Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Through the Lens of Jim

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!  Hebrews 9:11-14

The ostrich poking his beak into our car is not as graceful perhaps as the swans on Jim's "Journaling for Growth" Blog, but it is certainly taking a bird's eye view of things. Unfortunately, that is the only view some ever take of Scripture for usually we use the expression "taking a Bird's Eye view" as seeing things from a distance. So, I guess in truth this ostrich wasn't taking a bird's eye view at all, but one up close and personal, much to the unease of my wife.

If you take the opportunity to read Jim's Blogs, both  "Journaling for Growth" and "Love One Another", you'll learn how much there is up close and personal in Scripture.  Jim doesn't just give you the bird's eye view, he gets down in the dust and gives the worm's eye view as well. You learn the depth of God's Word .

It reminded me of my childhood when I wanted, and got, for Christmas a microscope.

That's right, as a kid I wanted to be a scientist.  First an herpetologist, then an entomologist, then a chemist, then an anthropologist and when I finally did go to college, I was majoring in sociology, a social science. Oh, I had a lot of interests and I got pretty involved in each for a while, but I missed the most important of all in what I considered excursions into the mysteries and life and a search for truth. I ignored the Scriptures. I considered them as nice little tales mixed with a lot of boring stuff that was hard to pronounce and difficult to read.

Now I see it all differently. I think what I discovered is exactly what Jim knows. Scripture is multi-layered that you could study forever and always find another truth.

That's why my microscope came to mind. It was a very nice microscope. It had several lens on a disc you could turn. Each lens was more powerful than the last. If you put an insect on the slide and peered through the first lens, it appeared bigger, but still similar to what you saw with the naked eye. But each turn of lens reveled more about the structure of the creature until the last lens where you saw the fine veins and delicate colors of its wings, which had appeared as colorless with your bird's eye view.

And that is what you get when you begin to see how all the Bible fits into a story of God's relationship to man, into the story of atonement through Christ's sacrifice and salvation through his future return, and all the colors of our God.

Thank you, Jim, for taking the time and putting in the effort to help us see these things.

Rub-a-dub-dub Three Men in a Tub to When Pigs Fly: Bible as a Whole


Do you think that pig on the left is thinking about flying right into that river and drowning itself?

Huh, what do flying suicidal pigs have to do with the Bible.

I'll get to that later.

I would hope, it's hard enough understanding that book without you confusing people further. I don't know what you see in that anthology of stories, myths, fables and poems. 

That's because it isn't an anthology. It's one continuous history of God's relationship to man from the past creation of this world to the future end of this world.  If we accept that fact, We'll have a better understanding not only of the Bible,  but of world events going on around us today.

Such as?

Such as not being scared by all the Global Warming hype when you understand what the Bible says is ahead. Such as not being fearful of threats from other countries when you see how the Bible says they will line up.  The Thinking Frog in one of his posts said, "The only thing we have to fear is God Himself." He is absolutely right, for we have a Fearsome and Awesome God, who has let us in on His plan in the Bible so we need not fear anything else. 

Also, understanding the Bible as a whole clears up a lot of those little events in the Bible that seem mysterious. 

Oh Yeah, how is all that stuff in the Old Testament relevant to anything. A lot of you people find that mysterious enough to avoid.  All those "begats" and hard to pronounce names like Jebusites, Girgashites,  Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. I bet most wouldn't know a Pathrusite from a Stalagmite. What's with all these ites, huh? 

Well, except for Stalagmite,  they are groups of people named after some body's son, you know, the result of all those begats. Take the Girgashites...

Bless you.

Very funny. Girgashites, in fact, all those "ites" you named, were descendants of Ham. You remember Noah had three sons,  Japheth, Shem and Ham. 

Ah, ha, your Rub-a-dub-dub Three men in a Tub silliness!

Yes.

Where are the flying pigs?

We'll get to them, possibly not until my next post however. Anyway, Shem is the ancestor of the Jews. We get the term Semite from him, a corruption from the Greek or Latin because there is no H in those languages. Japheth's descendants went north after the flood. We of European blood descended from his tribes. Ham had a son whose name you probably know by the country he inhabited. His name was Canaan. 

Canaan begat Sidon, his firstborn, and he begat Hitt,  Jebu,  Amor and so forth. In fact his next begat was Girgash...

And Girgash formed a tribe called Girgashites.

Correct. And the Girgashites and those other tribes all lived in the land of milk and honey God intended for the Hebrews. God drove all those people out of Canaan because they weren't very nice. He took His time, but those peoples were driven out. 

Ha, took his time. Maybe your God isn't so powerful after all. Why didn't he just zap them, like Sodom and Gomorrah? Use up all his power turning Lot's wife into salt did he?

God wasn't too weak to "zap". He did it because the Hebrews weren't strong enough to subdue the country yet. If God had zapped those tribes, then the wild animals would have been left uncontrolled and overrun the place before the Hebrews could get a handle on them. God is pretty sparing with the zapping and the miracles. He likes to work his plan through people, only he knows why. But that's another story, just accept it for now that God always knows what he's doing.

Back to the point. The Girgashites ended up controlling a region southeast of the Sea of Galilee, know later as the Gadarenes or the Gerasenes. This is an area known for the Decapolis, or the ten cities. We have cities such as Gadara and Gerasa in this country. Near Gadara are a lot of tombs and on the east shore of Lake Tiberias (another name of the Sea of Galilee), at el-Kursi, near the Wadi es-Samak is a cliff. We have a story about Jesus involving tombs and a cliff in the region of the Gerasenes. Might not have been those specific tombs or that particular cliff, but these were things in the area so it wasn't unusual they were mentioned.

Okay, nice little history lesson, or is it a geography lesson. All this gobbly-gook about Girgashites, Gerasenes, Gerasa and Gadara and you still haven't said anything about pigs.

I mentioned Ham.

Oh, now who is being cute. 

Fine, old haunt, I'll get to the flying pigs in my next post, but first I want you to contemplate Isaiah 65:1-7

"I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.'
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations-a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick; who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; 
who eat the flesh of pigs, 
and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat; who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!' 
Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.
"See, it stands written before me: 
I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps-both your sins and the sins of your fathers," 
says the LORD.
Then the next time you're roaming around, we;ll talk about this story put together from Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39.
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He cried out and fell at his feet. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me! I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man, had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"My name is Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him."for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs. Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them. " and He gave them permission. He said to them, "Go!" and so when they, the demons, the evil spirits, came out of the man, and they went into the pigs, and the whole herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned and died in the water.
When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off, went into the town and reported all this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man, how the demon-possessed man had been cured. —and told about the pigs as well. And then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus, when they saw him, to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. The people, they began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
So He got into the boat and left. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed, whom the demons had gone out, begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but Jesus sent him away but said, saying, "Go Return home to your family and tell them how much the Lord God has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and told all over town and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

When Pigs Fly and Pigs Die


The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Say to the Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
" 'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The coney, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. Leviticus 11:1-7 NIV
So we're back on pigs again. What's with the photo, we can eat the cow in the foreground, but not the pig in the far background? We going to discuss Solomon's barbecue recipes today?
Forget the photo. Did you read what I left you with?
Ah, yes. Shocking, absolutely shocking. Poor little piggies, what'd they ever do to anyone? How can you think so highly of someone who'd do a thing like that?
What? Release a couple guys from the possession of Demons?
No, slaughter a bunch of pigs. And the people there didn't like it. He scared them so much they told him to go away. Probably afraid they were next to be sent over a cliff.
You do so have a way to twist things to suit the worldly view, don't you?
That's my job.
Let's go beyond what you say and think about this. Jesus and his disciples had been teaching to a lot of crowds in and around the Jewish side of Galilee. So why did he suddenly, unexpectantly, kind of out of the blue up and say one day, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." What was on the other side of the lake?
The region of the Gerasenes or Gadarenes. 
And who had settled this region?
Oh, no, are you getting back into that Girgashites gibberish again?
Yes, were the Girgashites Jewish?
No, they were enemies of the Jews, pretty mean ones that your God wanted wiped out.
Right, and so Jesus just on a whim decides to sail over and visit a non-Jewish territory.  It wasn't smooth sailing either, not like they just got to relax on the water awhile. They set off and a fierce storm hit their boat and rocked them badly, scared the Disciples badly. Almost seems as if someone didn't want Him to go.
Hey, don't look at me!
Couldn't have been Jesus felt compelled to go after the Girgasites. They seem to have disappeared from history before this trip. At least Titus Flavius Josephus, the great historian of the Jews couldn't find any trace of Girgashites left in this period.
No, Jesus just suddenly sails off with his disciples for Gentile territory. He's got disciples with Him who don't seem to get it and who show a real lack of faith on the way and when he gets back he is going to be rejected by the people in his hometown. He is also beginning to come under regular attack from the religious leaders among the Jews. Yet, he goes off to a Gentile country and exercises a couple of blokes who may not even have been Jewish and ticks off a whole town of people. Why?
Cause he heard there was a herd (heh heh, little play on words there) of pigs and His Father had it in for pigs?
Forget the pigs right now. There may have been several reasons. He may have wanted to teach his disciples a little more about faith. The Demons knew who he was, maybe he wanted his followers to hear that. And maybe he was pointing to both his purpose and to the future as prophesied in that passage from Isaiah 65:  "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.'
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations-a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick; who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; 
who eat the flesh of pigs, 
and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat; who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!' 
Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.
"See, it stands written before me: 
I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps-both your sins and the sins of your fathers," 
says the LORD.
What was going to happen? Jesus was going to preach His message to the Jews, that He was the Messiah and they were going to reject Him. He would then take his message to the Gentiles, those who didn't call on his name and who didn't seek him. Like the Demon-possessed men the nation of Israel was saying "stay away, don't come near us". The Jews, God's chosen people, the people he loved, were gorging themselves on the unclean things of the world. They were pigs hurtling themselves toward a cliff, possessed by sin, about to be drowned and perish.  The Jews had made themselves unclean by long practicing the ceremonies of the Gentiles. they were in a sense possessed by the world and had become unclean in the sight of God.
I believe this event was partly to point to that and party to demonstrate God's mercy to the gentiles who also needed Him.
So he killed a bunch of pigs and scared a bunch of people.
He didn't kill those pigs, the Demons did, because all Demons know to do is destruction. And did He really so scare those people they wanted him away? Or was there possibly another reason?
What do you mean?
I mean, why were those pig herds there? What was the purpose? Those pigs were doomed anyway, you know. They were going to be somebody's ham and eggs or pork chops and applesauce. Those were valuable animals. That loss of herd cost somebody big bucks. Yet, they came and asked Jesus to leave rather than arrest him and take him to court to make restitution.
Have you considered this was an illegal operation, a black market in pork being sold to the Jews across the Sea? Perhaps those herdsmen were even Jews themselves. Remember the Prodigal Son? He sank so low he was feeding swine. Where would he be feeding pigs in Israel? A Jew was unclean who handled pigs. Perhaps the Lord was picturing the Prodigal Son working over on the other side of the Sea of Galilee in this very field.   Nonetheless, if this was a black market operation, they were similar to a drug supplier in our world. The drug dealer isn't going to the authorities if you somehow destroy his product because he would be in trouble if he did. So it may have been with this town and they just sent Jesus away so as not to make trouble or get their business closed down.
Jesus allowed the Demons to go into the herd, he didn't order them there and the Demons destroyed the illegal product used by people in defiance of God's will. Remember, God's justice is as prevalent in his Word as His mercy.
One other thing I'd like to mention. You'll be especially interested in this.
I will? What?
What were the demons so worried about? Why did they ask to go into the pigs?
Is it hot in here or is it just me?  Think I'll step out for some air right now.
What did the Demons cry out? "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time? I beg you don't torture me. Swear to God you won't torture me! They begged Him repeatedly not to throw them into the Abyss."  
The Demons knew scripture. They knew they would be locked up and eventually thrown into Hell. They also knew this was to be in some future time. They feared this greatly and they knew very well that Jesus had the power to imprison them until Judgment day. They didn't want to be locked up. So they begged to go from the men into the pigs. Jesus gave them His permission to go into the pigs, he didn't send them into the herd. The Demons then just did what was their nature and destroyed the pigs. Don't know where the demons went after the pigs drowned, perhaps they possessed a school of sharks or something.
I am sure we could dig much more out of this occurrence, but this is enough to ponder for now. But I don't think any thing in scripture happens at random and I believe all of Scripture links together in one way or another. 

I want to give a nod to Dr. R. Brown, professor at Wilmington University, teacher of Pastors as a member of SEND International- World Missions, Sunday School teacher extraordinaire  and author of Preparing for the Realities of Mission in a Changing World (2006) for pointing out the relationship of the Girgashites to the Gerasenes and his discussion of the black marketing of pigs. I have deep respect for Dr. Brown's scholarship and Biblical knowledge, and am grateful for the many times he has challenged my thinking.

Snow's Problem

Ah, the wonder of the snow, the man once thought when he walked through the falling flakes. How it tingled on the skin. How it covered the mud and scars of ruined fields or discarded litter in the gutters. It was a wonder of crystal, reflecting light as a pure white and what little light it absorbed and captured shown back as a pensive blue that added melancholy loveliness. He had loved the winter days that brought such beauty. It was the delight of his youth, sometimes closing schools and giving him a day of just joy in sledding across it surface. He thought he would love it forever.
But as he aged he lost his wonder. Where once he delighted in immersing himself in it, now he saw snow's problem. People suffered from these storms. An old man while shoveling had a heart attack and died. A young couple and their child froze to death after their car skidded off a back road and trapped them for days. A skier crashed into a tree and broke his neck. Heavy downfalls had broken tree limbs and brought down power lines leaving whole counties in darkness and chill.


How could he have ever felt love for snow? Sure, at times it had fallen gently and brightened the night, bathing the earth in the glow of the moon, but hadn't it been too brilliant in the next day's sun? Hadn't the glare blinded him? There was too much pain and suffering found when it snowed, he would never love it again.

He forgot how snow insulated the soil, protecting the roots of bushes and trees. He forgot how further down the ground would become frigid without a warming coat of snow. He forgot how much of the world depended on snow for their water supply through the dry seasons. All he saw anymore were the hundreds each year suffering snow-related deaths from auto accidents, exposure and overexertion. These were snow's problem and he repudiated any gladness he once felt at the first flakes of winter.

But his repudiation of its beauty did nothing but make him sad. It didn't stop the snow and it didn't stop the deaths and injuries. The problem wasn't the snow's. It was the behavior of people who went where they shouldn't, went when they shouldn't, did what they shouldn't and failed to respect the power of snow. So when the sun rose and melted away the drifts, he sat in gloom at the damages he saw. He missed the brightness of the evergreens or the new brilliance of the dogwoods, or the enhanced visibility of the grasses. In putting the blame for suffering in the wrong place he lost more than he gained, he lost the spirit and beauty of rebirth after the storms.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD's renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed."
Isaiah 55: 9-13

How You Like Weather Depends Where You Watch



Two people react to a winter morning:

"Ah, it snowed this morning. It began early, the lawn was white when I awoke. I stood at the window and enjoyed the beauty of the landscape. The ground was clean and dazzling white and there was a festive trim of icicles hanging from each trees. Behind me was the comforting crackle of the fireplace blaze. It was wonderful."

"Aw, it snowed this morning. It began early, the roads were already slick when I started out. I could barely see out the windshield and the landscape was only a smooth gray slate that confused my whereabouts. There were patches of ice and a car behind nearly slid into me.  It was terrible."  

Would we question the veracity of either speaker? Would we say they were describing two different storms? They could be, but there is no reason to doubt it is the same storm despite how much the descriptions vary. 

How it was explained depended on where the viewer was. The first observed it from the side. The other from the middle.

Even if in the middle, a person's description might vary depending on when they tell it and to whom. If the second speaker had been hit by the skidding car an initial news report might say, "A car was found off the road against a tree along Route 40 during this morning's storm. The driver was taken to the hospital complaining of chest pains. The accident is under investigation."

A later report might elaborate. "The accident on route 40 reported on earlier was caused by ice. A vehicle, which left the scene prior to arrival of emergency crews, had skidded and pushed the accident victim off the road into a tree. The driver of that car was taken to the hospital for examination and treatment after complaining of chest pains. It was determined the victim was suffering from bruised ribs. Police are searching for the other driver."

No one would claim the first news report was describing a different event or the differences in the second report invalidated the event. The initial report is a brief summary of an event. The second goes into more detail of how the event came about and the results.

Or the victim, when visited by family, may say, "I was driving to work in the storm when I was hit by another car. I thought I was having a heart attack." Later, retelling the events, the victim may give an account with all the salient details.

In fact, a short burst about an event followed by a more elaborated telling is not at all uncommon in literature, whether fiction or nonfiction. It is a popular devise to catch one's interest. I have beside me Les Standiford's, Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Chapter One describes an event of "a late Spring day in 1919"; the next 295 pages elaborate on the how and why of it.

I see no discrepancy in the Bible when this same thing is done. I don't say it was told this way in chapter one and another way in chapter two, it must be a different event or a different person writing. One can be an amplification or a summary of the other.


So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:4-7

Or a telling can be given for different purposes or circumstances.

So I made the ark out of acacia wood and chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.  The LORD wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments he had proclaimed to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me.  Then I came back down the mountain and put the tablets in the ark I had made, as the LORD commanded me, and they are there now. Deuteronomy 10: 3-5
To claim that this passage means the ark was just a simple wooden box and choose to give that claim more validity by dismissing the descriptions of the Ark of the Covenant in all other passages is cherry picking at its worse (as one author has done, claiming he has found the lost Ark). 

The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows ; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
"Have them make a chest of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Exodus 25: 1-9
The Deuteronomy passage is an informal speech in the first person, given by Moses before the people as a summary of all that had happened up to that point. He skims through events quickly, not boring with details. His statement of making a box doesn't mean it was a plain wooden box nor that it was made first. 

The Exodus passage is more formal and in the third person. It is a detail accounting of what happened and goes into a full description of the Ark, the tabernacle, the implements of worship and even the clothing of the priests.

Don't ignore the complete Scripture for a phrase. It is like those who claim the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea at a place where the water is only a few inches deep and sometimes even dry because of the winds. They ignore that an army in chariots drowned in those "few inches of water". They never mention the second time this type of miracle occurs when Joshua lead the people across the Jordan.

Hallelujah!

The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a song that always puts tears in my eyes. It was written in 1861 by Julia Ward Howe. purportedly after hearing Union Troops stationed along the Potomac singing "John Brown's Body".

This was early on in the Civil War and was a warning to the nation about what could be its fate if slavery continued as much as anything.  It is a song which warning still is in place to the nation for its practices.

This Blog came about because my friend Ron (Retired in Delaware Blog) sent me an email with a version of the song sung by combined choirs from some public schools.  You can hear the version he sent me and see the beautiful graphics added by clicking on the title of this post.

But as I listened and watched, I was struck by a couple things.

First, it was introducted as a "patriotic song".  I know it has become associated with the Civil War and is often played by military bands at patriotic affairs, but it really isn't a patriotic song at all.  It isn't a song in praise of the United States. Its a religious song in praise of God.  The chorus is "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah".  Hallelujah means "Praise ye the Lord".  It is what the Heavenly Living Creatures sing continulously in Heaven in Revelation 19.

Second, it is amazing that public school choruses were allowed to perform this song given all the separation of church and state that has taken place in these times. I'm sure those fools (yes, I used the word fools as in Proverbs 1:7) who sued to remove "In God We Trust" from our money, would wish to remove this song from public music director's songbooks.

Third, I though of a kind of game. Go through the lyrics of the song and find all the Bible verses being referenced.  For instance, is the whole song inspired by Jeremiah 25:30?

"Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
'The LORD will roar from on high;
he will thunder from his holy dwelling
and roar mightily against his land. 

He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.'" 

Anyway, here are the lyrics to The Battle Hymn of the Republic if you'd like to try and find all the Biblican References:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
 He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
 He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
 His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
 Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
 They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; 
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
 His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! 
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel; 
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”; 
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
 Since God is marching on.
 Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! 
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; 
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
 Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet; 
Our God is marching on.
 Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
 Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, 
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
 As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free; 
[originally …let us die to make men free]
 While God is marching on.
 Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
 Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
 He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
 So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
 Our God is marching on. 
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! 
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
Hallelujah! Praise God, he is marching on!

Rock Solid: Jesus Christ - The Only Rock Upon which I Stand


 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."  Matthew 16:15-18


This is an important passage of Scripture because it is one, depending on interpretation, which defines a major difference between Protestant and Roman Catholic doctrine.   Catholics use this passage in support of Peter being the first Pope and the church being established on this, and all subsequent Popes being Peter's successors.  Protestants believe Jesus was recognizing Simon Peter's profession that He was the Son of God and it is upon Christ the Church would be built. I  am Protestant and it is the latter interpretation I believe.  If I believed the former, I would be a Catholic.

There is one Body of Christ, made up of those who have recognized they are sinners in need of a savior, who have confessed this and asked forgiveness of God seeing a need of a savior, and who believe Jesus Christ, born of a Virgin, crucified, dead and risen, is the only Savior and have accepted that in their heart. I do not question anyone claiming to be a Christian under that truth.  Although I do not recognize Benedictus XVI as my spiritual leader, I do not question Joseph Ratzinger's sincerity, piety or devotion as a fellow seeking after God.  Whether someone is truly Born Again to salvation is known only to God, it is not my place to judge any person's claim. 

I only present what I believe and I leave it to you to search the scriptures in support of your own beliefs. And I hope no one misunderstands and takes offence in that we may have some differences of viewpoints.

This is how I see the passages in Mark 8:27-33, Matthew 16:13 and Luke 9:18-23 (combined here from the NIV)

Jesus had been through a period of preaching. He had been getting growing opposition from the religious leaders, but was drawing more crowds to his teachings. They had just finished up feeding thousands through the miracle of dividing a few fish and pieces of bread. At this point he went off with his disciples where they could have relative peace. These periods have been referred to as "retirements" and he did these three or four times during his ministry.

Apparently he used these periods to pray and instruct his Disciples. It is estimated He remained near Caesarea Philippi for about six months on this occasion, so obviously we don't have everything taught during the period.  We can assume what was recorded was consider very important, and of course, was something God wanted us to know. 

When Jesus and his disciples came to the region of {and} went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?". Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him on the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am? Who do the crowds say I am?"
The way each writer began his description is slightly different, but not really contradictory. It tells us he probably raised the question as they were arriving in the area. Luke tells us the Lord had been praying. His question comes on the heels of his prayer and probably harks back to the large crowds they had recently been addressing.
The question is addressed to his disciples. It is not clear if this was exclusively the 12 Apostles or included the other Disciples that often journeyed along. At the end it says He called the crowd along with his Disciples, so it may be He had been meeting with just the Apostles when Peter makes his profession.
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 
 
I don't think these were idle questions or that Jesus was curious about the popular gossip about himself. He surely knew exactly what the people were saying. Jesus had a way of asking questions to make others think and teach them important lessons. The question about what the crowds thought was a setup to the more important question, who did the Disciples think he was.
Why did he ask this particular question at this particular time? For part of that answer we need to go back to a couple of passages in the events just before this. 
In Matthew 15, the Pharisees object to the Disciples not doing the ceremonial washing dictated by tradition before eating. Jesus rebukes them sharply.
 Afterward the Disciples kind of scold Jesus about what he said:
Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. Matthew 15: 12-16 NIV
A bit later we have the feeding of the four thousand and then the Pharisees testing Jesus by demanding a sign. Following this confrontation, Jesus and the Disciples go across a lake and He tells them to be on
 "guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
 They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread."
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith,why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand?" Matthew 16:5-7 NIV
 After all this time of traveling with Jesus, you wouldn't think it, but it would appear the Disciples were struggling with their faith. They had started off in the beginning with enthusiasm, but despite what they had witnessed, the hardships and attacks against Jesus may have dulled this some and make them wonder if they had been right about this person. This is not much different for new Christians even today. A person comes to Christ and then throws themself into church work with vigor, but after time passes often slide into a kind of malaise about it all. We need to keep our eye on the prize and not let this world tire us.
I think Jesus was putting them where they had to confront their faith with this question.
I think there was a second reason why now. At the end of this passage, He informs them that he is going to be killed. There were some of those following Him when he declared this that left Him. I think this question was to force their declaration of faith so they were prepared for the unexpected news he was about to spring on them.

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ of God, the Son of the living God."
 Ever impulsive, ever a man of action, Simon Peter was quick to give an answer to the question.
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,  and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
This verse is one of those at the heart of the Protestant break from the Roman Catholic Church on the Papacy. It is the interpretation of the Catholic Church that  the rock the church was to be built upon was Peter. The Protestant Church contends the rock is Christ, the Son of God and indeed, God, and it is also where I place my faith. The Greek words translated "Peter" and "rock" are two different words and the second word implies a larger rock than the first. Jim in his "Journeling for Growth" Blog  and a comment to his post by thekingpin68 give a very detailed explanation on this. For simpler clarification, here is Matthew 16:18 from The Amplified Bible:
And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra--a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. 
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
The next verse is also often sited as Jesus giving the keys to Peter. I admit, this verse is a bit ambivant, but I believe we must take it in context to the whole passage. Who was Jesus addressing in this passage from beginning to end? The Disciples. What is His purpose? To establish their faith in their own minds before he tells them what is to come, something that they are not expecting, that being that Jesus is going to be killed. 
I believe you can also look at the future acts of the Apostles to see they all were given these keys.
Notice there is no doubt he is addressing the group in the next sentence.
Then Jesus, he strictly warned them, his disciples not to tell this to anyone about him that he was the Christ.
 And from this point he begins his instruction to them of how he will suffer and will rise from the dead. Again, Peter, the impulsive, take action on his own and is immediately put in his place.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem He then began to teach them and he said, that the Son of Man must suffer many things at the hands of and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days, on the third day rise again, be raised to life. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me;” he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and then he Jesus said to his disciples, said to them all:: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 
The use of the two different words for Peter and Rock are not the only reason I believe Jesus Christ is the Rock referenced.  Jesus has told us the Scriptures (Old Testament) were about him and throughout the Scriptures, Rock is used to refer to God and is also associated with salvation.

Here are several passages that show the Rock is God (All taken from the new American Standard Bible. Bold is my emphasis, capitalization is from the Bible text):

Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb. For I proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. Deuteronomy 32:1-4 (From Song of Moses)

But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked--You are grown fat, thick, and sleek--Then he forsook God who made him, and scorned the Rock of his salvation. They made Him jealous with strange gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately, whom your fathers did not dread. You neglected the Rock who begot you, and forgot the God who gave you birth. Deuteronomy 32:15-18 (From Song of Moses)

Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future! How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had given them up? Indeed their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves judge this. Deuteronomy 32:29-31 (From Song of Moses)

Then Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD, my mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides you, nor is there any Rock like our God. Boast no more so very proudly, do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. 1 Samuel 2:1-3 (From Hannah's Song of Thanksgiving) [Granted, there is a possiblility in this passage Hannah is inferring an idol is but rock, not like the Living God --Nitewrit]

And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said, “the LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
 and I am saved from my enemies. 2 Samuel 22:1-4 (From David's Psalm of Deliverance)

As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the LORD is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. 
For who is God, besides the LORD? 
And who is a rock, besides our God? 
God is my strong fortress; and He sets the blameless in His way.       2 Samuel 22:31-33 

"The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, the God who executes vengeance for me, and brings down peoples under me, who also brings me out from my enemies; you even lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. 
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, and I will sing praises to your name. 
He is a tower of deliverance to His king, and shows loving kindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever." 2 Samuel 22:47-51 

Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares, the man who was raised on high declares, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, he Rock of Israel spoke to me, “he who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through sunshine after rain”. Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, Ordered in all things, and secured; for all my salvation and all my desire, Will He not indeed make it grow?  2 Samuel 23:1-5 (David's Last Song)

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
"I love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:1-2 (The LORD Praised for Giving Deliverance.)

As for God, His way is blameless; The Word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, The God who girds me with strength and makes my way blameless? Psalm 18:30-32 (The LORD Praised for Giving Deliverance.)

Foreigners fade away, and come trembling out of their fortresses. 
The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation, 
the God who executes vengeance for me, and subdues peoples under me. Psalm 18:30-32 (The LORD Praised for Giving Deliverance.)

To You, O LORD, I call; my rock, do not be deaf to me, for if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your holy sanctuary.  Psalm 28:1-2 (A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer)

In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me. Incline your ear to me, rescue me quickly; be to me a rock of strength, a stronghold to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.  Psalm 31:1-3 (A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise)

The LORD will command His loving kindness in the daytime; and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life. 
I will say to God my rock, "Why have You forgotten me?  Psalm 42:8-10

My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will you assail a man, that you may murder him, all of you, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; they delight in falsehood; they bless with their mouth, but inwardly they curse. Selah.
My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Men of low degree are only vanity and men of rank are a lie; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than breath.
Do not trust in oppression and do not vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God; and lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord, for You recompense a man according to his work.  Psalm 62:1-12 (God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression)

In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be ashamed. In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline Your ear to me and save me.  Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; you have given commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.  Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man, for You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth.  Psalm 71:1-5 (Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance)

Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones, and said, "I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him, with whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him. The enemy will not deceive him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him. But I shall crush his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him.  My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, and in My name his horn will be exalted. I shall also set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.  He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.' I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall be confirmed to him.  So I will establish his descendants forever and his throne as the days of heaven.  Psalm 71:19-29 (Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance)

They will still yield fruit in old age;
they shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalm 92:14-15 
O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God and a great King  above all gods in whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Psalm 95:1-7 (Praise to the LORD, and Warning against Unbelief)
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security. Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful. The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.  Isaiah 26:1-4 (Song of Trust in God's Protection)


'Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
from the time that I established the ancient nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
and the events that are going to take place. 
'Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses. 
Is there any God besides Me?
Or is there any other Rock?
 I know of none.'"  Isaiah 44:7-9 


"Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on 
but they will be held guilty,
they whose strength is their god." 
Are You not from  everlasting,
O LORD, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die. 
You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge;
and You, O Rock, have established them to correct.  Habakkuk 1:11-13 
 FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
 When Jesus tells the parable of the two men who built their homes, He makes clear what foundation is important. It is that built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ, Savior and God.
 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7:23-25  (The Two Foundations)

"Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
 "But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:47-49 

Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written,
"BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."  Romans 9:32-33 

For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.       1 Corinthians 10:1-4

Finally, lets look at Peter's own words:

Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For this is contained in Scripture:
"BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER STONE,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
"THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER STONE," and,
"A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE";
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. 1 Peter 2:1-10
Here again, Peter declares Christ the corner stone and the Rock of offense.  We, those who put our faith in Christ are "living stones" who are being built up into that Church of Believers, the Bride of Christ and Peter tells us we are ALL a priesthood for proclaiming God's mercy and salvation. When Christ died upon the cross, God rent the vale in the temple, the barrier between us and Him. He gave us all the privileges once reserved for the Priests, direct access through Jesus to the Father by imbuing us with the Holy Spirit. There is no man between us and God if we have accepted his Gift of forgiveness.

It is on this Rock I stand, and no other.