Category: murder

The Creator and His Creation #3

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

“The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them” (Psalm 89:11 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is part of one of the two “Davidic Covenant” psalms (the other is Psalm 132). Note well Psalm 89:3,4,14,18,20,29,35-37,49 and Psalm 132:1,10-12,17. These are in agreement with the LORD’S promise to King David.

With Paul’s message now revealed, Father God has disclosed all His will (His secret will too!): “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:8-12; cf. Colossians 1:16-20).

Not only will Father God glorify His Son Jesus Christ in the earthly realm (prophetic program and the nation Israel), He will exalt Christ in the heavenly realm (mystery program and us, the Church the Body of Christ). David’s throne, which Christ will inherit in the ages to come, will extend into outer space, as we fill up the offices of government in the heavenly places.

Paul commenting, “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory [our destiny in the heavenly places!]. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:8-13).

In that day, creation will glorify its Creator!

The Creator and His Creation #2

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

“The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them” (Psalm 89:11 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is part of one of the two “Davidic Covenant” psalms (the other is Psalm 132). Note well Psalm 89:3,4,14,18,20,29,35-37,49 and Psalm 132:1,10-12,17. These are in agreement with the LORD’S promise to King David.

Without order, chaos reigns. Unless there is government, there is anarchy. Genesis 9:6 and Romans 13:1-8 underscore how the LORD God has ordained human government to maintain some semblance of societal stability, that evil be discouraged and, if committed, punished (especially murder meriting the death penalty). Satan’s policy of evil, though widespread, has its limits because of national borders and governments willing to address and discipline criminals (see also Acts 17:26-31). Of course, sin complicates all of this, and politicians tend to oppress and disgrace the very people they have been appointed to protect and benefit.

Observe one of Satan’s offers when he tempted Christ Jesus: “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine” (Luke 4:5-7). Satan was gloating here, for he was “the god [ruler] of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and both he and Jesus knew it. In fact, he tried to entice the Lord Jesus to worship him, and, in exchange, he would hand over the kingdoms of this world to Jesus. How did Satan acquire such dreadful power? Adam, who had God-given governmental authority on the Earth, had relinquished that power to Satan back in Genesis chapter 3 (see Genesis 1:26-28).

The Davidic Covenant is Father God’s purpose and plan to reclaim Earth’s governments from Satan. From the Apostle Paul’s ministry and message, we learn how Christ will take David’s earthly throne and extend it even as far out as the heavenly places in the ages to come….

Understanding Your Purpose

Sunday, May 15, 2022

“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:” (Ephesians 1:9,10 KJV).

Friend, would you like to understand your purpose?

As human society continues spiraling downward and away from the truths of the Creation Week in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, it becomes increasingly ignorant of just why we are here. Prevailing thought today is that the heavens and the earth originated from some still inexplicable, random interaction of natural laws 14 billion years ago. Life is but an accident, meaningless. Our world is “unplanned.” We are just “highly evolved animals.” It is this depreciating of human life that has contributed to abortion on-demand, environmentalism, suicide, tyranny, violence, bloodshed, and all the other tragedies preventing the human race from ever enjoying real (!) progress (!).

If there is no God, no higher power of any kind, and we exist “just by chance,” then there really is no incentive for us to do right. Our accomplishments—no matter how grand—will all count for nothing because there is no one to make a final, decisive evaluation of them. Life is worthless, with no eternal significance. It makes no difference what we do. “Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32). This is precisely where natural-man thinking gets us, and exactly where human society is at this very moment, self-destructing because it is too prideful to come by faith to its Creator and submit to His plan for the heaven and the earth (Romans 1:18-32)!

Today’s Scripture explains that Father God has one overall aim for the heaven and the earth. Why do they exist? Why do we exist? No matter what sinful mankind purposes to do or actually does, God will ultimately exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in both realms. We can participate by faith—or not. Regardless, the life of Christ will fill the entire universe one day and He will be glorified throughout the endless ages to come. In that day, creatures with eternal life will finally bring to pass the Creator’s original objective!

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #6

Thursday, January 14, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

As sin found out and fractured in twain Adam and Eve, so it did their sons Cain and Abel. Chapter 4 of Genesis: “[1] And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. [2] And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. [3] And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. [4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

“[6] And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? [7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. [8] And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. [9] And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? [10] And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”

Abel, a man of faith, offered a blood sacrifice as God commanded (cf. Hebrews 11:4). His brother Cain, however, was evil and unbelieving, offering the fruit of his hands. Their religious argument resulted in Cain hating and murdering Abel (1 John 3:11-13)! Sin (fratricide) has found out and fractured in twain the home….

Two Lives Bound Up

Saturday, March 24, 2018

“Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life; It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave” (Genesis 44:30,31 KJV).

Behold, the “natural affection” this father has for his son!

Jacob’s son Judah is speaking to a man in Egypt (verse 18). Judah says that if his youngest brother Benjamin is not in their company, their aged and frail father will die heartbroken. Verse 34 relates that Judah does not want to see Jacob meet such a dire fate. Jacob has already lost one son, Joseph, and Joseph’s mother Rachel. In verse 20, Judah says of Joseph, “his father loveth him.”

In today’s Scripture, Jacob’s life is “bound up in the lad’s life” (tied, intertwined, linked). King Saul’s son, Jonathan, and young David were such close friends that Jonathan’s soul was said to be “knit” with David’s soul (1 Samuel 18:1). Recall the scarlet thread “bound” on the newborn’s hand in Genesis 38:28, or the scarlet line Rahab was to “bind” in her window (Joshua 2:18). The Hebrew word also underlies “conspiracies,” individuals so closely associated because they have a shared goal (1 Samuel 22:8,13; 2 Samuel 15:31; et al.). There is great attachment in all these cases.

The tender parental love underscored in today’s Scripture can be starkly juxtaposed with current “parenting” news: mothers undergoing horrific and barbaric procedures to let “medical professionals” mutilate and destroy their unborn children in their womb, newborn babies being thrown in trashcans and left for dead, parents imprisoning and starving their children, guardians mercilessly torturing and/or beating toddlers to death, individuals deliberately leaving their kids to smother in hot vehicles, parents poisoning their children to obtain life insurance money, and so on.

Have we really come “a long way” from our so-called “primitive days of superstition, grunting, and cave dwelling?!” “This know also, that in the last days perilous [dangerous] times shall come…. Without natural affection…” (2 Timothy 3:1,3; cf. Romans 1:31). Behold, regress—not “progress!”

Thou Art The Man to Restore—Times Four #4

Sunday, February 18, 2018

“If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Exodus 22:1 KJV).

How can this help us understand some of the tragic deaths associated with the Davidic dynasty?

Once Absalom assassinated his half-brother Amnon for raping his sister Tamar, he fled to his mother’s relatives in Geshur (2 Samuel 13:37-39). For three years Absalom was exiled. In chapter 14, Joab, commander of King David’s army, arranged Absalom’s return to Jerusalem. Chapter 15 documents how handsome Absalom captivated the Jews. Inciting an uprising, he assumed his father David’s throne, David thus swiftly absconding Jerusalem.

Chapter 18 reports: “[5] And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom…. [9] And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

“[10] And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. [11] And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle…. [14] Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts [spears] in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. [15] And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. [17] And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood….”

David wanted beloved Absalom apprehended alive; sadly, David’s servants executed him. King David is utterly heartbroken (2 Samuel 18:31–19:4). Absalom is the third son he must bury. Yet, one more son must perish….

Thou Art The Man to Restore—Times Four #3

Saturday, February 17, 2018

“If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Exodus 22:1 KJV).

How can this help us understand some of the tragic deaths associated with the Davidic dynasty?

A few years after David and Bathsheba’s baby died, Amnon—David’s firstborn son (2 Samuel 3:2)—schemed to eventually rape his half-sister Tamar. Although king of Israel, appointed to lead God’s people in His ways, David does not punish his son and does not comfort his daughter. You can read the horrific account in 2 Samuel 13:1-22 if you desire. As the second half of the chapter now proves, Absalom—Tamar’s brother and Amnon’s half-brother—will take vengeance where their father David did not.

“[28] Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. [29] And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.

“[30] And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. [31] Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent. [32] And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. [33] Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead. [34] But Absalom fled….”

Amnon is the second son of David to perish. However, as per today’s Scripture, there are two more impending and heartrending deaths….

Thou Art The Man to Restore—Times Four #2

Friday, February 16, 2018

“If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Exodus 22:1 KJV).

How can this help us understand some of the tragic deaths associated with the Davidic dynasty?

Continue reading from 2 Samuel chapter 12: “[7] And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; [8] And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. [9] Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. [10] Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

“[11] Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. [12] For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. [13] And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD [cf. Psalm 51]. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. [14] Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”

Time and space limit us here, but you should read verses 15-23 to see David’s baby with Bathsheba indeed dies. David is forgiven, but his sin has now begun to devastate his family….

Thou Art The Man to Restore—Times Four #1

Thursday, February 15, 2018

“If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Exodus 22:1 KJV).

How can this help us understand some of the tragic deaths associated with the Davidic dynasty?

In 2 Samuel chapter 11, we find the familiar account of King David lusting after and committing adultery with Bathsheba. After learning of her pregnancy, David had her husband, Uriah, one of his most dedicated soldiers, killed in battle. David then took Bathsheba to be his wife.

Chapter 12 reports: “[1] And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. [2] The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: [3] But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. [4] And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.”

Once David has intimate relations with Bathsheba, murders her husband, and marries her, the LORD, displeased, sends a spokesman to tell David a story. A rich man, who owns many sheep, has stolen and slaughtered his poor neighbor’s solitary lamb. “[5] And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: [6] And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” David, outraged, demands the thief’s execution and the poor man’s compensation fourfold. The rich man will not escape justice.

In verse 7, God’s Spirit speaks through the Prophet Nathan to utter grave words to King David: “Thou art the man!”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is a ‘daysman?’”

A Kingdom of Righteousness

Thursday, August 24, 2017

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:8,9 KJV).

Behold, a kingdom like this world has never seen!

After watching nightly television newscasts, browsing news websites, listening to radio news bulletins, and reading newspapers and magazines, one cannot help but be depressed. There is such major social unrest and distress here in the United States and around the world—violence, racism, deception, lunacy, corruption, fraud, torture, murder, war, slander, injustice, vandalism, anarchy, greed, and so on. Evil is lauded as good and good is condemned as evil. Society has fallen apart!

The Bible believer is not shocked. Romans chapter 1 demarcates the depravity of the Gentile nations at the Tower of Babel (some 22 centuries before our Dispensation of Grace). Second Timothy chapter 3 describes the world’s conditions as our dispensation winds down (much the same characteristics as Romans chapter 1). Society is not “reforming,” improving, “evolving” into a species of higher life-forms. True, we have gained more knowledge over the millennia—technology, medical science, et cetera. Nevertheless, we still have the same rotten sin nature that causes the horrific lifestyles of Romans chapter 1 and 2 Timothy chapter 3. Moreover, the evil world system driven by that sin in man, and governed by Satan, remains.

Thankfully, today’s Scripture, quoting Psalm 45:6-7, anticipates the glorious day when the Lord Jesus Christ assumes the throne of Earth’s governments. (From Paul’s epistles, we learn He will also sit on the throne of the Heaven’s governments—Colossians 1:16-20 and Ephesians 1:9-10.) There will be a thorough cleansing of all governments. Notable characteristics of the Lord’s kingdom will be a love for “righteousness” (God’s standard of rightness) and a hatred for “iniquity” (inequality, crookedness, sinfulness). Father God will personally appoint His Son to that throne. In that day, He will make all things right, and judge that which is wrong. The universe will be unrecognizable. For once, righteousness will reign, and sin will be dealt with correctly and swiftly. Such paradise will be “for ever and ever!” 🙂