Elisha and the Two Bears (2 Kings 2:23-25)
What does the Bible teach?
Introduction
I have heard the account of Elisha cursing the children of Bethel and the bears killing them preached several times. I’ve heard it preached as an admonition against mocking (or even questioning) the “man of God.” A severe warning to honor your pastor.
I’ve heard a friend preach it a a juvenile detention facility as a warning against going with the crowd. His take was that the event was probably caused by a couple hooligans mocking Elisha and then the rest chirping in.
Recently I have heard it used as a message that God’s gifts are “without repentance,” and that Elisha over-acted and used the power of God unwisely.
A study of the account though discloses something more.
2 Kings 2:23-25 “And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up
Elisha Heads for Bethel: (2:23) Following the ministry in Jericho, Elisha, as a man of God under the direction of God and with the Word of God moves on into the land to minister to the people. They were a people living in idolatry and badly in need of the Word. “Bethel” means “house of God” or “place of God.” This name spoke of worship and fellowship with God.
There was also a school of the prophets in Bethel, but in spite of this the city was now idolatrous and anything but a center of worship. Hosea, who ministered after Elisha, called this city Bethaven “house of wickedness” a name of shame (Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5).
It was so called by Hosea because of the idolatrous worship Jeroboam had established in order to effect a complete separation between Israel and Judah. Out of his greed for power and his fear that if Israel went back to Jerusalem to worship, he established two new places of worship in the north with golden calves as the symbol of worship: one at Bethel and the other at Dan. “Beth” means “house and “el” means God.
Aven is the Hebrew awen which means “trouble, sorrow, idolatry, wickedness and emptiness.” The word awen seems to have two primary facets to its meaning:
- it portrays an iniquity which causes sorrow, calamity and failure (Prov. 22:8).But it also portrays an emptiness which moves on to idolatry as a human means of filling the emptiness.
- When men are empty of God and His Word, they will fill their lives with vain things whether material or philosophic.
- This leads to idolatry, which leads to iniquity, which leads to calamity.
“And as he was going . . .” calls our attention to the time of the attack. It occurred simply in the normal process of his travels to the city.
Elisha is Mocked (2:23) The KJV has “little children” which doesn’t quite convey the meaning here. These were not children, but young men. Although literally translated “children,” it is the Hebrew naar and was used of servants, of soldiers and of Isaac when he was 28 years old. It is used of Joseph when he was 17, (Genesis 37:2).
In a Jewish household, young unmarried males would be considered “children,” even though they were young adults. The KJV translation is correct, but we need to understand that God did not send bears to eat fifth graders because they were rude.
The term “naar” is applied to an unmarried male who has not yet become the head of a household. The young man is still considered to be in the “house of his father,” a child. It is not so much a reference to age as to status.
The other word used of the young men taunting Elisha is in verse 24. It is the word “yeladim.” The word is used twice in 1 Kings 12 in reference to Rehoboam’s young advisors. the word is used in other places to designate young adult males, usually with royal associations. The young men who confront Elisha are not little children. They are young men of the royal and perhaps priestly establishment at Bethel.
The verse continues, “and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.” “Mocked” is the Hebrew galasand denotes a scornful belittling of something or someone, but it issues from an attitude which counts as valueless that which is really of great value.
These young men were attacking not just Elisha, the man, but they were also attacking his message. In the final analysis they were mocking or rejecting God and what He was attempting to do through Elisha as God’s spokesman.
The attack of these young men is twofold:
- “Go up”… “go up.” Some believe they were telling Elisha to ascend up as Elijah did. However, this same language is used in other places to refer to worship at the sanctuary site in Bethel, (Genesis 35:3, 1 Kings 12:29). It appears they were telling him to worship their false gods.
- The second aspect of the attack is seen in the words: “you bald head.” Whether Elisha was actually bald, they were ridiculing the prophet and telling him to get lost like Elijah. It may have been contrasting Elisha to Elijah, who was a hairy man, (2 Kings 1:8), implying Elisha did not have Elijah’s authority.
In either case, the reception Elisha received at Bethel is quite the opposite of how he was received in Jericho. 2 Kings 2:15 “And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.“
Elisha pronounces a fatal curse. (2:24) “And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord.”
Elisha cursed the young men in the name of the Lord. The number killed, 42, is the same as the number of young men of Judean royalty Jehru slaughters in 2 Kings 10:14, “And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.“
The number 42 is used regularly in the Bible as a symbolic number of potential blessing or curse. This shows that the disaster was not of a natural coincidence or of the prophet’s choice, but rather one of divine intent.
This was not a random act of cruelty by Elisha or the Lord. It is an attack against the royal household of the northern kingdom in Israel and its apostate priesthood. This was the judgment of God against those who worshiped falsely and dishonor the Lord and the man bringing his message.
What Is The Meaning Of 666 In Revelation? The Number Of The Beast
“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six,” Revelation 13:18.
The number of 666 and that is the number rather than three separate sixes. It has always been an enigma and has always been used to try to portray that we’re living in the last days. There has been all sorts of formulations on how to make that 666 fit some contemporary figure and that ought to give us some indication that there’s something wrong with a methodology, when it continually gives a wrong answer.
We see 666 is the number of the beast and that the beast is a man. So who is this man? All attempts to make him a modern person have failed. For 100 years men have been trying to identify the beast as someone of this time. Mussolini, Hitler, Pope Leo X, Napoleon, Lenin, Stalin, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Bill Gates and even Barack Obama have been identified at one time or another as the beast. Newspaper eschatologists try to find the meaning to the Book of Revelation in current events.
Frederick Farrar in his book on early Christianity stated that what is necessary to find a relevant solution to the number 666 is to find something that fits the context of the book of Revelation.
We need to consider some important facts about what Revelation is saying. We must look at the time indicators “near,” “shortly” and “quickly.” And we see in Revelation chapter 11, which states the temple was still standing, John is told to go and measure the temple. We know the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. So the time indicators in the book of Revelation tells us that the events of the book of Revelation, were to take place within that particular time period prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Revelation tells us that the events are shortly to come to pass. Revelation 1:1 says “things which must shortly come to pass.” Revelation 1:3 says, “for the time is at hand,” and then when we go to Revelation 22:6, where Jesus is saying the same thing, “And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” And then in verse 10, “And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.”
The book is bracketed in its non-visionary portions in its introduction and its conclusion by statements. These events are near and they are shortly to come to pass. Thus we must conclude that whoever 666 refers to, it must refer to somebody in John’s life expectancy, something near.
Furthermore, when we read Revelation, one of the first impressions you get from the book is that it was written to seven churches that existed in the first century. As a matter of fact, in Revelation 1:4, he says, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia.” He’s writing to those particular Christians in those particular churches. In verse 11, he says, “send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” He names the particular churches.
Now in verse nine of chapter one, he says, “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Here we find that the church in that day, the seven churches he’s writing to, are in a time of trial and tribulation. Not only must the number and the man be relevant to the first century, but we understand that John is dealing with particular Christians under trial. Why would he tell them about something to come to pass 2000 years in the future?
They’re suffering. They might say, “that’s interesting, John, but we’re dying. We’re being beheaded. Our blood is flowing for Jesus Christ.” The idea that John was writing of something 2000 years or more in the future would not have been relevant to their current situation. John is writing to them and he says, particularly, “I am your brother in tribulation.” So very clearly John is dealing with
There are great judgments all around them. Furthermore, in Revelation 6:9-11 a specific question is asked when the fifth seal is open, he says, “I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
Revelation is a book written regarding things shortly to take place because the time is near for people who are in tribulation, who are suffering, crying out how long, and the answer is “a little season,” a little while longer. That cannot refer to anything beyond the first century and give legitimacy to the whole gist of the book. The time references and references to the churches clearly indicate that the Book of Revelation is written about things in their time period.
Is part of Revelation referring to the future, when Christ will return? Yes. But, much of the letter is about what were then current events. Not current today, but current and relevant to the original audience, the seven churches of Asia. The book is a revelation, an apocalypse, a revealing. It was written to be understood by the seven churches, not as a mystery of future things beyond their comprehension. For more information on the timing of the Book of Revelation, see my article at: http://godeeperbiblestudy.com/2018/12/the-historical-setting-of-the-book-of-revelation
Now we have to come up with a relevant candidate and probably the most relevant political candidate would be Nero Caesar, and in fact, if you take the name Nero Caesar and put it into Hebrew characters and take the numbering system that the Hebrews used, which were in fact letters of the alphabet, you end up with 666.
Commentators and textual scholars believe what is happening is this. The value 666 is a value that is computed on the basis of spelling Nero’s name. In Hebrew. There are ancient documents that give the spelling of Nero’s name from Ugarit and other places in Hebrew characters, and when you add them up, they add up to 666. The Jews did not have a separate numbering system as we do. They used the letters of their alphabet to indicate numeric value. The first letter was used for one, the next letter for two, and so forth. Similar to how the Romans used letters such
So when you take Neron Kaiser, the Hebrew spelling of Nero Caesar’s name and add it up in Hebrew characters, it comes up to exactly 666. https://www.studylight.org/commentary/revelation/13-18.html
We all know the number 666, but interestingly, some ancient manuscripts of the Bible have 666 and some manuscripts have 616.
If you’ll look in Revelation 13:18, if you have a marginal reference bible, you’ll notice that there is a variant on the number six, six, six, some manuscripts say six, one, six.
And that’s because in Hebrew it can be Nero Kaiser, or Neron Kaiser. And that final “n” in Hebrew is worth 50 points. If you spell Nero Caesar’s name in Latin, it comes up to 616. So apparently what’s happening, is some scribe in the early centuries began to change the value from 666 to 616 because the people knew Latin, it would make the computation correct and identify Nero. But people outside of the original sphere of the early Christian Jewish background would not be able to compute with the Hebrew numbers. They would have been reading the scriptures in Latin. So either way, the early church viewed Nero Caesar as being the 666 candidate.
CONCLUSION
What can we conclude? The time elements of Revelation show that the temple is still standing. Nero was the king or Caesar at the time of the drafting of the book of Revelation, which would have been about the mid sixties. Nero was the sixth Caesar and John states that at the time of the writing of Revelation, The fact that the number does in fact add up to his name.
Additionally, Revelation 17:10 states, “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” Notice John writes “one is.” Not one in the past or future, but he was at the time of the seven churches of Asia. At the time Revelation was written, in about 65 AD, Nero was the Caesar. He was the sixth Caesar and was followed after his death by Galba who only ruled a short space, 7 months.
I believe Nero is the candidate that fits the time period and the numbering of his name matches the number of the beast.
“And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” Revelation 13:5-8
In Revelation 13:5-8, we find that the beast demands worship on himself and he makes all sorts of blasphemies. If you know anything at all about Nero Caesar, you will be aware that Nero was
Nero not only fits the time period of Revelation, he not only has a name that numbers 666 (and 616), but he fits the description of the beast. He demanded worship, he made war with the saints (the Christians), brutally killing them and his empire had power “over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” You could not buy or sell in Rome without using coins with Nero’s image. The reason for the money changers in the temple was to exchamge Roman coins, with the pictures of Caesar for silver coins without his image. Nero outlawed these coins. Either willingly (in the forehead or mind) or merely as a convenience (in the hand), you needed that mark of the beast cast on that coin to buy or sell.
My conclusion that Nero was the Beast of revelation is not new or unique to me. It has been widely accepted by scholars and Biblical historians for almost 2000 years, since the time John wrote the Book of Revelation.
Was Nero a king?
In the first century, were the Caesars referred to as kings? Six hundred years before the Caesars came on the scene, the prophet Daniel, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, called the leaders of Rome by the term “kings.” Daniel (605 BC) prophesied concerning four world empires, one of which was the Roman Empire. During the fourth of these kingdoms, Daniel speaks of the establishment of God’s spiritual kingdom under the leadership of His Son. Daniel’s description of the kings (Caesars) is quite revealing: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever,” Daniel 2:44. Jesus was born during the reign of the second emperor, or king, of the Roman Empire, namely Augustus. During Jesus’ trial, Pilate and the religious leaders entered into a heated controversy over Jesus. They lashed out against Pilate with these words: “But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar,” (οὐκ ἔχομεν βασιλέα εἰ μὴ Καίσαρα,
The Danger of Patchwork Preaching by Dennis Regling
Like a patchwork quilt, many preachers take a piece of scripture here and a piece of scripture there and sew them together into what passes as a sermon.
The method is simple and common. The preacher decides what topic he would like to preach on. He decides what points he wants to make. Then, he goes through the Bible(or uses his concordance) and finds verses on that subject which he can use to make his points.
For example, he may decide his church needs to hear about hospitality, so he’ll look for verses about hospitality and build a sermon about them. Taking them out of context, but because he is quoting scripture, his audience will believe they have heard a message from God’s Word.
Almost every sermon about hell includes Jesus’ account of the Rich Man & Lazarus. Yet, if you look at the context, you will see Jesus was not warning about hell. He was teaching about and exposing the religious leaders’ hypocrisy. Yes, hell is real and is mentioned, but hell is not the message. Does this mean we can’t learn anything about hell from this account? No. But, we also need to teach what is being taught, and not build messages around the periphery.
When writing a sermon, or doing a study,
One of the worst types of patchwork preaching only uses one patch. This is called textual preaching. A textual sermon allows you to teach themes that are important to you, but that the Scripture does not specifically address.
Textual preaching will take one verse, or one small section of scripture, and turn it into a message that has no relationship to the context of the scripture. One example, and sadly a popular one, is 1 Samuel 17:29 “And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” One example of this method is here: Is There Not A
Preachers will take this one verse and then preach for an hour on whatever cause is dear to them at the moment. Perhaps raising money for a building project or starting a new ministry in the church. Maybe teaching men they need to find their cause. All these things may be noble, but they in no way reflect the message of 1 Samuel 17.
This type of preaching is very dangerous to the listener and to the health of the church. It can cause the preacher to hold onto pre-conceived ideas, even if they are wrong. These ideas are then passed on to the congregation.
Many times when patchwork preaching is used, the preacher will ignore the parts of the Bible that are messy and not as clean as “life topics.” Not only does the quality of the preaching suffer, but the depth of the preaching, too.
When patchwork sermons are regularly preached in a church, people may think that this is how you find God’s truth.
If you’re struggling with something, you open the concordance, grab five verses and try to apply them even if they don’t fit. Weird theology develops as a result, and the individual has only learned how to improperly read the Bible. As preachers, pastors and teachers, our goal should be to give people the tools to study the Bible themselves and learn the truth that God intended there to be.
Patchwork preaching also presents the danger of people not relying on the Bible for truth. Too often, patchwork sermons rely on humorous stories, anecdotes, and cute illustrations for the meat of a sermon. If most of what is said is coming from sources outside of the Bible, then the person listening is probably hearing that it’s okay to look outside the Bible for truth for their lives.
We see way too many Christians getting their theology from Christian best-sellers rather than from the Bible. The pastor is quoting extra-biblical authors, so that becomes the method used by the congregation. The best illustrations for preaching will always come from the Bible itself, not from the local Christian bookstore.
Additionally, patchwork preaching creates a congregation that is Biblically illiterate.
Fifty years ago, talking about a Bible story would have instant familiarity in our culture. Today, that is no longer the case. People do not know about certain stories, histories, or even famous biblical characters.
As preachers stop preaching scripture, in context, with appropriate background instruction, Bible illiteracy grows in the church. We end up with anemic Christians, never growing in the Spirit and failing to have a rock-solid scriptural foundation for their lives.
When the preaching suffers, the entire church suffers. We see churches start compromising on truth and individuals compromising on sin. We see churches become nothing more than social clubs, tossed around by the waves of popular culture, rather than standing firm on truth.
Let us put away patchwork preaching.
Dennis Regling is an evangelist, author and speaker. He has written many books for Christians and speaks in churches nationwide. Along with his family, he also presents children’s’ ministry events and offers training for children’s ministers. He has been the featured speaker at colleges, universities, and museums. Dennis does educational school shows for grades k-8. He has presented his science and math shows in over2400 schools, in 30 states. He is the author of several science and math books for students as well as marketing books for entertainers.
Visit us at: https://www.winthechildren.com
Five Tools For Effective Bible Study
Studying the Bible is the intentinal act of discovering what the Word of God says. It is an endeavor to find the meaning that the author was giving to the original audience. To understand the le, we must understand it as those who first received it would have understood it. Any meaning foreign to the original recipients is a meaning that is foreign to the Bible.
In my Bible studies, I have found five tools to be absolutely indispensable. They are:
1) A Good Bible Translation
2) A Strong’s Concordance
3) An Interlinear Bible
4) Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
5) Lexicon
We hear it from the pulpit continually, “read your Bible.” Read your Bible every day. Think
2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Bible Reading is NOT Bible study.
Studying the Bible means finding the meaning the author intended to send to the original audience. We can read the Bible and learn the histories of the Old Testament. We can read the gospels and learn about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can get wisdom from Proverbs.
But to truly understand the Bible, we must understand it as the original audience did. Words have meaning, but unfortunately, often in translation from one language to another, some of that meaning is lost. It is good to study the words of the Bible in their original language.
Does this mean you have to learn Greek or Hebrew? No, but you can and should become familiar with many Greek and Hebrew words through your study.
The meanings of words and statements also come from context. The context of the sentence, the paragraph
Sadly, many, I would guess most, Christians have bad theology because they only get their doctrine from casual Bible reading, topical preaching, and Christian books. They never dig into God’s word. I have found digging in and seeing what the Bible says from the Bible is exciting and fulfilling.
God split the Red Sea, but did you ever ask WHY God split the sea? Why did he have the Israelites change direction and head back towards the Egyptians? Why did God pick that specific spot to have the Israelites cross? You can read the account of the crossing in Genesis, but when you start studying and see the significance of where they crossed, the message God was sending to the Israelites, the Egyptians and even to the inhabitants of Canaan where they were heading, it is an amazing story.
Solving this mystery was great fun for me and gave me a better understanding of the event, a greater appreciation for the greatness of God, and it inspired me to study even more about what was happening throughout the Old and New Testament, with locations and messaging.
But to solve this mystery, I needed to study out the words of the Bible, I had to study the culture
These are the tools I
1) A Good Bible Translation
Obviously, I would hope it’s obvious, in order to study the Bible, one must have a Bible. Today, there are many English translations available and they use different methods of translation. This can be very confusing when choosing a Bible.
Some Bible translation teams work hard to get a very literal, even word for word translation from the Greek and Hebrew to the English. This word for word translating is called Formal-Equivalence. Others use what is called Dynamic-Equivalence methods of translation, which simply means they are more concerned with translating the meaning of the words than the words themselves. And there are also paraphrases of the Bible which basically puts the Bible into the words and thoughts of the translators.
Although you may have your preference for reading the Bible, for studying the Bible, a literal translation will be the better choice. Many people prefer a dynamic-equivalence translation like the New Improved Version (NIV) or even a paraphrase like the Message Bible for casual reading.
For study though, a formal-equivalence translation like the King James Version (KJV) or the New American Standard Bible (NASB) is a better choice. Words will be translated with more conformity throughout the Bible, making word searches easier.
I personally only use the King James Version for both study and casual reading. I believe it is a trustworthy and accurate translation of God’s Word into English. It is the Bible I preach from and the Bible my little girls learned to read from age three. It is the Bible I recommend.
However, even though I can read and study the KJV with all confidence that it is God’s Word, I still use other tools when studying.
2) A Strong’s Concordance
Strong’s Concordance lists every word in the Bible alphabetically and references them with a numbering
Strong’s list every times a word is used and the Greek or Hebrew the English word was translated from. You can
Strong’s is very valuable in doing a word study. Many
In Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in
Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
These two words have
Additionally,
Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”
If you are studying out power in the English, you would miss this usage of
Hopefully, this demonstrates the importance of not just using the English.
3) An Interlinear Bible
An interlinear Bible will have the Hebrew and Greek texts with a direct English translation below each word. It will also have a gloss (short description) for the words. An interlinear Bible will help greatly in doing a proper word study. It allows you to find where and how a Greek or Hebrew word is used in context. As mentioned previously, since words are often translated differently in different places in the Bible, even sometimes in the same verse.
Psalm 82:1 says, “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.” An interlinear will show you that the Hebrew word “Elohim” is used twice in this verse. An interlinear will let you see how the word is used ad the meaning it conveys.
This verse actually shows a divine council that is obscured in many English translations. As you study out the word elohim, you will see it is translated several different ways in English Bibles and can refer not only to God or gods, but to men and spiritual beings.
4) Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
The Bible is full of imagery. Word pictures that convey a meaning that the original audience would have understood are used, just as we use word pictures to give meaning today. This imagery is often unique to the people or culture it is addressed to. A Dictionary of Biblical Imagery will help you understand how various similitudes and metaphors are being used by the author to give meaning.
For example, in the ancient near east, the sea was often used to represent chaos. Sometimes in the Bible, the word sea means a body of water. Other times, it is symbolic. When the Bible says in Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea,” it is not talking about a literal sea. It is referencing the idea that there will be no more chaos and that there is perfect order when God restores his creation.
5) Lexicon
A lexicon will give you definitions of the Greek and Hebrew words used by the Bible authors. It will give the context of the words and the cultural meaning. You can study out the root meanings of a word. A lexicon will help you better understand the meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words underlying your English translation.
You do not need to be fluent in Greek or Hebrew to understand some of the words used. I have heard and read many pastors saying that one should only study their English translation since they don’t “know Greek.” This is a lie. Learning the meaning of even a few words in the Hebrew or Greek texts can open up a lot of understanding. I don’t know Hebrew. But, I do know the meaning of many key Hebrew words.
For example, the word “Elohim” is used in many places in the Old Testament and is translated many different ways in the English Bibles. In the same translation, you will see Elohim translated as God, gods, “mighty ones,” and several other different ways. By learning exactly what the word means, when you come across it in various passages, you will have a greater understanding of what the original author meant when using it.
ADDITIONAL TOOLS:
6) An English Dictionary
An English dictionary will come in useful at times. This is particularly true if you use the King James Bible Translation, but in all English translations, you will at times come across a word you do not know the meaning of.
7) Halley’s Bible Handbook
Halley’s Bible Handbook is an excellent tool for the Bible student. It includes outlines of the books of the Bible, maps
8) Commentaries
Commentaries are helpful in the study of your Bible. A commentary is a book written by a scholar on the meaning of passages. A commentary will tell you how the author understands a passage and often references other men’s study on the same passage. It is very important when using commentaries to know something about the author.
Matthew’s Commentary published in the 1700s is a well-known and trusted commentary.
John Gill’s Commentary is another trusted commentary from the 1700s.
I seldom use commentaries, because they are exactly that, one man’s comments on the Bible. Commentaries are not reliable for getting Bible understanding, because how a man understands the Bible is too often clouded with his theology and preconceived ideas. If a man is a Calvinist, his theology will show through in his commentary. If a man is Arminian, then he will interpret certain scriptures completely contrary to the Calvinist.
For a new Christian, an older, respected commentary like Matthew’s or Gill’s can help, but I would hope that eventually, the student would be able to wean himself from the commentaries and using the first five tools I listed get understanding from the scripture itself.
Word of warning: there are many commentaries written that will confuse and mislead a Christian. People like the late Peter Ruckman have written Bible commentaries that have introduced many speculative and false readings into the Bible.
9) Study Bibles
I used a study Bible for several years. A study Bible is a Bible that has commentary on different passages at the bottom of the pages. Unfortunately, like commentaries, the notes in a study Bible only give the author’s interpretation of scripture. A big problem with study Bibles is that since the notes are right in the Bible, as opposed to separate like a commentary, they are often accepted by the reader as authoritative. C.I.Scofield published a study Bible in the
Study Bibles can also make for a lazy Bible student. When the reader comes to a difficult passage, rather than digging into the language, they often just read the notes at the bottom of the page and accept that one interpretation.
What Are The Seraphim and Cherubim Around God’s Throne?
The descriptions of Seraphim and Cherubim found in the Bible are exotic and fascinating, but what should we make of these descriptions are these literal depictions or simply metaphor and are metaphor and reality mutually exclusive.
Let’s start with the Seraphim. Hebrew has two words pronounced seraph. One is a noun meaning serpent. The plural is Seraphim. The second is a verb meaning to burn. Many scholars believe Seraphim means burning ones based on the verb seraph and so they exclude serpent imagery, but sometimes both options can be in play at the same time as we’ll see.
This is very likely the case with the biblical Seraphim. Most of the time the noun “seraph” appears in the Bible, a regular old snake is in view, but in Isaiah 6 it clearly refers to spiritual beings.
Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The Seraphim were situated near God’s throne. They are described as having six wings. Two of them were associated with flying and they could also speak. That’s not a lot of data, but Isaiah’s audience didn’t need a lot of information because unlike modern readers, ancient people were well acquainted with the idea of Seraphim, supernatural beings whose depiction includes at least in some respect, serpentine features. This description would have made sense to them because though supernatural, the Seraphim had a conceptual connection to the terrestrial world.
The key to understanding the Seraphim is their location, the throne room of God. They were guardians of the presence of God in the ancient near eastern mind.
In the Egyptian divine throne imagery, the guardians were described as serpentine, specifically cobras. The same sort of merging of the supernatural and natural worlds is what’s going on in Isaiah. Cobras can make the skin on the side of their and upper body’s expand. Ancient people referred to this flared skin as wings. Egyptian artists exaggerated this natural trait by depicting large bird like wings on serpents. Artwork like this would have been well known in Israel. In addition, Israelites would have known that certain Seraph serpents, like cobras could spit venom burning the eyes, and so an association with burning may also be in view.
Now let’s look at some descriptions of Cherubim.
Cherubim are described a couple of ways in the Bible. One of the most well known descriptions comes from the first chapter of Ezekial.
Ezekiel 1:5-10 “Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.”
The they are simply called living creatures in his Ezekiel 1. Later on in Ezekial 10 these beings are identified as Cherubim. The Cherubim Ezekial describes are similar to the animal mixtures Mesopotamian iconography.
In fact the biblical word Cherub, it comes from a Mesopotamian term
We run into similar creatures in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 4:6-9 “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever.”
Notice that the description has changed slightly in Ezekiel. Each living creature has four faces, but in Revelation the four creatures each have a single face. These living creatures have six wings instead of four. All these creatures are described as being full of eyes all around. It’s easy to get wrapped up in these descriptions because they seem so exotic. But let’s get past the physical appearance and focus on the role these being serve all these different creatures, the Seraphim and the different kinds of Cherubim all served as God’s throne guardians.
So what’s going on here? Does God switch guardians from time to time? Do the Cherubim punch in when the Seraphim shift is over and are there multiple kinds of Cherubim identified by their different numbers of faces and wings? All that’s getting carried away with literalism and results in missing the point of the description. God has one set of thrown guardians.
Seraphim and Cherubim are spirit beings that reside in the spiritual realm, not the embodied terrestrial world. These descriptions are metaphors that tell us about the role or function of the spirits. They are in effect job descriptions. So why are the same beings described differently throughout the Bible? The answer is that different metaphors are useful to communicate the job description to different readers.
For much of Israel’s history, Egyptian iconography was widespread across the ancient near east. Even Israelites who were loyal to Yahweh and had nothing to do with other religions could comprehend Egyptian symbolism and Egyptian ideas about the spiritual world. So God’s throne guardians appear in the Egyptian form that Isaiah’s audience would have been familiar with during the times of Isaiah. There was a lot of contact with Egypt.
The same is true for Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a captive in Babylon. He and his audience for quite familiar with Babylonian imagery and ideas. So to Ezekiel, God’s throne guardians appear like the animal mixtures found in Mesopotamian artwork. Giving invisible spirits and appearance helps humans comprehend supernatural encounters, but beyond that, a spirits’ temporary appearance can also help communicate ideas through symbolism and metaphor.
Ultimately, what God wants us to know as we read these passages isn’t what a spirit
First, God wants us to grasp the fact that his presence is special. His sanctity and holiness must be guarded
Second, God is king. He is the one served by other spiritual beings, not the other way around.
Winged serpent guardians, King Tut’s throne, Cairo, Egypt.
5 Signs To Identify False Preachers And Teachers
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
2 Peter 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
Jesus warned that many false prophets and teachers would come and deceive many people. Peter warned ofthe same thing, as did John in his epistles. There’s a lot of confusion over who these false teachers and false prophets are and many people don’t know how to identify them. So in this article, I’m going to show you five signs that you can use to identify false prophets and false teachers.
Sign Number One -Self Promotion.
False teachers and false prophets promote themselves. Even though they talk about Jesus, they’re ministries revolve around themselves. That’s why their ministry is named after them, and they have photos of themselves all over the place for everyone to see. They consider themselves to be more important than the message. They use titles of respect, like
They don’t want to present the Jesus of the Bible to you. They want to present themselves. In contrast, Jesus said that the greatest person in the Kingdom of God is the one who considers themselves last and that we should not allow the people to address us with titles of respect because we’re all brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 23:8-12 “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
Sign Number Two – Popularity.
False teachers and false prophets are popular. They tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. These conmen don’t have much conflict with the system because they teach things that people in the system already value. They are popular because they teach popular topics.
Jesus said, “Woe unto
They preach popular messages. Messages to tickle the listener’s ears. They preach that God wants you wealthy and healthy. If you have enough faith, and tithe into their ministries, God wants to bless you. Some teach that we can speak what we want and God will provide.
In this
Paul points out quite plainly, there is a heavy, heavy cost in following Jesus: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches,” 2 Corinthians 11:24-28.
Don’t be deceived.
Sign Number Three – Disobedience.
False prophets don’t live according to the teachings of Jesus. They disobey Jesus and they justify their disobedience.
1 John 2:4 “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
These conmen hardly ever mentioned the teachings of Jesus. Instead, they talk about the law of Moses, the proverbs of Solomon, Paul’s epistles or any other scripture that they can twist for their own benefit, but they hardly mentioned the requirements that Jesus laid out for following him because they themselves do not practice them. That’s why even after people have been going to church for years, they hardly know anything about what Jesus taught.
They will even encourage their followers into disobedience.
In this video Pat Robertson advises that husband divorce his wife that has Alzheimer’s disease.
In this video Pat Robertson advises that husband divorce his wife that has alzheimer’s.
Another false teacher who had a huge impact on believers, particularly among the Baptists, was Peter Ruckman. He was not a
Some of the choice names Ruckman calls men who disagree with him are “jackass,” “poor, dumb, stupid red legs,” “silly asses,” “apostolic succession of bloated egotists,” “two-bit junkies,” “two-faced, tin-horned punks,” “incredible idiots,” “egotistical jack legs,” “conservative asses whose brains have gone to seed,” “cheap, two-bit punks,” and “stupid, little, Bible-rejecting apostates.” Dr. Ruckman can get pretty vulgar. He calls the New American Standard Version “more of the same old godless, depraved crap” (Satan’s Masterpiece–the New ASV, p. 67). In The Unknown Bible, p. 100, Ruckman says, “You see how people get all screwed up?”
In contrast to Peter Ruckman’s vulgarities, the Apostle James wrote:
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy,” James 3:13-17.
Peter Ruckman was a false teacher with great influence. He taught there were multiple means to salvation, that abortion was acceptable, and he propagated the false teaching that there was a few billion years in a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. These are only a few of
True Christians live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Their role model is Jesus. That’s why their lives are consistent with Christ’s message.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Sign Number Four – Lying Signs and Wonders.
Jesus said that false prophets would be able to do signs and wonders, so impressive that they could almost deceive true Christians. He said that on Judgment Day, many people would say that they did miracles in his name, cast out demons in his name, and did all kinds of signs in the name of Jesus, but he’ll say to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who always did evil.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity,” Matthew 7:22-23.
In contrast, Jesus did genuine miracles and healed many people, but he would tell them not to publicize the miracle. He will try to hide his miracles as much as possible because the miracles were genuine. The miracles would publicize themselves without much advertising on his behalf, whereas the phonies, these are the ones who are always publicizing the supposed miracles they do themselves. More importantly, signs and wonders don’t prove anything by themselves. Even secular magicians are able to deceive many people with tricks and gimmicks that are able to produce the illusion of a genuine miracle. So put your faith in Jesus, not in signs and wonders, or you’ll be easily deceived.
Of course the self-proclaimed faith healers claim many, many miracles. Many people have been hurt and disillusioned by the false claims of these preachers.
Sign Number Five – Materialism.
False prophets and teachers love money. They preach about economic prosperity and having a comfortable life right now. They promote the middle class or high lifestyles and they
“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive,” Acts 20:35.
“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” 1 John 3:17
“He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor,” Proverbs 14:31.
The prosperity teachers tell you to give in order to recieve. The motive is what God will give you in exchange for “planting a seed” in their ministry. The money yu give is working for you, not for the Kingdom. In contrast, the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Jesus himself said that we cannot serve two masters, that we will love one and hate the other. Ask yourself, who do these preachers love Jesus or money?
The early Christians revolutionized the world because they believed in the teachings of Jesus. They lived together and shared everything that had one with another. They would sell their possessions and their properties and give them money to the apostles who distributed it to the people who were in need. They didn’t keep the money for themselves.