in the Near East.

“The empire had been founded by Nebuchadnezzar’s father Nabopolassar (r. 625-605 BCE) after his victories over the Assyrian Empire. Nebuchadnezzar II would go on to even greater things, including the capture of Jerusalem in 597 BCE. The Babylonian king then set about making his capital one of the most splendid cities in the world”. Source World History Encyclopedia

A reconstruction of the blue-tiled Ishtar Gate, which was the northern entrance to Babylon. It was named for the goddess of love and war. Bulls and dragons, symbols of the god Marduk, decorated the gate.
By Rictor Norton – https://www.flickr.com/photos/24065742@N00/151247206/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1409322

Hanging Gardens

The most famous of these improvements to the city were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, “ancient gardens considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World and thought to have been located near the royal palace in Babylon” says Encyclopedia Britannica. Though no one is quite sure where they were within the city, there were enough descriptions of them in classical literature to know that they likely existed, though no one is exactly sure of what they looked like.

The Gardens were said to be ‘hanging’ because perhaps they were perhaps on a tall ziggurat with terraces, “were set upon vaulted terraces. They were also described as having been watered by an exceptional system of irrigation and roofed with stone balconies on which were layered various materials, such as reeds, bitumen, and lead, so that the irrigation water would not seep through the terraces.”

A short video about the Gardens-

https://www.britannica.com/video/179976/creation-Nebuchadrezzar-II-designs-structure-video-Hanging

In Daniel 4:30 we read the perhaps most famous story about Babylon, where King Nebuchadnezzar admires his city from his palace rooftop, saying “‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal house by the strength of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’”

Barnes’ Notes says: “He greatly enlarged the city; built a new city on the west side of the river; reared a magnificent palace; and constructed the celebrated hanging gardens; and, in fact, made the city so different from what it was, and so greatly increased its splendor, that he could say without impropriety that he had “built” it.“

Yet…the very next verse says that King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and self-glorification was a mistake.

While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

The city “under Nebuchadnezzar, who died B.C. 561 after a reign of forty-three years, attained great splendour. In the reign of Belshazzar the capital was taken by Darius the Median (Dan. 5:25–31), who entered it unexpectedly at the head of an army of Medes and Persians, as Isaiah (21:1–9) and Jeremiah (51:31) had predicted some 170 years before. Then began the decay and ruin of this proud city, and the kingdom of Babylon became a part of the Persian empire. In course of time the “great city” became “heaps,” and “an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant” (Jer. 51:37–58).

“Many of the Jews who had been carried captive to Babylon remained there, notwithstanding the decree of Cyrus. After the destruction of Jerusalem there was established at Babylon a school of Jewish learning of great repute.” Source– Easton’s (1893) In Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History.

Babylon future

Babylon is mentioned in Revelation numerous times. We read in Revelation 14:8, “and another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.”

Babylon was not only a city in history, not only an empire that rose & fell, but the name Babylon is also figurative of an evil commercial-governmental system and an evil spiritual system.

Roy Gingrich interprets both the actual and the symbolic nature of Babylon:

“The fall of Babylon (Rev 14:8)-

“(1) The announcement—Another angel (other than the one in verse 6) announces the soon coming fall of Babylon. The “Babylon” mentioned here is not the religious system of chapter 17 -that “Babylon” was destroyed at the mid-point of “The Seventieth Week”. The “Babylon” mentioned here is the capital city of the political-religious-commercial system of chapter 18, which city and system will be destroyed when the Seventh bowl is poured out. God destroys her because she made the nations drink “the wine of the wrath of her fornication,” that is, because she caused them to commit spiritual fornication, which is punished by God’s wrath.” Gingrich, R. E. (2001). The Book of Revelation (p. 69). Riverside Printing.

Gingrich continues-

“The destruction of religious “Babylon” as an ecclesiastical system, chapter 17. In the days of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8–12, and his wife, Semiramis, around 200 years after the Flood, two great systems came into existence, a God-defiant political system and a God-defiant religious system, the one founded by Nimrod and the other founded by Nimrod through his wife, Semiramis. These two systems are often called Political Babylon and Religious Babylon because they had their beginnings in Babylon, the one in the building of the city of Babylon and the other in the building of the tower of Babylon. The city of Babylon is the symbol of organized political rebellion against God and the tower of Babylon is the symbol of organized religious rebellion against God.” Gingrich, R. E. (2001). The Book of Revelation (pp. 76–77). Riverside Printing

“These two systems in varying forms, have continued on side by side down through the centuries, hating one another but for the sake of self-advancement, exchanging favors with one another. During the Middle Ages, these two systems were seen in the Holy Roman Empire and in the Roman Catholic Church. Today, they are seen in the United Nations Organization and in the Ecumenical Church Movement. During the first half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, they will be seen in the Revived Roman Empire [“the Scarlet-colored beast,” Rev. 17:3] and in the rejected Lacodicean church] [“the great whore,” Rev. 17:1]. It is very helpful in understanding Rev., chap. 17, to know that “the scarlet-colored beast” and “the great whore” of chapter 17 are the final forms of two great God-defiant systems which have been in existence for over 3,000 years.” Gingrich, R. E. (2001). The Book of Revelation (pp. 76–77). Riverside Printing.

–end Gingrich quote

Babylon both actual and spiritual offer many lessons for us. Whenever I think of Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” I often think of ‘Babylon & Jerusalem’. In the NT Babylon is always mentioned negatively, as a seat of evil, ungodly power. It signifies the world and its forces in opposition to God. It is often contrasted with “New Jerusalem”, in which God will finally reign supreme with no opposition ever again.

We will live in the city GOD built, not a city made by man like Assyria’s Damascus, Caesar’s Rome or Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. It will be a pure city, devoid of anything detracting from the glory of Jesus and his Light.

Babylon present

Whatever became of the actual, historical city of Babylon? It no longer really exists. It is a ruin, though it was opened to tourists again in 2009. There is not much to see. It is estimated that only about 5% of the old city has been excavated.

Babylon would stay under the Persian Empire’s rule for two centuries before Alexander the Great then conquered Babylon in 331 BC. He had plans to make Babylon the capital of his empire but died there in 323 BC before his dream came into reality. Alexander’s generals divided his empire among themselves immediately after his death. This is how general Seleucus obtained the historical city of Babylon. Not long after, he moved most of the population to his new capital Seleucia, which left the city decaying and deserted. Source

Will Babylon the city rise again? Only the Lord knows. Babylon the metaphor for an economy and an ecclesiastical system will indeed rise again to uncontested dominance, and be part of the major events prophesied to occur in the future, if the Babylonian system even can be said to have disappeared in the first place. Yet “Babylon” actual and Babylon figurative will finally be squashed in the future when Revelation events occur and Jesus’ wrath wipes out the evil system. The Lord as always, reigns supreme.

There will be no king looking out from his own rooftop and congratulating himself on his achievements. There will be no pagan priests celebrating a false god on a mythical throne. There will be no garden except the one the LORD himself planted, meaning, the world. It will be pure, verdant, and full of peoples who acknowledge Jesus as the supreme Lord of Lords and King of Kings. What a day that will be!

Posted in theology

The Great Cities of the Bible #1: Damascus

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Great Cities of the Bible #1: Damascus
Great Cities of the Bible #2: Babylon
Great Cities of the Bible #3: Rome
Great Cities of the Bible #4: Jerusalem

Source- https://www.britannica.com/place/Damascus

This begins a 4-part look at some of the Great Cities of the Bible. Cities are cities, but they are also seats of Empires, also they can be backdrops or even characters in the Biblical narrative. I chose the cities of Damascus, Babylon, Rome, and finally, Jerusalem to take a closer look at.

Damascus is one of the first cities mentioned in the Bible and the oldest continuously lived-in city in the world. Babylon dominated the Near East during its time, but also is symbolic of the struggle since the Fall of man vs. God. Its backdrop flows from Genesis to Revelation! Rome was at its height during the New Testament times, was the site of 4 Epistles written there, and perhaps will be at another height again if the prophecy about a Revived Empire will indeed be Rome as many interpret. And of course I chose Jerusalem because God set His name upon it, and it will be remade new as our eternal future home!

Modern Day Damascus is in Syria. It is the capital of Syria, and people have been living there since about 8000BC. When the Arameans arrived in about 3000 BC it went from villages to a notable city. That’s old!

We may think of that area of Asia as dry and dusty desert, but Damascus is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as well as being ancient and notable. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. To be sure, its dry and desert-y east is bordered by the Syrian-Arab desert and the west is bordered by the mountains of Lebanon. The mountains bar much rain from dropping on Syria. The mighty Euphrates, which represents more than 80 percent of Syria’s water resources, flows through far to the east of Damascus. Therefore, for Damascus to stay hydrated, the even more important river Barada River is the river on which the city of Damascus relies. Irrigation from the Barada River by aqueducts built during Roman times helps things along.

This river is divided into numberless channels and is distributed throughout Damascus and the region immediately about it. In almost every house there is a fountain, and one can stand still almost anywhere and listen to the murmur of the hidden streams that pass under and through the city. Source: Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee, p. 274.)
Barada river, Damascus. Shadi Hijazi photo, CC use

Barada is identified as Abana. This river is mentioned in the Old Testament (2 Kings 5:12), when Naaman argued that its waters would be better than the Jordan for curing his leprosy.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia for the ‘Abanah’ AKA Barada says-

“A few miles southeast of Suk Wady Barada the volume of the stream is more than doubled by a torrent of clear, cold water from the beautifully situated spring ‛Ain Fijeh (Greek, “fountain”), after which it flows through a picturesque gorge till it reaches Damascus, whose many fountains and gardens it supplies liberally with water. In the neighborhood of Damascus a number of streams branch off from the parent river, and spread out like an opening fan on the surrounding plain”.

Speaking of those gardens, we read from the 1894 book “Earthly Footsteps of The Man of Galilee and the Journeys of His Apostles”:

“No wonder the Moslems look upon Damascus as an earthly paradise. It is encompassed by gardens and orchards. These cover an area of over twenty-five miles in circumference. Here grow olive, fig, walnut, apricot, poplar, palm, cypress and pomegranate trees. In the above view we have a scene taken from the Jerusalem road in the western part of the city, and looking to the north a ridge of Anti-Lebanon is seen straight before us. In the richness of its soil, in the salubrity and semi-tropical character of its climate, in its varied vegetation, we find the reason for the constant association of Damascus with the thought of gardens.”

Source: Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee, p. 274

“It has been for four thousand years a garden. It is surrounded for miles with this splendor of verdure. Its gardens and orchards and far-reaching groves, rich in foliage and blossoms, wrap the city around like a mantle of green velvet powdered with pearls. The apricot orchards seem to blush at their own surpassing loveliness, and the gentle breezes that rustle softly through the feathery tops of the palms are laden with the perfume of the rose and the violet. Tristram, in his account of what he saw, says:”

“Tall mud walls extended in every direction under the trees, and flowing streams of water from the Barada everywhere bubbled through the orchards, while all was alive with the song of birds and the hum of bees. The great apricot trees were laden and bent down under strings of ripe golden fruit.” Whatever changes may be made by the hand of man in Damascus, whatever changes in government and in commercial activities, the city is sure to be for all time a paradise of fertility and beauty.”

In the Bible, Damascus is first mentioned in a casual comment in Genesis 14:15 (early!). It was the situation when Lot was taken prisoner and Abram had to go rescue him.

And he divided his men against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

Damascus is mentioned again in the very next chapter, Genesis 15:2. Abram noted that the only heir he had was his servant Eliezer. And Abram said, “O Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, as I go on being childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?“

I mentioned the Arameans above, that Damascus in Syria didn’t become notable as a city until the Arameans settled it. According to Pulpit Commentary, “The Syrians of Damascus are known in the Hebrew, Aram–Dammesek; that is, Aram-Damascus. The inhabitants of these regions and of Mesopotamia were descended from Aram, the son of Shem, son of Noah. (Genesis 10:22)”. See how old this region is? It is really amazing.

Damascus in mentioned frequently throughout the Old and New Testaments. Damascus played a major role in waging wars against Israel. From around 900 to 721 BC Syria was a terrible fearful opponent of Israel David was much occupied with subduing uprisings and incursions from Damascus, Syria throughout his Kingship. He eventually subjugated the Arameans but they rose again after the death of Solomon.

“At various times, Israel and Judah made pacts with those who controlled Damascus (1 Kgs 15:18–20). War between Asa of Judah and Baasha of Israel led Asa to use the treasury of the temple and his personal wealth to pay for the support of Damascus against Israel (1 Kgs 15:19, 20).” Source The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.

When you look at the city in terms of the entire history of the Old Testament, you see how much of a role the Lord had Damascus play in the intertribal wars, alliances, rising and falling of kingdoms, and all impacting the Israelites. In fact, Damascus and Israel joined forces around 734 BC to attack Judah. The war almost destroyed Jerusalem, and evil King Ahaz of Judah asked Assyria’s king Tiglath-pileser to come defend Judah from the attack.

Eventually, Damascus was conquered by Alexander the Great and the city’s fortunes declined. It was taken over in 64BC in Roman times by Pompey. That is when the aqueducts were built that shuffled water from the critically important Barada river to water the great gardens and continue cultivating the crops.

In the New Testament Damascus is mentioned several times but always relative to Saul/Paul, his trip to Damascus, and his conversion. (Acts 9:1–25; 22:5–11; 2 Cor 11:32, 33)

However, despite the 8000 years of history we can trace back to Damascus and the nation of Syria itself, there is one stark piece of prophecy which we can possibly say has not come to pass within all that history yet: Isaiah 17:1 says that Damascus will be destroyed. Never has that ancient city been uninhabited. The prophecy says that the city will be razed and made into rubble, so that no one will live there.

Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.(Isaiah 17:1-2).

Was this prophecy completely fulfilled during 732 B.C. when the Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser subjugated Syria? Has the city ever been so deserted that wild animals feel safe to wander about and even lie down?

Or was it a partial fulfillment, the rest to come at a future time? Whatever the answer, we know that 2 chapters later, the Lord promised good to that region of the world. In that day…Isaiah 19:24-25 says,

In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom Yahweh of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

Barnes’ Notes, “That is, the three shall be united as one people. Instead of being rival, hostile, and contending kingdoms, they shall be united and friendly; and instead of having different and jarring religions, they shall all worship the same God. The prophecy rather refers to the spread of the true religion, and the worship of the true God.”

And what a day that will be! The tumultuous epochs of this ancient, beautiful but war-like city shall finally find peace, and so shall all the inhabitants of the earth.

Posted in theology

Cut to the chase: Five reasons to avoid Jackie Hill Perry

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week, lol.

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing contains 4 more essays in short form focusing on 4 influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these four previously in years past, but those essays were longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Today I look at 5 reasons not to follow Jackie Hill Perry.

Jackie Hill Perry (JHP) is an author, spoken word artist, poet, and speaker. She was saved, she said, in 2008. Until that point, Jackie had indulged in all manner of sins, including long-term lesbianism.

Issue # 1- Direct Revelation

Jackie’s manner of conversion began with a voice from God. As an aside, many of the false teachers I warn you about claim either as part of their conversion story or part of their foundation of their ministry, a voice from ‘God’.

In Jackie’s case when she was an active lesbian, she said that despite knowing the scripture for ‘the wages of sin is death’, apparently the biblical statement was not enough for her to repent of her perversity. It wasn’t until she heard the Lord speaking directly to her that she believed. Source and Source. And notice the displacement of the core issue. Jackie said she ‘heard’ the Lord say of her girlfriend, “She will be the death of you” and Jackie said, ‘then things clicked.’ Emphasis mine

No. SIN is the death of us. In JHP’s case, her lesbianism. The girlfriend isn’t the problem, choosing sin and indulging in it is the problem.

Issue # 2: Lack of Discernment

After her stated conversion in 2018, Jackie Hill Perry was seen as solid enough (by some) to be invited to appear in the American Gospel film, which combatted word-faith doctrine and prosperity gospel. But in 2022, JHP renounced her participation in AG film, saying she wished she had never been featured in it. She said it was “too tribalistic” whatever THAT means; and reeked of “theological superiority”.

As a side note: true doctrine IS superior to false to half-true doctrine. The Bible commands us to separate from liars, the greedy, false teachers, and so on. Jackie became unwilling to set doctrinal boundaries and separate. See the following-

In 2019, Jackie Hill Perry was invited from the upcoming Answers in Genesis Conference where she had been slated to speak. That is a pretty big deal, because not many other ministries have been consistently faithful and biblical over decades. It spoke volumes.

Then she was disinvited. Her disinvite followed on the heels of a controversy after Perry publicly endorsed Jenn Johnson of Bethel Church, who is a heretic and her organization is a heresy factory. No wonder Answers in Genesis said, ‘no thanks’ to JHP’s participation in their conference. The disinvite from a credible ministry like AiG spoke volumes, yet it did nothing to prompt JHP to reconsider her endorsement of Jenn Johnson, at least publicly. In fact, JHP doubled down. She later defended her endorsement of Jenn Johnson of Bethel by claiming that Word-Faith theology isn’t ‘actual heresy’. These were Jackie’s own words. Jackie’s unwillingness to separate shows her to be a man-pleaser.

Issue # 3: Reverse racism

In 2020 in an episode of her show “With the Perry’s” she said many woke things, including that “all white people” must look within themselves to search out the deceitfulness in their hearts over their inherent racism and reject the notion that, “all white people” have bought into the narrative that all black people are criminals. Source.

Issue # 4: Usurper

JHP preaches. Here she is at Liberty University in April 2024 preaching at the convocation where men are present. Here she is in 2023 preaching at the Passion Conference, where men are present. Other examples abound. You cannot listen in good faith to a ‘Bible’ teacher or preacher who openly and brazenly rebels against the very scriptures they purport to uphold.

Issue # 5: She is a Prideful ‘prophet’

In 2022, Jackie came out as a prophet. See again, direct revelation.She quotes what God has allegedly said, and claims that ‘God’ has allegedly given Jackie information about other people, for whom she then intercedes. God had told her she’d have a boy. She didn’t. She had a girl.

The canon is closed. God is not speaking directly or individually to people today, giving inside information. The ‘voice’ Jackie says she is hearing is not God’s. She is either lying, massively deceived, or mentally incompetent.

I wrote two previous pieces on JHP:

Jackie Hill Perry: Discernment review

Jackie Hill Perry comes out as ‘prophet’

The size of a ministry isn’t an indicator of their standing with God or the credibility of their organization. In fact, the larger and more popular a so-called ministry is the more we should be suspicious of it. In Luke 6:26 we read, ‘Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to treat the false prophets the same way.‘

Avoid Jackie Hill Perry. She is false.

Posted in God, immutability, spurgeon, unchanging

‘The Immutability of God has one jarring note to spoil the theme’, Spurgeon

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The IMMUTABILITY OF GOD – defined,

The unchangeability of God. In biblical theology God is described as unchanging in His nature and in His character. This includes God’s being (essence), purposes, and promises.

Psalm 102:25–27 contrasts God’s unchanging nature with that of the created order. Numbers 23:19 and 1 Sam. 15:29 indicate that God changes neither His plans nor His actions, for these rest on His unchanging nature. James finds assurance of God’s future blessings in that there is in God “no variation or shadow cast by turning” (James 1:17 HCSB). After referring to His constant patience, long-suffering, and mercy, God concludes with a general statement of His immutability: “For I, the LORD, do not change” (Mal. 3:6 NASB).

Source: Johnson, W. (2003). Immutability of God. In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

Since God never changes, we like to think more about His unchanging nature as expressed in endless patience, constant mercy, persistent protection, etc. We love to ponder the ‘good’ outflows from His immutability. In his Sermon delivered at New Park Street Chapel in 1855, Charles Spurgeon chose to preach on the immutability of God. After an introduction of extolling what immutability means in terms of the outflow of His other ‘positive’ attributes, Spurgeon said, “But now comes one jarring note to spoil the theme.”

To some of you God is unchanging in his threatenings. If every promise stands fast, and every oath of the covenant is fulfilled, hark thee, sinner!—mark the word—hear the death-knell of thy carnal hopes; see the funeral of thy fleshly trustings. Every threatening of God, as well as every promise shall be fulfilled. Talk of decrees! I will tell you of a decree: “He that believeth not shall be damned.” That is a decree, and a statute that can never change. Be as good as you please, be as moral as you can, be as honest as you will, walk as uprightly as you may,—there stands the unchangeable threatening: “He that believeth not shall be damned.” What sayest thou to that, moralist? Oh, thou wishest thou couldst alter it, and say, “He that does not live a holy life shall be damned.” That will be true; but it does not say so. It says, “He that believeth not.”

Here is the stone of stumbling, and the rock of offence; but you cannot alter it. You must believe or be damned, saith the Bible; and mark, that threat of God is an unchangeable as God himself. And when a thousand years of hell’s torments shall have passed away, you shall look on high, and see written in burning letters of fire, “He that believeth not shall be damned.” “But, Lord, I am damned.”

Nevertheless it says “shall be” still. And when a million ages have rolled away, and you are exhausted by your pains and agonies, you shall turn up your eye and still read “SHALL BE DAMNED,” unchanged, unaltered. And when you shall have thought that eternity must have spun out its last thread—that every particle of that which we call eternity, must have run out, you shall still see it written up there, “SHALL BE DAMNED.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Reading

Ligonier Devotional: The Sure Judgment of God

Ligonier transcript ‘Simply Put’ transcript and podcast audio: Immutability

below: Tim Challies-

God Is Not More, Cannot Promise More, or Do More…
Posted in theology

Lori Alexander, red flags of a false teacher, and the whole counsel of God

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

A woman named Lori Alexander who goes by the nickname The Transformed Wife, handle of @godlywomanhood, who claims to be a Christian, has an enormous platform across a plethora of social media accounts. When a man or woman is solid in their doctrine AND in his or her lifestyle, this is a good thing. I love that social media has been invented and provides us a way to get the word of God out into the world…To connect with like-minded brethren…To honor and glorify God.

But when the person has a lifestyle that is a horror to God or teaches error, wrong doctrines, or twisted Bible verses, it’s a grief to God. It is also a danger to those who aren’t discerning enough to see beyond the form of a teacher’s godliness. Then followers are drawn into a dark path. In June 2023 I critiqued Lori Alexander’s online work.

Discerning Lori Alexander, “The Transformed Wife” of @Godlywomanhood

In my discernment essay critiquing Lori’s doctrines and teachings, I used sources such as her own words in screenshots, quotes from her own blog etc. and compared her theology to the Bible’s. My essay seemed to have angered her and upset her greatly and that anger has not simmered down in the last 6 months…

How do I know?

Recently a lengthy article was published examining Lori’s online output (I won’t call it a ministry) from a psychological perspective. The author was Daniel Schricker, Ph.D, who is not only known for his music, (@ComposerDan90) but also for his academic work in identifying cults. He should know, he grew up in one. Since then he has dedicated his academic career in speaking and writing about the psychological use of fear in cults- especially against children.

In his article on Lori, Daniel Schricker said that according to Hassan’s ‘BITE’ Model, there are four “sets of criteria by which to define the modus operandi of harmful organisations, Behavior control, Information control, Thought control, and Emotional control.” Dr. Schricker goes through each of these criteria with matching examples from Lori’s online advice. He makes a compelling case.

Most disturbing are Lori’s teachings on behavior, with Dr. Schricker concluding, “All of these represent forms of behaviour control that are based entirely on Lori’s feelings, nothing else,” he said.

We know that Christians must base our learning and teaching on the Bible, nothing else. Red flag # 1 that Lori Alexander is a false teacher.

In her teaching and her behavior, Lori does exhibit the other three sets of criteria that harmful organizations exhibit as well- Thought control, Information control, and Emotional control. As to the latter, Dr. Schricker said:

“Emotional control is central to Lori’s thinking about her faith and is something she cites as a key to making a marriage last. Rather than recognising emotions as a healthy part of the human experience, she seems to believe that they are responsible for many of the problems women face. In the cult of Lori, women must silence and ignore their emotions entirely.”

Dr. Schricker’s article has agonized Lori. She is spending much time on several of her platforms railing against it, as well as dredging up my article from June 2023, which means it still obviously distresses her.

While it is never my intention to purposely antagonize anyone, even false teachers such as Lori, the truth will wound. It will either wound unto a godly sorrow leading to conviction and repentance, or it will lead to a distress that hardens one further into their errant position. Sadly I think the latter is Lori’s case. Her anguish at being called out is hardening her into her errant positions. This is sad to see.

The Lord uses both conviction and time to bring someone to Himself. Of the false teacher in Revelation 2 called Jezebel, Jesus gave her time to repent (Revelation 2:21). But she did not wish to repent. See also Romans 2:4, ‘the kindness of God leads to repentance’. But if the person has a stubborn and unrepentant heart, they are storing up wrath for themselves on the day of Judgment. (Romans 2:5).

BOTH show the glory of God in the end. Both His kindness and His just wrath glorifies Him. While we always pray for repentance for the false teacher, we ultimately pray God will be glorified in whatever the outcome.

I’d like to take a moment to parse Lori’s outrage and defenses. The lesson here is that one can be SO entrenched on one’s position, they literally can’t see. Cannot. So entrenched in sin their thinking becomes futile, doesn’t the Bible say this? (Romans 1:21).

Lori went on to say in that same post: (underlines are mine)

Many female Bible teachers don’t like me simply because I don’t believe women should teach theology. They should stick to teaching the doctrines of biblical womanhood as God commands in Titus 2:3-5.

1.It’s not about personally liking or disliking someone. I dislike Beth Moore’s theology intensely but I believe her to be a very likable person.

2.Theology and doctrine are the same thing. Theology is learning about God. Doctrine is, ahem, learning about God’s ways and teachings.

3.Since Lori restricts herself to Titus 2:3-5 only, I wonder if she knows that King Solomon has advised the following:

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, And do not ignore your mother’s teaching; Proverbs 1:8

Or Proverbs 6:20? My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Lori: “I have never aligned myself with false teachers nor have I ever preached in a church”

There is more to being false than simply those two things. It’s comforting to look at one’s self and say ‘I am not false because I never did X or Y’. Yes but what about when you did A or B? See: “Rich Young Ruler”. He thought he was saved because he ‘kept all the commandments since a youth’ but didn’t see that he had a huge hole in his theology, namely, his sin.

Lori said: “All of the commentaries of old agree with me and so do some other great pastors like Voddie Baucham.”

Cherry picking the sources that agree with one’s [unbiblical] stance is called confirmation bias. Psychologist Peter Wason has said this is the “tendency of people to favor information that confirms or strengthens their beliefs or values and is difficult to dislodge once affirmed.”

While it’s great to consult other sources like commentaries and credible pastors and teachers, ultimately, the Bible is the only reliable source. And the Bible disagrees with Lori’s stance that women cannot teach theology to other women or children. Another red flag. Also: see Lois, Eunice, Priscilla.

She said: “I also believe women teaching the Bible and preaching in Women’s Bible studies is what has led to the plethora of female preachers in most churches today!”

Lori likes to blame women for much of what is wrong in Christendom. Yet she never mentions the man’s or the husband’s or the pastor’s part in allowing the woman to preach or fall into error. We didn’t “all fall in Eve.” We all fell in Adam. (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:22).

See, that is another example of how her skewed theology skews her mental worldview – thus what comes out of her mouth is error.

I’ve written on the dangers of skewed theology before, and the importance of balance. Yes, I agree Lori is right on some of what she teaches. The problem is the error of omission. Adrian Rogers in his ministry Love Worth Finding speaks of James 4:17 and the sin of omission:

What is a sin of omission? The sin of omission is failure to do what you ought to be doing. James said, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). It is a greater sin to fail to do what you ought to do than to do what you ought not to do.

Lori should be learning and teaching the whole counsel of God. It’s like this as an example: In the Bible the Proverbs 31 woman is counted as worthy and one to emulate. In Proverbs 31:16 the woman ‘considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.’

So let’s say a woman with a platform started teaching that women everywhere should buy a field and plant a vineyard. It’s in the Bible, right? This women was lauded for her activity, enscripturated in God’s word forever as a worthy women. Therefore ALL women should buy a field and plant an orchard. Then they will be happy and God will be happy.

And let’s say that is the only thing the woman teaches in her whole platforming career online. Is she right? Yes, the Bible does say that. But is that ALL it says for women? No. Lori makes the error of omission, failing to teach the whole counsel of God. See link below in “Further Reading” for an excellent article about what the whole counsel of God means.

One must be inside the strong fortress, its foundation the entire counsel of God. Every brick being every word of God. Clinging to two verses in the Bible as Lori does, Titus 2:4-5, will not sustain a person in the end. It’s like clinging to a sapling in a tornado. I’d rather be inside the strong fortress!

Why am I writing this? Truth requires a response. Dr. Schricker’s article presented psychological truth. My previous article presented truth of God’s word. To hear truth and to dismiss it or ignore it dishonors the truth giver and dishonors the Lord. It also puts people on a path of destruction.

My hope for Lori is this: that someday she will cease kicking against the goads, repent, and close all her platforms to honor the Lord. She spends much time on her many platforms, and repenting and closing her online work would mean she would have more time to tend to her home, husband, children, and grandchildren. I pray she will cease leading women down a dark path.

Further Reading

The Cult of Lori Alexander (The Transformed Wife)

Great article by Randy Alcorn on The Whole Counsel of God: He opens the article with an example of what happens when we cherry pick verses to support our position. “If we want to better understand any doctrine or teaching, we must consider not bits and pieces of the Bible but “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27, ESV). The Bible features a staggering breadth and depth of truth that selective proof-texting can never reflect.“

TableTalk Magazine: Discernment without Judgmentalism by Eric Bancroft: Today’s marketplace of ideas is tragically filled with lies, distortions, and even heresies. Christians are called to be discerning as they engage with these ideas and the people who present them to us (Heb. 5:13–14). Such maturity of thought and ability to help others is to be modeled by elders of local churches, who are called on to “give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9).

Posted in history, theology

Little Known Bible Characters #6: King Chedorlaomer

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Little Known Bible Characters #5: Harbonah the Eunuch
Little Known Bible Characters #4: Eutychus
Little Known Bible Characters #3: Trophimus
Little Known Bible Characters #2: ‘The List of Offenders’
Little Known Bible Characters #1: Iddo

Jut as it didn’t take long after the Fall for the first murder, (Genesis 4, Cain killed Abel), it also didn’t take long for the first war to erupt, Battle of the Valley of Siddim. (Genesis 14).

In those days Kings ruled cities and near environs. There was what was known as the Five Cities of the Plain; Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, plus tiny Zoar. (Genesis 13:10-13). They are also known as the Cities of the Valley. It used to be a fertile and lush area, that was the reason Lot chose it when Abraham suggested they split their flocks due to crowding. Now it’s an area of wasteland, salt, and not much else. Most people believe the Plains referred to is the area south of the Dead Sea (Salt Sea).

The kings of the cities of Shinar had warred with the kings of the Plains and won. (Victors were Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim.)

The triumphant kings exacted tribute from the vanquished, and expected it regularly. Chedorlaomer is mentioned as the King receiving the tribute, perhaps he was the lead king among the five who were allies. His Elamite kingdom extended in what is today modern day Iran along the Persian Gulf. It is believed that the Elamite nation began in the area of modern day Iran sometime around 2700 BC and continued through 640 BC. From the Table of Nations of Noah blessing his sons Ham, Japheth and Shem, that the Elamites were perhaps descendants of Shem.

Except, 13 years later, the defeated kings, having grown rebellious with the state of things, decided to stop paying the tribute to Chedorlaomer and his gang. Of course this brought on a war. Chedorlaomer called upon his allies to let them know, and hostilities were reactivated.

Well, the Kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and tiny Zoar, lost soundly. Again. Chedorlaomer ransacked the Cities of the Plain and carried off as much booty as they could, including Abraham’s nephew Lot and all Lot’s people and all Lot’s goods. (Genesis 14:12).

We know from the subsequent chapters that Abraham pursued Lot’s kidnappers for hundreds of miles. With 300 men Abraham eventually got Lot back and all his people and all his goods, too. Abraham praised the Lord.

Who was Chedorlaomer, though? Not much else is known of him via the Bible. He held sway as a successful King over a large area, so he must have been powerful. He is also noted in Genesis 14:5 to have warred against Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, and Horites and conquered them, too.

His name is known to be a compound word meaning worshiper- ‘Chedor’ and ‘la’omer,’ (“lagamaru”), the name of an Elamite deity, noted by Assurbanipal. In 1896 TG Pinches was reviewing some of the clay tablets held by the British Museum (they had been severely delayed in cataloging them, over 21,000 tablets came in from one site alone) and he thought he read Chedorlaomer’s name on one of the tablets, and there was general excitement in the biblical archaeology community for some years, but it was later disproven. To my knowledge, there are no secular sources in archaeology that mention Lot’s kidnapper king.

Now, Abraham was savvy in war and knowledgeable, but the Bible notes that he defeated mighty Chedorlaomer, powerful King of Elam and victor over many tribes, with only 318 men. As we know, it is really the LORD’S victory. The LORD does this to indicate HIS power and might, over all humans, including mighty kings, if it be His will. Melchizedek King of Salem said as much in Genesis 14:19-20,

Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!

Blessed be the Lord, King of Kings, King over all, even mighty Chedorlaomer, who, in the end, worshiped wrongly and paid the penalty for it.

crown

All those who believe in King Jesus, King of all, will have eternal life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10).

Other entries in the series:

Little Known Bible Characters #8: Tryphena and Tryphosa
Little Known Bible Characters #7: Salome
Little Known Bible Characters #6: King Chedorlaomer
Little Known Bible Characters #5: Harbonah the Eunuch
Little Known Bible Characters #4: Eutychus
Little Known Bible Characters #3: Trophimus
Little Known Bible Characters #2: ‘The List of Offenders’
Little Known Bible Characters #1: Iddo

Posted in theology

Satan’s relentlessness

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’d mentioned the famous quote from John Calvin as I concluded a recent series on idols and idolatry, that our hearts are idol factories. Our own flesh betrays us constantly. But add to that failure, satan’s pressure of constant temptation. (Idolatry series below)

Is “Trad wife/life” an idol?
What IS idolatry?
How to make an idol: Example, Nehushtan
Idolatry: Did you know of these two false gods?
Idolatry finale, roundup & resources

One must always be vigilant. I’d read a startling thought in Spurstowe’s book The Wiles of Satan. One of satan’s strategies is to tempt us. We know that. But an even wilier strategy is to “cease to tempt, or to feign flight.” Have you ever thought of that? It’s to provoke our pride. We SEEM to have won the battle. We think, ‘Oh great, I’ve got this temptation licked! I got the victory of that sin!’ But no. Just as we release our guard, satan comes back!

We see this satanic relentlessness in the Bible.

Example : The Demon Possessed slave girl. Acts 16:16-18a,

It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave woman who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” Now she continued doing this for many days.

Note that she did this “for many days”. Paul was greatly annoyed, the verse says. In the original Greek, the word greatly annoyed meant “exhausting, depleting grief which results in “piercing fatigue.” “

Satan relentlessly troubles us till we become so exhausted we either give in to the temptation or we destroy our witness with anger or some other un-Christian behavior. Oh, if we all had the same power Paul had to simply banish the demon away! But we don’t.

Example : Satan came to Jesus three times in the wilderness. Luke 4:1-13. Note that satan tempted Jesus in the first place! Satan’s arrogance is such that he thought he could tempt the Sinless One to sin! If satan opposed Jesus in this way, then for certain he and his minions will oppose you and me.

Of course satan couldn’t budge our Messiah, but note how he departed. Not in defeat, but in promise of continuing the battle:

13And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Satan is always prowling. (1 Peter 5:8). He roams to and fro upon the earth, Job 1:8 says. Satan has a God-given access to everything on the earth, and that includes people (wherever God said satan could go or as far as he could go). He tried to get at Job continually, but could not until God allowed satan to get increasing access to him. Job was probably the most perfect man on earth ever (not sinless, but morally upright). And that is why satan wanted him. God put a hedge of protection around Job…until He didn’t. No one on this here earth can expect continual protection from satan.

Our soul is safe if we are truly converted, but our heart can be tempted. When we fall into sin, especially a public sin, then satan, his minions, and the world rejoices, saying “There goes another hypocrite!”

1 Timothy 3:7 speaks of the importance of remaining above reproach for leaders. The reason being a leader’s reputation must glorify God. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

The same is true for us women even though we are not leaders. We must maintain a good reputation. 1 Timothy 5:10, says we should be having a reputation for good works. This is because our reputation is not our own, but of Jesus in us.

Jesus protected Himself through prayer and fasting. One of satan’s tactics is to SEEM to let up on you but he is just biding his time to come at you again. Our own flesh even more so. Don’t let up! I do let up occasionally, to my own shame. But just because we are not being tempted at present, it is likely that the devil’s minion is simply releasing us to our own pride. He always waits for a more opportune time. Do not get snared!

Posted in theology

Jenny Weaver: Discerning her ‘ministry’

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Today I’m talking about Jenny Weaver of ‘Jenny Weaver Worships’. She came to my attention when I was asked about her ministry. I looked into it and answered the reader’s query. Then I dug in even further. This is what I discovered.

Jenny Weaver. Youtube profile picture.

Cut to the Chase:

Avoid Jenny weaver. She’s false.

About Jenny

To begin with, who is Jenny Weaver? Weaver has 212,000 followers on Instagram, 167,000 on Facebook, 149,000 subscribers on Youtube. Her events sell out to masses. She became known as Jenny Weaver Worships because she is at root, a musician. She sings the scriptures.

She is said to have spiked a “massive Jesus movement.” But is this movement of Jesus? Let’s look into this ‘massive movement’ (that I never heard of till now).

Origins

Jenny, daughter Cameron, and husband Stephen in 2020 thanking God that their ministry is also a business that kept them afloat during the C0vid time. Source Weaver FB Page

Jenny Grew up on the Gulf coast of Florida in a family of 8 with a mother and father who Jenny said were excessively strict and punished at the slightest provocation. They also both used heroin, including when the mother was pregnant with Jenny. Jenny was born addicted. At age 13 her father abandoned the family and the remaining family became severely impoverished.

Subsequently, Jenny was entranced by witchcraft, reading up on Wicca and practicing the witchcraft arts. She says she became so good she could perform telekinesis (ability to move objects by mental power), saying she could extend her hand to a bureau drawer and it would open. Or lights would burst above her and shower down glass when she was talking about the demonic realm.

At age 17 Jenny ran away from home. She began heavy drug use. She couch surfed with a family whose daughter was into the demonic realm via witchcraft, and Jenny circled further down into it. She says she could feel demons all around. Instead of the practice being fun she now began to feel tormented with no escape.

Sometime later she finally quit the witchcraft but continued to be demonically tormented for years, Jenny says. Her drug use continued. When she was 26 she was living with her boyfriend Stephen and addicted to meth. Reaching her lowest point, she screamed for Jesus to help her. She said after that she felt peace.

The help, she says, came 2 days later in the form of arrest and jail. In jail she discovered she was pregnant. She got clean, got prenatal care, got out, married Stephen Weaver, and got saved.

Yet…about that salvation…in her book “The Sound of Freedom: How to Bring the God of the Breakthrough into Your Toughest Struggles“, she says at age 6 she was at a Pentecostal revival and the pastor there singled her out, called her to the front, laid hands on her and she was suddenly slain in the spirit and fell backwards. Getting up off the floor she says she spoke in tongues. Saved then?

And, that at age 7 she was given a vision of Jesus in heaven on his throne. From her book, her own words,

I finally reached the place where Jesus was sitting and He put me up on His lap. Just like a loving Father, He began to talk with me, and He put His hand over my heart. I don’t recall exactly what He said to me, but I do remember feeling safe. I remember feeling loved, and it felt like I was home. I was so ecstatic about the dream. To me it wasn’t just a dream, it was Jesus actually meeting me and encountering me. From that moment I began to see into the supernatural realm.”

Des Jesus talk with us now? The scriptures say they are enough, even Peter who had a transfiguring experience with Jesus, said the word is more sure.

And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19).

Saved then? Saved in jail at 26? I understand some people do not know the moment of salvation, but her lifelong experiences with the supernatural realm is likely the reason why she attributes potential demon possession to Christians.

Issue : Demons Everywhere

Nowadays, Jenny’s entire ‘ministry’ is founded on and focuses on trauma and demons. She calls everything a demon. Lonely? It’s a demon of loneliness. Rejected? That’s the demon of rejection. So, issue with Jenny Weaver, her focus on the demonic realm. More on that tomorrow in another essay. Stay tuned, there are some really good perspectives I discovered from The Honest Youth Pastor.

For the record, I don’t deny there are demons out and about, the Bible tells us there are. I also don’t deny some unsaved people in today’s times can be demon possessed. It still happens. However, Jenny claims Christians can also have a demon. She is sometimes vague on this, going back and forth in nebulous language on whether a Christian can have a demon inside ‘guiding’ them or if it’s external oppression. But in two videos I watched she did assert that a Christian can be internally inhabited by a demon, and this is simply not true.

Issue : Lifestyle

As an adult, Jenny Weaver claims to be “a wife and homeschool mother, she believes in building families and communities in the Kingdom of God.” That quote was from her website. It’s obvious that Jenny also believes in building her brand and being a busy entrepreneur.

In 2018 Jenny Weaver started an online mentoring group of about 50 people. She calls it CORE. By 2022, she writes, it exploded in popularity as ‘God’ broke out revival. The curriculum of this now vast training college of 14,000 adherents includes live lessons which are ‘Holy Spirit-led’ and on Mondays students learn “deliverance & spiritual warfare training”. She also started a kids’ program and now trains thousands of kids and teens in the core group.

Below are the businesses and activities Jenny runs and maintains according to her Instagram linktree. And she also homeschools and mothers her daughter? Not sure about this claim. There isn’t enough time in a day to do all that and focus on being the mother Jesus wants a woman with children to be…

So, of her claim to be a “homeschooling mom,” in addition to mothering, she travels for concerts, runs a Business Coaching program that helps with “social media strategies, scaling a business, recreating a cohesive look and “feel” to your brand or business and I even teach how to use systems for organizing and schedule blocking“, develops and sells merchandise, AND runs an CORE academy with 14,000 students, and more. Homeschooling mom? Doubtful.

Issue : Direct Revelation

Jenny says she ‘leads in “Prophetic worship”‘ Nope. When she prophesies it’s false prophecy. These screen shots are from her January 2 prophetic word on Facebook Live. She is praying the Lord’s use of her will be accurate and edifying, and “thus saith the Lord”.

“Thus saith the Lord” is biblical language used in the Old Testament which confirmed the Prophet was of God. Above, Jenny is taking the Lord’s name in vain, blaspheming according to Exodus 20:7, because the Lord is not speaking to her. She is putting words in His mouth He didn’t say. Doing so, kindles His wrath.

Above, Jenny’s January 2 ‘prophetic word’ includes specificity on exactly HOW ‘Jesus’ told her to express His words to the listening audience on her Facebook livestream. Putting words in the Lord’s mouth that He didn’t say is dangerous. False prophets like Jenny will be severely punished.

This is what the LORD of armies says:
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They tell a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:16)

I did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
Jeremiah 23:21

“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds. (Jeremiah 14:14).

False prophets happened then, it happens now. Prophecy is not occurring in this day and age because the canon is complete. (Revelation 22:18-19; 2 Timothy 3:16). Anyone in these days who claims to have heard directly from the Lord, is is delusional, false, or lying.

Jenny Weaver is a false teacher and a false prophet. All that is left for her (unless she truly repents) is plagues and wrath and punishment, according to the word of God. Avoid Jenny Weaver.

Can a Christian be Demon-possessed?

Charismatic Conference with singer Jenny Weaver encourages children to be slain in the spirit, speak in tongues

Testing Jenny Weaver’s Teachings (18-min video from Learn to Discern). In this video Weaver also says that Christians can be possessed by mind-controlling ‘octopus spirits’.

Posted in theology

Attending a transgender/gay wedding? Alistair Begg’s reply and the outcry

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Scottish born Alistair Begg has been pastoring and preaching at Parkside Church in Cleveland since 1983. That’s over 40 years at the same church, something to celebrate. His online ministry is called Truth for Life.

He is well-known and looked at credibly by his peers. He has not been involved in any huge scandals. His preaching to my knowledge is straightforward and unapologetic on ALL the Bible’s texts.

This week a video surfaced where this past September 2023 Begg was interviewed by Bob Lepine at Truth for Life, promoting Begg’s new book, The Christian Manifesto. Begg was asked a question of how people might be changed reading Begg’s book. Part of Begg’s answer included a surprising reply.

Begg said he’d a conversation with a grandmother about her grandson inviting the grandma to the grandson’s wedding ceremony. He was marrying a transgender person. Begg acknowledged that people may not like his answer, but he said he’d encouraged the grandma to attend and to buy the homosexual couple a gift. It was OK because the grandma, she assured Begg, had already made known to her grandson that she doesn’t approve of his lifestyle, and that her disapproval was in the name of Jesus and the cause of holy sexual ethics. Begg said her attendance would signal love and compassion, and might take him by surprise, whereas her absence would spark accusations of judgmentalness and criticism.

Discernment thought

If we really think about Begg’s reply, it seems that his definition of love is more the world’s than Jesus’. When Jesus confronted the Woman at the Well about her sexual sin, He didn’t say I love you, here’s a housewarming gift for you and the man you’re living with, and by the way I don’t approve of your living situation. That would not make sense would it? It’s conflicting behavior.

Secondly, we never base a response to sin on whether the people would receive it critically. We are told to prepare for mocking and scoffing, hate, and even martyrdom. The lawless hate their deeds being brought to the light, but we must trust the Lord to convict them when we adhere to His standards and live and speak them into a darkening world.

Begg’s reply caused a furor online, with people’s reactions running the gamut from ‘off with his head’ to ‘what’s the big deal’. Most comments were somewhere in between.

Discernment thought

When a long-standing, credible pastor or teacher makes an “out there” reply to a question, or suddenly preaches something contrary to the word of God or to what he has preached before, take a breath. Here is Meg Basham’s take, one I agree with:

Megan Basham @megbasham Even the best, most godly preachers and teachers can have a bad take. Even a really bad take. I don’t stop listening to them unless it 1) becomes a pattern that shows a general lack of discernment or 2) clearly endorses heresy. I’m bummed about the Alistair Begg clip circulating. But it’s a bad take against a lifetime of faithful teaching. Hopefully he’ll address it. 39.9K Views

Discernment thought

But this is not the first time I scratched my head over something Begg said he believed. There are two other instances that I know of that gave me pause in Alistair Begg’s discernment in the recent past.

Issue with A. Begg (the first issue being attending a trans/gay wedding, already discussed above).

In 2019 he preached that women can speak to the gathered congregation in church on a Sunday, if the elders decide they want her to. If she has something worthwhile to share. Since she is “not speaking as a pastor or in rule and authority”, she can teach at the podium, Begg said, and it does not violate the prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12. Forbidding women from speaking to the church on a Sunday is “making a law out of a principle,” Begg advised. Listen to him say this here: “Christian Women” slide to 30:00.

No. Paul’s prohibition was clear. Women may not teach or usurp authority over a man, but to be in silence. An elder’s permission does not trump the biblical rule.

Issue with A. Begg

Also in 2019, Alistair Begg appeared at a conference with Beth Moore, Tony Evans, and a female reverend called Mary Hulst. His ministry was contacted by a concerned bystander, and amazingly they answered. Begg, through the media contact, said he was also concerned about Moore and Evans, but he’d committed to the conference prior to knowing who else would be there. He also said he wanted to preach the Gospel wherever he went. Lastly, he wasn’t sharing the platform with these folks, just being present at the same conference.

This to me, is a disingenuous answer. Sharing the conference IS sharing the platform. Sharing your good name with false teachers throws mud on your name AND the name of Jesus. It’s also biblically forbidden. Secondly, it’s foolish to agree to speak at a place before you know who else will be there. Just…don’t do that. No one does that. And preaching the gospel wherever you go…well, I’d answered that above. There are some places we don’t share with false teachers. Why else did Paul become so upset at the demon possessed girl? She was saying a TRUE thing, but it came from demonic lips.

What Does 2 John Have to Teach Us about Partnering with False Teachers? 9Marks-
What this means practically for those in ministry is that they should not, in any way, under any circumstance, lock arms with heretical teachers, pastors, authors, professors, or anyone in any capacity who comes to you bringing a different Jesus.

This includes: Conferences, Prayer Breakfasts, Bible Studies, Pastors Coalitions, Parachurch ministries, Pulpit Swaps, Book Recommendations, Article sharing or website promoting, And more.

The Trans/Gay Wedding issue

How would Begg’s peers who are at his level reply to a similar question? Here are past replies to the question “Would you attend a gay wedding if invited?” from other pastors. These comments are not a response to the current issue with Alistair.

John Piper: “No. One, it is not a wedding, because it is not a marriage…” more here.

John MacArthur: “No matter how much you desire to be compassionate to the homosexual, your first sympathies belong to the Lord and to the exaltation of His righteousness.” more here

Kevin DeYoung at Ligonier: “A wedding ceremony, in the Christian tradition, is first of all a worship service. So if the union being celebrated in the service cannot be biblically sanctioned as an act of worship, we believe the service lends credence to a lie. We cannot in good conscience participate in a service of false worship.” More here

Voddie Baucham:

Owen Strahan responds to Begg’s stance on attending gay weddings, here

RESOURCE–

Here is David Murray at Heart Head Hand blog (a counseling site) with a hypothetical answer on what he would say if his son came out as gay. I thought it was a good in-between response that showed his son fatherly love but also set Christian boundaries: What letter would you write to a gay son?

CONCLUSION

While we don’t leap on a teacher who has been solid for years with the first little tittle they say that appears to vary from the Bible, we do wait to see if there is a pattern. Alistair Begg has partnered with people who he knows aren’t solid, has overturned the prohibition for women teaching and preaching in church, and has seemed to have gone soft on practical applications in life regarding homosexuality/transgender. It is my opinion he has established a pattern that bears close watching. Perhaps the outcry will cause Pastor Begg to re-examine his stance in this hot-button issue, and perhaps he’d also pray for more discernment on the other two issues. We pray and wait to see.