Faithful Writers

I was told self-defense is never allowed and is considered murder. Challenge accepted. Part 1: Justifying personal feelings while directly contradicting the word of God. I was involved in a discussion where the topic of self-defense was brought up in a Bible study. It was recently brought to my attention again by someone else who was there about what happened that night. It wasn’t pretty, for several reasons and I realize in hindsight that I am still in disbelief over the conversation and how we all were treated and talked to. [I’ll do my best to paraphrase what happened] We were told that self-defense of any kind for any reason was absolutely against the Bible. (so is being in the military, but that’s for another day) A few of us put out in the conversation this question — If someone broke into your house and your wife or child was being attacked or raped, you wouldn’t fight back at all? The answer was no. Then he made an off-hand comment about giving a cloak to someone in need. I wish I was joking and could properly convey this pastor’s attitude toward us. According to him, we do not defend ourselves, at all for any reason, and if the worst happened it would always be murder if we protected ourselves, never self-defense. That’s where the discussion ended — in fact, he ended it, quickly, swiftly and like a bully. There was no allowance for further discussion from those who understood the language better to offer additional Biblical information to the discussion. It was his opinion and his alone that was correct. That, readers, is a serious red flag in any church and I’m going to break down his arguments, explain why it is unbiblical, and address his attitude in a two-part article. His first justification - When Jesus was betrayed, Peter sliced off the ear of the servant of the high priest and Jesus chastised the disciple for doing what he did. This event is recorded in all four gospels, Matthew 26:47–55, Mark 14:47–50 , Luke 22:49–51 , and John 18:10 . On the surface, this may appear to be a valid and solid argument against self-defense because Jesus chastised Peter. If you don’t study further. Two details we need to examine with this situation. 1. A servant of the high priest was the one injured. This individual would have been made to come with the high priest despite what he felt on the matter. I read and view this person as the innocent bystander in this particular situation because he would not have been given a choice in accompanying the high priest. The reason for my belief? — The word δοῦλον ( doulon) . It was used in all four gospels to describe this particular individual. (I do think it’s relevant that all four gospels used the same word.) It comes from doulos which means “ Servant, Slave, Bondservant.” This was a person who was owned in some way by the high priest. “ Doulos emphasizes who you belong to. You don’t get to make independent choices about your life, because you belong to someone else.” — Ezra Project The very word itself is synonymous with slave. 2. Peter did not use wisdom in this situation, he responded emotionally. While this was undoubtedly a tense and volatile situation. Jesus had forewarned his disciples that he would be betrayed, and it would end in His crucifixion. Peter reacted emotionally and impulsively and attacked the man without probable cause. Peter did not exercise wisdom, which is why what Peter did was wrong. Some other things to consider. “And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, whoever has no sword is to sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was counted with wrongdoers’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.” They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.” Luke 22:36–38 — Why instruct them to buy swords if self-defense was never allowed? This was straight from Jesus; even to the end, He was still using what was happening around Him to teach us by example. Yes, absolutely, Peter messed up; that is not in question. But it is in this situation that we learn a significant difference between self-defense and murder. — Defense and self-defense are not new concepts in the Bible. The Israelites went to war and defended themselves a lot in the Bible; the Book of Esther is a good example. She requested that her people be allowed to defend themselves against attack, and God created a way for them to defend themselves, legally, I would like to point out. Also note that after they defended themselves, they did not take any spoils; it was not greed that motivated them, it was living. — Exodus 22:2–3 is also an example of self-defense and does require more than a precursory glance through. There have been varying questions asked regarding what is meant by the night vs day aspect for a long time, but ultimately, these verses are about self-defense. Blogger James Pate has an excellent article that takes you through various breakdowns and interpretations of this verse. I believe it would be very helpful to read as you explore this topic. — Jesus taught us to endure the insults that will come our way. He taught us to think before taking any action against someone who would hurt us and not to be vengeful. He taught us to forgive, show mercy, and be gentle and encouraged us to seek peace first and love our enemies. — However, He did not command us to sit by and be violated either. In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us He came to fulfill the law. What does that mean specifically? It means He came to promote the authority of God. He clarified, expanded, and taught us what we needed to know, how to act, give, pray, and many other things. He also confirmed that the law would remain until the second coming and called out those who would change the law in any way. That’s why the next section is really, really important regarding that so-called “conversation” I was a witness to. See, in Matthew 5:21–23 , Jesus directly addresses Exodus 20:13 for us. “[..]You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’ […]” In both instances the word murder is derived from the Greek word φονεύς , our transliteration is Phoneuó which means “To murder, to kill”. This Greek verb literally means “to commit murder or to kill unlawfully. It is used in the New Testament to describe the act of taking another person’s life with intent and malice.” ( Biblehub.com ) — And yes, Jesus expands on that for us, He discusses the dangers of anger in ourselves and what that means for us. But Jesus never made a statement against our right to self-defense. That would have been the prime moment to clarify this subject, but He did not. He clarified that law for us in a personal manner, He did not change it. In fact Jesus NEVER took away our right to defend ourselves anywhere. To change this is what we define as heresy. Jesus gave them the necessary framework needed in how to behave and to go out in the world to spread the gospel. But never as target dummies. There’s also this. We have the Cities of Refuge in the Bible God told Moses and Joshua to provide for foreigners and anyone who took a life unintentionally or in self-defense. These cities were strategically placed for people to be able to get to them quickly and the roads were well maintained. Numbers 35:13–15 and Joshua 20:5–9 talk about these cities and what they were provided for. 2 Samuel 3:26–28 also confirms these cities were for situations of self-defense. “He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death. Yet if he did not lie in wait for him, but God caused him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.” Exodus 21:12–14 www.blueletterbible.org Self-defense had been acknowledged by God as something that would inevitably occur. Protective measures were set in place by God and never stopped by Jesus to protect the innocent. God’s law on murder was strict, and these cities provided people safety. © Jane Isley Self-defense is the use of wisdom, knowledge, experience, tact, and common sense. Thank you for taking the time to read and follow me. I genuinely appreciate your engagement. It is uplifting and encouraging as I continue to challenge, educate, and inspire. Part 2 is here. I will be going through the differences between kill and murder, how they are two different words, and my personal reflections on this conversation. © Jane Isley Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook.

Meet Richoka, a Christian writer whose work I am honored to share. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, has lived in Tokyo, Japan for the past 16 years. A lifelong lover of God, writing, and books, he has a passion for helping believers understand the deep connections between the Old and New Testaments. Through his engaging and relatable approach, Richoka guides readers on a journey of faith that builds understanding and unshakable spiritual foundations. He also leads in-depth studies of Genesis, making Scripture accessible and meaningful for all backgrounds. Richoka Messianic Revolution Facebook If you are a Medium member you can view all his studies here .

Looking at the New Testament. Aaron Burden In part one, which you can read here , I looked at the word abomination starting with Leviticus, and went through definitions, Jewish sources, and cultural background. For part 2, I am picking up right where I left off with what the New Testament tells us regarding abomination. Many would like to use a very common comeback to my part 1. Which is: Why didn’t Jesus talk about this topic then? Actually, He did; people just don’t like to hear His answer. (It’s the whole cherry-picking theme all over again.) “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  Mark 10: 6–9 What’s unique about this verse is that Jesus’s statement here was a double emphasis that I didn’t even know about till looking into it. “Jesus’s basic point is simple enough. In marriage, God unites two to become one, and no human should seek to separate what God has joined together. To support his case, he quotes  Genesis 2:24 , ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh’. It’s this concept of the two becoming one flesh that Jesus is drawing on to support his position on divorce. But  Genesis 2:24  isn’t the only part of the creation narratives that Jesus quotes here. He also quotes  Genesis 1:27 , ‘God made them male and female’. Strictly speaking, as far as I can see, Jesus didn’t need to include that quote. His point about not separating what God has joined is rooted in  Genesis 2:24 , and  Genesis 1:27  has nothing to add on that point. In formal terms, Jesus’s use of  Genesis 1:27  in this conversation is redundant. And yet, for us, the inclusion of this additional Genesis verse is vitally important. By quoting these words, Jesus gives us an insight into his perspective on two of the biggest debates of our day.” (6) He was very clear when He said, “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife.” (this is recorded twice btw,  Matthew 19: 4–5 ) You can read the original Greek Mark passage  here , and the original Matthew passage  here , showing the words “a man” and “wife.” Jesus has been around since the  beginning  of creation, and He was born a dude. I am fairly confident that He knew the difference between a man and a woman when he said this. (I’ve run into that flimsy argument before for a few different arguments.) Some, probably many, will now go the route of saying Jesus accepted all sinners because He sat with them, therefore, this behavior is also accepted. No, He sat with sinners to show His love for them, no matter their sin, to tell them the truth, to offer open forgiveness, and to bring them to repentance. “While Jesus sat at supper in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but  sinners , to repentance. ”  Matthew 9:10–13 Let me end with a Greek translation. “But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable , and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”  Revelation 21:8 Abominable | Bdelussomai | βδελύσσομαι “Definition: To abhor, detest, loathe Meaning: I abhor, detest, loathe. Usage: The Greek verb “bdelussomai” conveys a strong sense of disgust or revulsion. It is used to describe an intense aversion or repulsion towards something considered vile or abominable. In the New Testament, it often refers to moral or spiritual abhorrence, particularly in the context of idolatry or practices that are detestable to God.” Believe what you wish, behave how you want, I am not stopping you. But the Bible is clear on what an abomination is and, more importantly, what it tells you about your relationship with Him. Do with this information what you choose, but remember we can’t rewrite the Bible or write our feelings and opinions into it. © Jane Isley Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook. Sources for part 1 & 2: (1)  Abomination | Jewish Virtual Library (2)  Jewish Encyclopedia ABOMINATION  By: H. Pereira Mendes M.D., D.D. President of the Union of Orthodox Congregations of the United States and Canada; Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation, New York City. (3)   Biblehub.com Strong’s Lexicon : ’ā·wen  (wicked) (4)  It Is Abomination: A study of the Hebrew word “toebah” in Scripture (5)   TheGospelLight.com :  What is the Difference Between a Sin and an Abomination? (6)  Jesus on Same-Sex Marriage  By: Andrew Bunt (7)   Biblehub.com Strong’s Lexicon : bdelussomai ( having become abominable)

© Jane Isley August 2025 You’ve read my words, but I began speaking with color, texture, and a camera first, creating narrative-style artwork to tell a story - her story. I held her when she was born, felt her fingers embrace my hand. Before pain made a home in her bones, before doctors and diagnoses. Then came the ache that my kiss could not cure. A silent, searing war beneath her skin. The kind that bends bones and tests all belief. She learned to count pain by hours and measure hope in breaths. But she never cursed the sky. She never let the darkness rewrite her soul. Scripture turned into lullabies for nights when sleep wouldn’t come. I watched her body betray her. I watched it try to dim her light. But it never died. Because something eternal was fueling her strength. I stood on the sidelines, sometimes strong, sometimes shattered. Watching a child become a warrior in slow motion. Her story is not one of defeat. It is not a tragedy. It’s a testimony. And I get to witness that miracle every day. © Jane Isley First published in Never Stop Writing on Medium .

Looking at the Old Testament.  Aaron Burden Over time, and especially with the current drastic social changes happening in the world, the word abomination in the Bible has gone through a lot of reinterpretations and redefinitions.  And absolutely, yes, some of you will really not like me after this article, just giving you that heads up. Let's look at what abomination means and how God feels about it. Leviticus 18:22 , where abomination (toebah, tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh, to ʿ evah)  is used for the first time.  “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” Most Bibles translate it as “detestable,” while other translations say, “ That is an evil thing to do .” “ That is abhorrent. ” “ It is a sinful thing. ” “ it is repulsive. ” I will begin with Biblehub.com ’s information on the word “abomination” from the book of Leviticus. I immediately see issues for those who would try to twist this word or re-explain it. “Definition: Abomination, detestable thing. Meaning: something disgusting, an abhorrence, idolatry, an idol Word Origin: Derived from the root תָּעַב (ta’ab), meaning “to abhor” or “to detest.” “Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: — G946 (bdelugma): Often translated as “abomination” in the New Testament, used in contexts such as idolatry and moral corruption (e.g., Revelation 17:4–5 ).” “The word conveys a strong sense of moral and spiritual repulsion.” I see the words “ detest, ” “ abhor, ” “ repulsion, ” “ moral corruption, ” and “ disgusting ” in relation to this word.  But this is just one source. We all know sources aren’t always right, so let’s look at more sources and see what we find. I headed straight for some Jewish sources since it is their language, after all. “Three Hebrew words connote abomination: תּוֹעֵבָה ( to ʿ evah ), שֶׁקֶץ ( shekeẓ, sheqeẓ ) or שִׁקּוּץ ( shikkuẓ, shiqquẓ ), and פִּגּוּל ( piggul ); to ʿ evah  is the most important of this group. It appears in the Bible 116 times as a noun and 23 times as a verb and has a wide variety of applications, ranging from food prohibitions ( Deut. 14:3 ), idolatrous practices ( Deut. 12:31 ; 13:15), and magic ( Deut. 18:12 ) to sex offenses ( Lev. 18:22  ff.) and ethical wrongs ( Deut. 25:14–16 ; Prov. 6:16–19 ). Common to all these usages is the notion of irregularity, that which offends the accepted order, ritual, or moral.” (1) “Furthermore, Egyptian has a precise equivalent to to ʿ evah , and it occurs in similar contexts, e.g., “Thus arose the abomination of the swine for Horus’ sake” (for a Canaanite-Phoenician parallel, note t ʿ bt  ʿ štrt  — Tabnit of Sidon (third century B.C.E.) — in Pritchard, Texts, 505). Thus the sapiential background of the term in the ancient Near East is fully attested.” (1) Let’s keep going. Here is another Jewish source. “Sexual transgression is particularly denounced as an Abomination (to’ebah) (Deut. xxii. 5, xxiii. 19 [18, A. V.], xxiv. 4); especially incest and unnatural offenses (Lev. xviii. and xx.): “For all these abominations have the men of the land done who were before you, and the land became defiled; lest the land vomit you out also when ye defile it” (2)   “But the word to’ebah also assumes a higher spiritual meaning and is applied also to moral iniquities:” Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. . . For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God” (2) “These six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven things are an abomination to him: haughty eyes; a lying tongue; hands that shed innocent blood;  a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations ; feet that be swift in running to mischief; a false witness that uttereth lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” Proverbs 6:16–19 (2) Now we’re going to pause for a second and look specifically at Proverbs 18 , because I know what some will attempt with this verse, since sexual immorality isn’t explicitly mentioned. biblehub.com We’re looking at the word wicked. “ Definition: Iniquity, trouble, wickedness, sorrow, idolatry, vanity Meaning: strictly nothingness, trouble, vanity, wickedness, an idol Word Origin: Derived from an unused root meaning to pant (hence, to exert oneself, usually in vain; to come to naught)”  “ Usage: The Hebrew word “aven” is often used in the Old Testament to denote iniquity or wickedness, particularly in the context of moral and spiritual corruption. It can also refer to the trouble or sorrow that results from such iniquity. […]  “ Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Israel, the concept of “aven” was deeply tied to the covenant relationship between God and His people. The Israelites were called to live in obedience to God’s laws, and “aven” represented a breach of this covenant through acts of sin and idolatry.” (3) “The Israelites were called to live in obedience to God’s laws, and “aven” represented a breach of this covenant through acts of sin and idolatry.” Just wanted to clear that up. Let’s move on.  Here is another source. “One of the common arguments brought against the traditional understanding of Leviticus 18:22 is the claim that the Hebrew word “toebah” (abomination) only refers to pagan temple practices and not things that are revolting in and of themselves.”  “[…] I took the time to look up every occurrence of the word “toebah” in the Bible. I found that the above claim cannot be supported by the facts and that the English term “abomination” is an accurate translation of the word “toebah.”  “These passages and many more reveal to us that the Hebrew word “toebah” does not refer to pagan temple practices as many defenders of homosexuality claim. It is true that many of the uses of “toebah” in the Bible occur within the context of pagan temple practices, but that is because many of these practices (such as tossing living children into a fire to be burned to death) are repugnant and disgusting in and of themselves. The association with paganism is incidental to the revulsion.”  “The claim that it refers to pagan temple practices is merely an ad hoc response from the modern homosexual movement to passages describing homosexual intercourse as “toebah.” In reality, these passages are claiming that such intercourse is revolting, and so it is.” (4) And another source. “All abominations are sins, but not every single sin (some of which are unintentional), rises to the level of being an abomination.” “Committing abominations elicits much stronger anger, fiercer judgments, and more striking punishments from the Almighty than are seen for other forms of sin.”  “An abomination in the Biblical sense is an attitude, behavior, or lifestyle that is particularly evil and detestable in the sight of God. In fact, abominations are considered by God to be so detestable that in in order for God to maintain true righteousness, they incur His wrath and violent punishment. Abominations are attitudes, behaviors, or lifestyles that are so evil and detestable in the sight of God that they incite Him to great anger.” (Michael Lankford)” “We can reason that the more angry He becomes, the less likely He will be to extend mercy to the violator.” (5) End of Part 1 — Part 2 will be going into the New Testament, what Jesus said, and a few other things. © Jane Isley Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook. Sources for part 1 & 2: (1) Abomination | Jewish Virtual Library  (2) Jewish Encyclopedia ABOMINATION  By: H. Pereira Mendes M.D., D.D. President of the Union of Orthodox Congregations of the United States and Canada; Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation, New York City. (3) Biblehub.com Strong’s Lexicon : ’ā·wen  (wicked) (4) It Is Abomination: A study of the Hebrew word “toebah” in Scripture (5) TheGospelLight.com : What is the Difference Between a Sin and an Abomination? (6) Jesus on Same-Sex Marriage  By: Andrew Bunt (7) Biblehub.com Strong’s Lexicon : bdelussomai ( having become abominable)

Or is your head buried behind a pulpit? ChatGPT Remove labels and step away from all definitions. In truth, we do not know exactly when Christ is going to take the first Resurrection or the second Resurrection . ( Well, for the second one, we do get a time frame, but since we don’t know the first, we still don’t know the second anyway.) I have my own opinions based on Scripture regarding the infamous rapture theories and can debate with the best of them. However, simply put, no one knows exactly when the clock will run out, not even Jesus. That’s why we were given Revelation. — It is our master guidebook for believers, non-believers, and fence-straddlers. But I’m not here today to debate all the rapture timeline theories. I know it’s coming; I’m prepared to either experience it or wake up one day in Heaven, but are you? I’m here to ask some hard and uncomfortable questions. We are cautioned that to live the life of following Jesus is not easy, we will be met with battles, obstacles, persecutions, and even death for following Him. You can not be a Christian and live an easy life, there is no way. If you have lived a perfectly “blessed” life without storms and trials, then I call into question who exactly is taking your wheel. What I’m talking about today is what kind of person will you become when crap hits the fan. When everything truly starts falling apart in this country and all over the world. Even though Jesus will come out of nowhere one day. Those battles, obstacles, and persecutions we are warned about will get worse with time before Jesus comes. Our world will keep turning from Him, one person at a time, till there’s nothing left of moral compasses or toleration for Christianity. Has anyone ever caught this in Revelations ? “I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.” There is only ONE Book of Life. That should hit you hard in the gut; that should make you rethink your faith and where you stand with God. Are you prepared for what will inevitably come knocking on our door? We live in a country that, while yes, pushes back on our faith, we are still allowed to practice. Some may lose jobs because of their faith, but they can move on to find another job, churches get vandalized, but insurance pays to repair them, some are harassed, attacked, or worse for their faith, but they receive medical care, get to file police reports, and have the right to a funeral in their faith, not be buried in a ditch somewhere. I see too many who think our country is horrible now. Ranting and raving, crying and in hysterics, that is the end, we are about to be taken by God. No, we are not. We are not even close to what Revelation makes clear as day. When you have those freedom’s above and more, no — crap has not hit the fan yet. That’s what has me questioning Christians now more than ever before as to whether they can actually handle what is to come. America has become lazy, and so has the church. Because, frankly, too many Christians have grown too comfortable behind their pulpits, pews, and traditions. Living in a fantasy world of the blessed “rapture,” they believe they will not experience at least some of what is to come. This is dangerous, this will lead many to fail and turn from God. Many use Revelations for their answers, forgetting another very important Scripture. Matthew 24, where the disciples ask Jesus, “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus is very clear, nowhere does He say, don’t worry guys, I’m gonna snap you up before anything hits the fan, no, instead He says : Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. — ALL THESE ARE THE BEGINNING OF BIRTH PAINS — Jesus clearly tells us in verse 9 that we will be handed over to be persecuted, killed, and hated for our faith. Those of us alive when the clock starts counting down will experience this. If you believe in Jesus, then you believe His words. Why ignore these words? Does this scare you, and would you rather stand with your head buried in the sand? Are you ready? Here are some blunt things to ask yourself. When that clock time runs down: Will you be the one who turns a blind eye to those around you suffering and in need of help, to keep what little you have for yourself? Will you keep silent your faith so you can go your way, trying to live another day in hiding? Are you going to be the one who gets on your knees and praises God for each breath you have to utter His name and share His message while you are hungry, cold, and chased down? Are you strong enough in your faith to sit by and watch your family starve, or will you turn away from God and choose to be marked in order to feed them? Will you be able to starve to death or thirst to death with God’s name on your lips, or will you curse His name and take that bottle of water offered by the enemy? Will you be able to live with scraps, or will you turn your back on Him for the pleasures that the world is your comfort now, worth your soul? Are you strong enough to watch your children be mercifully beaten, assaulted, and killed in front of you all, for the enemy to tempt you to renounce Jesus? Whatever theory you might believe about the end times, realize that Christians will experience some of it; we are not immune. I see faith sorely lacking in the Church these days, I see people following like blind sheep who are unwilling to read the Bible or let the Holy Spirit in. I see Christians bending rules set by God so they can make themselves happy, I see lazy Sunday participation and weekly worldly actions, I see laziness — The church is not ready. Persecutions are coming our way. Severe atrocities are already happening to the faithful, right now. If we were meant to bypass that, the “rapture” would have already occurred. And America is not some great and mighty under special treatment and safety from God. All I ask is that you think about this and ask yourself, are you ready, and which book will your name be in? © Jane Isely Screenshot from OpenDoors Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook.

Spoiler: I don’t believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. © Jane Isley I'm going to get some pushback for this one, I know that already. I am not a pre-tribulation believer. I once was only because that’s what I was told I had to believe. But it never made much sense to me with everything else I knew. I have since learned to read for myself and take the church out of the Bible. A young Christian came to me this week with questions about death, and wondering when we die, do we go to heaven right away or do we wait for judgment? That led to some pre-tribulation questions. Simple enough question to answer. I pointed her to three key verses. Revelations 20:4–5 “ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.” John 3:13 “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man.” Matthew 24: 9–14 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Then, I realized the answer wasn’t as simple as it should be. I had to give her a heads up: if she goes online and looks up that dreaded word “rapture” she was going to see and get overwhelmed with all the different theories and doctrines on the tribulation that are out there. I told her my honest opinion. Americans have simply become lazy over time, and afraid of what it means to be a Christian during the end times. And I think that because they are Christians, they somehow think they are above everybody else. (Not everyone, but there is a bit of that mixed in there.) Those three reasons are truly where I think this whole pre-tribulation theory gets such strength from and keeps growing as a popular belief despite it never being a part of any teachings before the 1800s. That and movies popularizing such a concept for cinematic effect. Fear and entitlement are what it comes down to. Nothing more and nothing less. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us pre-tribulation rapture; you have to do a lot of linguistic gymnastics to get to that point. Matthew 24 straight from Jesus's own mouth makes it abundantly clear that some of us are going to go through the tribulation, and by some of us, I mean those of us who are dead before it happens. Why are people taking Jesus out of the Bible? This 👇 next part, ladies and gentlemen, is the result of somebody who reads their Bible and does not worry about what men say. She has not been tainted with the politics, drama, and doctrines of “the church” yet. She tests everything. She even tests what I say, which is exactly what I expect her to do and what I tell her to do. “I mean it just logically doesn’t make sense to have all the Christians disappear, because during the end times I’m pretty sure it says that evil will be ruling over the earth during that time and its like how would people be able to come and know Jesus if none of His disciples live on the earth to share His word.” Right there. 👆 The rest is all acrobats on paper. Christians will go through the tribulation whether you want to acknowledge that or not is up to you, and we won’t miss when it starts. “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,” © Jane Isley First published in Never Stop Writing  on Medium. Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook.

I’ll be honest, I do not blame anyone for leaving a church that went off script. I also understand if they hesitate to do so, or hesitate to look into another church when they leave. This is a very personal and sometimes an extremely emotional decision, one that must  be made with God at the lead. But when you start sensing something is off, pay attention to that. We have the Holy Spirit, and we are given discernment for a reason. To ignore His prodding because we don’t like change, have been going there for years, have friends there, etc….. is not an excuse to stay anywhere God doesn’t want you to be or somewhere God is no longer welcome. It is ok to leave a church if you must. That building does not define you. Your heart does, God will lead you to where you need to be, and it may look completely different from what you imagined. This is my personal experience. Our recent-ish experience When I married my husband, he introduced me to his church, the church he served at for years, one he helped build, and define their charter. I was so excited, a community of believers to build a life with. But it wasn’t meant to be. We left, we had to. We actively pray for the church and the pastor, but we had to leave after what happened. It hurt my husband more than me because I was new and not as emotionally invested as he was. But it hurt me deeply to see him hurt that day when we knew it was all over. Now this decision was not made lightly, and not made without God. We stayed through a lot, we waited, we prayed, and we watched. But one day, it was simply the last day, we had asked for clarity, and we got it. You must remember this —  Harmful church incidents/issues are not from God, so don’t blame Him for how people act “in His name”  because it’s really in their name they are acting. Don’t use it as an excuse to hate Christianity and leave Christianity. Get back to your roots, the Bible , we have it for a reason. Don’t take what has happened in the past with a church, or what you have seen, and believe that it is from God. In fact, I believe deep down you know better than that, you know people have taken the Bible and abused and trashed it. That’s a people problem. Not a God problem. But you still need a community, though. Go out and find fellowship with others, and it doesn’t have to be a church. It can be a coffee study session, a library date, a home group, an online Bible study, or it can be your friends getting together and starting a study. God is there when two or more are gathered. “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”  Matt 18:20 Isn’t that amazing! You don’t need the pews, you don’t need the traditions, you don’t need anything but people getting together in His name. That is church, that is community, and honestly, that is what this nation needs to get back to.  Here’s that slippery slope If you do leave your church, do not get comfortable not seeking, do not get comfortable being angry at that church, and do not get comfortable slipping away from God. It is on you to seek His direction, it is on you to surrender any hurt you experienced to God, it is all on you, your free will in action. Pray, listen, read, and be open to whatever and wherever God wants you next, you may be surprised what God has planned for you. © Jane Isley Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook.

I honestly never thought I’d be in a full-blown conversation about cannibalism, but I’m sure there will be other future conversations where I'll think the same thing. Anyway, this came up during a Bible study I decided to attend. A gentleman was asking some questions, and it ended up on the subject of cannibalism. He was led to believe at some point through an Evangelical church that 2 Kings 6:28-29 was proof that God condones us eating people. Yep, you read that right, all of us present had dropped jaws. Now I’m not dinging this gentleman at all. He is currently in the process of trying to unlearn and learn new things from the Bible and about God. He’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing, which is studying and asking a lot of questions. So, we discussed this verse and other verses referring to cannibalism and explained that the Bible is talking about it because it literally happened, and it’s stating a fact, or it’s giving us a description of just how destructive sin is. In the specific case of 2 Kings 6, it was the result of a severe famine and siege. But that’s not God saying to do this or condoning it. Each time it is brought up in the Bible, it is regarded as a horrible act and an act that is pagan. We got that sorted out, and then somebody went and said something stupid. I made a comment that no matter how hungry I got I would never eat another human. Then I got a snarky comment shot back at me, telling me that if I was starving my brain wouldn’t be thinking correctly, so I can't assume that I wouldn't eat somebody else. You can imagine how well that went over with me. While I did agree with his point that the brain changes while starving, I pointed out there have been countless people throughout ALL of humanity who starved and never once ate their brother. A person’s heart is not in line with God’s to be able to commit that act. My heart is in line with God and I know my salvation is in God, I know myself. If your heart is not right with God, cannibalism can occur. That is made clear in the Bible. I will admit I was very disheartened at the comment, hence why I spoke back, very politely of course but still with some spiciness in my voice. But honestly, sometimes rude just needs to be clapped back on, especially in front of someone who just found out something that they believed was wrong, geez. 🤦‍♀️ © Jane Isley First Published in Never Stop Writing . Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook.

He stole something and most don’t even realize it. © Jane Isley I openly admit I love the weird, obscure, and one-off things in the Bible; I have random post-it notes all over my walls, stacks of folders with odd things in them, and that’s one of the reasons why I created Faithful Writers. One of those weird things is about the word lucifer. It’s important to understand where this word came from and also why we need to change our use of this word. So, I’m just going to dive right in, lucifer is not satan’s name. This article is about how Jerome’s mistake led to satan stealing something from Jesus that people aren’t aware of. A quick look at the controversial verse we’re looking at today. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, who didst weaken the nations!” Isaiah 14:12. (21st Century King James Version) Not an ideal way to translate. Jerome went about his work as an “interpretation of thought.” Not the worst thing that has ever happened to a Bible translation, but also not to best either. “Interpretation of thought” is not a true interpretation. I get what he was attempting to do but wanting to convey meaning above word-for-word translation was not a good choice, especially since he relied on the Septuagint translation first, which already had translation errors. It wasn’t until after he translated the Bible into Latin that he then decided to use the Hebrew text for a “more accurate” translation, instead of just using the Hebrew text to begin with. In a nutshell, there is a ton of history, but I would drive you nuts trying to get through all of it. My focus is on just one word, lucifer. Jerome changed “heylel” to “lucifer” in Isaiah because the Septuagint had already mistranslated “heylel” as “eosphoros” (“phosphoros.”) It's also not the only place this happened, just the one that stuck and created this mess. For 1000 years, the Vulgate was the gold standard Bible. Remember, The Roman Empire didn’t want the common people to be able to read the Bible, so there was little chance to examine or question Jerome’s translation. Without realizing it, most people now think Isaiah was talking about satan because Jerome didn’t fully understand the Hebrew text. Isaiah never talked about satan, he was talking about the king of Babylon. In fact, satan is nowhere in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 14 is about the king of Babylon, his arrogance, and his eventual death because the king equated himself to God and was full of pride. Isaiah shows us how far and hard that king fell for his tyranny, oppression, and sins against God. This story should be given back to that king as a reminder of what happens to people like that. I have to address this — because of Isaiah’s description and Jerome’s translation, it was assumed by early Christians that this was a description of satan’s fall. Since we were never given those details, we should not presume this is an account of satan’s fall, this fall is entirely about this king. The words we use for translation are just as important, if not more so than the ones we translate from. “O Lucifer, son of the morning!” The first thing to know is the Hebrew text reads hê-lêl ben- šā-ḥar; It’s that word hê-lêl (heylel) where things went wrong. hê-lêl is a pronoun, referencing a person and in this case specifically the King of Babylon. When Jerome translated it to “ O Lucifer, ” he created an inaccurate proper name. Jerome used what the Septuagint translation said in this situation instead of what the Hebrew text said. Simply put, he didn’t understand the Hebrew text and did a copy-and-paste translation. Some scholars have now come to theorize that he may not have been as “well versed” in Hebrew as previously assumed, which led to some of those questionable translation choices. (sources below) Now we are stuck with the wrong word. To this day, we have a Latin word still being put into some Bibles without proper translation efforts, I also discovered numerous references to translators just leaving lucifer in there because it was simply convenient to do so. While this error has increasingly gotten better over time, we are still left with lucifer being a common word in the English language, with it being defined as “ another name for satan. ” Most do not know this but Jerome wrote a commentary on Isaiah 14:12. and he admitted that the word meant something else. Check out the source here , you’ll also be able to view the images of his notes. Why do I think this is important to know? God stripped satan of a proper name, he doesn’t deserve one for what he did. Did you know Jesus is described as “ the bright Morning Star ” in Revelations 22:16 ? (Greek) Lucifer means “light-bringer” and “Morning Star.” (Latin) There’s the issue right there. Jerome’s translation allowed satan to steal from Jesus, taint the meaning, have people thinking he’s somehow equal to Jesus, and now has a name that he was never meant to have. We all know words have the power to create, hurt, crush, vilify, and be used to deceive. I do not believe we should be using a word that Jesus personally uses to describe Himself as for a name for satan. The devil , the satan , the serpent , the dragon , those all describe what he is. Those are the words we are given to use when referring to him, not a name. Yes, over time most have become capitalized, that’s a combination of cultural awareness of evil, language development, and sentence structure, but they are still descriptions, not names. I choose carefully when and where I capitalize those words, my Grammarly is going nuts on me right now. But I will not give satan the satisfaction of calling him by a name he stole. © Jane Isley JSTOR — Revising the Vulagte Lancaster University, The Baker Deep End Blog , Answers in Genesis , Frank W. Nelte , Biblical Hermeneutics , Biblical Hermeneutics , Scholarly Community Encyclopedia , Learn Religions , Biblical Translation Mistakes , Isreal Bible Center , Bible Scholars , Biblehub.com , Lucifer in Latin: An In-depth Etymological Analysis , Britannica , The British Museum , Biblical Hermeneutics , Gotquestions.org , Tales of Times Forgotten , Source , Wikipedia , The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels, Oxford English-Hebrew dictionary, Hebrew for Dummies, Hebrew Myths by Robert Graves & Raphel Patai, A Concise Lexicon to the Biblical Languages by Jay Green Sr and Maurice Robinson, Ph.D.