Test Blog

37. The Fall of Lucifer, part 3 "...the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." — Matthew 25:41b Just what happened at the Fall of Lucifer, beyond his being cast out of heaven? Likely, Gehenna (aka the eternal fire / lake of fire) was created. You won't see this word in English Bibles as it is always translated "hell." Get this: Sheol (Hebrew) / Hades (Greek) / Hell (Anglo-Saxon) = the land of the dead. They are the same place in different languages. Gehenna = Lake of Fire Gehenna / Lake of Fire does NOT = Sheol/Hades/Hell. Death and the Hades/Hell are thrown into Gehenna/Lake of Fire and destroyed. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. — Revelation 20:14 Hell (the Land of the Dead) is a temporary place where humans go when they die. Jesus even went there when he died (Luke 23:43). There is a chasm that separates the righteous from the unrighteous, and the pleasant side is sometimes called Paradise or Abraham's Bosom (Luke 16:1...

36. The Fall of Lucifer, part 2 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. —Ezekiel 28:14-15 In the phrase, "guardian cherub" (or "cherub that covers" depending on the translation), the Hebrew word translated "guardian" or "covers" means "to block" and "stop the approach." In Nahum 2:5, the same words is translated "defense" while describing the city's walls. So if this is a description of Lucifer, it means his job was to defend God's throne. Scholars differ on whether Ezekiel 28 (which starts out as a prophecy against the king of Tyre) shifts to a condemnation of Lucifer during his revolt. The use of words like "cherub" and one who walked in "Eden" and on the "mount of God" lend great credence to...

35. The Fall of Lucifer, part 1 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. — Isaiah 14:13-14 In our last post, The Fall of Lucifer, part 1, we mentioned a possible parallel with the prophesied downfall of the Babylonian king and the fall of Lucifer. Just where did this idea come from? The Jewish Encyclopedia sums up the Babylonian myth of Etana: The brilliancy of the morning star, which eclipses all other stars, but is not seen during the night, may easily have given rise to a myth such as was told of Ethana and Zu: he was led by his pride to strive for the highest seat among the star-gods on the northern mountain of the gods ... but was hurled down by the supreme ruler of the Babylonian Olympus. The oldest version of this myth dates to over 1000 years before the...

34. Lucifer: What's in a Name? How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, morning star! — Isaiah 14:12 Name: Lucifer aka Satan Status: Fallen Angel and God of this World Rank: Commander of the Fallen Angel Army Though Lucifer is the most common name given to the fallen angel known as Satan, this is technically not his name. Lucifer is merely the Latin word for light-bearer, and in Latin versions of the Bible even describes Jesus. Some Protestant Christians, presumably ignorant of this, have accused Catholic Christians of invoking the name of Lucifer at the Easter services because they annually sing a song about Jesus inspired by 2 Peter 1:19 in Latin. 2 Peter 1:19 (Latin version): et habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem cui bene facitis adtendentes quasi lucernae lucenti in caliginoso loco donec dies inlucescat et lucifer oriatur in cordibus vestris 2 Peter 1:19 (English version): we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close atten...

33. Cake or Death? "The Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”  — Genesis 2:16-17 After God creates Eve, He announces that everything he has created is "very good." What was God's first command to the human race? BEEP. Wrong Answer. Unless of course you answered: have sex. * Lots and lots of sex. Yup. Not kidding. Hover over Genesis 1:28. Who said God's rules weren't fun? Moving on. Before God created Eve, He told Adam that he could eat from every tree on the surface of the earth...save for one. This particular one was in the very center of God's garden. The garden which Adam was the gardener of. God explicitly warned Adam that the fruit of this particular tree would kill him. The Ultimate Cake or Death. Would you like cake (the fruit from any of these 10 15 trees + immortality) or death (the fruit...

32. The Lord of Death "...the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil." — Hebrews 2:14 The Wisdom of Solomon is a Jewish book dating to a time period referred to as 2nd Temple Judaism , the short-lived, but unique brand of Judaism adhered to by Jesus and Paul. God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity. Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world....  — Wisdom 1:13-14 and 2:23  NRSV  &  KJV Whether you believe the Wisdom of Solomon is inspired or Deuterocanonical/Apocrypha, one thing remains clear: The Jews of Jesus' and Paul's day understood that God did not create death. Paul confirmed this New Testament Jewish belief in his letter to the church in Rome: Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people....

31. Lord of the Sabbath For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  —Exodus 20:11 On the sixth day (the first Friday), God declared that his creation was "very good." Planet Earth was Eutopia,* a perfect world. On the seventh day (the first Saturday), God finished his work of creation, so he "sabbath on the seventh day from all his work." We often translate the Hebrew word "sabbath" as rested, though it more accurately means "ceased" or "desisted." At this point in scripture, barely chapter two, God defines himself as Creator of the world, his most magnanimous role, and establishes a 7-day week, and later (Exodus 20:11) would declare that on the 7th day all those in allegiance to him were to honor him as Creator by also ceasing from their own work every 7th day. Think about that for a second. God...