Today’s Devotional – April 2nd (The Straw-Man, Part 2: “Add Thou Not!”)
By admin On April 1st, 2014.
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Today’s Devotional – April 2nd
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The Straw Man,
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Part 2:
“Add Thou Not!”
to read part 1, click here…March 5th (The Straw-Man, Part 1: “Villains And Heroes”)
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“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you,
neither shall ye diminish ought from it,
that ye may keep the commandments
of the LORD your God which I command you.”
Deuteronomy 4:2
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A Christian radio talk-show host was incredulous at his caller… “You mean you don’t believe in the Rapture!?! You mean you don’t believe the Lord is going to Rapture His people!?! Well then, you just don’t believe the Bible, because it clearly states that Jesus will come for His Church!”
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Do you see what just happened here?
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What this talk-show host did, was to employ a well-known subtlety commonly referred to as the “straw man ploy”.
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announcer with microphone – svg – Wikimedia – Public-Domain (2)
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THE STRAW MAN
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Yes, the “straw man ploy” is a trick used by many politicians and ideologists.
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It is a way of accusing, thus confusing your audience by creating a “straw man”: a choice between one idea and one ridiculous idea: an either/or situation.
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In other words, there is a denial of any other rational 3rd alternative.
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Straw Man -attributed to Larch – Wikimedia
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“THE RAPTURE” STRAW MAN
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In the case of the Rapture, the “straw man” is that you either believe in “The Rapture”, or you don’t believe that Christ is returning for His people at all!
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But the fact is, there is a third, and very rational alternative.
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And it’s a scriptural alternative viewpoint too!
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And that is what today’s devotional is all about…
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Straw Man -attributed to Larch – Wikimedia
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“ADD THOU NOT!”
Deuteronomy 4:2
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The problem that many serious-minded Christians have with “The Rapture”, is that it is nowhere to be found in the Scriptures.
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And so, the name, “The Rapture” is adding something to God’s Word, which God never said!
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IT ALL BEGAN IN THE GARDEN
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Now, adding to God’s Word is nothing new!
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You see, the very first instance of somebody adding to God’s Word happened in the Garden of Eden, when Eve was being tempted by Satan, as he came speaking through a mere serpent.
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Listen to Eve… “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
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Yes, Eve added the words… “neither shall ye touch it”. God did not say those five words.
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But Eve, for some reason, added those words to God’s infallible Word.
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Eve Tizian_eve – Wikipedia – public-dom
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THE RAPTURE: NOT FOUND!
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That being said, the Christian community takes a somewhat careless attitude about adding and subtracting from God’s Word.
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For instance, this non-scriptural term, “The Rapture”, is merely a theological name which has gained increasing popularity and acceptance over the past 200 years.
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First being found, quite possibly, in theological writings at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, by one, John Darby, it was later used in the Scofield Reference Bible, and eventually exploded in popularity during the 1960’s.
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And today, it is a non-negotiable name, even though a man-derived name!
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As a matter of fact, if you want to get a scarlet letter (“H” for Heretic) hung around your neck, just start publicly proclaiming that “Rapture” is an unscriptural name!
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magnifying glass – Wikimedia – share-alike license
Paul the Theology Heretic – www.thebiblerevival.com – US Public Domain
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RAPTURE THEORY DEPENDS ON ITS NAME!
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But why? Just why are the majority of Christians so absolutely fanatical in their insistence on using that unscriptural name?
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After all, there are other names they could use, which are very biblical!
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For example, they could say, “The Coming of the Lord”, and they would be totally in harmony with God’s Word!
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The reason is, without the name “Rapture”, their basic theory of two entirely separate returns of Christ greatly falls apart!
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To use a popular phrase, “it is a veritable, house of cards!”
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So just why does it fall apart like the proverbial house of cards?
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Yes, why is this doctrine of two separate returns of Christ so dependent on the name, “The Rapture”?
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House Of Cards Bridge – Wikipedia – public domain
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GIVES IMPETUS TO TWO RETURNS OF CHRIST
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Well, let’s look at the very Bible passage which they cite in order to justify this term, “Rapture”… “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto THE COMING OF THE LORD shall not prevent them which are asleep…Then we which are alive and remain shall be CAUGHT UP TOGETHER, to meet the Lord in the air.”1st Thessalonians 4:15, 17.
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You see, instead of accepting what God names the event, “the coming of the Lord”, theologians of the past decided to use these two words, “caught up” which is translated “harpazo” in the Greek manuscript. And then they went into a Latin translation of the Bible, which used the word, “ripere”, instead of “harpazo”. And the English word, “rapture”, is a derivative of that Latin word, “ripere”.
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And since they needed a completely different term to divide Christ’s return into two entirely separate comings, they needed that name, “Rapture” to distinguish one event from the other.
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Without that name, they would be forced to call the event by its correct name, “The Coming of the Lord”, which would then be confusing! Because, The Coming of the Lord speaks of the last day, when Christ returns.
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Thus, without that man-made name, “The Rapture”, you would only have one return of Christ.
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So by using this name, The Rapture, they can now distinguish which of the supposed two 2nd Comings, they are referring to: either the man-made name, “The Pre-Tribulation Rapture”, or the correct, biblical name, “The Coming of the Lord”.
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Prologus Ioanni Vulgata Clementina – Wikipedia – public domain
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GOD-GIVEN NAME: “COMING OF THE LORD”
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And one more very important reason they needed that name, Rapture, is because this very same passage from 1st Thessalonians, has already named that event!
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Listen again very carefully… “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN UNTO THE COMING OF THE LORD shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN SHALL BE CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1st Thessalonians 4:15-17
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Okay, do you see what this theologian did? He ignored the God-given name, “The Coming of the Lord”, and took the adverb, “caught up”, and changed that non-name into a Proper Noun: a proper name!
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Yes, being “caught up” is a verb, and not a Proper Noun!
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So in essence, that theologian diminished God’s Word, by ignoring God’s given name, “The Coming of the Lord”, and instead, invented his own name, “The Rapture”.
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And so, VOILA!! By this bit of sophistry, Satan has now created two distinct and separate, second comings of the Lord, instead of the one true biblical “coming of the Lord” on the last day!
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ABOVE STAR-CHART: The Sign of the Son of Man Constellation – made of the various constellations on this website
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WE NEED TO TREMBLE
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“saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word.” Isaiah 66:2
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Listen, if only God’s people really trembled at the Word of God, like this above verse admonishes, there would be much less division and confusion in the body of Christ!
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But throughout the past 2,000 years, churches and theologians have monkeyed around with all sorts of unscriptural additions and subtractions from God’s Word.
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“COME OUT OF HER (BABYLON) MY PEOPLE!”
Revelation 18:4
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But God is now calling His people to come out of all this confusion, so prevalent in today’s church community!
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Listen to God’s call…“And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, Come out of her (the harlot city, Babylon), My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
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Yes, there is an end-time exodus out of the apostasy and confusion which today’s church-world has devolved into.
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And today’s devotional has presented one more reason why God is calling His people to “come out of her, My people!” Revelation 18:4
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James Tissot – The Flight of the Prisoners from Babylon – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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TO READ PART 3, GO HERE…
Today’s Devotional – June 14th (The Straw-Man, Part 3: “Satan’s Straw-Man Ploy!”)
Straw man (or lady) – Wikipedia – Share-alike or GNU Free Documentation License
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to get rid of all the unscriptural ideas and man-contrived add-ons which I have accumulated over the years. Let me live by Thy Word and Thy Word only…
Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Fleeing to the Mountains: The Abomination in the Church, Part 1”, or you can also read… FEBRUARY 10 (The Deserted Island Theologian!)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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FLEEING WOMAN OF REVELATION 12…
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“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.” Revelation 12:14, 15. So this Revelation 12 Woman Constellation gives a heavenly portrait of a woman fleeing from the Dragon, who is spewing water in her pathway.
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The sketch to the right is “Valley of Decision” Constellation, the Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation, and the Dragon Constellation. This is a concept sketch. These three constellations are not in this position in the night sky. So please don’t try to find them together like this. All of the other sketches have the constellation in the correct position, unless otherwise noted. For locations of each of these Constellations, please go to the article for that particular constellation.
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FROM WHERE & TO WHERE DOES SHE FLEE?
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WOMAN ROTATES THROUGH THE SEASONS…
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This page is about the Big Dipper, also called the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major ). However, the ancient pagan cultures did not see this constellation as God intended it to be seen. It is actually a headless woman in childbirth. This is seen in springtime. It is seen in the northern skies.
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But as the seasons progress, this travailing woman flips upside down, now appearing as a woman with upraised arms like eagle wings who is running (eventually flying, as shown in sketch on right) into the wilderness (westward). The single star representing her birth-child (Christ) now becomes her head (“Christ is the head of the church.” Ephesians 5:23
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The 7 Stars (Big Dipper) is easy to see with its very bright 7 stars. But the Revelation 12 Woman (Ursa Major) must be seen on a dark starry night, away from city lights.
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These are star charts from Wikipedia, with sketches of the Woman added.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Woman of Revelation 12 (Flees to the Wilderness)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW:
“April 3rd (Mark Now Given!)“
ABOVE PICTURE: Mark of the beast – pub. dom. – Wikipedia
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH
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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS STUDY #92 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING, FORMER CEO OF FAMILY RADIO…
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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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