The Weapons of God's Righteousness

In its time the Spartan army was the most terrifying thing to walk the earth, it was called "a wall of men instead of bricks". The reputation of the Spartan army lasted well beyond Sparta itself. Even today their ferocity and exploits are awe inspiring; read the book Gates Of Fire (please ignore the movie "The 300") and you will see why Sparta was held in such esteem, militarily anyhow.

The Greek military had developed a form of fighting called the Phalanx, it was a tight formation with the ranks so tight their shields protected the carrier and the man to his right. They carried spears so long that the second and third ranks could fight over the shoulders of the ranks before them. The warrior also carried a short sword as a secondary weapon. Many Greek armies also had light missile troops behind the phalanx launching javelins and arrows.

As with Spartan soldiers, warriors from all the Greek city-states were called "hoplites" because they carried their "hoplon" which is the Greek word for implements of war; panoply (armor including helmet, armored breast plate, greves), aspis (shield), doru (spear), xiphos (sword), toxon (bow), oistos (arrow), akóntio (javelin). and lets not forget food, water, etc. In the ancient world this was a lot to carry. In fact the majority of the hoplite's job was to carry his hoplon to the agó̱nas (battle).

All of which leads us to:

and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:13)

When we look at the original Greek the word Paul used which has been translated to "instruments" the word he used is hoplon, or instruments of war. Paul could have used ergaleía which is tools, implements in a generic manner, but he didn't, and this isn't a mistake, he knew what he was writing. Yes, Paul was a Roman citizen, and he was a highly educated man and spoke Greek:

As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, "May I say something to you?" And he said, "Do you know Greek? (Acts 21:37)

Being from Tarsus, a city Hellenized for well over 300 years (and the death place of Alexander the Great), and let's not forget that Palestine was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC so Greek is not a foreign language in neither Tarsus or Judea. It's clear that Paul knew his way around the Hellenistic language. 

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

The bishop of Rome is unhappy with President Trump's decision to move the US Embassy to the capitol of Israel. Personally I say "So what?" It's not like I'm getting tired of the reports of Mr. Pope's exploits, many are quite amusing, it's that his arguments are misplaced. The capital of Israel is Jerusalem, and it has been since for 40 years. Does Mr. Pope demand that the capital of the Untied States continue to be Philadelphia because we moved it to Washington DC without his permission? 

In fact the United States has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State for 95 years. In 1917 the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, a public statement announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. On October 6 of that year US President Woodrow Wilson agreed and consented to the declaration. On June 30, 1922, a joint resolution of both Houses of Congress of the United States unanimously endorsed the "Mandate for Palestine," confirming the irrevocable right of Jews to settle and govern Palestine. In recognizing that Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is the capital of Israel, President Trump took a page out of Harry Truman's book. Mr. Pope, don't you have something more important to meddle in? Like Net Neutrality?

No shock here: American evangelicals support Israel, but millennials don't understand Israel's place in the biblical narrative.  

Dr. Robert Charles (RC) Sproul graduates leaving us his words as a legacy

False Teacher of the Year 2017

Once again it's that magical time of the year when the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock (extra points to whom ever can identify that quote WITHOUT using Google). I love this time of year, when I look to the west and see the mountains pointing upward toward God.

I love this time of year, the air is crisp, the harvest is over, the silos and store houses are filled to splitting and the bible study classes are in full swing. For me the study is Romans this year, and a valuable class it is! Paul was one of the greatest sheepdogs Jesus left to protect us. Even now, two millenia since his passing from this old rock, his words still echo down through the ages, warning us about false teachers and their bloodthirsty wiles. We need to stay on our guards Brothers and Sisters, because these wolves are attacking, dragging off members of our flock, the venom of their bite (wolf venom?) leaving them to think this was their own idea. I've seen some very venomous wolves, their attacks aren't marked with snarling and baring of teeth, it's marked by soft soothing words, a smile, and a bible verse twisted like a pipe cleaner in the hands of a two year old.

So onward with the presentation of the ignominious Golden Goat award; John Shore grabbed the Golden Goat in 2013, followed by Steven McSwain in 2014, Mark Sandlin in 2015, and last year God's own NFL bookie, Rick Joyner. I still want to nominate Gretta Vosper for this prize but in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 5:12, he tells us that God instructs us not to judge those outside the church. Gretta is still a devout atheist and far outside of the church even though she is still seated in the West Hill United Church, Scarborough, Ont. The United Church of Canada is still unable to come up with the courage to remove this wolf from the remainder of their flock, If the rules of the Golden Goat nominating process didn't stipulate that the Golden Goat was awarded for individual merit the UC of C would be a shoe-in for their lack of guts and failure to protect their flock from the ravages of an outsider.

There were so many to chose from - Perry Noble has shown a remarked determination to lead his flock to hell, it was hard to turn our backs on him as he did to sound biblical teaching. Then there's the man that had a whole new word created just for his brand of teaching: Steven Furtick (and the word is 'narcigesis' of course) And speaking of narcigesis, Beth Moore comes to mind too, as does Paula White and the Phoenix of Falsehood Mark Driscoll.

Random Bits

I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted regularly. It's been a very long time since I've been able to sit down and type, and read, and not necessarily in that order. So I need to start with a prayer request - my stepson recently had a catastrophic snowboarding accident, his leg was shattered. It took seven screws and a metal brace that looks like a shin guard to bolt his ankle back together. Then acute compartment syndrome set it, an incredibly painful condition that can lead to  muscle loss, amputation, infection, nerve damage, and kidney failure. He didn't lose his leg but he was close. Prayers are needed that he recovers physically, financially, and mostly spiritually. 

So that's where I've been hiding lately, taking care of children, grandchildren, and fulfilling my bosses needs. I may end up calling 2017 the Year Of The Management. I've been through 5 different managers and 2 different directors. And they also fixed my back! It wasn't my back, it was my hip, and it was a nurse that listened to me and diagnosed the problem correctly. Nurses rock. 

My next post will be the False Teacher of the Year, these past weeks have been very hectic so it's been a long hard effort. There's so many out there to choose from, and no, it won't be The Orville, that's just atheist propaganda

Perry Noble fail. Pray for those undiscerning bugs who stumble into his web of false teaching

Irish Catholic Priest tells Christians to get rid of "Christmas" At first it sounds shocking... then it starts to make sense

Critics complain that the Museum of the Bible represents the Judeo-Christian perspective but leaves out other religions... ummm yea, I also noticed that the Holocaust museum doesn't mention much about advances in aerospace technology.

The Red Cross is removing the cross?

Resistance is Futile

The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is a public law of the United States. It was passed by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995  it passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 374 to 37 and in the Senate it passed with a vote of 93 to 5. 

It was passed for the purposes of initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999. However the president at the time, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton III, took time out from doing what his party does best, and demanded an 'out' in the bill so he didn't have to attempt any actual diplomacy and could allow the farce that was/still is the Middle East "Peace" talks to meander on with no actual end in sight other than the destruction of Israel. 

Fast forward 22 years: President Donald Trump, who succeeded the most anti-Semitic president that the United States has ever produced, enacted the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. The press went crazy, I believe because it wasn't their decision to move the embassy. Anyhow, one of my favorite authors, Andrew Klavan, summed it up quite nicely: