Bible Words & Terms

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Backslider

A common misconception pertaining to backsliding is that of a normally
sterling Christian stepping out of character and behaving in ways
unexpected, e.g. honesty to dishonesty, fair to unfair, charitable to
uncharitable, kind to unkind, deferent to demanding, law-abiding citizen to
scofflaw, etc.

Backsliding actually pertains to animal husbandry. In other words, when
ranchers move their herds to different pastures, or the slaughter house, they
load their cattle on semi trucks by means of ramps. Well, sometimes a cow
or two balks and sets their two forelegs as stiff and rigid as bamboo poles
thus very effectively resisting forward movement up the ramp and onto the
truck; sometimes their resistance is so energetic that they manage to lose
whatever progress they gained to begin with and end up back down on the
ground.
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Apostate vs Heretic

Basically: an apostate is a defector whereas an heretic is an insurrectionist
Apostates typically renounce their current belief system so they can leave
and affiliate with another, whereas heretics stay where they are and work to
undermine a church's leadership, and to revise its established beliefs,
teachings, and doctrines.

Apostates we can condone, viz: we shouldn't want folks to stay with us
whose heart is elsewhere, but heretics we cannot condone because they are
a serious danger to congregational unity.
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Spiritual Body

Jesus' crucified dead body underwent some miraculous changes after his
resurrection. His body today is commonly known as "glorified". (Phil 3:20
21)

Now although his glorified body is technically a spiritual body, it is still
capable of dining upon ordinary foods and beverages.

● Matt 26:29 . . I tell you: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now
on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.

● Luke 22:15-16 . . I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer. For I tell you: I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in
the kingdom of God.

● Luke 22:28-30 . .You are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials;
and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant
with me, for a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my
kingdom.

The thing is: the Greek word translated spiritual doesn't always pertain to
things consisting of spirit material. For example:

Spiritual gifts (Rom 1:11)
Spiritual law (Rom 7:14)
Spiritual things (Rom 15:27)
Spiritual people (1Cor 2:15)
Spiritual nourishment (1Cor 10:3)
Spiritual water (1Cor 10:4)
Spiritual rock (1Cor 10:4)
Spiritual counselors (Gal 6:1)
Spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3)
Spiritual music (Eph 5:19)
Spiritual understanding (Col 1:9)
Spiritual housing (1Pet 2:5)
Spiritual sacrifices (1Pet 2:5)

So then, a spiritual body's properties aren't necessarily those of a specter's
construction.
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Works

The common Greek word translated works in the new testament basically
refers to activity of any amount, scope, or description-- from the grandiose
to the mundane; even the activity going on inside one's head.

● Heb 9:14 . . How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God?

* The supreme being is an active deity.

● Gen 1:1 . . In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.

Although the cosmos is completely finished, God isn't idle. He manages to
stay busy with projects about which mankind is mostly unaware.

● John 5:17 . . My Father is always at His work to this very day.
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The Kingdom Of Heaven

According to the many prophecies in the old testament speaking of the
kingdom of Heaven, we're all residing on its premises right now, and have
been all our lives.

However, the kingdom is currently in such a disagreeable state because the
king hasn't taken the reins yet, consequently many of Jesus' kingdom
parables portray this world as an amalgam of good and evil; which won't
improve till he returns and gets his administration up and running per Dan
7:13-14 which says:

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of
man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days
and was led into his presence.

. . He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations
and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be
destroyed." (cf. Ps 2:1-12)
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Ransom

● Matt 20:28 . .The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many.

● 1Tim 2:5-6 . . For there is one God and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.

It is indeed possible to buy one's way out of their judicial troubles with God,
but not by means of the usual methods by which folks settle their debts
public and private.

● 1Pet 1:18-20 . . For you know that it was not with perishable things such
as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed
down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a
lamb without blemish or defect.

REACTION: I want nothing to do with a slaughter-house religion!

REPLY: It's only one death, and it was only that one time, rather than serial
deaths repeated many times over; and it was already done for you some +/-
2,000 years ago. All that people have to do now is take advantage of
it.

REACTION: How?

REPLY: Find some privacy; anyplace will do. Cover your face with your hands
for a sense of connection and simply say, in your own words either out loud
or under your breath: "Lord I am in trouble with God and likely will continue
to be. I would like to take advantage of your son's offer of himself as a
ransom to get myself out of the prospect of facing retribution."
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Rapture

1Thess 4:13-17 predicts the sudden removal of everyone on earth unified
with Christ, both the living and the dead. The Bible gives no date for the
event.

I've watched a number of films pertaining to the rapture and every one of
them left out the part where the remains of 2,000 years of deceased
believers from all over the globe will be restored to life.

The films also left out the part where folks unified with Christ rise into the air
to meet him. Instead the films showed them here one second and gone the
next, but I rather suspect the event should be easily observed all 'round the
world if it proceeds as described because 2,000 years of believers added to
the world's current number of believers, will likely construct a flash mob
resembling a mini Oort Cloud when they levitate together all at one time to
rendezvous with Christ up in the sky.

The mob is likely to get pretty noisy too what with all the cheering, laughing,
and shouting that's sure to take place when Jesus' followers receive their
new bodies; which of course will be immune to death and the aging process.
(1Cor 15:51-53)

* The blink component of the rapture pertains to the quickness of the
miraculous transformation that Jesus' followers will undergo during the
event. (1Cor 15:51-52)

The films also showed tiny children being taken while their parents are left
behind. That's highly doubtful because minors have often been collateral
damage in the Bible when God slammed their parents, e.g. zero children
survived the Flood, and 120,00 would've been lost had God found it
necessary to follow thru with His threat to annihilate Nineveh. (Jonah 4:11)

NOTE: People left behind shouldn't let the rapture cause them panic because
it isn't the end of the world. They can still get themselves spared retribution
and perdition, i.e. it's not like all hope is lost. In point of fact, vast numbers
of folks from all over the globe will be spared during the interlude between
the rapture and Christ's feet touching down on the ground to set up the
kingdom conditions predicted by the prophets in the old testament. (Rev
7:9-14)
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Mediator

● 1Tim 2:5 . . For there is one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus

The Bible defines a mediator as a go-between, viz: an intercessor

The ideal mediator isn't swayed by prejudice or bias, and can clearly
understand the concerns of both sides of the table, so to speak.

Joseph mediated for his father Jacob and an Egyptian pharaoh; and was very
good at it because he spoke both their languages, was familiar with both
their cultures, and was an Hebrew the same as his dad, and an Egyptian the
same as Pharaoh.

Jesus is effective like that too. As the divine spirit being depicted by John
1:1-3, he fully understands the supreme side of things, and as the human
being depicted by John 1:14 he fully understands the human side of things.
So Jesus' job was, and is, to reconcile the differences between the supreme
being and the human being so they can associate in a way acceptable to
both; and, by the way: he's the only God given person that I know of who is
fully qualified to do this.
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The Image & Likeness Of God

To my knowledge, mankind is the cosmos' only form of life created in the
image and likeness of God. So then, mankind is nature's supreme being, so
to speak.

● Gen 1:26 . . Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,
over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move
along the ground.

Plus:

● Gen 1:28 . . Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living
creature that moves on the ground.

And:

● Ps 8:6-8 . .You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put
everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the
seas.

Ergo: in the grand scheme of things; nature was meant to be expendable,
whereas mankind was meant to be revered.

Mankind's image and likeness of God extends to other areas; for example:

● Gen 9:4-6 . . For your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will
demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will
demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.

In that passage murder isn't wrong because it's a moral evil. The thing is:
human life is a sacred form of life. It is basically a sacrilege to kill people
because the act demeans the image and likeness of God.

● Gen 9:6 . .Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be
shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

The principle extends to cursing:

● Jas 3:9 . .With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we
execrate men, who have been made in God's likeness.
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Repentance

Repentance has a variety of meanings in the old testament. In some places
it expresses regret and/or remorse, in other it means to reconsider, in
others to change one's mind, and in others to stop moving in the current
direction and switch to an alternative route.

Repentance doesn't always indicate an error in judgment. For example;
though not explicitly expressed in words, God gave the people of Nineveh an
ultimatum, to wit; either straighten up or within forty days their city would
be conquered. So the people gave God a couple of options. His finger was on
the button to effect their ruin but Jonah's preaching saved the day.

FAQ: Whoever teaches this is seriously mistaken and has changed that
which God's word, the Bible, clearly states.

REPLY: The prophets wrote only what they were inspired to write (2Pet
1:20-21) while speaking more words than what they wrote. In other words:
we don't have all the facts simply because they weren't inspired to write
everything down for future generations to read. Well; as you can imagine:
that's a bit frustrating for purists because many don't have an ability to read
between the lines, so to speak.

Regret and remorse are sometimes assumed necessary components in the
forgiveness process. But upon examination of the text of 1John 1:8-10, it's
readily seen that transparency is the important factor; whereas repentance
isn't even hinted.
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Communion

● Matt 26:26-28 . . And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed
it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said: Take, eat; this is my
body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins.

● 1Cor 10:15-17 . . The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of the body of Christ?

The word communion is translated from a Greek word that pertains to
partnerships, i.e. active participation.

The thing is: folks unified with Christ are accounted as joint principals with
him in his crucifixion.

● Rom 6:3 . . Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death?

● Rom 6:8 . . We died with Christ,

● Gal 2:20 . . I am crucified with Christ

● Col 3:1-3 . . Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts
on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your
minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is
now hidden with Christ in God.

So then.

● 1Cor 11:27-30 . .Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in
an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of
the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and
drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the
body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many
among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

The Greek word for "unworthy" basically means: irreverently; which
Webster's defines as: lacking proper respect or seriousness. In other words
"sacrilege" which is gross irreverence toward a hallowed person, place, or
thing.

"sinning against the body and blood of the Lord" is very similar language to
1Cor 6:18, which states: The immoral man sins against his own body. There,
as here, we're not talking about suicide and/or homicide; were talking about
desecration; which Webster's defines as: to violate the sanctity of, to
profane-- viz: to treat with disrespect, i.e. irreverently and/or outrageously.

"A man ought to examine himself" is an imperative to make double sure that
one's heart is in the right place when consuming the elements (a.k.a.
species). Some people gulp them down as if they were nothing more than a
snack of hot wings and cold beer during a Super Bowl game instead of a
sacred reminder of what God's son endured to ransom their souls from a
second death in the lake of brimstone depicted at Rev 20:11-15.

● Frequency is flexible; so if somebody is a bit nervous about going
about it in the wrong way, then I suggest not taking chances, instead: they
should hold off as long as it takes until they know what they're doing.
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Cubit

● Gen 6:15b . . the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width
fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

There was a cubit among the Babylonians, and one in Egypt too. But there
seems to have existed double standards in both countries. Because of that,
there exists no undisputed example of the cubit that remains to the present
time; so the length of the cubit has been variously estimated.

One of the ancient cubits was the length of a man's forearm, from the elbow
to the tip of the middle finger, as is implied from the derivation of the word
in Hebrew and from the Latin cubitum. It seems to be referred to also in
Deut 3:11 as "after the cubit of a man." But that's too vague, and unsuitable
for a scientific standard because not all men's arms are exactly alike.

The Babylonians employed two different cubits: the so-called royal cubit and
the common cubit. From the remains of buildings in Assyria and Babylonia,
the royal cubit is made out to be about 20.6 inches. A cubit of similar length
was used in Egypt. This was probably the cubit mentioned by Ezek 40:5 and
possibly that of Solomon's temple as "cubits after the first measure" (2Chr
3:3)

The commercial cubit was shorter, and has been variously estimated at
between 16 and 18 inches or more, but the evidence of the Siloam
inscription and of the tombs in Palestine seems to indicate 17.6 inches as
the average length. This was the cubit of six palms, while the longer one
was of seven (Ezek 40:5). The cubit mentioned in Judges 3:16 is from the
Hebrew word gomedh and was probably shorter.

The cubit of Noah's day remains a total mystery. We thus far haven't
discovered a way to determine its exact length. Maybe Noah and his boys
passed on their antediluvian knowledge of weights and measures to the
post-flood world and it stayed pretty close to the original standards over the
years; but it's impossible to know for sure.
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Covenant

Webster's defines a covenant as 1) a usually formal, solemn, and/or binding
agreement, viz: a compact, and 2) a written agreement or promise usually
under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of
some action.

Bible covenants may include obligations and/or responsibilities for all parties
involved; and then again may contain obligations and/or responsibilities for
only one side of the table with the other side involved as the beneficiary of a
particular benefit; sort of like an irrevocable trust.

The simplest of covenants are basically promissory and depend very heavily
upon the reliability of the benefactor. For example Abraham's Covenant;
whereby the supreme being, in so many words, guaranteed Abraham
permanent possession of a specific geographic region in the Mideast; and
David's Covenant whereby the supreme being, in so many words,
guaranteed David's paternal descendants will always be the men in line for
his throne.

Those two covenants are unconditional, viz: there was nothing that either
man could possibly do to cause God to cancel His guarantees, nor was there
anything that either man could possibly to do make them more secure.
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Moses' Law

Moses' Law-- a.k.a. the Ten Commandments --is a covenant entered into by
Yahweh and the people of Israel located in the books of Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Now as a matter of personal opinion, I really think the Israelites really
should've read the fine print before agreeing to God's requirements in this
covenant because it slams folks with some pretty stiff penalties for non
compliance; for example Lev 26:14-39, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:15-68.
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Melchizedek

Prior to the institution of the Israelite priesthood tribe of Levi, there was a
Gentile man named Melchizedek in Abraham's day who served God as the
supreme being's high priest. Quite a bit is written about him in the new
testament's letter to Hebrews.

The thing is: the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God-- as it's
stated in the old testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy --isn't retroactive. (Deut 5:2-4 & Gal 3:17) Seeing as how
Melchizedek served God something like +/- 400 years before the covenant,
then he wasn't obligated to comply with it and therefore none of its
consequences for non compliance were ever a danger to him.

So then, seeing as how Christ has been appointed a high priest whose
arrangement with the supreme being is more or less patterned after
Melchizedek's (Ps 110:4 & Heb 5:5-6) then neither is he obligated to comply
with the covenant and therefore none of its consequences for non
compliance are a danger to him.

* I think it can be safely assumed, and rightly so, that if Melchizedekian high
priests are immune to the consequences listed in the covenant, then
everyone they represent, in matters pertaining to God, are blessed with that
very same immunity.

For example: folks unified with Christ need not fear that non compliance
with the Ten Commandments will some day endanger their afterlife safety.

● John 5:24 . . I assure you; those who listen to my message, and believe in
God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their
sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
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Yom Kippur

The Great Day Of Atonement-- a.k.a. Yom Kippur --is huge in the Levitical
sacrificial system because when the ritual is conducted properly by the
appropriate holy men, it addresses an entire year of the nation of Israel's
sins.

However, there has been neither a Temple nor a a fully functioning High
Priest on duty in Jerusalem since Titus the Roman destroyed the city in 70AD
so it has been impossible for +/- 1,955 years to follow the instructions for
Yom Kippur given by Lev 16:2-34. Consequently Yom Kippur has been sort
of on-hold, and the people of Israel haven't been able to avail themselves of
its benefits for quite some time.

In reality, Yom Kippur is a temporary expedience because the sacrifices
involved in the ritual are of such low value. The reason being that human life
was created in the image and likeness of God whereas the remainder of life
on earth wasn't. Thus the value of human life is infinitely greater than the
value of all other natural forms of life including the sacrificial animals
designated for Yom Kippur.

What that boils down to is this: The life of a sacrificial animal cannot satisfy
the degree of justice that's rightfully due the sins committed by human life.
Consequently; Yom Kippur's ritual is an adequate resource for the people of
Israel in their quest to obtain cleansing, but nigh unto useless as a resource
in their quest to obtain innocence.

NOTE: Never, ever, wish your Jewish friends and/or associates a pleasant
Yom Kippur. It's okay to wish them a satisfactory Yom Kippur but never a
pleasant one because it's not a feel-good day like Christmas and birthdays.

Quite the contrary Yom Kippur is specifically a day for them to be depressed;
viz: a day of sadness and self-affliction per Lev 16:29-31, Lev 16:31, Lev
23:27, and Lev 23:32, which is from a Hebrew word meaning to mistreat,
humiliate, oppress, break the spirit, demean, abuse, weaken, injure, abase,
etc. On that day; the people of Israel are required to think of themselves as
disgusting, deplorable, and despicable. Those who think and/or speak well of
themselves on that day accrue an instant curse upon themselves. (Deut
27:26)
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The Name

● Gen 2:4 . .These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when
they were created, in the day that The Lord God made earth and heaven.

The "Lord" part of Lord God is translated from the four-letter
tetragrammaton YHVH which is sometimes spelled YHWH. The correct
pronunciation is currently unknown. Sometimes it's pronounced Yehovah,
sometimes Jehovah, and sometimes Yahweh. In some Bibles, "Lord" is in full
capitalization to alert readers that their English version has been translated
from a Hebrew text containing YHVH.

The appellation is so sacred among pious Jews that they make every effort
to avoid speaking it except under very special circumstances. In some of
their writings, in order to avoid using the four sacred letters comprising the
tetragrammaton, they write instead "The Name" and/or sometimes
"Hashem". So Ex 20:3 could be written: I, The Name, am your god and/or I,
Hashem, am your god.

NOTE: According to Phil 2:7-9, Jesus has been authorized to use the name
for his personal title, effectively elevating Christ to the rank of deity; and
who can possibly object considering the extent of his devotion to both God
and Man in the plan of salvation?
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