Bible Study Seattle

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Here are some of the ten instances blasphemy is mentioned in the bible:

“One who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death; the whole congregation shall stone the blasphemer. Aliens as well as citizens, when they blaspheme the Name, shall be put to death.” Leviticus 24:16

This is telling us the future. Whoever blasphemes the Name during the millennial reign of Christ will die the Second Death.

“Therefore, mortal, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this again your ancestors blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me.” Ezekiel 20:27

Here blasphemy is equated with treachery.

“Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you,

From now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Matthew 26:63-66

Here they twisted Jesus’ words that he was claiming to be God. But he was only claiming to be the Son of God.

“but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— Mark 3:29

Again we see that those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit in the millennium will be put to a horrible death never to rise again.
Compare this with Hebrews 6:4 and 10:26

Is drinking alcohol a sin?
“Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness…” Romans 13:13
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians
On the other hand…
“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” 1 Timothy 5:23
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine. …and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.” John 2:1-3,9

Where’s the line? Is drinking wine a sin or not?
Clearly that’s the wrong question.

Is Christianity a matter of sinning or not? What is sin? Are we capable of not sinning?
As it says in Psalms 14, 53, and Romans 3:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”

Bodily we cannot avoid sin, since we are all born sinful. But the one who has accepted God’s message of salvation through Jesus has the down payment of God’s Holy Spirit. “In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14

The Holy Spirit is likened to a down payment on property. It is possible that the purchase will fall through. If a person falls back and rejects God’s down payment, he will not be purchased into heaven, but will fall back to an ordinary inheritance into earth.

We must not get overly legalistic about sin. Sin is a function of relationships. Does my actions or thoughts harm a relationship? That is the test. That is what we will be judged on in the resurrection. We will have to make up with our enemies. That is why Christians are to forgive. We are practicing ahead of time. The world will practice after the resurrection.

“When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:12-17

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Jesus loved his disciples by washing their feet. The disciples represent Jesus’ bride. By washing their feet, was he submitting to them? No, for he says in verse 16 that a servant (the bride) is not above her master (Jesus). Parents love and serve their children, but they do not submit to them. It is the same in marriage. A husband can serve and love his wife, even lay his life down for her, but that is not submitting, for God’s order stands.

If we truly love one another, we will exhibit the fruits of the spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

We will not exhibit: Evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, Adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, pride, slander, and foolishness. We could also add controlling, nagging, faultfinding, bickering, contention, and bossyness.

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” Proverbs 21:9

“It is better to live in a desert land than with a contentious and fretful woman.” Proverbs 21:19

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” Proverbs 25:24 The corner of the housetop is the ancient version of a man cave!

“A continual dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.” Proverbs 27:15

Contentious means argumentative. Even arguing for sport. They think conversation is boring unless it’s a debate; how else can they sharpen their thinking? But how many friends are made or kept by arguing? A person who is overly contentious all the time probably can’t keep a job long. Or a husband. Or a wife. Christians are called not to be contentious, or mockers, or slanderers, but loving, peaceful, kind, patient, joyful, good, faithful, gentle, and self controlled. (Galations 5:22-23)

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Ephesians 5:21

Who is this referring to? Christians? Spouses? Children?

It is popular to take this as referring to Spouses. That way we can ignore all those pesky submission verses and have nice, equitable marriages.
I think the verse is referring to Christians in general or it’s possible it is not part of the original scripture. How can two people submit to each other? Think of ballroom dancers. Could they both follow? No. They could take turns submitting. Imagine the man starts by leading. He then signals to his wife midstep that he will follow and she should lead. This might be possible with extremely good dancers, but it seems grossly impractical. Friends do take turns submitting to one another. Some might say a husband will even submit momentarily to a wife’s desires, but I would call that love. The writer could have meant to love one another, but love isn’t always submissive, it is as often proactive. Believers are to submit to Jesus. They are to love one another. That’s why I have a problem with this verse no matter who it applies to. It flies in the face of all other scriptures that denote headship/submission. God is the head of Jesus, who is the head of man, who is the head of woman, who is the head of her children, etc. It really gets hairy if we assume the verse applies to families. Imagine a father submitting to his daughter equally as she submits to him. What a parenting disaster that would be!

Names are significant in the bible in what they mean and who gives them.
“So the man gave names to all the livestock.” Genesis 2:20
Adam got to name all the animals.

“Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.” Genesis 3:20
Adam got to name his wife!

“Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth.” Genesis 4:25
Adam named his son. To Abram:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2
Here, God promises Abram to make his name great. With Ishmael:
“The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.” Genesis 16:11
Here God steps in and tells Hagar what his name will be. She reports this to Abram, who then follows the angel’s directions.
“No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” Genesis 17:5
God changes Abram’s name! This is significant, as it will happen to all Christians.
“God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.” Genesis 17:15
Gad also changes Sarai’s name. Sarah is the only woman in the entire bible whose age at death is given (127).
When Lot is living in Sodom with his two daughters, notice what happens:
“Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.” Genesis 19:30-38

Here the mothers name the children. The Moabites and Ammonites were terrible enemies of Israel.

Jacob’s 12 sons were all named by their mothers.

The most interesting part about names is when they are changed by God. Here’s what awaits Israel:

“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” Isaiah 62:1-3

To the faithful Christians:

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17
The white stone represents purity, but it probably also refers to the original polished white limestone facing of the great pyramid, with Jesus being the chief cornerstone at the top.
“The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Revelation 3:12
Here we have the bride of Jesus taking his name. This is why women take their husband’s last name when the marry. It is symbolic of the ultimate marriage to come!

Guilt is a useful thing when we do something wrong. But some feel guilt when they have done nothing wrong. Particularly this is the case for women. Why? Why is it that women universally feel guilt much more than men? Is it because women fall short of their husband’s expectations? Or is it because they fall short of their mother’s expectations? I believe it is the later. Has guilt has been passed down from mother to daughter through the centuries in a way vastly different from fathers and sons? The guilt Eve felt after the fall must have been different from the guilt Adam felt. Paul says:
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning…” 2 Corinthians 11:3

“And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.” 1 Timothy 2:14

Since Eve was deceived, the guilt she felt must have been overwhelming, as being broadsided by something she didn’t see coming. Adam, on the other hand, knew what he was doing, so his guilt wouldn’t have been a surprise.

Imagine when Eve is alive again, and she gives her testimony about exactly what happened in the garden! A lot will make sense then!

Purple is also prominent in the Tabernacle and Temple and the high priests’ garments.  Purple is a mixture of blue and red.  It is the color of royalty.  So, to become heavenly royalty, one must have faith and sacrifice.  To become heavenly, but not royalty, one must have faith.  Sacrifice is hard.