Bits and Pieces -- 2

This is a continuation of the “Bits and Pieces” offered in a previous blog. As I have previously mentioned, each week I try to place before you what I have to say in not less than four and not more than six “Microsoft Word” pages. Some subjects require more explanation than this; in these cases I have found that splitting them over two or more weeks works quite well. This leaves me with those subjects which are little more than snippets of information -- I have decided that these occasional little bits and pieces should be dealt with in this way!

The Questions of a Child

As a boy I often asked myself the question: “If God made us, who made God?” As difficult as it is for the mind of man to comprehend, the Bible tells us that God has always existed and shall always exist.

There have been times in my life when I have tried to understand how such a thing was possible; in the end I have been forced to accept that just as man’s powers of sight and hearing have their limitations, so do his powers of reason and understanding. And for those who would deny the existence of God; it is not enough to deny His existence by simply saying that since He cannot have lived forever, He therefore cannot exist now.

By using the logic of man we believe that whatever we can see, hear, smell, taste and touch does in fact exist; and that in its existence it must have had a beginning and shall surely have an end. But how then can something exist without there being a first-cause for its existence?

The logical progression of such reasoning must lead us to an attempt to understand what originally caused the first causative factor to exist. Eventually we must reach the point where we agree there must have been a beginning; and yet in order to have that beginning there must have been yet another causative factor. To pursue such reasoning with the human mind is to pursue madness!

There is much that we can and should search for in our attempt to understand the truths and the mysteries of God; but that which is at this time beyond the understanding of man we must accept as such and leave the questioning to another day. As far as the existence of God is concerned, I believe it is ably and correctly described by the Apostle Paul:

Romans 1:19-20 “Because that which may be known of God is [made clear] to them; for God has shown it to them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

Executed for Sedition

The night Jesus was arrested he had a good idea as to the events that would follow. He knew that according to the higher morality of God’s laws he was in no way guilty of any crime; but he also knew what the Scriptures have to say in Isaiah 53:12 “…and he was numbered with the transgressors.”

At no time did Jesus ever promote insurrection either among his disciples or among the people who listened to his preaching; and yet the passage recorded at Luke 22:36-38 makes it clear that he made a conscious decision to make it look as if he could be guilty:

Luke 22:36-38 “Then said [Jesus] unto them, ‘But now, he that has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, ‘And he was reckoned among the transgressors’: for the things concerning me have an end.’ And they said, ‘Lord, behold, here are two swords.’ And he said unto them, ‘It is enough.’”

What did Jesus mean when he said “It is enough” -- enough for what? Two swords were not enough to carry out an insurrection against the armies of Rome, but they were more than enough to indicate guilt in the eyes of the chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin.

“Let this cup pass from me...”

The evening before the arrest, trial, torture, and execution of Jesus, he pleaded with God in prayer: “Please Father, I understand what you have planned for me but I’d rather not go through with it; if it is at all possible would you please get me out of this?”

Jesus had a clear expectation of the horrors awaiting him so is it any wonder that given a choice he would rather not suffer in such a horrible way? With his exceptional and vivid understanding of scripture, we may wonder what would make him think it was even possible to avoid such suffering and death.

Of the many examples of prophetic duality scattered throughout the Bible there is the exceptional story of Abraham (the Father of the Faithful); and God (the Father of us all). Abraham had a son by the name of Isaac; it was Isaac who was chosen to inherit all of the promises God gave to Abraham. And yet, in the Old Testament book of Genesis we find:

Genesis 22:2 “And [God] said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac whom you love, and get you into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of.’”

If you place this passage in its proper context you will see a distinct parallel between Abraham and Isaac, God and Jesus. As you read through the passage you will see that at the last minute the God of the Old Testament removed the burden from Abraham and substituted a ram as an offering of sacrifice in place of Isaac. Did his understanding of this passage give Jesus some hope of relief from his torment; is that what prompted him to say in fervent prayer: ‘O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me’?

All I know for sure is summed up in the final comment Jesus made to the dilemma he was facing; he said: “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

What Does This Mean

There is a short passage in the Old Testament book of Job which I have been unable to find referenced in any of the Bible Commentaries; neither have I seen it explained in any Church of God literature or heard it mentioned in any ministerial sermon. It may be of so little importance it is unworthy of even a scrap of our valuable study time; but that is often what attracts me to a question raised by scripture; much to the annoyance of some!

In defence of myself and what some ministers consider a monumental waste of time and effort, I believe that if for any reason doubt causes even one of my brethren to stumble it is worthy of all my attention and all of my effort to bring about a more perfect clarity. I shall therefore make no apology for that which some may call foolishness!

Job 14:12 “So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens [are] no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” (Authorized King James Version)

Job 14:12 “Man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.” (New King James Version)

When is this time Job refers to as: “Till the heavens are no more”? Is it possible he was referring to the time of the new heavens and the new Earth? But surely the new heavens and the new Earth will not come about until long after the Millennium? Surely Job does not expect to be left in his grave until the 1,000 year Sabbath of God is complete?

Through trials that would have destroyed most normal men, Job proved himself to be righteous before God. There should be no doubt that he will stand with his brethren on the day the Messiah returns to gather His brethren from the four corners of the Earth -- in preparation for the beginning of the Millennium -- long before the time of the new heavens and the new Earth!

It may be that Job was referring to the time of “the rest of the dead,” those who will not be included in the first resurrection; but how does this fit in with our understanding of events to come? Do we not believe that the White Throne Judgment must take place long before the creation of the new heavens and the new Earth?

Perhaps Job was referring to the time described in Revelation 6:14 when “The sky [will recede] as a scroll when it is rolled up...” But this event leads into the time referred to as “The Wrath of God” and if I understand this time correctly, it can only take place after Satan has been locked away in the bottomless-pit and the resurrection of the “Saints” has already taken place. Note: For those who would question any of this I suggest that you first go to the Archives of this blogsite and read “Opening the Sixth Seal.”

It is my belief that the passage we are discussing was in fact a continuation of the questions Job was asking of God and of himself. In this passage I believe Job made a statement, then asked a question, then answered his own question! See what happens with Job 14:12 if instead of the words “they will” we use the words “will they.” Notice:

Job 14:12 “Man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, [will they] not awake nor be roused from their sleep?”

Then Job proceeds to answer his own question:

Job 14:13-15 “Oh that you would hide me in the grave; that you would conceal me until your wrath is past that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer you; you shall desire the work of your hands.”

Swine in the Holy Land
In preface to the following story, I should explain that it comes from a comment I made concerning the New Testament account of the man living in the land of the Gadarenes -- the one who was possessed by many demons. When Jesus cast the offending spirits out of the man they entered into a herd of about 2,000 pigs and I remarked on there being so many pigs in a single herd in that one place and at that time.

While I don’t want to get too involved with any of this, I really would like to explain why the story was important to me personally, and why my attitude towards Bible study was effectively altered because of it. From the example of the herd of 2,000 swine I began to look at the messages of the Bible not only from a spiritual point of view, but also from the practical.

It was more than thirty years ago when I first asked myself the question: “Why were there so many pigs being kept in one herd, in an area where so many of the inhabitants had as an important part of their religion an absolute abhorrence of pig meat?” Not long after asking this question I was reading a book on organic gardening and noticed that pig manure was perhaps the most perfectly balanced of all the domesticated animals in the basic nutrients NPK.

The letters NPK are of course symbols for the three main nutrients found in fertilizer: N = nitrogen: P = phosphorus: and K = potassium. Bit by bit I asked myself the questions which led to what I considered to be a most interesting theory. Try to imagine what the farmers’ fields must have looked like in Jesus’ day. The Bible speaks of ploughs, ploughshares, and ploughmen, so we know they had that most excellent implement used for millennia to break up the sod and prepare the fields for cultivation. However, when the fields were ready to be planted, all of the seeding, thinning, weeding, pruning, and the eventual harvesting of the crop had to be done by hand.

If the product grown was one of the many grains, the harvesters would have left behind a field full of stubble. If the crop was one of the many vegetables, the harvesters would have left in the field any and all vines, bushes, leaves, and stalks; as well as those vegetables deemed unfit for human consumption. No matter what the crop, the field would have been littered to some extent with unwanted vegetable matter; and the soil would have been depleted of those nutrients needed to grow that particular crop.

From personal experience, I know the scene of devastation even a small garden may become at the end of the growing season when everything of value has been harvested. The gardener of today, with a few bags of well balanced fertilizer from the local hardware store and a few hours of walking behind a power-driven roto-tiller, can have his or her garden ready for next year’s planting with little or no difficulty. Unfortunately, the farmers in Jesus day did not have access to such conveniences -- or perhaps they did?

You should know that the swine, or hogs, or pigs we see today are a product of decades, if not centuries, of selective breeding; the objective of this selection was to produce a more desirable meat for human consumption. I do not intend to get into a discussion of the merits (or not) of pig-meat as food, but suffice to say that the pigs of today must be quite different from the pigs being herded in the time of Jesus. It should also be safe to say that those swine were closer to their cousins of the wild and that they were more able than today’s animals to root and scavenge for themselves.

With very little difficulty, I can picture in my mind’s eye a large herd of swine moving over a recently harvested field, consuming everything in sight. With their snouts they would have been able to plough the earth to the depth of a foot or more, digging up and consuming roots, vines, potatoes, carrots, or anything else which may be edible. What with many pigs rooting, eating, urinating, and defecating, I must believe that when the herd moved on the field would be well cleared, tilled, and fertilized. After a few months the organisms in the soil would have made the field ready for the next year’s planting.

Since very few farmers could afford to keep such a herd for his own fields, there must have been swine-herders whose lot in life was to travel from field to field throughout the land offering their services to any farmer willing to pay. The loss of a herd of about two thousand swine must have been devastating to their owners. It is my belief that those who owned this particular herd blamed Jesus for their loss; and this was, at least in part, one of the reasons why the people asked Jesus and his followers to leave their country.

Note: Those of us who hope to receive a position of responsibility in God’s Kingdom will have to deal with many problems which mankind has thus far been unable to correct. One of the more pressing needs will be to minister to those who in this lifetime have devoted their lives to the One True God of Islam. As much as there are Christians who have embraced with sincerity a wrong understanding of Holy Scripture; so there are Muslims who have embraced with sincerity a wrong understanding of the writings of Mohammad. Next week I hope to discuss many of the “Clear Proofs of Mohammad” and how those proofs may have been misunderstood by today’s teachers of Islam.