The First Lies Ever Told

Jesus Christ says of the devil in John 8:44, “When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” The first lies ever told to the human race were told by the devil in the Garden of Eden to our first mother. Eve believed these lies and acted on them, eating the fruit that God had forbidden and giving that fruit to her husband with her, who also ate. This brought about the fall of man and the introduction of sin and death into the world. The lies the devil told in the Garden were arguably the most important and fundamental lies ever told. They formed the basis of the rebellion of Adam’s race against God, and have formed a foundational error for our thinking ever since. As such, it is important for every student of God’s Word to learn what these lies were, what they implied, and how to extricate our minds from all thinking based on them.

The Covering Cherub’s Mission

The LORD in the book of Ezekiel chapter 28:1-10 speaks to the ruler of the ancient city-state of Tyre, calling him the “prince of Tyre.” He warns this ruler ,who thought himself wise and called himself a god, that he would die as a man and would hardly be able to say, “I am a god” to the one who slew him.

After speaking to this human ruler, however, the LORD goes on to speak to one He calls the “king of Tyre.” We might well imagine this one was another human ruler of that ancient city until we start reading some of the things God says of him. Ezekiel 28:12-13, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.” (New King James Version throughout) From these words we can see that no common ruler of men is meant, for this one was in Eden, the garden of God. Since the only ones we know who were in Eden were Adam, Eve, the LORD Himself, and the serpent Satan, the possibilities for the identity of this one are limited. Since Adam and Eve were dead thousands of years before Ezekiel wrote and the LORD is clearly not meant, this word seems to have been spoken against the serpent, the devil himself, who had been in Eden and caused its corruption.

Jephthah’s Vow

The matter of Jephthah’s vow is one that causes people no end of difficulty, yet the true lesson of this story is a great and worthy one, if we will take the time to understand it.

Jephthah was Israel’s eighth judge. He began his rule when the Israelites, particularly those east of the Jordan River in the land of Gilead, were being oppressed by the Ammonites. The reason the LORD allowed this oppression is because of their wickedness, as we learn in Judges 10:6-7 (New King James Version throughout). Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon.

God’s Word About the Spirit

Confusion abounds in the Christian world regarding the concept of the “spirit.” The first dictionary.com definition is “the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul.” Yet since dictionary.com goes on to list twenty-four other definitions of just the noun, clearly the English use of this word is quite complicated. A “spirit” could be a supernatural “invisible person,” an attitude, or even a strong alcohol!

Whatever is true of the English word, in Bible study our task is to discover what was true of the Hebrew word ruach and Greek word pneuma used by the Spirit of God. Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary admits of the Hebrew word, “Its varied use almost defies analysis.” Yet if we carefully examine the word from its usage in the Scriptures, we should start to get an idea of what God meant when He used this important word.

Souls in I and II Samuel

In the first six articles in this series, we have studied all the occurrences of the word “soul” in the first eight books of the Old Testament from Genesis to Ruth. Examining the Hebrew word nephesh or “soul” in these books, we discovered eight possible meanings for this word, which are as follows:

1. Any living creature of the land, sea, or air.

2. Any of the above creatures after they are dead.

3. What man is as a product of his body and his breath of life being mixed together.

4. The blood of men, or something connected to the blood of men.

Souls in Joshua to Ruth

In the first five articles in this series, we have studied all the occurrences of the word “soul” in the first five books of the Old Testament, called the law of Moses or the “Torah,” the word for “law” in Hebrew. Examining the Hebrew word nephesh or “soul” in Genesis through Deuteronomy, we discovered eight possible meanings for this word, which are as follows:

1. Any living creature of the land, sea, or air.

2. Any of the above creatures after they are dead.

3. What man is as a product of his body and his breath of life being mixed together.

4. The blood of men, or something connected to the blood of men.

5. People.

6. A person’s self or being.

7. A dead person.

8. The emotions, strong feelings, desires, and appetites of men.

So now we continue our study into the so-called historical books of the Bible, starting with the book of Joshua. Let us see if these eight definitions continue to cover all the occurrences of this word, and what else we can learn about souls from the book of Joshua.

Spirits in Joshua to II Samuel

In our first two articles in this series, on “Spirits in Genesis” and “Spirits in Exodus to Deuteronomy,” we examined the word “spirit” in the Old Testament, and discovered that the Hebrew word is ruach, pronounced “roo’-akh,” with the emphasis upon the first syllable. We examined the eleven occurrences of this word in Genesis and the twenty-four occurrences of this word from Exodus to Deuteronomy and determined six different possible meanings for the word “spirit” to get the following list.

What Is Wrong With the Holy Eucharist?

I received the following question:

I was looking for an answer to Matthew 27 9-10 about Jeremias (Jeremiah), and I found your answer interesting. I do have a question for you.

I always live my life with the words of the bible in my spine. I am a Catholic, and I see that you are of no “organization”. My experience is quite unique in that I have had supernatural visions. It would take too much of your time to speak of them, but my question to you is regarding miracles. If miracles are possible, then the miracle of “The Holy Eucharist that IS Jesus in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity” is what John 6: 51-55 speaks of. Why is it so difficult to believe in this transubstantiation when Jesus Authors IT with God inspired men in the bible?

God bless you,
Fiat Voluntas Tua
Quia per quae peccat quis, per haec et torquetur
By what things a man sinneth, by the same also is he tormented Wisdom 11:17

I am glad I was able to give you a new idea about the Jeremiah quote in Matthew 27.

In Heaven Without a Body

I received the following questions:

Many of my friends are arguing with me about the reason we are resurrected is for our heavenly bodies but not because we are not in heaven when we die (sheol).  I don’t really know what to say to this?

I’ve been reading in Hebrews that Hezekiah was pleading not to die, but if he thought he was going to heaven when he died why would he plead to not die, right?  Does this make sense for an argument against not going to heaven when you die?

Any help please?

Your friends are arguing, not based on Bible truth, but on the doctrines and traditions of men. Satan told Eve, “You will not surely die.” Genesis 3:4. Literally in Hebrew, this reads, “Dying you will not die.” Eve believed him…that dying, she would not be dead, but be in some other state, “like God.” (verse 5.) And the vast majority of people on earth, including most Christians, still believe what Satan said rather than what God said. They refuse to believe that death results in being dead, instead insisting that the dead are still very much alive.

Are Animals Spirits?

I received the following question:

Do animals have a spirit? And if they do is it the same spirit? Would them make them be in heaven?

Most definitely yes, as can be seen clearly my study on “Spirits and Souls,” here: https://precepts.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/spirits-and-souls/ . We never even got out of the first book of the Bible to learn this! If you have the time and want to, though, you can really solidify it in your mind by continuing the study I began and looking at ALL the occurrences of these two words. In Greek, spirit = pneuma and soul = psuche.

Asking if it is the same spirit is another good question! Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 says,