About Fools, Vipers and Others.

[amadeus]

"angry" = guilty before the court
Strong's Greek: 2920. κρίσις (krisis) -- a decision, judgment

"raka" (good-for-nothing) = "guilty before the Supreme court"
Strong's Greek: 4892. συνέδριον (sunedrion) -- a sitting together, hence a council, spec. the Sanhedrin

"you fool" = only good for Gehenna
Strong's Greek: 1067. γέεννα (geenna) -- Gehenna, a valley W. and South of Jer., also a symbolic name for the final place of punishment of the ungodly

so imo that fails, wadr

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Matt 5:21-22

I wondered about these words also long ago. Checking the definitions as you have seen doesn't fix it or explain it. The explanation is found in understanding the point. The point was that the literal law failed to cover the situation. Adherence to the letter of the law will not necessarily result in justice. That is true in even the very best of men's laws. It is also true when it comes to the written laws God gave to Moses. Consider the case of Naboth. When Ahab the King came to Naboth [I Kings 21:1-15] and offered to buy his land or to trade it for a better piece of land, Naboth refused because he wanted to please God. Under the law the land was to be his and his descendants always. Jezebel, the evil non-Jewish wife of Ahab used the law to defeat Naboth and get the land for her husband. She

"One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established." Deut 19:15

Then see what Jezebel did:

"And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died." I Kings 21:13

Undoubtedly she paid the men to lie, but nevertheless the requirement of the law as per Deuteronomy was satisfied and Naboth was stoned to death.

They tried to do the same thing to Jesus with false witnesses to make his execution legal.

Back to word problem. We don't need better definitions. We need to understand Jesus' point. The definitions don't help with that any more than the letter of the law helped Naboth. People have frequented found fault with the literal words of scripture, but without the lead of the Holy Ghost, how could they really understand God's message?

 

[Frank Lee]

Of wealth my wife's brother is very wealthy. He and his wife are Roman catholic, have worked hard but all he talks about is;
1. How much he has
2. How good he is
3. How much they do for others.

My wife had to nurse their mother and put our home life aside or their mother would've died a year earlier. Her brother rarely visited his mother and would give her $50 while he told of how many people they were baking cakes for etc. Typical RC good works "alms atone for sins" mentality.

I tried to be friends and talk on the phone but finally grew tired of a 30 minute dissertations on how much money he had. They have the better part of a million dollars banked, properties and warehouses filled with goods from estate auctions. They're in the antique business. Though he is 80 he and his wife are driven to continue making money. Trips to Casinos are their chief recreation with mass the next day. A few hail Mary's and they're good to go.

This is a picture I have of the wrong kind of wealth. They are ignorant of God, and His daughter and husband traveled to Italy to pay homage to the pope and Mary. We pray for their salvation. They've gone to mass for years and know nothing about the Lord.

He was shocked when my wife told him a couple of things regarding help from God we'd received. He'd never heard of God actually helping someone or answering prayers.

When you have zero material needs you won't call on the Lord thus the Lord's statement on the camel and the needles eye.

 

[APAK]

Before my husband was saved he used to gamble on the the British Football.
I too used to pray.." Oh Lord please don't let him win."
Too much money and the worry over money can be a prison.
We do have two very rich friends...one of them is always so worried about his money...such a burden.
God has always supplied our needs. Praise His name.

ByGrace:

The Littlewood Pools...a gambling addiction indeed....My Dad did this for about 10 years? Unfortunately he continued gambling in other areas..not to break the bank mind-you...he had this addiction all his life until weeks till his death....I never knew if he accepted the Lord...He was a stubborn RC all the way...

Yes, the gambling vice is as bad as drinking...

Bless you,

APAK