tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59742422024-03-13T23:05:22.464-04:00Between Flame and Glory"Behold the goodness and severity of God"Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-88621446881503318672008-11-16T18:01:00.002-05:002008-11-16T18:29:38.264-05:00More thoughts on the Bible's Levels of MeaningLast post I said:"There is the historical level of meaning. At a minimum, every verse has a historical meaning because all of the Bible was dictated by God and recorded as part of the Bible at some point in space and time. Additionally, on those occasions when the Bible makes a fuller statement of history, the Bible does so infallibly."Every verse also has a moral dimension. At a minimum, that Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-33785316553894604542008-11-02T16:47:00.006-05:002008-11-02T18:45:47.233-05:00The "Fall" is not a Misnomer: Yet Another ProofI was studying Romans 5 today, and a close look at Romans 5:18 reminded me about all that nonsense some weeks ago in an internet forum about Adam being created subject to the wrath of God; and that being the case, Adam did not "fall".Romans 5:18 reads, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-38942248419636796782008-09-07T13:47:00.002-04:002008-09-07T13:51:10.063-04:00Two passages on the Understanding the Word .... . . (or Lack Thereof)In Isaiah 28 God declares that the understanding of the doctrines of the Word of God is given to "them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts". That is, God gives much fuller understanding of His word to those whose sole authority is the Word of God, and who do not have the co-authorities of human ideas such as creeds, confessions, or any ideas from the Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-28168964261087987632008-05-21T08:19:00.002-04:002008-05-21T08:41:45.607-04:00Of Note in John 21:6"And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes."We see here an unnumbered "multitude" of fishes. This is the latter rain "multitude" which no man can number. True, the number 153 comes out once they get to shore, but that is only once they get to shore, which likely is Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-28231776676374373862008-05-20T16:07:00.002-04:002008-05-20T16:22:07.853-04:00John 21:1-6For a long time I have found this passage curious. I have understood for some time now the reference to ploirarion (Strongs 4142) in verse 8 to refer to the believers outside the churches after the end of the church age.But I have long puzzled about the reference to "the right side of the ship" back in verse 6. This is a slightly different greek work, ploion (Strongs #4143), in the Bible is usedRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-15704202524727407272008-04-20T21:16:00.002-04:002008-04-20T21:22:57.401-04:00Getting Your Feet Wet with New Testament GreekI happened to run across this, which I believe is the same Beginning Greek Grammar study book I used in my first semester of New Testament greek when I went to college five thousand years ago. If memory serves through these millennia, the book is quite good, though it is not unaffected by secular influences.It is well suited to self study, if you are so inclined. If you need help, as they say Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-3698040158628746442008-04-20T18:51:00.002-04:002008-04-20T19:06:31.048-04:00Some observations on Revelation 20:10"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lakeof fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are],and [they] shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."The KJV is not completely clear on who it is who is tormented. Is it the devil, or is it the devil, the beast, and the false prophet? The particple "tormented" in the greek is the future indicative passive, third Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-1724713481686919212008-04-20T14:02:00.003-04:002008-04-20T14:40:26.079-04:00One of the Great Joys of my Lifeis Sunday morning worship at home with my family. This morning we gathered in the den and sang from Psalm 29, Psam 90, and Psalm 145. The tunes were Effingham (one of our all-time favorites), Farrant, and Duke Street.These Psalm selections spoke richly of the glory of God, and the duty of the believer to scribe that glory to him. They also contrasted vividly the eternal destinies of the two kindsRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-24051986541906524922008-04-13T11:49:00.003-04:002008-04-13T12:18:19.136-04:00Left in the Dust...By God's mercy, I am recovering from a back injury which had me bedridden last month for the better part of two weeks.I am delighted to be to the point where I can take short, slow walks. On my most recent walk I thought my two year old daughter would be the perfect walking companion. She'll have no trouble keeping up, I thought.It turned out I was the one having trouble keeping up. :Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-43805576522906998542008-04-04T13:22:00.002-04:002008-04-04T13:39:53.463-04:00More Free Fatherly AdviceMy eldest daughter Heather is living with and caring for her aged grandmother. One of the tasks Heather does not exactly relish is sorting and putting out the trash for recycling. The recycling there is only picked up every other week, and so it is also hard for her to remember when it needs to be done.So, I thought I would help. Regarding the timing, I have a timer on my PDA which goes off to Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-55352393013562454832008-03-23T14:20:00.002-04:002008-03-23T19:46:02.561-04:00QnA in Text Message LandQ: Can you resolve I Kings 11:4 and 11:6?11:4 - "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."11:6 - "And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father."Does verse 6 mean that Solomon, LIKE David, Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-13740546300607010762008-02-27T11:25:00.002-05:002008-02-27T11:35:06.956-05:00Not So Fast. Again.Reposted from January, 2006, for reasons I shall endeavor to make clear shortly.NOT SO FAST. AGAIN.About a year after my first fasting boondoggle (see Sunday's post), I was ready to try it again. I was about to turn 21 years old. I had a lot figured out, I thought.THIS TIME was going to be different. THIS TIME the awesome spiritual blessing was going to flow. THIS TIME, my ministry and spiritual Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-47383869586193323102008-02-24T09:14:00.002-05:002008-02-24T09:53:13.114-05:00Re-studying some things...In recent months I have been re-examining a number of Scriptural doctrines I have held with deep and strong conviction now for thirty or more years. This is not an easy thing to do.It is not easy, for one thing, because it is hard work. It is hard spiritual (and physical, at least mental) work, which must be done in the face of a myriad of crushing earthly demands on ones time and energy.It is Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-10611422782516482002008-02-17T16:59:00.002-05:002008-02-17T17:27:42.315-05:00Ebed-Melech - part 4There are two outstanding characteristics Ebedmelech demonstrates that we'll note. First is Ebedmelech's compassion. Jeremiah's lot was most desperate." And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire." Jer 38:6"Jeremiah 38:7-9 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-44463436343353515032008-02-17T13:46:00.002-05:002008-02-17T14:01:07.142-05:00Ebed-Melech - part 3Continued from a previous post...Jeremiah 38:7-9 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-25665531055334032982008-02-17T13:02:00.004-05:002008-02-22T10:54:40.758-05:00Ebed-Melech - part 2Continued from previous post...The historical context of Jeremiah 38 is the waning days of a besieged Jerusalem just prior to the destruction of the city by the Babylonians in 587 BC.Recall the history of Israel. After Solomon's death Israel was divided. In 931 BC the division between the Northern ten tribes, collectively referred to as "Israel", and the southern Kingdom of Judah, composed of theRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-60810035792265961632008-02-17T12:56:00.005-05:002008-02-17T13:39:16.222-05:00Ebed-Melech part 1I listened to this study again today. I had heard it before and recalled it was an excellent study so I wanted to review it again. Here are my notes from the study. I have included some additional thoughts of my own, which are identified as such by means of bracks ([]). Feel free to copy my notes and modify/augment if you wish.We read in Jeremiah 38:7-13:7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-9040659972174984562008-02-12T18:03:00.000-05:002008-02-12T18:05:57.224-05:00Wow.Just... Wow.I gotta find that tape.Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-84391702665662266742008-02-09T14:30:00.000-05:002008-02-11T07:53:16.087-05:00Hmmm...Today (Saturday) I sat around loafing on the couch while two of my sons were doing the brakes on one of my cars.I don't feel guilty. (well, not very.)Am I a bad parent?Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-38504870432268196362008-02-08T09:36:00.000-05:002008-02-08T09:43:38.940-05:00Well, Now that I am on a "Handel's Messiah" Kick...This is simply dazzling:I have (somewhere) the VHS tape of this entire performance of Messiah. The program was produced, I believe, in 1983.Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-24270348004090871252008-02-06T07:27:00.000-05:002008-02-06T07:51:06.464-05:00Musically, Though...Musically, (not spiritually) the video below of the Hallelujah Chorus left a bit to be desired.The tempo was a bit fast, and the style was a bit too martial. Yes, this work needs to be performed with the appropriate grandeur, but it also needs to flow. It needs to live. It needs to breathe. The Chorus is what it is, it needs no veneer.Also, when performed by professionals, as it was in the video,Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-21359706599261227332008-01-18T09:50:00.000-05:002008-01-18T09:52:46.340-05:00I Made the "Mistake"...of playig the following video while I was sitting in a Starbucks.Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-56213559558706686322008-01-13T16:04:00.001-05:002008-01-13T16:23:10.604-05:00I should add ...to my previous post that this reminds us that word studies alone do not always lead us to the whole truth. If the grammar of the verse in the translation is not correct, then word studies will of course shed light on individual words but we will still miss the overall meaning of the verse, and end up thinking the verse says something it does not in fact say.Unfortunately checking the translation Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-47339580852249846072008-01-13T15:45:00.001-05:002008-01-13T16:03:53.631-05:00Upon Further ReviewI double-checked the Hebrew very closely, and I am now even more convinced that my grammatical analysis of Zechariah 14:6 is correct. The Hebrew of the verse says,"And it shall be in that day, there shall not be light; the precious [ones] shall thicken (or congeal, or settle out)"The word "light" is a singular noun. The word "precious" is plural, not singular. The verb "thicken" is plural. Thus "Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974242.post-84130737654847689072007-12-30T11:31:00.000-05:002007-12-30T11:51:43.906-05:00God Preserves His Word"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:18The word translated "jot" is the greek word "iota", which often transliterates into the english letter "i". The word"tittle" appears only here and in Luke 16:17. Significantly it appears without connection to "jot" in the Luke passage.Iota, as a Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06090107662850031129noreply@blogger.com0