http://www.kingdomcultureministries.org/

Kingdom Culture Ministries, 1660 N 2nd Street, Ironton, OH (2026)

11/06/2024

The lies are over.
Corruption ends.
Healing begins.
Life is sweet.

11/02/2024

The US was in its historic best under Trump, and it’s historic worst under Kamala. This is the most vital election in US history.

10/06/2024

What a powerful exclamation of praise! Praise and worship is how we honor the Lord for who He is and what He has done. This is usually through song and/or prayer. Many people know what is referred to as “The Lord's Prayer” that we studied in detail yesterday. This is the prayer found in Matthew and Luke in which Jesus taught the disciples to pray. Some may even have it memorized, and most likely in the King James version of the Bible which reads:

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

As we read yesterday, many fail to realize that Jesus was not simply giving us words to memorize and repeat, rather a format in which to structure communication with the Father. As a quick review of the 10 step guideline from yesterday. Jesus is telling us that to begin with (in the first line) we start off with praise and worship and honor. Our prayer life should continue with thanking Him for His guidance in how we should build His kingdom, praising Him for meeting our daily needs and forgiving everyone of everything, thanking Him for keeping us focused on His work and finally ending again with praise and worship.

Praise and worship is integral to our Christian existence. It is throughout the entirety of Scripture including this passage of the Psalms: Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary! Praise Him in His mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds! Praise Him according to his excellence and greatness! Praise Him with trumpets and praise Him with guitars and harps! Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and woodwinds! Praise Him with ringing cymbals; praise Him with loud crashing cymbals! (Psalm 150:1-6).

In the New Testament we read: Let the word of Christ dwell in you… sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankfulness in your hearts (Colossians 3:16), and: Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips that acknowledge His name (Hebrews 13:15). No one is like you, Lord. You are great and your name is mighty in power (Jeremiah 10:6). Jesus is the name above all names, so of course that’s the name that satan will be sure to belittle through any and all means at his disposal.

In the mid to late 1600’s English activist Gerrard Winstanley, writer Richard Coppin, and dissenter Jane Leade all taught that God would eventually grant salvation to all human beings, because there was no such a place as the Biblical hell. Their twisted theology and misinterpretation of Biblical Scripture gave rise to Universalism. Their names are revered in many schools, and their writings and theology taught and studied in secular academia. Mary Baker Eddy established Christian Science, which doesn’t adhere to the divinity of Christ. The Church of Scientology is a completely made up religion created by sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard as a money making scheme.

Even the names of the founders of major religions or movements such as Muhammad, Confucius, Siddhartha Gautama and Zarathustra are spoken of freely, and nobody bats an eye, much less gets offended. So many talk about ‘God’ that the title is ubiquitously meaningless. So what is it about the name of Jesus that makes people uncomfortable, uneasy and ready to end the conversation? The reason is found in what the Holy Spirit said through Apostle Peter: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). satan knows that there is no other name, so he belittles, disparages and brings ridicule to it.

Keith Green wrote some powerful lyrics about the days we are living in:
So many laughing at Jesus
While the funniest thing that He's done
Is love this whole stubborn rebellious world
While their hate for Him just goes on
And love just like that will bring Him back
For the few He can call His friends
The ones He's found true who've made it through
Enduring until the end *

If you are not familiar with praise and worship, then your Christian life has been held back and hampered, and you have most likely been bruised, battered and beaten by the enemy. Many also believe praise and worship together to be one thing. Praise is the joyful recounting (usually singing or prayer tongue) of the mighty works and deeds of an awesome God, while Worship is intimate one on one time alone with God expressing to Him on a personal level. If it is new to you, today’s verse is a great way to start: Tell Him as if He were in the room (because He is) “No one is like you, Jesus! You are great and your name is mighty in power! (from Jeremiah 10:6).

* How Can They Live Without Jesus? (No Compromise Album) Written by Keith Gordon Green • Copyright ©1978 Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol Christian Music Group

09/29/2024

Kamala is NOT Black. I don’t care, but I do care that she lies!

09/28/2024

Today’s lesson is a very important one to our theological arsenal, because it dispels a dangerously demonic stronghold that satan holds over many believers, and delivers the believer into the freedom that Christ died for. Yesterday’s last verse of the day and today’s verse are actually written together in Scripture as one sentence. It reads like this: Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to take away sin, but to bring eternal salvation to those who are waiting for Him (Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV).

Today’s verse in Hebrews states that Christ took “the sins of many”. The Greek word for sins in this instance is ἁμαρτίας (transliterated to “hamartias”). It can be either a singular or plural word. There are many words in the English language like this such as deer, moose, police and scissors; but the word ‘sin’ is not one of them. The plural of sin is ‘sins’. Hamartias is found in most Greek texts 58 times. 24 times it is rendered “sins” in most English translations, and 34 times it is translated as “sin”. Every translation depended on the translator’s understanding of the context. From the time of the original writings up to today, there has been theological misunderstanding due to the arbitrary choice to make the word plural or singular.

Think about the sentence ‘I saw the sheep’. If you were to translate that to another language and there was no supporting text to help, it would be only a guess as to whether to choose the singular or plural word in the other language. In today’s verse however, the choice of sin or sins is most important, because it alters the entire concept of what sin actually is. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus, he told his followers that Jesus was “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Greek word here is hamartian. It is a very similar word that appears 27 times in scripture, but unlike hamartias, it cannot be considered both a singular or a plural word. It is always definitively a singular word.

Then, as we know without question that John 1:29 is referring to the singular word ‘sin’; If Jesus takes away the sin of the world, what is this sin that He takes away? Isaiah writes, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity (sin) of us all (Isaiah 53:6). Again we see the singular word for sin used in the Hebrew, and again we must ask: what is this sin that was laid upon Christ? The misunderstanding of sin in theology is that it is “things that we do”. God sees sin as the condition of our heart. We can follow Him, or we can turn away. Turning to our own ways is God's definition of sin.

Jesus gave us a new command. He instructed us to love one another as much as He loved us. He said that everyone would know who His TRUE disciples were by the love they had for each other (John 13:34-35). Christians actually need to live under only two Old Testament commandments. Jesus taught us: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Mark 12:30 adds ‘and with all your strength’. Jesus said “This is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Then Jesus said “ALL the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

If we walk in a constant, minute by minute love of God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and if we constantly and continually demonstrate that walk through our love of others; then we are in God's will and without sin. That was the condition of Paul’s heart when he said “Everything is permissible for me” (1 Corinthians 6:12a). Paul had no intention for us to misconstrue his words into something like “adultery is permissible”, because when we are in the state of a perfect love relationship with Christ, our spouse and our neighbor, that normally isn’t even a thought that enters our minds.

Even if the thought does enter our mind, and even if we are tempted, that in itself is not sin. satan has lied to people and twisted the Scripture so badly that some people stay tied up in knots thinking that they are living in a constant state of sin. How do we know that temptation is not sin? Scripture is very plain about that in many places, such as the writer of Hebrews teaching us that in every respect, Christ has been tempted as we are, yet He was without sin (Hebrews 4:15b). If Christ was tempted and remained sinless, then so can we. We just need to understand the temptation as a tool of satan, and order it away from us.

Temptation is not sin, and the things that we do are not necessarily sin. According to Scripture, sin is when we turn away from God and toward our own path and our own lusts and desires. Doing the actions are not necessarily ‘sins’, the heart that has turned from God and His love is living in ‘sin’, therefore, everything they do are sins. Not because of the good or bad acts, but because their heart is far from God. If we EVER step outside of pure love, THEN we are turning from God, and THAT turning away is the definition of sin. Sin is the condition of our heart, not the things that we do. Once we understand that, we never again have to ask “Is this thing that I do a sin?” or “Is that place where they go considered sinning?”

The better translation of today’s verse is: Christ was sacrificed once to take away the SIN of many (or ‘ALL’ or ‘the world’) (Hebrews 9:28a); that SIN is to be out of relationship with God. Christ’s sacrifice was in order to return us to the original state of being in relationship with Father God. The verse continues with: and He will appear a second time, not to take away sin, but to bring eternal salvation to those who are waiting for Him (Hebrews 9:28b). This is referring to those who have accepted His free gift and who are waiting and walking and living and acting in perfect love in each and every thought within each and every moment of their lives. When we walk in perfect love, it is impossible to walk in sin. Therefore, all things are permitted.

The numerals in today’s date and verse are 9, 2 and 8. In Scripture, 9 is in reference to divine completeness. 2 refers to a union and 8 refers to a new beginning or being born again. We can see all of these reflected in today’s verse. Christ was sacrificed once to bring us back into union with God. If we accept Christ as our Lord and savior and honor His free gift, we become born again. Finally, if we remain in that relationship of love for God and each other, either we will pass from this life into the next, or Christ will return. In either case He will bring eternal salvation to those who are waiting for Him (Hebrews 9:28b). This will be the divine completeness of eternal salvation that we all look forward to.

I pray that today’s lesson will set people free from the stranglehold of sin and punishment that Christian preachers and evangelists have misapplied for centuries. I pray that all will come into the revelation that they are not ‘sinners saved by grace’, but ‘saints who no longer have a sin nature’. I pray that the reader be set free from satan’s lies of constant sin in their life, and come to the realization that sin is not what we do, but WHY we do... the condition of and the reasons buried within our heart.

I pray for hearts to be recommitted to God, and for lives to be lived free from sin, in the glorious love of Christ. And I pray that the reader understands that if there ever is a time when their thoughts turn away from God and His love (which is the true definition of sin) that there is still grace and forgiveness. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One (1 John 2:1). Amen.

09/25/2024

The entire chapter 9 of John recounts the story of Jesus putting mud on the eyes of a man that had been blind from birth, and healing him. The Pharisees were already trying to catch Jesus up in some type of fabricated scenario in order to charge Him with a crime and do away with Him. They asked to see the healed man and grilled him relentlessly. They wanted the man to agree with them that Christ was a sinner, as He had healed the blind man on the Sabbath (the day of rest). They were manipulating this Scripture: The seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns (Exodus 20:10).

Today's verse is the inspired word that the man replied to the Jewish council. Jesus taught “When you are brought before synagogues, religious rulers and authorities, don't worry ahead of time about how you might defend yourselves or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say” (Luke 12:11-12), That is exactly what happened to this man. Of course he had not heard the teaching from Jesus, but he was not worried because he had just received his sight, and he was not afraid to witness to it, and the words he said to the council were perfect and no doubt guided by the Holy Spirit.

At chapter's end, Jesus compares the physically blind to the spiritually blind when He said “I have come into this world for judgment, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” A few Pharisees who were there heard Him say it and asked Him, “What? Are we the blind ones?”Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty of sin; but now that you claim to see, you are guilty” (John 9:39-41).

Jesus called them blind because they tried to impose the letter of the law on others while missing the intent of the law. The law was never intended as a set of rules to follow in order to work oneself closer to God, but that’s what the Pharisees believed, and that’s why they were blind. The law was established in order to lay out a physical map of those things that people with a true heart for God would be doing anyway, and to show everyone that they could never be good enough by their own works. We don’t do works or follow rules in order to get closer to God, we do good works and follow rules because we are getting closer to God. It’s a fine line that many are still blind to today.

In another account of a Sabbath healing, Jesus defends His actions this way: On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work, so come and be healed on those days.. not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Everyone does some type of work on the Sabbath. Doesn’t each of you untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water on the Sabbath? Then why shouldn’t this daughter of Abraham whom satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When He said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing (Luke 13:10-17). Those who are blind to spiritual truth are infuriated by it. Those who seek out the truth are enlightened, and their blind eyes become opened.

The healed man in today’s verse told the council “One thing I do know: I was blind but now I see!” People could make any number of claims against Jesus, as they did and still do to this day. The facts spoke for themselves however. The man who was blind was healed by a loving God who was not bound from doing good works by religious rules. Christ had an interesting reply another time that the blind rulers were trying to trap Him. Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law…” (John 10:34a). God is the one who gave the Law to Moses, so why didn’t Jesus say ‘My Law’ or even simply ‘The Law’? He specifically called it ‘Your’ Law because of the bastard thing that men had made it.

When Phillip asked Jesus to reveal the Father to him, Jesus referred him to the good works such as these healings that Christ had done throughout His ministry. He said to Phillip “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (John 14:10-11).

In the 25th verse of today, we read “Whether Jesus is a sinner or not, I don’t know” the healed man told the Jewish leaders. “But one thing I do know: I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:25). The meaning of 25 in the Bible is ‘grace upon grace’. The blind man received this grace upon grace from a Man claiming to be God. This same Man told the people that if they didn’t believe His claims of being God, they would at least have to believe that the blind were receiving sight, and who but God could do that? Humans do not have that ability unless they are full of the Holy Spirit and walk as Christ did.

The religious rule followers think that they see everything. They falsely believe that they are in God’s favor because they follow the rules and do good works, while their hearts are full of bitterness and unforgiveness toward others. They are the blind ones. They are blind to the goodness and kindness and loving and forgiving nature of God. Those who truly walk in relationship with Christ are the ones who are able to clearly see that fine line. They do nothing to get in God’s favor. Their eyes are opened to the fact that they are already in God’s favor. The only works and deeds that they do are out of love.

09/17/2024

Number 9 in the Bible symbolizes the final, divine completeness of all things, or the final judgment of mankind. Number 17 in the Bible symbolizes overcoming the enemy to total and complete victory. On this date of 9/17 do you get the idea that God is giving mankind a warning? Think about the odds of these two numbers, along with their Biblical meanings, coming together in a verse that speaks of the overcoming of evil and the final judgment of the wicked.

While the odds are astronomical that this could be a random chance occurrence, what if there were a second 9:17 warning to the wicked? Well, there is. Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in the young men, nor will He pity the fatherless or the widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks folly. For all this, His anger will not turn away from them. His hand is still upraised to strike (Isaiah 9:17).

On top of this, Proverbs tells us that stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious, but little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead (Proverbs 9:17-18) John describes the final judgment of the earth like this: The horses and riders I saw in my vision wore breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur (Revelation 9:17). If we add in a 6 (the Biblical number symbol of mankind) to 9-17 we then read the judgment of mankind in Revelation 6:9-17.

The wicked are not simply people who do wicked things, but those who turn away from God. The most wicked of all are those who attend a church and pretend to be God's people (including church leaders)… but are secretly not living their lives for God. These are the people that Jesus was talking to when he said “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. (John 8:42-44)

Organized religion has always corrupted the true message of Jesus from the time He was alive on Earth up to this very moment. The hypocrisy and corruption has turned untold millions away from God and caused them to stumble in their beliefs. Jesus said “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them to have a huge stone tied around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea (Matthew 18:6).

Paul, as well, knew what true wickedness is when he wrote “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus taught about wicked, false religious leaders over an entire chapter of the Bible (Matthew chapter 23).

As for the second half of the verse that states those people will be sent to the place of the dead, this has always been a most difficult verse for translators. Even early Greek manuscripts differ. The King James Bible renders it as ‘Hell’. Others use the transliteration of the ancient Hebrew ‘Sheol’. Before Christ, Jews saw Sheol as place of stillness and darkness cut off from God where ALL dead go. Still other translations use ‘Hades’ (the underworld) which is the transliterated Greek substitution for Sheol, but has a broader meaning. Regardless of the actual fate of the wicked religious (including nations that have turned from the true God), we can know that things will not end well for them.

So where then is hope? Hope is found in a God that is slow to anger even among His people that no longer remember Him. Let’s read another 9/17 verse: They refuse to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion and appointed a leader that led them into slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them (Nehemiah 9:17). And this promise: I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth (Romans 9:17).

Theses 9/17 warnings and promises are quiet words to the wise. Few there will be that will listen to the still, quiet voice over the shouts of fools. Scripture continues this truth in yet another 9/17 verse: The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools (Ecclesiastes 9:17). Judgment is soon coming, but there is hope for the reader right this moment, because God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. (from Nehemiah 9:17)

Pray this prayer from your heart: Father, I know that I have put other things in my life ahead of you, but I want all of that to change right now. I never want to be counted among the wicked. Please forgive me Jesus for all that I have become without you. I need you in my life as my Savior, Lord and God. Fill me completely Holy Spirit, and give me all the gifts that Heaven has for me. I give you all the praise, all the honor, and all the glory forevermore, because you are worthy, God. Thank you for my salvation. In Jesus name. Amen.

09/16/2024

Mayorkas has ONE task: Stop Trump at ALL cost

09/15/2024

Good morning on this blessed Sunday morning that the Lord has given us! I pray that his mercy rains down upon you and that you have mercy for others as a result. Deuteronomy 4:31 states that our God is a merciful God. If we are going to be like HIM, we have to show mercy as well.

In the Old Testament, God spoke through the prophet Hosea: For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6). The meaning of this verse in Hosea is that religious people think that serving God is about their religious acts such as going to church, tithing, serving on the praise and worship team, teaching Sunday school and being an active member in the church by working in the church soup kitchen or clothes closet, passing out tracts etc. While all of these things are good and desirable, if there is no relationship with the Heavenly Father, they are done in vain.

The difference that God wants us to understand, is that truly living for and serving Him is directly related to the condition of our heart. If we are truly seeking His righteousness and His Kingdom and putting Him first in our lives, we will have an innate desire to do all of the things listed above. If we have a religious spirit, we will do these things out of a sense of duty. Either way, the things get done and to the outsider it all looks the same… but there is a huge difference to God. Some religious people do things out of duty, and some out of ego or even more nefarious reasons such as position or financial gain.

Even if they call Jesus their Lord and appear to to be serving Him, only He knows the true condition of their heart. Without a true relationship with Him, they will not even enter the Kingdom. Jesus said: “Not everyone who calls me their ‘Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Obviously, God doesn't want us to do acts out of duty, thinking that those things will please Him; He wants us to truly have His love and mercy in our hearts which will cause us to automatically want to do those things. That's what pleases Him, that we have His mercy in our hearts.

The religious people living in the days of Jesus thought the same way as the religious do today. They did not truly have a relationship with the Father. They did not truly have God's mercy in their hearts. What they did, they did out of duty. This prompted Jesus to tell them to go learn what the verse in Hosea means. Jesus said “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). Jesus was stating that people had become self righteous in their religion, and that He was not here for those people, but for the broken and hopeless who were searching for a way out.

Today’s verse then, Showing mercy doesn't depend on human will or effort; but on God (Romans 9:16), teaches that there is nothing that we as humans can do of our own effort to show mercy, as It is only a gift from God. Therefore, only those with a true relationship with Jesus, who have God living in them, can be merciful; as it must be the God of creation living inside of us showing that mercy. Those religious who don’t truly have relationship with Jesus don’t have God living within them. As showing mercy depends on God, those pretenders can never truly be merciful.

Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7), and Paul writes: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us (Ephesians 2:4). And this verse from John ties everything together: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7). God is love, so to know love we have to know God. Mercy comes only from God. Only if we have Christ living in us, can we have the love of God and the mercy of God to give to others.

09/13/2024

Adam and Eve turned their back on God (Genesis chapter 3), and humankind was set in a downward spiral. Their first child murdered their second child due to jealousy (Genesis chapter 4), and the downward spiral continued. A millennium after this, people had become evil and Godless, and there were the abomination of giant Nephilim in the land (Genesis chapter 6). God's creation had completely deserted Him except for Noah. As a result, God destroyed creation in the great flood, other than Noah, his extended family and two of every animal for reproduction (Genesis chapter 6).

God did not simply bring destruction to the entire world without warning however. God instructed Noah to build an ark that would take a long time to complete. Some assume it to be one hundred years, but the Bible is not specific. Using math to calculate the ages of his sons, it was probably a little less. During that time however, people had plenty of time to talk with Noah and hear the story of how God was going to save everyone that would turn to Him. Another thing that the Bible is not specific about is whether rain had ever fallen on the earth before the flood.

While not being specific, it can lead us to believe that no rain had ever fallen before this time, so people were skeptical about Noah’s testimony, and instead of believing, they mocked him to varying degrees. This event is a physical foreshadowing of a spiritual truth that is soon coming. Death and destruction is coming is coming for those who mock God. Their only hope of salvation is to come to the ark, which in the spirit world is coming to Christ. We who love as Jesus loved are here to testify the truth to them.

But Jesus gave us a warning of things to come. He said “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37-39).

A covenant is a promissory bond that cannot be broken. There are seven recorded covenants that God has made with various entities. These include the Adamic Covenant, the Noahic Covenant (of which we are reading about today), the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, the New Covenant, and the Everlasting Covenant. The covenant made with Noah is unique, as it is a covenant made with and concerning the entire Earth and all life upon the Earth.

As a side note, as today is the 13th, we should note that 13 in the Bible represents the Godlessness and lawlessness of humans. Speaking of Noah and his sons, who were saved from the Godless earth, we should also note that Ham’s (one of Noah’s sons on the ark) lineage was cursed by Noah for evils that the Bible doesn’t spell out in detail. Ham’s grandson was Ni**od. He is the hunter that tried to exalt himself above God (An interpretation of Genesis 10:9 which started as early as the 1st century with Judaic interpreters such as Philo and Yochanan ben Zakai.

Writings of antiquity such as the Talmud and those of Flavius Josephus also associate Ni**od with building the tower of Babel. His name is similar to the Hebrew word for ‘rebellion’, and traditionally he was considered a dictator and tyrant. The nation-states founded by Ni**od, including Nineveh, Assyria, and Babel, all became some of Israel's chief enemies. Ni**od doesn’t seem so much a proper name as a description of an evil person that came against God, and which Moses chooses not to name. For his many accomplishments and tyrannical deeds, there should be secular historical mention, but there is not, unless the actual name of Ni**od is Gilgamesh. There are many Biblical scholars who believe this to be the case.

Getting back to our verse today, God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you including the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you which is every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:8-11). These four verses represent the explicit covenant that God made with Noah and his descendants and all the earth.

The first rainbow appeared that day as a reminder of the promise and covenant that God has made. It may rain, and it may flood, but never again will flood waters destroy the entire Earth. There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on the Earth. If it all melted in one day, science has determined that it could not cover the entire Earth. Better yet, that is God's promise to us. Every time we see a rainbow we can be reminded of it.

In today’s second verse, Jesus is quoting Hosea when He asked the Pharisees to learn what God meant when He said “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” God spoke to Israel through the prophet and said “Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, and killed you with the words of my mouth, and my judgments go forth like the sun. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Just as Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me (Hosea 6:3b-7).

This is a blistering comment to the Pharisees who were questioning why Jesus associated with sinners. The Pharisees prided themselves in knowing the scripture, but as with many today, they only had an academic understanding. They knew all about God and His Word… but knew nothing about God’s loving heart or being in a loving relationship with Him. That’s why Jesus implied that they knew the Scripture… but didn’t know what it meant.

Then Jesus brought the hammer down by telling them “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). Jesus was calling them ‘righteous in their own eyes’, but far from relationship with their Creator. He was saying that the self righteous (Just as in the days of Hosea) had no need for a relationship with God (in their own minds); but that those far from God were sick and aching, and longing for someone to show them truth. Jesus came to bring truth and shatter the heartless, religious institution.

Of course the answer that the Pharisees couldn’t come up with is this: In the Torah, God demands a variety of sacrificial offerings with the most common being animal sacrifice in the shelamim (the peace offering) and the olah (the holocaust or burnt offering). The Pharisees understood this well, but they had no idea of the true heart of God behind the sacrifices. The blood of animals was required to cover sin, but what God truly desired was for His people to show mercy and love and forgiveness and to be in relationship with Him.

This is what Jesus told them to go learn. That truth could only be accomplished by truly seeking God’s heart and face. It is still the same today. Many people think that they have an academic understanding of who God is and what God requires, but they miss God’s goodness and the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4). Knowing about God will never be able to replace knowing God.

Kingdom Culture Ministries

11/06/2024

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